skeptic

"This was discussed by the task force, which decided that Journey to Excellence would be better understood by the majority of volunteersespecially new volunteersif the program followed the bronze, silver, gold sequence." Maybe they should have retained the tradition, and let the "newbies" learn the history of BSA and its awards. Kind of like going to red for scouts, and green for senior boys for so many years, even though tradition had it the other way with year pins and tabs for socks. Just an "old guy" blathering on of course.

I like the "BSA should never be more liberal than the city of San Francisco" test. Love it; thanks.

Moose; I believe you are confusing the project with turning in the application as an 18 year old. There is a 90 day limit after the paperwork is accepted in which they should have their board, then another 90 days with a letter explaining to the local council the reason for delay, such as away at college. After that, he has to file a special appeal through National to have the board. At least that is the way I understand the issue. But it has nothing to do with the project. A project can be done before he even finishes the merit badges; it simply has to happen after he becomes Life.

Today, even the standard grocery stores have many options that are far less expensive than regular backpack brands. Knorr has expanded, and is often on sale. Instant stuff is widely available, and if bought in larger packages, can be used for a number of meals in a mix and match way. Easy additions include seasonings, various dried and chopped vegies in bags, and bullion for additional base (though needs to completely dissolve). Add in things such as tuna in a bag, small cans of potted meats (now some are coming in packages too if you can find them. Another great method for simple overnig

Is the question about a folded flag, or one on a staff? Makes a difference. Like most things related to the flag, there are traditions, general instructions, and absolutes. This appears to be a tradition to me.

*http://tinyurl.com/4xzce4t*

In 85 the SPL for the jambo troop had MS. He was over 6 foot by then and would be up on his own early, moving to special crutches late morning, and then usually in a chair by afternoon. We never had a shortage of scouts who helped with the chair, including getting him up and down stairs. Granted, a cart or electric chair would have been great, but we got through the whole jamboree with him, though it was a bit of a challenge, especially during "Bob" and his lead-in squall line. A couple of years before the jambo, Jason's troop went to Chawanakee in the Sierras. He was their SPL at the

Thanks to those that responded, reminding me that "embarrassed" is the wrong word. It is also correct that seldom does anyone note the errors if they occur, at least not to my face, or those of the scouts. But, if we are asked, I always point out to the boy in charge that they need to be serious, and perhaps practice some, reminding them that people will be watching. A few times they have opted out, which is fine; and we had a small group years back that chose to learn serious drill maneuvers. They were in demand for a couple of years, until the leader aged out and it fell apart. My p

A comment about not marching and drilling was made. Am not sure that there is any harm in basic drilling at times. It is very helpful in many ways. Teaching the scouts to listen to a leader, and to coordinate their movements. Learning to do a sharp set of maneuvers for flag ceremonies. Discipline perhaps. And it can be fun as well. There is something special about a well groomed group marching in good cadence and form. It engenders pride in the marchers too, or at least it did for us when we did it in the 50's. Frankly, I cringe often when I see scouts doing flag ceremonies in p

"But is being Fat a disability????" Depends on how good your lawyer is!

Too early to tell; but has possibilities if National takes note and perhaps picks up on the best of things presented.

Learning to float was the critical thing for me. I had been stuck in the beginning YMCA class for half the summer because I was afraid to put my face in the water, and I could not float. Someone coaxed me into trying the cork float, where you curl up in a ball, hold your knees and breath, and bob in the water. For some reason, this worked; and once I knew I would not likely sink, it was onward to fast advancement to Star and Marlin, or something like that. Two years ago I did my 25th official summer camp mile, and I have mastered the float to the extent my feet even come up without kicking

Actually, the wolf is a rational choice because of the history of the founders. Seton was called Grey Wolf and is still considered to have done some of the best work on the Canadian wolf. B.P. was the "wolf that never sleeps" among other things. Of course, Seton would have had a wolf rather than an eagle. Probably many other critters someone can validate for the role.

You can likely find numbers of books and so on from the period on eBay. Also they seem to be relatively common in many used bookstores, those that have survived. You can tell them immediately by their putrid green color. You might see if your local council may have a shelf of older books and so on, as well as the annual reports from that period.

