saltheart

Hmmm..., well, as the preponderance of flags sold and flown in this country likely do not 'meet code' exactly, they are still rectangular and fairly close. I probably won't really worry about this until I see square or round flags being flown...

The ASM positions defined by BSA are a good place to start, but sometimes troop size can dictate a little deviation from the norm. If your troop is sizable, then having more 'trained' adult leaders in the form of ASM's can definitely be a plus. How they are used will vary from troop to troop. How they are used will greatly impact the interest with which they approach the job. And the designation of ASM for each will be something that varies from troop to troop, also. As Bob indicated, some of the tasks you've outlined can be the territory of the committee. In our troop, the number of ASM'

"Even evaluating our performance has to be taught." If you're saying what I think you're saying...it's a very good point. All too often we spend much of our time evaluating the performance of the Scouts, but rarely take the time, as individual leaders or a a group, to do some self-evaluation. Are we setting a good example for the Scouts to follow? Or are we telling and then expecting? Have they understood what we've tried to teach them? Have our teaching methods been just so much Greek to them? The self-evaluation process is not natural for many adults to undertake. As parents, we ca

How much should the boys be responsible for? The ideas already presented spell a lot of that out. But you'll find that what you can expect and not expect will vary with the boys you're working with. For some boys, working on the more 'adult' details of planning an event or trip come naturally. They can easily adapt and understand what is necessary to make things happen. Others will take more patience and leading to learn those ropes, if they learn them at all, and the adults may have to take a larger role. Nothing wrong with that as long as the Scouts do not 'learn' to be depend entirely on th

A hearty congratulations on being asked. (Here's a little more for I think you'll say yes.) Among your strengths you listed patience. With that single strength you can go far. There very well may be a fellow or gal or 2 or 3 out there who can step up when asked and say unequivocally..."Yes, I'm ready to be SM", without any prior reservations or self-doubts. Most of us (probably 99.99%) were asked, thought about it for 2 minutes, and then jumped in with both feet not knowing just what we were getting ourselves into. And probably only 2% of those regreted the decision. The rest struggl

In my life, there hasn't yet been a generation who did not express that same sentiment about the generation of their offspring. Starting with good 'ol Socrates, that's probably been the case ever since, and will always be. Looking squarely into the mirror in order to see that the clay we've molded into the child is a relflection of ourselves (as a generation) is not an easy thing. And so many avoid it altogether. Most of what the child becomes will be only what our guidance and teaching allows.

Our troop has never 'run it's own rafting trip', but we've gone on plenty. As with many New England troops, we head north to Maine, and raft the Kennebec, Penobscot, and Dead rivers with a commercial rafter. The one we use has been catering to Scouts for many years, but with so many troops partaking in the activity, many commercial rafters now pay some sort of special attention to Scouting groups, both Boy and Girl Scouts.

While there are many movies (some mentioned already) that will bring howls of laughter, my favorite comedy brings only grins and sad snickers. A movie (some call it a cult movie these days) released in the late 60's starring Alan Bates and entitled "King of Hearts".

Absolutely right on target. Not every young man in Scouting 'needs' to earn the Eagle. For those who do? Highest kudos and honors!! For those who don't but have spent their Scouting careers as active and enthusiastic Scouts? Highest kudos and honors, too!!! They've gotten something out of Scouting that they probably wouldn't have found in life otherwise. The single most favorite Scout I had the pleasure to work with in all my years in the organization was a young man who never made First Class. He remained a Second Class Scout until the day he graduated out of the troop...and then went on

"With that in mind, a lot of people think the SM should be the gatekeeper, but I believe the scout should be his own gatekeeper. If a scout ask for a SM conference to go for a BOR and I didn't think he was ready, I would give him the choice of me signing the book with me feeling he wasn't ready and that he might fail the BOR. Or wait until HE felt he was reading. 99% of the time, they choose to wait." Even though in your very next sentence you proclaimed impatience with adults with adults holding all the cards, by your simple act of giving the Scout a choice, you did something very import

The question was asked, in the context of a Scoutmaster Conference, what does 'participate' mean? The bulk of BSA literature and publications is pretty good at defining this and that, but a few things are left to our collective imaginations and common sense. 'Scout Spirit' comes to mind. And so does 'participate'. In my tenure I used to put it to folks this way. In my profession, a couple of times a year each employee has a 'review'. The common knowledge is that these reviews will play a part in subsequent raises and promotions. They are not a guarantee of either. They are an opportunity

In all the years I sat as SM of the troop, I never told a Scout he was too young to make the jump to Eagle. Never had to. Never was I presented with the challenge. The youngest in our troop to begin that trail from Life was 15. In all the years I sat as District and then Council Advancement Chairman, I was only presented with a 13 year old candidate 3 times. In every case, the boy was allowed to follow the trail and seek his goal. No matter what my own personal opinion was, for that opinion did not matter. The written rules are the guide, and can not be changed by me or any volunteer, nor

With regards to the National Supply issue, I doubt that any major manufacturer/distributor/retailer would be interested in taking that on as part of what they do. The market is limited, even thought there's many of us, there's not that many. The return to the company would, therefore be limited, thus their participation would amount to a "good-turn" affair.

