Jump to content

skeptic

Members
  • Content Count

    3201
  • Joined

  • Last visited

  • Days Won

    43

Posts posted by skeptic

  1. Much of the best of our trips across the country to Philmont from Southern California was the trip itself, and the stop offs. Both sides of the Grand Canyon, Zion, Durango, Indian Country, Four Corners, and so on. You can do the hiking as well, or better more or less in our backyard, but the natural and historic sites along the way are far fewer.

     

    Pro's and con's.

  2. In regard to Philmont being put up for sale somehow; I believe that is not possible under the granting of the property. I could be wrong, but I think it cannot ever be sold. Any attempt would cause its reverting to the Phillips family. Basically, it belongs to all the scouts and scouters in the program, not National directly.

     

    Surely someone has more specific info on this.

  3.  

    To those who cannot pray. To those who cannot walk upon the ground. To those who cannot see and those who cannot hear the world around them. To those who cannot speak. To those in misery and discomfort. To those poor of means or poor of spirit to those who feel oppressed or put upon. To those who have not yet found a God or someone they can pray to or someone with whom to pray.

     

    Oh lord, for these our sisters and our brothers who do not pray and will not pray, we ask that you provide enough wisdom and compassion in all of us to pray for them . . . and for ourselves that we find better ways of caring for and helping one another.

     

    - Rod McKuen 11/21/98. Adapted from "A Prayer For Our Special Brothers & Sisters" from "An Outstretched Hand.", 1980

  4. Learning to reach beyond themselves is part of the strength of Scouting. Over the years, I have had a number of boys who had swimming issues; but they were able to run and jump and wrestle, so there was no reason to look for an out. And, yes, in at least one case, it likely kept a boy from making Eagle, since it took him four years to make First Class. But he swam the mile using the elementary back stroke when he was 16, and he stayed with us til he went away to college out of town.

     

    It took me literally months to finally pass signaling as a scout. But the effort and struggle were to my benefit. We might be better served if we had a few more big challenges in the early ranks. But we do not usually hear complaints about boys having trouble with knots or lashings; yet that can be just as hard for many, especially ones who are dyslectic or have other similar issues.

     

    Scouting is NOT about the ranks. It is about hopefully helping boys grow into young adults, and meeting challenges beyond their everyday encounters. It is also about simply having fun sometimes. Too much focus on advancement does not make the best program. They have enough pressure put on them already in our over programmed society.

  5. If you are referring to the full color patch, then the dates noted are pretty close; but the predecessor r/w council patch (as opposed to individual city and state)started much earlier, circa 1960. We had one for our jamboree troop from the old Arrowhead Area Council in San Bernardino.

  6. Thank you Calico for the info on California roofs. I have thought exactly that for a while now; and it is simply common sense. Then, again, we cannot forget the "common sense" seems to be very uncommon. But, having a house in the desert, I am quite aware of how fragile that environment is; and it is the transmission grid that is the larger issue, as it would require huge grading and other disruptive processes in the corridors to the cities.

     

    But the people actually living in the desert are beginning to flex their muscles, and have won a number of recent battles in their environmental defense efforts.

     

    Interesting thing about wind is that it was the primary source of energy for decades, and still is in parts of the more remote areas. They simply called it a windmill.

  7. It should not surprise anyone that the awards reflect the school graduation rates and so on. All kinds of reasons can be bandied around, but the pool of applicants for any scholarship is going to be made up of the output of the educational system.

     

    While it may not have an effect, there is also the tendency of Eagle applicants to be too close to 18 and graduation to make the application datelines, and of course, the fact that many possible applicants are not even aware of the opportunities. We can help in that regard, and we remind our local applicants during or after the boards, especially if they are young enough to take advantage of the whole group of offerings. But I am continually surprised how many adult leaders are not aware of the scholarships and grants available to Eagles, and even simply scouts in a few cases.

  8. Somehow, find a way to get the so called fringe parties more of a chance. The way it is right now, even if you have a strong candidate appear outside the R and D stranglehold, you feel like your vote is wasted, should you actually vote for them. So, it is vote your conscience and basically throw it away, or choose the lesser of the two evils that have a chance. Not the way to succeed.

  9. Gosh Stosh, you must have a great council camp, if that is what it is. Unfortunately, many of us have to deal with struggling plants that have to find ways to focus on program with limited funds. As far as tents being hot or cold, the canvas tends to be suffocatingly uncomfortable in temps over 80 degrees every day, which is common in our area. And most dome or similar tents have better ventilation, while still protecting from the elements; don't have to worry about the "touching the wet canvas" syndrome. Of course, time is also a factor many years, as the camps are so 4-6 hours of driving sometimes, at least in our area.

     

    Am glad you are happy with your camp, and that you have satisfied scouts. Keep up the good work.

×
×
  • Create New...