If it was not for the copyright issue, I think, Smokey might have filled this niche. You will find him in a number of earlier scouting materials and posters. Mickey was also an approved rep during the 40's and early 50's; he was an icon for a couple of jambos. There were a few promo items with Ronald McDonald back awhile, aimed at cubs; similar to the Caspar ads for Cubbing. Dennis the Menace was actually used by BSA for a couple of promos as well. Kermit has been a SM or scout, as has Pac-Man. During the 40's and 50's, we had "The Little Scouts". Other recognized comic figures of w

Hey, they do a fine job at Burbank. I lost my beard trimming scissors before the change in that element; and recently, they had no problem taking my 4 ounce tube (half full) of fungal salve when we went to Vegas. Last summer I felt bad for a jambo SM who had two boys forget to put something in checked bags, one was a pocket knife I think that was in his pocket, one of the extra small ones so popular in current scout shorts. They had these kids with 3 agents, as well as the SM. They were still there 20 minutes later when I left the area. Once determined it was a simple mistake, you w

Overall, a good segment. Definitely a positive shot for Scouting. Was great that they did not edit out the "boy" humor when it occurred, such as the baked potato covered with mud. That is exactly the way kids of that age (and adults with twisted adolescent thinking)act and speak. What did not make much sense to me was the uniforming. Reality is that they would not have been doing wilderness survival in a full "class A" uniform with necker and slide. But, it did add to the P.R. element of the segment, showing the uniform identities of Boy Scouts and Venturers. Next we can hope

So, this shows that those least likely to afford it pay very little; but those most able pay the least. The major hit is by those of us that are in the second quartile, more or less. Very few of our "representatives" fall into that level; they are mostly in the top quartile, so of course pay less percentage. And we wonder why they side with the rich; most of them are the rich.

So, now the Republican negotiator bows out (probably a better term could be found), of the budget talks because the other side continues to insist that income has to be part of the solution, either taxes or closing of loopholes that favor a tiny proportion of society (those who have the Republicans in their pockets). Compromise; finding a middle ground, or giving something to get something. What confuses me is that I cannot find many "regular people" who have a problem with stopping the tax breaks for the rich, or closing their loopholes so that they actually pay for their profits. It w

Engineer: Hopefully you do not consider the FS using the camp as a base to be a negative. A few years ago, the Day Fire here in SCal was in our camp's vicinity, even threatened it briefly. They used the reservoir for helicopter water pickups, and set up one of two base camps (the other was in the city at the fairgrounds)at 3-Falls. While it may have been a bit hard on the few scouts that could not camp during that period, it was a huge PR positive. We are still getting the benefit of that, after several years. Service, including the use of our facilities, is part and parcel of the Sc

Yep, I understand completely E. Over the years I have had a few PLC's that actually functioned close to the ideal, but rarely. In the past though, most did a moderately good job with enough prodding. I am a bit alarmed at the more recent groups though, as they appear to almost "be afraid" to actually make suggestions or decisions. It seems a reflection of the overprotective society that has arisen, along with the idea that somehow making mistakes is not acceptable. Of course, we all know that learning is built very often on understanding the mistakes we make. Part of this can be se

A mention was made last night at roundtable that Lion was going to be reborn in some manner. Does anyone know anything about this, or is it just another rumor?

Hawkrod; Is that camp held at Emerson or Helendade; or perhaps now at the Big Bear camp? You mentioned fire damage, so thought it might be Helendade. Did you see the three graphics I posted on the Inland Empire Facebook?

So, where ever they seem to get the idea, the decision has been made that the scout candidate "should not" distribute reference letters, that this should be the review board's responsibility. Additionally, supposedly this is because they want it to be the same throughout the council; yet every volunteer to whom I have talked does not understand the decision either. Had a board earlier this week, and we all talked about this. Our district AC has put the reference letters back on the troop committee; but that is not what the SSE in charge says should happen. The real shame is that once

While the museum is definitely worth the visit, it has many opportunities not really being met, in my opinion. And as far as historical research goes, it is nearly impossible to really get access. I finally gave up, as I simply do not have the right connections to get past the barriers. I would dearly love being able to research my area's pre-council records prior to 1921 when we were chartered. Local records indicate hundreds of scouts from 1910 on, but very little is known about the units, as they were all at large charters, the records of which are hopefully in a file someplace. I say