Even though I understand all too well the reality of budget shortfalls, funding cuts, and tightening the belt...I find the notion of corporate sponsorship of merit badges with a corporate name attached to the symbol itself to be offensive. Have we come that far as a society (and an organzation) that we are willing to give up some of our self-esteem for the almighty buck to that degree? I would hope not. I'd rather see these corporate types simply recognizing that anonymous sponsorship (by way of name in the paper or on paper only, not on the badge) is a good thing and something that may come b

The G2SS only contains reference to black powder in regards to muzzleloaders and the Riflery Merit Badge. There does not seem to be any reference to 'cannons'. Then again, why would there be?(This message has been edited by saltheart)

If nothing else, this tragic story certainly brings to the forefront the thought that perhaps in our zeal, vigilance, and just plain watchfulness, what with contemporary headlines screaming about crimes on children by adults, perhaps we become just a little too complacent about crimes by children on children in our care, and that they do unforunately happen from time to time. There but for the grace of God go I... And my eyes shall wider be... And although I understand the need, the need is still regretable. When I was a soldier in the jungle, my vigilance attended to my comrade

Something's wrong here. Look at the thread title. Look who hasn't posted.... Bob, you out there? Or have we inadvertently said everything that you might have? Sorry if we did...the question was posed to you and we didn't wait. Go figure...enthusiasm does it every time.

"So is the thought that the BSA is going to be ok with the message that a boy's priest is ok to guide his religious live, but is not a fit leader for the BSA?" I think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves and the situation here. At some time in the near future, the BSA may, indeed, chime in on the subject if the fellow is accepted as a bishop within his church. But long before the BSA may ever be asked to state its opinion on the subject, the church itself will reach its own fork in the road, and the congregations will be tested, and will perhaps divide...long before the BSA has to r

It's been a long time since I've read words that put the issue as clearly, succinctly, and matter-of-factly as Roosters. Thanks, Rooster. Well said, and well done. Those are words worth copying and remembering. Those are words that don't beat around the bush, but cut right to the chase. There has grown, in this country, a genera of folks who define 'respect' as..., "If you don't agree with my position, then you don't respect me." There could be little that is further than the truth. Ours is the right to disagree, but live and let live, but not in my house, nor in my family, nor in my priv

This link might give you a little more information about the subject... http://www.macscouter.com/Cooking/DutchOven.html

Try as I might, I can't edit my profile or do anything at all to or with it as every time I take the chance and enter that realm of cyberspace, I enter a continous loop of pages showing me my username and asking for my password. The very next page verifies that both were correct, sooooo....what do I want to do? When I choose an option, I get back into the page showing me my username and asking for my pass..... ...ad infinitum....so I give up.......

Like I said, we can be our own worst enemy by actually responding to these kind of posts and threads. I can't for a moment believe that the membership here thrives on responding to abuse put out by trolls such as this. I would regard the caliber of the membership as better than that. Certainly the troll thrives on our inability to ignore him. Once a troll realizes that no one will converse with him or respond to his rhetoric, he usually leaves. Even a weed will find its demise in a drought.(This message has been edited by saltheart)

mk9750, The first 20 years or so of my life were spent by and on the sea. I've wondered ever since why I chose to go elsewhere. Now having spent the last many years away from it (but admittedly not too far), I've found just how much I miss it, and wonder if I chose the wrong direction at that fork so long ago. Such is life...and it goes on... And yes, it may be that we would be better off staying ignorant to threads of this ilk. But too often, against my better judgement, my fingers find the keys and a message is posted...even if all it says is..."I should have known better than to p

Good grief, where did this come from? Troll.......... Yet another exmaple of a thread that should have ended with the OP. We can be our own worst enemy by actually responding to this kind of trolling....

A quick search of 'flag etiquette' websites confirms for me that all state flags can be flown at the same height as the American Flag, but not higher. They simply have to be hoisted after, and lowered before, the American Flag. There appears to be no precedent nor difference for Texas.