Scoutfish

If you look at some of your achievements, some of them share like or similar ideas. You can save time and get ahead without pushing it by sometimes letting the meeting that ends an achievement also be the start of the next achievement. Let them overlap.

On my way to Ft Bragg Army Base in Fayettville, NC to install some garage doors. Me and the fella working with me had been talking and decided to turn on the radio. The dial was too the usual morning show which really does push it when it comes to humor. WE pretty much though the hosts had gone too far until we got closer to Fayetteville. people ( mostly servicemen by the stickers on their cars) were pulled over all over the place and traffic into Bragg was crazy. We asked somebody what was going on and when we found out, turned around for the 2 hour drive back to our shop in total shock. When we got back to the shop, my boss wanted to know why I was there. I told him we weren't getting into Bragg that day. He hadn't been listening to the radio or heard anything about it either.

Ever since I came back from vacationa few eeks ago, I have been really, really busy at work. I have also cooked inmy DO a few times. WEll, I gueuss I put off that cleaning just a tad too long. OH MAN! It was sour! So I cleaned it out and allthough it might not necessarily need it, I decided to re-season it. We happen to use Canola oil for cooking instead of veggie oil, so that's what I season my DO with. AND IT STINKS during the process. So here's my question: Does it matter if I use vegtabl4e oil over Canola or Corn Oil or animal fat oil? Would any of them stink "not as bad" as canola? No, not any emergency, but ya know, my house does stink a bit for at least a day or two afterward.

"for example, many of the largest corporations (and many smaller ones) are incorporated in Delaware, but headquartered elsewhere" Yep, like Switzerland!

The only problem council has is if you interfear with THEIR money. We hold 2 BBQ chicken fundraisers a year. One in the spring, one in the fall. Council will not ask us not to do this, but they aren't too happy about it. Why? Well, our last one made just a few bucks shy of $5,000.00 in clear profit. Profit to us. But when you sell popcorn, it's 33% (n or close) to the council, 33% to the pack, and 33% to Trails End. Now, if you decided to give 33% of your profit to the council, I'll bet you that they won't have any issues at all.

At our recent leaders meeting, a DL asked us why we had Pack Family camping instead of taking the pack to Council Camp. He then specifically brout up the Parent/Son weekend camping that (of the 3 weekends, 1 weekend ) was the same weekend as our pack campout. So the ACM and myself explained that the pack did not try to hold a pack camping in place of the council, but offered an affordable option to coucil camping. As it is, the upcoming council parent /son campout is $60.00 for 1 registered scoutand 1 parent. Extra parent wants to show up? Then it's extra $$$ Siblings and sister want to go? TOUGH! They are not allowed to go. Now, t our pack campouts, we charge $15 per scout and $5 per parent. Any non registered siblings or sisters are $5 extra. The $15 for the scout covers any and allfood, materials, supplies, beltloops, pins, advancement or rank patches, badges, ribbons, etc...in the fall, it covers new neckers at crossover. The $5 for parents and additional siblings covers just the cost of food. So I mentioned to that DL that I put every council event pertaining to cub scout aged boys on our web site. Any and all parents and scouts are not only welcome, but encouraged to atend any camp, camporee, webeloree, day camp, or roundup, or fun day the counci ofers. Then I mentioned that this years Parent/son weekend was dinosaur trhemed. Everybody thouth it was a cool theme. Then that DL asked why we didn't theme our Pack camping. WEll, I don't know. I never thought about it before, and nobody else ever said anything either. So long story short, we are going to have a pirate theme this Oct. . Pretty easy choice, we are on the coast, we are 5 mins from Topsail Island, NC, live in the greater Topsail area,our schools are : N.Topsail Elem, S.Topsail Elem, andTopsail Elem. They are the Topsail Pirates. OKay, rambling now... So, have you themed your pack campouts? I suppose it's normal, it's just that we haven't before.

Well, hindsight is 20/20. Anybody can say : "WEll,you should have done.." Now, it sounds like you are what scouting was/is/ should be about: You became an adult (argueably) too soon, yet , you survived based on what you learned and experience in scouting! Looks like something worked the way it was supposed to. So, want to get back into it? Why not? You can always come back and if you decide it'sa bad idea...walk away, But if you don't, you'l always wonser "what if....".

