SSScout

Cowl Porter… Owl be seeing you In owl the old familiar places That these beads of mine embraces Owl day through... In an Eagle's snack, A Beaver's tail that some may lack; The Bobwhite flock; The Kudu's horn; The Weather Rock.... Owl be seeing you In every lovely P L C; With every thing the Staff might say. Owl always think of you that way... Owl find you When the Foxes run And when the night is new... Owl be sitting at campfire, But owl be seeing you...... Owl be seeing you In every lovely Buffaloe; In every little Bear's big toe, Owl always think of Webelo, Owl find you With the Antelopes And not with the Gnu... Owl be looking at the moon, But owl be seeing you............ ((with apoligies to Sammy Fain and Irving Kahal , really))

The AT doesn't continue thru the ANDES?

Gee it's nice to have a Faith and Chaplaincy forum to correctly discuss this stuff in... oh , right. I forgot. Couple of responses: Yes the Puritans left England to go to NEW England to escape religious persecution, then they did their own persecution of "them".. And, in 1649, the Maryland colonial legislature passed "A Law of Maryland Concerning Religion"", requiring folks to not quarrel over religion, IF you were at least a Christian. (didn't help Jews or others). Helped for awhile . Later, the Catholics and Protestants/Puritans did have a bit of a battle near what is now Annapolis over whether the colonie would be "tolerant" or have an "official" religion. It seemed to depend who was the Lord Proprietor at the time. Things weren't better until the Revolution. Good as any reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provinc...lish_Civil_War and http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/0...Maryland-Wars#

I tis there. My mom was deathly allergic to eggs. Never affected me. For her 80th birthday, I found a bakery that could make a banana cake, without eggs, she loved it. Now, for TB testing, the first time I had a tine test, I had a reaction within seconds of the puncture. The medicos ascribed it to an allergy to the serum carrier, not the TB virus. Now I have to have an xray for my certification (food handling). More personal history: We have a friend family whose son (then about 7), Rusty, loved baseball, played in Little League, etc. We went to a minor league game, and sat behind third base. Foul ball came our way, hit the concrete floor of the stands and Rusty ran up to grab it. It had (unknown immediately to us) rolled thru peanut shells to him, and when he grasped the ball, almost immediately he reacted. His parents had the epipen, and he was fine after a perhaps a half hour, but that was enough of a demonstration for me. The allergies are there, genetical or environmental in origin, they are there. Sometimes they are "outgrown" but don't depend on that.

Welcome, Sixfeetsix, to our wide ranging virtual cracker barrel. You will find a few folks who claim residence in other than Norte America, and a few in Europe. No predicting who or what responds to which or whose declamations....But you will see some from here, some from there...All Scouts , save one or two, but they just add spice to the stew! What part of Europe? Are you Scouting there? Sind sie pfandfunder?

Jblake and Old_Ox speak my mind. When the Puritans moved to New England, they did so to escape religious persecution. When Will Penn led Quakers to Penn's Woods, it was for the same reason. Ditto the Catholics in Maryland. And Rhode Island Plantations. And so the Boston Puritans hung Mary Dyer for professing Quakerism, the Catholics and Protestants fought over religious hegemony in Maryland, and that left the Pennsylvanians to demonstrate tolerance and respect for their co-religionists. Other states founded on religious freedom (ours, not theirs) soon came to realize that success in life meant acceptance that my faith may not be your faith, and that's alright. Many of the various colonies each found the means and inspiration to enact "toleration" acts to protect the right to worship in the way one sees the light to. It is, as Old_Ox reminds us: "" only the divine “Godâ€Â, is qualified to judge who has done their duty"".

“â€ÂReverence to God and reverence for one's neighbour and reverence for oneself as a servant of God, is the basis of every form of religion. The method of expression of reverence to God varies with every sect and denomination. What sect or denomination a boy belongs to depends, as a rule, on his parents' wishes. It is they who decide. It is our business to respect their wishes and to second their efforts to inculcate reverence, whatever form of religion the boy professes.â€Â†Robert Baden-Powell, “Aids to Scoutmastership†I concur with what has been said before. The SM needs only to remind and query the Scouts about their DtG. Unless he/she has a religious affiliation with the Scout , he/she has no reason to attempt the religious "education" of the Scout. One might point out that there is no requirement that a Scout earn only "his" faith's award. I was at the U of Scouting one year, and met a Scout (not an adult leader) who was wearing four medals: I recognized the Eagle, the God and Country (the old Protestant/Methodist award), the Ner Tamid, and the Ad Altare Dei. I introduced myself and said I had to ask, how had he come to wear all three of these religious awards? He said his Troop was sponsored by a Methodist church, his father was of Catholic heritage, and his mother was Jewish. He said it seemed natural to earn each of them. No one questioned his pursuit of any of these? Nope. I did not pursue his family dynamics further.

