mmhardy

Now as a Scout leader the boys look at the knot and say, "You made Eagle?" My response is the same. "Yes I did. That was for my day. But today Scouting is all about you son. How are you doing on the trail to Eagle?" Always take the opportunity to inspire others.

So just to be clear. If your asked some boy in is BOR, "do you believe in God" and he cheerfully replied. "Why yes every monrning my mother and I give our small milk offering to Ganesh", you would smile and move on? It's a small world after all.

I believe that Scouts should have privilege of having the use of a cell phone with guidelines. Similar to tote-n-chip;. nip the corners and the privilege is denied. Its another tool to use, and another opportunity to teach respect for the tool and others.

janssenil your 2 for 2 on your excellent points. Our troop committee had our kick off meeting this week. We had 8 boys at Jambo. The parents were appreciative that I ensured that my son had a cell phone and wanted to chip in for the cost of the August bill. (He allowed all of his mates to use it. After 10pm it was free.) The point here is that we have another opportunity to teach our boys how to properly use tool that will be used everyday. Part of the program is teaching our boys to be prepared. The hand wringing about homesickness, getting lost, playing games, etc. pale to its usefulness if used only one time in the Scouts career to save a life.

Way to go janssenil!!! I'm with you 100%. Your absolutely right about setting some simple rules about cell phone use. The hang wringing and "if" statements about cell phones are the same concerns that can be said about knifes, matches, playing cards, etc. I sent my boy off with his phone to Jambo. He is not going to visit a major city and be in what is more of a 10 day social event without a lifeline. After the events there I'm glad he took it. Verizon made sure that the coverage at the event was 100%. For most boys 14 and over the homesickness argument doesn't hold anymore. Just to be clear. I agree with setting some basic rules about cell phone use.

God Bless You...thanks for the sage advice. TTFN!

Jeez Louise...stick a fork in this one will ya. It's done, agree to disagree and move on. Its sinful pride in ones own belief system that being exhibited when when I see endless yammering about this topic. "Sinful pride amounts to fear that we won't be recognized for our imagined greatness. But true humility has no fear." "Gal. 5:26 reads "Let us not be conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." Sinful pride is the cause of all lies, false teachings and sinful strife. Satan is the father of lies, false teachings and strife. Jn. 8. It is impossible for sinful, human nature not to be puffed up by praise for self." http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/bul/trin-17.html

Its been years but I remember a high to low "pecking order" of the tradability of patches. Council Strips were first, followed by Scout Camp, then Camporees followed by anything with the council name on it. Older and rare was aways better. Last were the fund raising and patches with no indication of were they came from. Since OA could only be traded by other OA members they were kinda on a league of their own. Is this still the case? What are the hot patches this year?

If the OA ritual is done with the respect and proper attention then you can't help with getting a spiritual feeling from it. If you have ever attended a native American pow-wow the feeling can be very similar.

Hold on..as a dad of a participant who has been in touch with my 14 year old every evening via CELL PHONE (thank you Verizon COWs and my insistance that he take one) I can tell you that there is more water then you can shake a hose at. At subcamp 11 there are many sources of water there and throughout the camp. He says it is not a problem. Face it a heat index of 116 is just a bit beyond the norm combine that with excited boys and the activity in the arena field under that sun and you will get heat problems. Many of these boys will have the same issue when football practice starts up in a couple of weeks.

Since the troop is chartered by a church, its up to the church to decide to hold OA elections. BSA is a youth program that a chartering org subscibes to. If they don't want to participate in the OA program then so be it. However it would be a shame to base that choice on ignorance.

The official radio station of the Jamboree is streaming live. What a wonderful way to keep in touch. www.bsajamboree.org

Lets face it the 2010 Jamboree will be the biggest ever. I figure 100K total leaders and scouts. The power of the Internet will be in full force with live feeds from every subcamp. The east cost or west coast are natural selections with it close proximity to the media. 8000 acres minimum. I would say Salt Lake City, Utah....past Olympic venue. High LDS support. Better climate this time of year no question. ??

Latest Update.... Yesterday brought more high temperatures. Jack said that they did allot of patch trading. I guess our new council strip is in high demand. I was asked to send out a few more. I had given him a hand full of camporee patches that I never was able to trade off at the 1977 Jambo. He turned that into a big bagful. I guess a 28 year old mint condition patch trades well. He did say that they agreed not to start any more trading until after the dinner hour. It takes too much time. They have been making use of the bus service. They have been all over the camp. He got the mail that we sent out on Saturday. So mail gets to them with little delay. Today they plan on doing the army obstacle course and a low ropes COPE course. The opening show is today and they know George Bush will be there. Everyone is healthy and still having a good time.