I think it's funny when I put any real thought into it. So the LDS church doesn't do things exactly the way we think they should. Or at the very least..we actually aren't sure how they do most of their stuff, but we ARE sure we won't like it! So what? Who cares? Do you really care about teh why's what if's or how comes? I see it like this: I am personally friends with people who are ( in no ranking order) Jehovah's witnesses, Jewish, gay and lesbian, athiests, a self proclaimed Bhuddist, a few atrophists( just too lazy and self centered to be anything )and suych. So? Well that's just exactly it! SO what! These people have plenty of different views, beliefs, lifestyles and rites that are so way completely different than mine. But they don't make me do anything different from what I want of believe. I am personally affected more so by personal preference than religion: taking shoes off in a house, no smoking, children being seen but not heard, pets vs no pets, style of music, air freshener, taste in art, etc... I have known a family from Pa for many years. They moved here in Nc back in the mid 80's. First time I went to their house, I was asked: " Would yens like a pop?" I had no idea what she asked me! In a few minutes, I found out she wanted to know if I wanted a soda. My Jehovah friend will accept profit sharing at the end of the year, but not the Christmas bonus I get. But either way, he still gets the $$$. So the LDS doesn't do this or that. They do this...but differently than we do. So what? My neighbor eats fish for Christmas while I eat turkey. But we both put on jackets when it's cold outside. I like to take my showers at night... after I have worked all day long geting hot, sweaty and dirty. My wife takes showers in the morning before going to her job working around people. My son ( if he had his way) would only take 3 showers a year. I drink Mountain Dew, my wife drinks sweet tea. Mt son hates any form of carbonated soda . So what? My point is...other than being just plain nosey and possibly control freaks, why do you care what a troop that you are not a part of does? It doesn't change your troop or what you do. When is your B&G? When is your crossover? Where do you camp and when camping, what is your menu? What is your fundraiser? What day of the week are your meetings? Day or night? Inside or out? If it's different from mine, is it wrong or is mine wrong? And maybe that's why there are so many claims of the LDS not hanging out with us: Would you want to if everything you did was chastized fopr not being the "right:" way of doing it? All I am saying is this: They tok a program, tweaked it a little bit so that it works for them and their beliefs. WE do the same thing amongst ourselves wether it be when and where you camp, you EBOR's, how you select leadership, what your policies are and what way you raise money. Lets don't be the pot calling the kettle black.

Well, seeing as how the dad turned out to be a jerk, at least you can feel good about helping a kid out. No matter how bad the CC screwd you, the kid probably has no clue at all. And I guess you could look at it this way: You still did a good thing even though it turned out bad in the end.

That would be the 1916 version of a celebrity endorsement. "Oooh! Look who thinks we are cool!"

You didn't understand my true intentions/ thoughts.. Your responce just rubbed me the wrong way. Nothing either of us should let bother us. Ive let worse stuff not phase me and I have gotten over worse things. Not worth worrying about. Mark

And you have to wonder.....in keeping with how government works....how may completely unrelated things things were snuck in with it .

I wonder how many people do not realize that the speaker's right is the audience/congregations' left?

daddy long legs aren't "rea;" spiders, They are toys! Nah, what I meant was Brown Recluse, black widow or Wolf Spiders ( which while not poisoinous, just look like it!) I don't mind bumble bees, most bees or wasps in general or most bugs. But I wouldn't want to sit down, get started and look up to see a big ole paper wasp nest, big ugly spider starimng at me or any snakes. Then again, I'd probably finish my purpose for being there.... real quick! LOL!

