Lynda J

I am on both our Districts and Councils Advancement Committees and a 2 hr BOR is way out of line. I have sat on Eagles that took about 1 hr but any rank below that should not take more than 30 minutes. We removed a AC in our troop over his idea of BOR. He made the scout stand at attention for 1.5hrs and questioned him on every requirement for his rank. Made his tie all the knots, show how to do bandaging and the such. Then turned him down because he didn't agree with his answer on his belief in God.

This kid was crushed because he had worked so hard.

He has a couple of learning disabilities and getting to 1st Class was a real labor for him. The saddest thing is that he has made at attempt to work on Star.

BORs are not a test of a Scouts skills but a review of his knowledge and how he thinks he is doing in scouting.

Isn't it strange how we are so self centered as to think that English is the only language that Scouts speak. Years ago when I went to a Girl Scout International event in Vermont there were interpreters there for scouts from other countries.

We had scouts from all over the world. Many did not speak English. So I can fully see how there would be an English interpreters patch. And within our own country there are boys that do not speak English well. I mean geeze We teach spanish kids in school in their own language because they don't speak English well enough to learn in this countries language.(This message has been edited by Lynda J)

GREAT.

When I got married back in the stone age my dad informed my husband to be that I could cook anything he would ever want to eat over a camp fire but I didn't know how to turn on the stove in the kitchen. He was almost right.

There are some great sites for camp cooking. One of my favorates is The International Dutch Oven Societys.

Also ScoutXing.com has some great ideas.

I have some more sites but simply can't remember then right now.

One thing you can do is do a country theme. Where they pick a country and cook something from there and then they have to present the food with a skit about that country.

Wouldn't give a plug nickle for anything Jeff Gordon. Worked his sponsors tent at a race and one of the other gals working was taking some pictures. Not really of him. He thought she had gotten him in a picture and he had one of his security guys take the film out of her camera and unroll it. It also had her daughters birthday pictures on it.

I don't know about National but our council require it every 3 years. I renew First Aid is 3 years CPR every year.

Ain't those paydays the best. I have a boy in my troop whose parents are big into drugs. He is a good kid but no home life. He was elected PL this last elections. And is doing such a good job. He told me the other night how much he wanted to be like me, because I was "cool". Didn't know at 58 you could still be "cool" in a 12 year olds eyes but it sure was "COOL" to hear it.

Had a guy question my belief in God once. He wanted to know how I knew there was a God. I told him that every time I see the eyes of a scout when he light his first campfire without using a match it tells me that God exist. You see the excitment, the thrill, and then they look at you and you see respect. Then you watch as an older scout holds the hand of a younger one and teaches him how to tie a knot. All of these acts show me that God is present.

Torveaux. Since BSA no longer has official footwear (stopped in 1954) it can be the wearers choice as for a foot covering. I personally wear hiking boots since that is what I wear at work.

I am a stickler for training. I think that Leader Specific should be required every 5 years. I am glad that YPT is required to be renewed but have a problem with it being allowed to be taked online.

It simply does not have the impact of sitting in a group of people, watching the film and talking about it.

EVERY BOY HAS A RIGHT TO A WELL TRAINED LEADER.

I think that in some cases SM's don't get support because they don't demand it.

My mother was one of the best I have ever seen at getting help with her scouts. And it was YEARS.

She had a troop before I was old enough and graduated her last troop from high school just after she turned 70. She would make a list of things that she needed help with and have each parent make one thing they were going to help with.

I have watched many times as this 4'9" power house would respond to a parent who would make the mistake of saying "I don't have time to help because I work" I have watch as she would very sweetly lay her hand on their arm and smile her sweetest smile and look them straight in the eyes and go for the throat, "I am so sorry you are so stressed and busy that you don't have time for your daughter, but this is not a babysitting service and if you want your daughter to have a good scouting experience they you have to be willing to give me alittle help." She always got what she wanted. And 99% of the time the girls in her troops would start in 2nd grade and graduate together. We are blessed in having great parents, but we also expect that they help.

If you give the impression that you are SUPER LEADER, then they think you don't need help.

But what you have to do is not overwhelm them. Give them one thing to do. We have one mother that her only job is to make sure we have enough transportation when we go somewhere.

I agree with Madkin. The Pledge should stand as originally written.

Now if Bellemy had written it with "Under God" in the original version I would be fighting mad at having it removed.

One thing that people seem to forget was that this country was founded on a platform of "religious freedon" Not for just one belief but for all.