Do the search thing here. This is a regular discussion. Parents taking turns to drive is a good way to involve the parents in the activity /planning, so things are not just a drop off and run thing. Do not try to caravan or convoy. Make sure all drivers are properly licensed and insured (do the trip plan thing, usta be Trip Permit. Check with your DE and Council for details.). Responsible adults drive, not (sorry, son) just licensed 16 yearolds.... Give all drivers maps/directions, some Scout will love to be the "navigator", set regular stops to catchup and regroup for lunch so folks aren't tempted to try and "keep up". Exchange cell numbers for emergencies/contact/breakdowns . NOT while driving... Busses are good, but expensive. Who stables it? Who is in charge of licensing and inspections? Regular maintenance? A brake job on a schoolbus type vehicle can run into the thousands. My church's camp program has a fleet of 6 busses and ?6 p/us and suvs. Our Property Manager thinks he has a deal if he can buy a 18 year old decommissioned 20 seat schoolbus for, oh,$ 6K, put another 3 or 4K into it to pass the state inspections, repaint it and use it for 5 or 6 years to sell it out for $3K to someone else(? Nicaragua?) . Maybe he can Charter them out to a school or Meeting for a trip. And it will sit for weeks, months at a time. Is that worth the investment? If your CO has the means and the desire to own and be responsible for such a "fleet", wonderful, but one Troop, one bus? Think long and hard.....

Peanuts: ""Born a slave around JULY 12, 1864, George Washington Carver became a scientist of international renown. On January 21, 1921, Carver addressed the United States House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of the United Peanut Growers Association on the use of peanuts to improve Southern economy. Initially given ten minutes to speak, the committee was so captivated, his time was extended. Explaining the many products derived from the peanut, including milk, mock beef and mock chicken, George Washington Carver stated: “If you go to the first chapter of Genesis, we can interpret very clearly, I think, what God intended when he said ‘Behold, I have given you every herb that bears seed. To you it shall be meat.’ This is what He means about it. It shall be meat. There is everything there to strengthen and nourish and keep the body alive and healthy.†After nearly two hours, the chairman asked: “Dr. Carver, how did you learn all of these things?†Carver answered: “From an old book†“What book?†asked the Chairman. Carver replied, “The Bible.†The Chairman inquired, “Does the Bible tell about peanuts?†“No, Sir†Dr. Carver replied, “It tells about the God who made the peanut. I asked Him to show me what to do with the peanut and He did.†http://beltoftruth.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/does-the-bible-tell-about-peanuts/

That's a lot of miles under the boot soles....

I hope the "Camp Picture" is optional, not required (included in the fees? Oh yeah?). Troop can always take the picture they want..... And there are some folks that do not want to be in ANY picture (child protection, religious reasons, ID theft, who knows...). Our CSDC had two families (out of 200) that DID NOT want their child photo'ed anywhere. We had to put a sticky tag on the Cubs to ID them for the Den Walkers.

Buy the seven year old a decent 3person tent for his 8 b-day. He will love learning to set it up in the back yard, the lil'bro can play with him in it. Show him how to seamseal the rainfly and the floor walls. I did this for (now 20!)then 10 year old Scoutson and he learned to take care of it, and I STILL use it. Buy good, take care of it, use it up.... And experiment with just a tarp.....

"The work is done by whoever shows up". "The Lodge is run by the Scouts/Scouters that take an interest in the ideals of the OA and want it to persist."

There are three ways to decide things in a group. One, the Commander says "do it". Two, the Chair/President/Speaker asks for a vote (see Robert's Rules) and some defined majority decides the issue. Three, the group seeks "consensus". This usually means that the folks involved firstly must respect each other's opinion and interest in the issues, secondly the folks involved know that some cooperation between them is desirable, and thirdly the folks involved recognize some corporate rather than individual interest in the issues. For Consensus to work, a lot of respectful listening and discussion needs to happen. If there is too much ego at work, consensus won't work. Ego wants it's way, not what is necessarily best for the group. Us Quakers use the term "discernment". One seeks to "discern" what is needed, what should happen, what SHOULD be done, not necessarily what CAN be done (another issue entirely). Anyone can have the needed idea, and the group must be willing to recognize it when it is presented. I like the Troop committee to be consensual, less regimentation. If the folks involved truly understand the goals involved in Scouting, it will happen. If not, drag out the RRoO.

