skeptic

OGE; Do I sense a smidgen of sarcasm?

http://scoutingmagazine.org/2011/12/from-the-chief-get-our-scouts-outside/

No where do I see any authorization for throwing out a completed and approved project that is turned in as part of the Eagle board prep. Once it is signed off by the required individuals, then it is done. Now, discussion of the project might warrant some serious questions and clarifications. We once had to have the candidate fix paperwork relating to hour compilation so to make it clear that he used more than his sister, mother, and father in completing the project. He had not made his work force clear, nor how many hours they actually contributed. We rescheduled his board and he had rewo

Friday night and Saturday morning, February 10-11, 2012. Same location; Oxnard Elks Lodge, 801 South A Street, Oxnard, Ca.

I have had a modicum of success with taking garlic tablets. While now it is also a supplement for generic health, I began using it years ago for camping. Take a few days ahead of time daily, then take it at least once a day at camp, twice if really buggy. Since doing this, have had far less issue with most insects. Horse flies do not care, and no see-ums still swarm, but appear to not like me when they land. Reality is that if you camp, bugs are part of the coping process. I saw one guy with one of those hat fans, and he did not have many bugs around his head; do not know about oth

Happy Boxing Day

Thanks Bart, interesting discussion of the explanation. Still, another fun thing to try and explain old traditions. Realistically, most of the old songs and so on are difficult to really determine origin. Silent Night does appear to have truth to its story. Surely there are a few others. Merry Christmas or whatever you prefer.

Passing along a piece of possible history related to traditions; whether it is accurate or not, I do not know. This answers the old question regarding the meaning of the 12 days of Chrismas: I did not write it, but appreciate the lesson. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each Element in the carol has a code word for a religious r

Years ago, I was honored at Chawanakee with selection for their "Pioneer Hike". It is sort of similar to some OA traditions, and related to their camp tribe, as well. Anyway, one of the things asked of the honorees was to write their thoughts in a log book after the overnight. Following is what I wrote; and it seems to kind of fit here. Pioneer Hike (8-04-83) Reflecting on the scouting way, while set alone within the wood; I saw the boy that once was me who sought to grow, be understood. But now its someone else's son whose youthful zeal rings through the

Kudu; From what I have read in the historical material I have, and also can discern to some extent from old time scouters' stories, and even many photos from the early days, backpacking was not a particularly normal thing. They used trek carts and wagons, as well as pack horses or mules, and carried minimal personal gear in rucksack type gear. Not to say they did none at all, but the other types were far more common. Of course day hikes were a huge part of the program. Often leaders would cart the main gear to a site, and the scouts would then hike to meet them. I suspect that

Am with John in K.C. on this too; bring on the POX. Also bring back the Clinton structure, including actually under budget.

Scoutmaster, or SM has a secondary meaning, "silent member". This was near the end of a page long discussion of meeting ideas and concepts. Amazing how simple it can be.

National Council is trying to take "outing" out of Scouting. BSA hates atheists, agnostics, and Gays. Anyone should be able to join BSA, even if they do not want to work within its rules and traditions. Boy Scouts are all "sissies" and other negative labels indicating weak and lame.

Here is the link to where the report was found. I was not really aware of this particular part of the National site, and find it pretty interesting. Take a look; it is surprisingly helpful in some areas, and actually appears to try and address some things brought by we "trench peons". At least a step in the right direction it seems to me. http://scout-wire.org/2011/12/

Thanks Moose' for your expansion and clarification. Well done. Point of course is that ultimately, it comes back to our own personal convictions and thought process.

Merlyn; You ARE NOT a Scouter, so whatever you do or do not believe makes no difference in this context. You have a complete right to your "non-belief". It just has no place within the Scouting program. Your problem, and many others', is that somehow God, and god have become confused. A God is a specific entity in which someone believes, something greater than self, normally a spiritual idea with certain higher power perhaps, or not; while gods are generic. But, there is really no point in pointing this out to some, as you will continue to argue that you are right, and everyone els

Please do not forget that in the Scouting context, none of this is connected, except as personal beliefs of a particular scouter. ALL religious ideas are acceptable, as long as they admit something greater than ourselves; and that direction is determined at the family and personal levels. So, the Bible is only one of the many possible sacred texts that may or may not apply to this discussion. I truly do not get how so many continue to not fully understand this very important aspect of Scouting. Yes, a unit sponsored by a specific church or other religious institution may have special

Yeah Beavah!

drmbear; If you read B.P.'s writings, they are full of religious references and belief in a higher power. He too felt that Scouting needed to have a foundation built on a spiritual base. But he also recognized that its content would and should be dictated by the family and the scout themselves. No where did he ever indicate a complete separation of spiritual beliefs from the program. If you want Scouting, as it was created, then it MUST have that personal spiritual connection. Now, the other element should, IMO, be a local unit decision.

Moderators; please consider moving this to its appropriate forum. It really should be in the Politics and Issues.

"Does Scouting give any educational guidance in abuse issues to either the Scouts or the Parents?" Not sure how anyone could have been on these forums for more than a year, and who supposedly is involved in the program, could even ask this question.

Two factors related to this that I perceive are that the most common ages for leaders that are also parents is between 30 and 50 or so. As kids, they were in the downside of the failed experiments of the 70's, plus the backlash against anything remotely smelling of military connection. So, many did not receive the best scouting programs, or suffered from the stigma, so to speak, if they were scouts. Many opted simply to not be involved, or their parents chose to not allow them to do so. Of course, today, there appears to be a shadow of the "parenting overload" showing up. Many of the

Fred8033; The way things are in our local schools now, shop classes are almost gone. So, maybe these kind of badges could be more popular again. Learning a trade could be very useful, as we have far too few in the basic ones now. And, lets be truthful; they make good incomes if they are just able to do it; and if they are really good, they can almost name their price in some fields.

Calico; Was no Perry Como either; and I would agree that is a mistake too. But, it was a list most likely made by people 2 or 3 decades younger than us. Bing being on top though, is right I think. Yah, I finally got my first cell June, 2010 when I was preparing to go to the Jambo. Have no text keyboard, so rarely text. Go days without using it, and sometimes simply forget I have it. But, it is good for emergencies, especially on the road. Been good for an occasional scout to parent contact too, which likely shortened wait times coming back. Also was good to have at camp this

So, just for fun, what Christmas or holiday songs or singers make it seem like the season to you? KLOS this morning ran a top ten list of songs by particular artists which was somewhat surprising, though number one was not. It was of course, Bing Crosby and "White Christmas"; and Nat King Cole's "Chestnuts Roasting" (cannot remember the actual title) was there as well. Andy Williams was not, which came as a bit of surprise to them, and frankly, to me. I grew up with the Bing Crosby Christmas music, as well as Nat, Gene Autry (Rudolph), and traditional carols. But also enjoyed some lat