qwazse

Really? That would be news to a whole bunch of Buddhist (and a bunch of people of quite a few other faiths). Though I guess you could be one of those people that don't believe Buddhism is a real religion. Seems that TJ (if he truly exists and is not some random bits projected on the internet in advance of a trisexual octupus-like exploitation of our blue orb) would be squarely in the non-religious/atheist camp. He makes it clear that he has no need to align himself with the powers of the universe. Any thing that is represented as a power is mere atoms just like the rest of us. That i

Took some young adults on a couple miles of the Standing Stone Trail last Friday morning. Huckleberries by the bagful at the look-out just north of Throne Room! A hearty rattle let one young man know that he was picking a little to close to one Timber Rattler's sunning spot! A cupful of red raspberries in our garden today.

AS, First, thanks for being your son's DL, that's a huge gift that he will never forget. Second, stay fit (or get fit, if it applies). The boy will need you and his mom for that "one more hike" or whatever adventure is around the corner. I know one boy who only did a few campouts with scouts, but he get his mom and older brother to do some camping weekends since then. Third, stay trained -- especially youth protection and the other online stuff. Patrols that do overnights on their own need chaperons these days. (Really, they don't, but it's a paperwork thing.) If your YPT is up-to-da

From what I gather from the above, no secret regulations were used. I don't see the issue of "supreme being" relevant in the decision. P.S. Anyone else ever gotten this error message? I get that error a lot. I think it means that the website has timed out your session. To salvage what I've typed, I select the text and cut it. Then I refresh the window. It it shows that I'm logged out, I log back in, move to the "post reply" box, and paste the message I was typing. Then click post.

This sounds like one of those things you will want to bring in your DE (and maybe your council professional for venturing, if you have one) for guidance. Me, I would have some lifeguards available. Maybe a local swift water rescue group would mele emselves available. VFD's might see this as a chance to promote themselves. I would file a tour plan for this as a recruiting event. There are lot of people to talk to and clear this with, but it sounds like a very worthwhile opportunity.

No. But once you've had to have discussions with parents concerned over little Johnny being exposed to girls on scouting activities, you begin to realize that rationality doesn't always cut it. Anyway, the YPT is designed for accountability against worst case scenarios. For this, well-oiled groups like the one described above bear the brunt.

Just picked up Dale Carnegie's _How to Win Friends and Influence People_ (literally -- it was in the free bin outside the book collector's store -- that's how I roll). Opinions anyone?

Regardless of method (we use 2 tubs), washing and cooking should be patrol activities. Obviously if you are packing in, things are a little more complicated. Even if you use folding tubs, you have to haul the water. If we only have a large part, we wash in that, set soapy dishes out, dump the soapy water, add water+sanitab, and rinse. As mentioned in the other posts. Backpacking becomes a much different animal. (But I at least try to use soap and a washcloth.)

How significant are awards in your communities? I've known some Christians in whose faith tradition they are a really big deal. In mine, folks view them as quirky, if not a little arrogant. So, I never felt comfortable using the religious awards program as a selling point for scouting.

"Venturing would probably work well as an addon to the NFTY/USY programs. I've heard complaints that being involved as an officer in a youth group wasn't resume building ..." This is very true, but ... organizing a regional event while an officer in a youth group IS resume building. In my first encounter with a venturing officers' association, a young man (who happened to be Jewish) was organizing a council-wide shooting sports evening. Since then I've seen venturers pull together all manner of activities that pull together dozens to hundreds of youth throughout the area (that include

View from the goyim side: many decades ago, I began to get my head around Jewish culture once I left my small town to attend Pitt. I met folks who identified as conservatives, orthodox, reformed, etc... . One day, at lunch, I introduced a reformed young lady to a Christian Jew . I didn't bring up religion, but the last names kinda gave it away, so she asked about his story (which was mixed marriage parents, pretty devoted but never pushing their kids one way or the other, so in high school he came to the conclusion that he could be both). As soon as she found out, she lit into him (not in a

Don't knock yourself, DFS. There is no amount of polite that makes youth-led easier for folks with narrow gullets to swallow. They just have to shape up or ship out. When I started as a crew advisor, I made that very clear by not accepting a youth application if it looked like any part of it besides the signature was completed by a parent. (There were some folks who wanted me to just automatically enroll every eligible scout in the troop!) That was the "yank back" that some folks needed to realize that their meddling hands in the lives of my youth were gonna be slapped if they kept it up

If you have a local paper, taking out an ad might be good. "The family of Eagle Scout would like to publicly thank the following for contributing to his successful project, : ." Some small papers would probably accept a letter to the editor from the boy. Keep in mind that donors sometimes want a little anonymity. You know your contributors better than any of us to make that judgement.