In Cubs, the Scouts depend on the adult leaders to set the pace. The ideal is that the Den is the boy's "gang", hopefully they live close by, and friends out of Scouts too. Den Leader: Be in close, good contact with the other parents. Run ideas by them. Do any dads/moms work some place cool? A fleet garage? The airport? A museum? A donut shop? Almost anywhere can be special to your Cubs! A farm? The back of the Safeway? Take them out hiking, if not camping (check into being BALOO trained). Three or four miles is not too much for your bears. Carry water, snacks, binocs, a jacket (dress for the weather). Rain? Go anyway! Thunderstorms? Well, no. Get'em dirty. Look for crawfish. Find that Beaver dam in the local park. Even if you are not a naturalist, you can get them to LOOK at the woods, ferns, Poison Ivy (!) AND, find your local Scout Troop and recruit a Den Chief, your junior assistant. Nothing better than a "big brother" type to brighten the Cubs' day. Let him lead the hike, he might be working on his Nature Merit Badge! Find the local Model Railroad club. You will have a bunch of happy Cubs, believe me. I once led our Den to THREE model RR displays in an afternoon (walked between two then to the diner!), and the local diner gave everyone FREE ice cream cones! Be creative, the words "CUB SCOUTS" will open many doors. Schedule the activity. You can't please everybody, but you CAN appear to be making the effort to accommodate other concerns. But nothing happening is NOT as good as SOME things being possible. Life is full of choices, yes? Give them good alternatives to soccer and karate. Someone has a garage that you can set up in to make those bird houses in. Share the snack duty, and ASK each family to host a Den meeting, don't be shy. ASK. If you wait for someone to volunteer , it ain't likely to happen. Unlike regular school, Scouting can train the boy to SEE, not merely look. HEAR, not merely listen. PARTICIPATE, not merely wait.... You can be the difference in some boys' young lives. Remind your Den parents that their boy will only be 8 or 9 years old ONCE. If they don't make the connection with their son by the time he's 12, they won't have it when he's 18.... And remember the Cub Scout Mantra: Kis Mif, Kis Mif Kis Mif..... (keep it simple, make it fun!) Thank you for your service and..... Good Scouting to you!

In general, I agree with Old Ox. And.... Since it is :next year", you do have some time to adjust and plan. Check with your District Commissioner and District Executive and help them to earn their pay (!), such as it is. To my ken, any registered Cub can attend any CS Day Camp (or Twilight camp) in any BSA District/Council. So, one does what one must. "After all, it's for the kids"

Smile and wave as you go by! I always say that your boy is only 8 (or 9, or 10....) once, and if you don't have a "connection" with him by the time he's thirteen, you won't have one when he is eighteen. "Enjoy the ride" , indeed! Good Scouting to you!

I'm with KDD. The three sides are a camp but with their own set of problems. (what? Camp has problems? ). Daddy Long Legs are the bedevilers at our camp. And all along the AT, that is what you will see, Ad-a-ron-dacks. The tent platforms are better for the camper, but , hey, the Ad's are a long term investment, yes? OA comes out in the spring to sweep out the creepy crawlies, instead of the character building canvas throwing party. I say counting these as simply "long term" camping does not dishonor the Camping MB requirements. It is similar to a tent, just a (soon to be) leaky wooden roof instead of canvas. Are they low enough to the ground to be climbed up on? Of course they are. Added value! Signal flags to the next campsite! Jumping down to break ankles! First Aid MB! Ski jumps in the winter! Sun tan beds if not shaded! Ghost story noises for the Tenderfeet! Rocks and gravel tossed and rolled down! Oh, the possibilities!

No, not bowline, use a parallel splice. Back to back?? Front to back?? Spanish bowline would allow a double sitdown arrangement. Hosea 11:4. I wish them a long and fun life.... And Good Scouting to them!

Friend Merlyn: Thank you. I might have known, Emo Phillips. But the Google search brought up Jeff Holder.... glad to see the "original". It still brings up the stupefying theological subdivisions we all may deal with. Babel Tower condos for sale, anyone?

This is what an Eagle service project should be. An inspired idea from the Scout, he saw a need and made it happen. When he runs for president in 30 years, I hope I am still around to vote for him.

Oh, that's so neat!

Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. So I ran up to him and said, "Don't do it!" He said, "My life has no meaning." I said, "You must have something to live for. Are you religious?" He said, "Yes." I said, "So I am I! Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "So I am I! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "So I am I! Which denomination?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "So I am I! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "So I am I! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "So I am I! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "So I am I!" Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I yelled, "Die, heretic!" and I shoved him over. = from Jeff Holder = http://www.i-am.org/members/index.php/154-style

Candy bars, Ha!! I still remember the troop of my halcyon youth selling donuts. ScoutDads would go down to the Krispy Kreme in Silver Spring and come back with station wagons full of , oh, maybe a thousand dozen WARM donuts. They must have arranged this in advance. We Scouts would gather at the church at 7am on the Saturday morning, divvy up the donuts and proceed thru the neighborhoods (each patrol had routes), and knock on doors! In Uniform! One car, two Scouts, a fifty or so dozen donuts. OOOO that car smelled good. "Good morning, would you like to buy a dozen fresh donuts to help Scout Troop xyz? " Often, we would be told, "hey, we've been waiting for you! Why don't you come round more often?" Rare was the door that did not buy a dozen (or three!) , still warm, gooey, fresh donuts on Saturday morning. We would do this maybe three times a year.

AZMike: I have wondered who or what determines the "quality " of the Karma. If one's Karma determines which way one goes/arrives in their next life, then how is that credited? Whose value determines how an act is credited, Karma wise? Is it to consider how the act advances or detracts from the progress of the universe? 56 million humans died as a result of WW2. How do we determine the Karma value of the actions of the folks that contributed to that total?