It doesn't matter if you agree with it or not.

If one person loses their right to their religious belief then we are all losers. Because if means that at some point in time if one belief other than yours takes power you can also lose the right to believe or not. I believe in God. I would hope that he can give me the strength to give others the right to believe as they chose.

For years "good christians" have totally destroyed cultures in the name of GOD. I do not think that is what he wants. It doesn't matter if they believe in the tree in the forest, they believe in a higher being. It is their religious right. Just as it is ours to believe in God.

First I know that I am probably going to get beat around the head over this. But here goes anyway.

When the Pledge was originally written it did not contain the words "Under God" in it. In 1954, Congress after a campaign by the Knights of Columbus, added the words, 'under God,' to the Pledge. The Pledge was now both a patriotic oath and a public prayer.

Bellamy's granddaughter said he also would have resented this change. He had been pressured into leaving his church in 1891 because of his socialist sermons. In his retirement in Florida, he stopped attending church because he disliked the racial bigotry he found there.

I remember in school saying

'One Nation Indivisible, for liberty and justice for all.

So why is it wrong to take the Pledge back to the original writting.(This message has been edited by Lynda J)

One question, Was this boy removed from school by the police? If not then it should be easy enough to prove. If so then the scout and the parents know the reason and may simply not be being honest with themselves and others. But the school and police should have a record of it if he was removed.

Does your council offer events like Score-O?

Our council joins with the Orientieering clubs here and they do a big weekend at one of our camps.

THe Clubs sets up the course and gives some classes and the scouts furnish the place. It is a lot of fun. You can do teams, 2 man or more and single. You can do times of not. Our boys love it.

About a month before elections our OA rep contacts us to see which of our boys are 1st Class and have met the other requirements. The SM gives them the names. They then print a ballot with those names on it. The boys do not put their names on their ballot. The boys are told that they can for for all, none or one. But that they are not to discuss who they voted for. The ballots are then taken up and counted. It was hard this year for me since I knew who was elected and that my Kevin was one. He kept asking me. I simply told him that the only people that knew who was elected were the OA reps. That we would all find out when the tapout was done.

Obviously this SM mother is more interested in image than she is by grooming good scouts.

Alos don't forget about contacting a Boy Scout Troop and getting a Den Chief. For one thing it is a Position of Responsibility for the BS and is one of the required positions for rank advancement.

I would get a boy who is Star of above in rank.

No he can't be a ADL but he can be a great resource for help and one of their responsibilities is helping plan and run activities for the Den.

One of the best ways to find displaced scouts is to contact your childs school. If they are registering students they you can reach them there. It makes it easier that way since then they can be connected with boys in a Den or Troop that they are going to school with.

I am lucky in that our school people know me well and know if it relates to scouts (Girl or Boy) they can contact me. We have placed two Girl Scouts and one Boy.(This message has been edited by Lynda J)

I talked to our DE Friday and he said he is hearing from National that boys working on Eagle from the storm area will be given a years extension. But one problem I see it getting that informaiton to those boys so they don't lost hope.

If you are in an area that has shelters please visit them if for no other reason than to find out if there are scouts there. Some may not want to try to join local troops but I think we need to make every effort to give them that chance.

One of my biggest concerns is with boys working on Eagle. They must earn Eagle by their 18th birthday and with approval that can be extended 6 months. These boys have lost everything, including the paper work on theie Eagle Projects.

There has to be a way of helping especially these boys. One thing that scares me is that a boy 3-6 months away from Eagle will get discouraged and feel that with everything else that is happening he has no chance of completing his Eagle and will give up. We desperately need to reach these boys and let them know there are helping hands out there to grab onto.

There is no way that anyone will ever explain anything the Merlyn/Leroy. or changing his opinion of scouting. That simply isn't going to happen.

Merlyn hates BSA, he will always hate BSA. He dislikes what it stands for and represents. People like him need a platform to talk from. If no one responds to his posts guess what he no longer has a platform. After about a week on this group I figured out where he was coming from.

If we respond to his spouts we in our act give him validity. We say that his opinion of scouting matters to us. To me it does not. We as leaders know what this program gives to boys. So I could give a rats rump what Merlyn thinks of it.

Talk to your childs school principal. See in your school is getting kids in from the shelters. If they are offer to take any kid that is a scout into your troop. If is a one on one way of helping and giving these kids who have lost so much a little normality back into their lives.

I almost never do a double post. But felt this needed to have its own title.