I think at some point you need to tell the Mom that advancement is only one method of scouting! The fact that he said "no" on his own does say something about the him. Now a lot of times I do get kids who are overly self-critical. They may make too many goals for themselves, or they may think that once they hold that patch their rough edges will magically disappear. But regardless, they were able to say something for themselves.

I can't answer for the cub program, but I have gone through the paperwork to apply for alternate requirements for a kid with a clear physical disability that prevented him from swimming and surviving. I am pretty sure that as a cub, he simply didn't earn aquanaut. For Aspergers, we generally take aquatic instruction slowly. We get other scouts to leave the swimmers area and spend time with the boy in non-swimmers area. Scouting is about overcoming psychological barriers. Generally scouts with this disability don't want special accommodation anymore. It makes their award seem "fake" to them.

The definitive response against iconoclasm was written in the 8th century. You can find an excerpt of it on the wiki entry of that term. ... we declare that we defend free from any innovations all the written and unwritten ecclesiastical traditions that have been entrusted to us. One of these is the production of representational art; this is quite in harmony with the history of the spread of the gospel, as it provides confirmation that the becoming man of the Word of God was real and not just imaginary, and as it brings us a similar benefit. For, things that mutually illustrate one another

Not sure why anyone would expect NYLT to be a slam-dunk qualification for SPL. I'm also not sure why it's a problem if all of your trained kids take non-SPL positions. If the non-SPLs truly have NYLT koolaid in their blood, they ought a be servant-leaders regardless of the patch on their sleave. They will help the SPL be successful. Maybe the one kid who was not NYLT trained was busy being a den chief, going to camp with the troop and the pack, and being a camp counselor at his church. Son #2 and a buddy wound up taking the VLST (yes, the adult leader course for venturers, long story)

How sad. An aweful way to learn how important it is to spread out if you don't have a grounded structure to shelter in.

Definitely the primary way to configure the tent. Bugs fly in one way and fly out any of three others. Perfect shade and ventilation for siesta. Still enough open at your head to enjoy the evening stars. Only problem: when you lay down for the night and discover some over-zealous scouter left the latrine lantern on and it's shining in your eyes!

This is a topic covered at some point in most Christian education curricula that I've seen. (I've only worked with a small sample, so I don't know how pervasive it is, but I think the case that Merlyn sites was a motivation to make sure mainstream denomination members were prepared when the Jehovah's witnesses knocked at their door.) In a nutshell ... The pledge in its current revision calls for allegiance to the "one nation under God". That is, inasmuch as the nation is subservient to (and not a replacement for) God, a Christian's allegiance should not be torn. Jewish thought falls al

A couple of years ago, I met a troop from Michigan hiking the North Country Trail/Minister Creek loop in the Allegheny National Forest. They packed in 3 boys to a fly (maybe 2 older scouts) and seemed to be having a great time. My family, we get tents on sale (never spent more than $200), or at garage sales (Mrs. got me two pup tents for a dollar, I replaced the flimsy poles with cut-down scraps from a dining fly -- best pieces of nylon I ever had.) Keep in mind that I'm a tenting optional kinda guy.

Okay, maybe I'm biased. But, at a certain point you have to prepare a kid to count positives. Sure, he did precious little, but always bring him to what he DID accomplish. Who knows? That one troop tradition might outlast all of that management training we cherish so highly. Here's hoping at least one more "yes" is on the checklist in the next few weeks.

Then he contributed! (Can you guess my favorite scouting game?)

Those "conveniences" are not enough. It is the advent of home entertainment that is the key convenience. You can't lay blame at the foot of a program that boys did not even know existed or notice as different. I was a boy scout throughout the change in one direction and then the other. I did not see any difference in any of it. I still don't see anything signficant until the ODR uniform came about (an atrocity). What happened in the early 1970's was that TV exploded. It went from flickery, B&W lone ranger re-runs and test patterns at night to 19" color screens being in multiple rooms

FWIW, just came back from a week with boys who were having a great time. Even a senior scout who made it his point to "do nothing" the whole week, got sucked into a little service project I "volunteered" us for, got his fellow scouts involved in games, and genuinely had a good time trying to be obnoxious but failing miserably at it. This was not a kid swimming against culture, but he liked his scout buddies, and if it meant bunking in the woods, then so be it. On the other hand, some of the more rugged boys who went on a 5 mile hike after an evening meal came back with flowers in their