Dances, I tried to post a similar question last nightm but my computer suddenly got hardheaded! So, If I am not part of the church, not participating in a religios based or themed activity, and happen to be in the sanctuary ( for whatever reason) ...would I be obliged to put the curch flag in a position of more prominace over the US flag. Or likewise, I could be there for a religious reason, and in that circumstance, feel that religion and duty to zGod is not bound by constraints of Nationalilty or geography. Personally, it has never been an issue to me. If a chucrh wants their flag to be prominant, I'm cool with it, Vice versa too. If the US Flag is prominant, I'm okay with that too. I guess I am not disrespected by other folks doing things their own way. I only fel disrespected when they make it clear thei plan was to purposely disrespect me, But even then, I won't , because I will not let them have that power over me. Anyways, great question!

As for everybody else.... Thanks, I appreciate the answers and advice.

Scoutnut. Okay, I can agree that a misunderstanding happened at the beginning. But for you to argue what I meant and what I am thinking is 100 percent without a doubt PURE ARROGHANCE! I told you what I meant, what I was looking for. I do not care for, nor will I accept you wanting to argue my intent! PERIOD! I am telling you that because it was more than one den, I wasn't sure. If you want to call me a liar, then do it, don't be chicken! And as for my comment: "I'm not gonna say wether they should or shouldn't." Well, Since I wasn't sure, I did not want to say no when it might be they could. Likewise, I was not gonna say yes, when the possibilty existed that they couldn't. Instead of just tossing out an answer, I called my council office which gave me a "definant maybe" for an answer. So I thought to myself: "Hey! I know, I'll ask the advice of some very knowledgeable and experienced scouters. Guess what happened? Some gave me answers. Some decided that( even though I specifically asked for the right thing to do)... I was trying to circumvent the rules.....then took it upon themselves to look down their nose at me. Thanks. I'll be sure to remember that next time I need advice or want to witness some scout spirit.

WAKWIB, I almost agree with you about people getting turned off, but then, If they do, I can't say I feel a loss. Now what do I mean by that: Well, my thougts are this: This is an Issues and politics thread. Maybe it should be more acurately described as " Politics : If you don't agree, I have an issue with that!" Whch pretty much sums up politics for me> If I had to write a definition for politics... Politics: n; A condition of steadfastly and hardheadedly sticking to an ideal or thought, without any "real" proof as to why, and relentlessly arguing with those who do not support that ideal for the same reasons. I mean, politics. What more is there to say? So people might get turned off, but that is the nature of politics.

I am still new to scouting...at least, in comparison to most of you. Been doing it for 2 years and just became the Cub Master of my pack. I started out as a very active parent. I am not the type to wait for somebody to ask me to help, rather, I will approach you and ask you : "What do you need help with and where at?" But I have noticed ( inmy pack at least) that even though we have the 20%/80% rule, it is for two different reasons: 1) Some people are just content to show up and let everybody else do the work. Yeah, you know the type well, Matter of fact,I bet you can spot them a mile away on the very first night! 2) But there is another reason too, and you may be guilty of it, just not consciously. And while you are not aware of it, it is very obvious to those who "do not help". Sometimes, people do ask to help, or what to know what they can do, and we tend to brush them off because we just know that if we let them do it,they will not do it rightand will soooo screw it up. Or maybe they wan't do it the way we want them too. Or we just hand them the worst of the jobs. They pick up on this too . I have seen both sides of it. B

Well, earlier, I said it would be my trained patch. And yeah, simple as it is, it makes me feel pretty good. But a few things changed since then, so now my CubMaster patch means the most to me. Earlier this summer, I was approached by the Former Cub Master with the full endorsement of the ACM, CC and COR to become the new Cub Master. It,s an honor and I am flattered because they thought I was the person who most exemplified the God,Family , and Country values , and that I had no problem letting my inner 9 year old come out. I can get serious with other leadership when neccesary, but I also get along with everybody too. Anyways, I can say that my Cub Master patch means the most to me.....especially as I didn't even see it coming!

Our Co is methodist. We have a Us flag and either the Methodist flag or Christian. I honestly do not know as I have never actualluy seen it unfurled.WEll, even more honestly, I would recognize the difference. So, the flag is on our left as we face the altar. It is not within the railing of the altar area, but is on a raised area just outside of it. So when we let the various dens act as color guard, or biggest challenge ( which isn't much of a challenge) is to have them march in with theflag on the right of the procession, but cross over to the left side for salute and the Pledge of Allegiance.