Our troop has established an informal mailing list. If any of the boys check in, the parent writes up a outline of what is going on. It would be great to do the same here...albeit on a bigger scale. Here is my report from last night. Just talked to Jack briefly. I told him to pass the word that if anyone was to check in with their folks that now is a good time to do it. The boys got lots of free stuff from the Army and Navy. Board games and hats. The check in was uneventful. The heat has been incredible with many heat related problems.No problems with our boys. The leaders had everyone come back to camp during this heat warning. They heard about those killed. Said it occurred when a tent pole hit an electrical line. Sam and Jack just chased a wolf spider out of their tent. Rain and wind look to be on the way. That should bring some heat relief. Everyone is having a great time. Their camp is just about all set up. Tomorrow there should be a photo. The National Guard took a picture of them...go to http://www.guardcarphotos.com/

WWJD? = What Would Jesus Do?

How did you handle BB and Archery? Since both are not considered activities that are conducted at den/pack meetings as part of the program but at a Scout camp.

IMHO I'm not so sure...I get the sense that there are some folks that would get pretty corked over a WWJD?...pass the wine, T-Shirt running around at Scout camp. Pardon the pun.

I guess what is objectionable to some may be viewed as a bed rock of truth to someone else. For example...if I came to camp wearing a shirt that said "WWJD...be an orthodox Jew" I'm certain that there are some who's head would spin while others see it as point of absolute truth. So which point of the Scout law would I be breaking?

It would be great if someone with a digital camera could post shots of the various troop gateways.

I agree. Disciplinary Action has a ring that I don't like in that situation. There was an opportunity, apparently missed, to Offer Guidance. Regardless of what the parents allow I have no problem voicing a tactful opinion on any offensive activity. Freedom of speech works both ways. Teens are testing the limits....all the time. Its the adult job to help define those limits.

Ah the Oath....almost forgot about that. Society of Friends; the Quakers, have refused to take oaths. Their belief is that one should tell the truth at all times. Taking an oath implies that there are two types of truthfulness: one for ordinary life and another for special occasions.

Fair enough. What about the 15 year old on his 3rd summer camp? I'm pointing out that cell phones are now a commonly recognized safety device. If the 11 year old gets hurt and the SM has taken away his cell phone then the 11 year old's mommy may own the camp! Cell phones are not Game Boys. Maybe Scouts should cover the use of cell phonesnot only at camp but in public. I think BSA National is seeing the light. Any troop wishing to earn the Emergency Preparedness Award the requirements indicate..."Be sure everyone knows to call 911 and other emergency numbers; and how to call on different kinds of phones, such as cell phones." A cell phone is listed as an item in the Jamboree Travel Emergency Preparedness Kit. See http://www.scouting.org/jamboree/resources/10-290/

Control Freaks.... Case in point FOR a cell phone. A leader got dehydrated and went into heat stroke. Hot red and dry. Nasty. Another leader upon seeing this fliped open his Motorola and called 911. The guy was saved. This was life and death stuff folks...not homesickness. My son was a camper then a CIT on waterfront. While working he had his phone clipped on. No one said Boo. How does everyone feel about a Scout with a Zippo Lighter?

Geez your right...I went and looked up President Bush's Executive Orders on Faith Based funding...it can be found here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/12/20021212-6.html The two big points about it are: (d) All organizations that receive Federal financial assistance under social services programs should be prohibited from discriminating against beneficiaries or potential bene-ficiaries of the social services programs on the basis of religion or religious belief. Accordingly, organizations, in providing services supported in whole or in part with Federal financial assistance, and in their outreach activities related to such services, should not be allowed to discriminate against current or prospective program beneficiaries on the basis of religion, a religious belief, a refusal to hold a religious belief, or a refusal to actively participate in a religious practice; (e) The Federal Government must implement Federal programs in accordance with the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. Therefore, organizations that engage in inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, and proselytization, must offer those services separately in time or location from any programs or services supported with direct Federal financial assistance, and participation in any such inherently religious activities must be voluntary for the beneficiaries of the social service program supported with such Federal financial assistance; and However this point left me wondering: (f) Consistent with the Free Exercise Clause and the Free Speech Clause of the Constitution, faith-based organizations should be eligible to compete for Federal financial assistance used to support social service programs and to participate fully in the social service programs supported with Federal financial assistance without impairing their independence, autonomy, expression, or religious character. Accordingly, a faith-based organization that applies for or participates in a social service program supported with Federal financial assistance may retain its independence and may continue to carry out its mission, including the definition, development, practice, and expression of its religious beliefs, provided that it does not use direct Federal financial assistance to support any inherently religious activities, such as worship, religious instruction, or proselyti-zation. Among other things, faith-based organizations that receive Federal financial assistance may use their facilities to provide social services supported with Federal financial assistance, without removing or altering religious art, icons, scriptures, or other symbols from these facilities. In addition, a faith-based organization that applies for or participates in a social service program supported with Federal financial assistance may retain religious terms in its organization's name, select its board members on a religious basis, and include religious references in its organization's mission statements and other chartering or governing documents. I'll still be interested in the appeal.