Some have said we need to wait on BSA and GSUSA to make a decisison. But we don't. We all are familiar with what happens when we "wait" for the higher ups to get something going. This we need to start on our own. That is the fastest way.

I have another challenge.

Kevin, my 12 year old Star Scout, was sitting and watching the news as he worked on one of his merit badge worksheets the other night when he suddenly turned to me and ask "what is going to happen to all the Boy Scouts there? How will they meet, how will they get their badges?" I didn't really have that answer. So at our Round Table I suggested

"ADOPT A SCOUT."

Go to your childs school and talk to the principal or admissions clerk. If your school is getting kids from shelters please see if any of them are displaced scouts. And then invite them to join your troop. Be it Girl Scout, Boy Scouts or Cubs. These kids have lost everything, lets give them back something they know. Just a little bit of normality.

I don't know any of us that can't afford the cost of a new Hand Book. I know I can.

I know that all the money and supplies are wonderful, but we also need to remember that these people also need our time. They need a hug, a handshake, someone to call them "friend" and most of all they need to be made to feel that they are part of our communities. For however long they are going to be with us. A week, a month, or for every. They need to be made to feel part of us.

I have been where they are. In l961 my home town was almost wiped out with a 100 year flood. My parents nd I were in a shelter for 2 weeks, my grandmother was hospitalized. We got back into our home but my grandmother lost everything she had owned for 75 years. Believe me there is no more of a lost feeling than knowing that you have NOTHING. Not even a clean pair of underwear. And for at least a while no way of standing on your own two feet. These kids are scared about their futures, lets let them know that they are SCOUTS, no matter where they are staying.

I have another challenge.

Kevin, my 12 year old Star Scout, was sitting and watching the news when he suddenly turned to me and ask "what is going to happen to all the Boy Scouts there? How will they meet, how will they get their badges?" I didn't really have that answer. So at our Round Table I suggested

ADOPT A SCOUT.

Go to your childs school and talk to the principal or admissions clerk. If your school is getting kids from shelters please see if any of them are displaced scouts. And then invite them to join your troop. Be it Girl Scout, Boy Scouts or Cubs. These kids have lost everything, lets give them back something they know.

I don't know any of us that can't afford the cost of a new Hand Book. I know I can.

I have been where they are. In l961 my home town was almost wiped out with a 100 year flood. My parents nd I were in a shelter for 2 weeks, my grandmother was hospitalized. We got back into our home but my grandmother lost everything she had owned for 75 years. Believe me there is no more lost feeling than knowing that you have NOTHING. Not even a clean pair of underwear.

I know that all the money and supplies are wonderful, but we also need to remember that these people also need our time. They need a hug, a handshake, someone to call them "friend" and most of all they need to be made to feel that they are part of our communities. For however long they are going to be with us. A week, a month, or for every. They need to be made to feel part of us.

I also think that sometimes parents simply aren't ready to let their boys go. We lost a boy that crossed over in March. He has been on one camping trip with us and that was the one where we invite the parents of the new boys. His father kept trying to do everything for him. He was setting up his tent for him when the SM ask the father to come over to the adult patrol area. The father said he needed to make sure he did it right. Our SM explained that that was the PL and APL's job.

After we got back the SM and I were talking and both of us figured he wouldn't stay in. Daddy simply isn't ready for his baby to grow up.

While watching the news about the storm damage my 12 year old Star Scout made the comment about how were the Boy and Girl Scout troops going to meet after the storm. It knocked me over.

At are District Round Table last night we have opened up our troops and packs to any scout why is in a shelter in our area. I challenge all other areas to do the same. It isn't much but it will give these kids who have lost everything a little bit of normality back. If your community it taking survivors find out who is in charge of community services and contact them. We will be responsible for picking them up and getting them back to the shelter. The only thing we are going to require is that ever needed permission slip from a parent or guardian. We can keep records of what they do while with our troops and when they get to go home give that to them.

Our DE told us that BSA had 9 Councils that are bascially wiped out. I talked to a friend with Girl Scouts and she said they have 7.

Also after rebuilding begins and they go home they will need to replace their troop camping gear.

I know our troop has way to many dutch ovens and silver wear and we can spare a couple of big pots to boil water in.

I remember in 61 when our GS troop lost everything in a flood several troops that were not in the flooded area brought us gear. There would have been no way we could have afforded to replace what we had lost.

So now is the time for troops that have to give back to those who have lost everything except the

Scout Spirit.