Now,I know that you or I could say something in a jokingly sarcastic tone, and it would be lost in here. Or maybe somebody says something tongue in cheek and again, without audio - totally lost. But I feel that I made it completely clear ( at least by the third post I made) that I wanted to do the right thing. "Here's my position: I want to accomidate them if it's aloowed and possible to do it. I'm not gonna say wether they should or shouldn't."

Now see....Those are the answers I was looking for. I NEVER said I was gonna skirt the rules and alow a DEN to go camping. Matter of fact, the very first ting I said was( you can quote it): "Now, right off the bat, I want to explain to them that you can't camp on the den level" So, you'd think I made it clear I wasn't endorsing DEN level camping. After I explained the propossed dynamics of the campout, I also stated( again, quote it if you want) : "Now, in my opinoin - which I am well aware may be very, very wrong - the fact that there are two seperate dens changes it from den camping to pack camping." So again, I was not deliberately trying to brak rules, but was of the mindset that since two different dens were wanting to do this, that it was no longer a den thing, but a pack thing. I even said I was well aware that I could be wrong about it. Then I asked for you guys to set me straight because ( quote again): "I'm pretty sure I know, but that whole 2 den thing is what is throwing me off." So, I do appreciate the answers, but the tone of some of them flat out make me wonder how many people get turned off from scouting. Scoutnut, while the advice you gave was technically correct( about den vs pack)and I appreciate it since that was what I was asking...... You totally and completely turned an honest question into a personal gripe for an action that was not there. Why am I in the program if I do not intend to follow it? REally? Let me ask you this: Why do you give advice and answer inquiries if you do not actually read or understand them? WOW! How arrogant of you to misread, misunderstand something, and then chastize me when in fact, you were completely off base and flat out wrong. Basically, you took somebody seeking advise because THEY WANTED TO DO THE RIGHT THING, and blasted them for doing the wrong thing! Now, I personally can let it roll right off my back, but I can very well imagine somebody getting the same kind of responce from you and deciding that they will NEVER ask you anything again! As far as my honesty, if I was planning on being dishonest, cheating the system and going against the program...why would I bother asking anybodies advice? If I was going to sneak by or flat out ignore the rules, I'd just do it.

I have 2 Bear dens that want to camp. They came to me to see if they can, and what they need to do to be able to do it. Here's my position: I want to accomidate them if it's aloowed and possible to do it. I'm not gonna say wether they should or shouldn't. Matter of fact, one of the DL's is in his 5th year of being a Dl ( 2 sons) He's not a beginner. He has enough experience to know if it's going great, just good or badly. Personally, I do not see it being any more exhuasting or burnout causing than going to youth soccer AND football AND baseball practice 3 times a week plus weekend games. Most of the boys do this all year long. Year after year. And they can't wait to do it again. Anyways, I'll leave the burnout or excitement to them. I'm just looking for a way to enable them to be able do it.

Nah, I'm not ignoring you. Now, I did mean to say, She said they ( I assume Council, not BSA) wants us to go to council camps) Not that we had to, but they want us to. Okay, so this wasn't my idea, I didn't bring it up, nor did I push. suggest, or mention it to them. As far as burnout, yeah,it could happen, but the boys love it. Some of our parents go camping 6 or 7 times a year outside of scouting anyways and the only reason they don't do it more is because of work, money, etc.. Some of these scouts and parents would trade off this camping instead of the Parent/son camping which costs $60, ( per 1 parent- 1 scout) plus the siblings can go too. Again, I an not asking, suggesting, or pushing for this. They came up with it themselves and have done so because the interest is there. At any rate, if the kids do get tired of it, none of them are going to force it. Oh, one more thing: Thuis is not a regular den meeting camping thing. If any scout did not go, it would not affect anythuing that happens duroimng the course of regular metings. Know what I mean? If they were working on acheivements at regular den meetings , the 1 night campout would not have any bearing on that. But anyways, the DL's and parents are not completely ignorant of the kids, They are not gonna drag a bunch of boys out camping who are tired of it.