Mike Long

I teach etiquette when I see a lack of it. Not as a formal part of the troop program but as the opprotunity presents itself. And yes I do it under the auspices of "A Scout is Courteous"

The BSA does though and have made it a requirement. So much so that it is the fourth thing you do to become a member right after be old enough, find a troop and fill out a medical form. And unless you have a compelling reason other than "I don't like it" and arguments of convenience you don't have a case. Might I suggest you look more closely at the traditions and belief systems of an organization BEFORE you join it? Picking a fight for the sake of fighting isn't scoutlike.

I'll get to start teaching manners and basic life skills in about a month at our house. Our first child is due in early September. My wife is hoping that our baby is born with the "promptness" skill pre-learned. I won't hold my breath on that one, I happen to know my genetic code makes that a long shot at best. There will always be oafs and louts out there and yes I've worked around many. I have also seen similar situations in Scouting. So much so that I no longer ask rude Scouts the age old question "Do you do/act like that at home?" I now simply state that "Boy Scouts are gentlemen and

Has it gotten so bad that we now need an Ettiquette Merit Badge? I was saddened to see a few years ago that the BSA now feels that we need to have a Family Life Merit Badge and an Eagle required badge at that. I was under the impression that these things were taught in every home and were a natural part of growing up in America. I guess I was wrong.

I can tell you that there is nothing in the mainline Presbyterian faith that admonishes you to not say the pledge. As a matter of fact many Presbyterians are ralling behind and support the Pledge in this current issue and were also a major force in getting the Pledge adopted and later adding "Under God". I'd be interested to hear your reasoning as to exactly why you don't want to say the Pledge.(This message has been edited by Mike Long)

The fourth requirement to join Scouts is to repeat the Pledge of Allegiance. It already is a requirement and you should have done it by now. That said, I would think that it being against your religious beliefs that requirement could be waived. If your Scoutmaster doesn't agree then you need to talk to your district advancement chair and see what he says. But before you call district, I do feel that is is necessary to say that patriotism IS one of the primary points of the BSA's federal charter. As such your Scoutmaster is probably unsure of how you could possibly be patriotic,

Our troop meets in a church so the hats are always removed during meetings, this has grown so customary ans natural to us that the troop never wears hats when indoors.

Unless there is an extinuating circumstance (physical or mental handicap to name a couple) then the scout must complete the requirement in order to advance. Not advancing doesn't mean automaticaly mean a diminished scouting experience. All you can do is encourage the scout and maybe give him a little extra help to learn how to swim. Suggesting to the parents that they enroll him in swimming classes is a good suggestion too. Just this year we had a third year scout finally pass the swim test and swimming merit badge at camp. This happened thanks to three years of hard work on th

We took 31 scouts and 4 adults to camp this summer. Yikes, what an adult to scout ratio. Two immediately choose to be on staff for the rest of the summer. Put those leadership skills to work! All scouters attending completed Safe Swim Defense and Safety afloat. One scout who was never able to complete any of the swimming requirements (and failed the swim test on arriving at camp) completed Swimming merit badge with a little extra attention from the aquatics staff. Lots of hard work (for me), lots of fun (for them) and lots of achievement (for all of us). What more could you

Have you thought about changing troops? Maybe there is one near you that you would enjoy more that does more interesting trips or has better meetings. I would think a better unit would maybe rekindle some interest in scouts. Or are you beyond that already? Did you ever like being in scouts? In any event no one should be forced to be in any activity that they hate. It isn't fair to you and it isn't fair for your troop to have a disinterested leader.

I'm with yaworski on that one. Ain't no way I'm name tagging kids. Too much information easily accessable to those who don't need to know. I make it a point to learn the names of everyone in our troop. I expect the youth and adult leadership to do the same. I can't stand to hear anyone in our troop refer to someone in our troop as "that kid" or "hey you." It's simple common courtesy to learn someones name. Yes, I do have trouble with names too but I work very hard at it.

Teach both. It is true that I have not used an axe in years but the skill of using either one safely and effectively is invaluable. I'm a backpacker and I rarely use a compass either but I practice the skill regularly.

The upper 90's with 90+ humidity is standard here. No big deal and nothing the stay indoors over. Now -30 would be a problem for us but that's only if we didn't know it was coming. For our troop you named the only conditions to not camp: close lightning, tornados, hurricane, flood, or not having the right equipment or planning to match the weather. That being said, last March our high adventure backpacking trip had us backpacking through that 100 year rainfall in North Carolina and East Tn. on the hike the year before an unexpected blizzard struck and when I was a scout at the '

I have seen Eagle projects such as what you describe done for elderly shut-ins.

TANGENT ALERT Rooster, the wonderland trail? You will love it. Stunning scenery. If you are driving down to the keys be sure to stop in Jacksonville, Florida and we will be glad to host you for an evening. (there will be food involved nudge, nudge) FYI That invitation is open to all of you out there. END TANGENT For me to grow our troop any more I will need to have much more adult involvement. Currently we have about 40 scouts. Last week we went to summer camp with 4 adults and 31 scouts. Let me tell you, it was almost solid work for us adults. If the math remains the sam

Oh, by the way Little Dove, that sounds like a really cool alternative to the traditional BSA Summer Camp. Hats off to y'all for putting together a low cost, big fun trip. The boys will never forget going to "their" summer camp.

I think we are missing the real issue. The patrol method. Boy Scouts function as a patrol, the patrols come together to make a troop. You can't have the wolf patrol, the eagle patrol, and Junior forming the Troop. By using the patrol method I assume the boys created the menu. We have had meny picky eaters in the past (some for health, some for religion) and usually the boys are able to build a menu that reasonably accomodates everyone's tastes. Key words "within reason." Part of the maturation process is learning that you can not always get things your way. Simply tell her

Interesting, I stated my objections to disparaging others faiths on another thread and was blasted for it.

Good news folks! The Ponil fire is now 100% contained.

You all misunderstand my point and intent, perhaps I could have worded it better but I doubt it would make a difference.

Glad it worked for you but it is not reccomended that you stack positives to shoot a screen. The reason why is that light will creep around the edges and your stensil (ans subsequently your print) will not have a sharp and strong edge to it. A condition known as sawtoothing. Now for what most kitchen table printers are doing stacking positives will work just fine just try to use as few as possible. Just be sure you aren't trying to do any fine detail work. The best way to get it opaque is to use a mechanical pen like a rapidograph pen and use waterproof ink to darken the positive. Rapidograph

I do agree with your definitions Rooster but where we part ways is that I don't find it necessary to call others faiths fraudulent. It is simply enough for me to state that I disagree.

Whoa now Rooster! Think about what you are posting a little harder. I'll have to ask you to reconsider your statements regarding Reform Judaism. You could use that same logic to make identical statements about almost all denominations of almost all faiths. Reverent also means repecting the faiths of others that you don't agree with.

Yaworski. Care to explain that?

I've been in a fire before while backpacking. It's not something I'll soon forget. I won't get anywhere near one or the chance of one if I had the option.