Novice_Cubmaster

Wow - I haven't laughed this hard since my son was 3 years old, and his surgical and hospital bills hit my health plan's 1+ million dollar lifetime cap. Thanks to the "Katie Beckett" medicaid deeming waiver, he got the medical care he needed - and we didn't have to move into a cardboard box. Keep in mind, my witty friend, in health & finance - most Americans are only 2 circumstances away from being well & truly fouled up beyond repair. NC

Adult Leader: Blah, blah... blah blah God. Blah blah, blah blah blah duty. Blah blah blah... Who wants to sing the "Yogi Bear" song? Cubs: We Do!!! Yeah!!!!! Fortunately, that which is so important to adults, isn't that much to the cubs. PS - my sons were the only Jewish kids in the pack, chartered by the local Methodist church. (More power to the UMC, by the way - good folks). NC

Stosh, Gotta correct you on 2 points... "2) Genealogists will have a nightmare trying to link Jesus to the House of David because Joseph was the descendent of David. Mary was from the House of Levi, i.e. her kinsman Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist was a Levite." In Judaism, tribal lineage is Paternal. "This is why Passover in the Hebrew calendar is marked as a Thursday after a certain lunar cycle and thus Good Friday/Easter jump all over the solar calendar." Passover isnt always a Thursday (cuz that would be too easy). It is a lunar calendar-based date, so it wo

This makes perfect sense. My father-in-law was a fantastic ER doctor, and is responsible for 1000's of children choosing to become little old Jewish men. NC

Let the Webelos use knives to chop vegetables, etc. "Yes, you can do something with a knife besides make a pointy stick". Also, let them make something fairly simple & kid-friendly - like mac&cheese. NC

Irsap, go down to the Scout Store & get yourself the "I'm a Great Dad" award - you've earned it. NC

An "Eagle Mill" is any unit where getting a eagle is a goal, not a side-effect of their program. NC

I was really bothered by this statement: "I guess the real question we need parents asking themselves is "would I rather have my son be an accomplished musician or an honorable man?"" I think a lot of Scouters overrate Scouting in terms of turning boys into good men, and the rightness of the cause. And along with it, there's a real sense of entitlement - "why shouldn't Scouting demand as much attendance and committment (both from the boy and the parents) as band, or football?", or "why won't the city /public school ignore their own anti-discrimination policies and do fill-in-the-blank fo

Neither of my boys were much on reading for pleasure til at least middle school/start of high school. I got tired of tossing unread copies of Boys Life. Was very happy when the unit stopped lumping it into the dues & made it optional. NC

onevoice, you ask "...is that unlike the U.S.Constitution, the scout law and oath don't have a mechanism for being amended. How do you think you will enact such a change?" I'm completely unable to enact a change to BSA policy, as all Scouters are. What will change BSA policy? Dwindling numbers, and a diminished stature. Look at some of the other forum topics, with titles like "why does band beat scouting?", "why do parents support sports over scouting?", "Council selling Camp due to lack of funds", "United Way no longer supporting Scouting", "City Bans...". Even in this thread, a

onevoice - gay and morally straight are not incompatible in everybody's religion or system of beliefs. There are those among us that think every gay person leads a promiscuous Fire Island lifestyle. Which is as unrealistic as judging your hetero lifestyle by Lindsay Lohan's, or Magic Johnson's behavior. And I think you can be reverent and an atheist. If you show respect for the world you live in, the people around you, your"good fortune" (what theists would call "blessings" in your life, and not take everything good in your life for granted - then I'd say you're reverent. perdidoc

A lot depends on how many new 5th grade boys you have. And how many of them want to try cramming 18 months into 9. If you have enough to make a functional den, and they really want to make a go of it - then let'm try & have your existing W1 & W2 leaders facilitate & mentor. Main thing is, they should get as much as possible out of Cubs as they can. And have fun. NC PS - just because your current W2's might be crossing over in February or March doesn't mean this new crop can't take a few months more.

I dont think city bans have any impact. But what does is the delusion some scouters have that the BSA is some great moral compass and the accompanying "holier than thou" attitude. A large segment of the population apparently doesn't find being gay or atheist in contradiction with all the things scouts are supposed to be - brave, loyal, trustworthy - and even reverent & morally straight. I think Horizon said it beautifully. Even if someone isn't excluded from Scouting, they may not want their son to be part of it because others are excluded - for reasons that are alien to wh

Sounds like Dad needs to come to the next campout OUT OF UNIFORM - not as an ASM, but as his son's father. With his sole task being to OBSERVE his son's behavior, his son's interaction with the uniformed leaders, and be ready to take his son home if necessary. NC

Scoutfish, Make sure somebody who can well represent your pack goes to school night. We are one of two packs that recruit from the local elementary school. The DE arbitrarily directs families to one pack or the other based on a map. The other CM & I used to let families know, we didn't care which pack the boys went to, as long as there was the best chance their son would stay in scouting. We told them to consider which pack the boy's friends were in, what night the pack/dens meet, location and activities. One thing we'd mention is our annual special trip - like to the USS Y