SSScout

What JB said. Phimont is not your hike up the local hill. And it is camping with low weight gear. Meals are planned out for no left overs. Water is often carried further than one might ordinarily expect. You do not camp next to the pump. Order the topo map of the area. Talk to the Troop leaders. FInd the District Camp Director (not Council) and ask them for the name of a Philmont veteran to speak to. And expect the memories for a life time.

Always a good question. I was doing "Scout Skills" one year and the CSDC Asst. CD sent me an email saying, essentially, "of course they pass on the following knots," and listed eight or nine knots. I responded, I was lucky to teach FOUR knots, and maybe they LEARNED three over my 45 minute period. I was specific: Overhand, square knot, figure eight and bowline.... Maybe the bowline.... Those were the four knots that were listed in the "Requirements Covered at CSDC" list they sent out I also pointed out that it was ALWAYS a good thing for the local Cub leaders to PRACTICE the knots with their Cubs. This was with three really gung ho Scouts helping (one of them did Scout Skills this year in my absence!), and encouraging ALL the Den Walkers to pitch in and help with the left over right, etc. I am always surprised at how reticent some parents are to actually HELP at CSDC.

Well, now we get into the "attend" versus "earn" conundrum. Did he earn a degree? or the Beads? or did he just "attend"? If you "attend" and don't fall asleep, I guess you have to learn/absorb something. Hey, I know folks that attend my R/Ts just to get outta the house! But I make'm worth it!

Twocubdad: Realize that we have a bit of a rare bird here, an actively engaged COR! I wonder if he/she goes to Council Meetings and votes there?

Shades of Owasippe ... http://www.scouter.com/search?q=Owasippe&searchJSON=%7B%22keywords%22%3A%22Owasippe%22%7D

1) Make sure all expenses were covered. Might be something somebody forgot, or "donated" to the event without telling anyone. 2) Every Scout "offishul" fund raiser needs to meet one basic requirement: Was something done that provided VALUE for the PRICE . Popcorn, donuts, mulch sales, car washes, flag placements, spaghetti dinners, you know the drill. I dare say your Troop provided VALUE for the PRICE. A fun family campout? Program to participate in? What do you think CSDC is? The Council ENCOURAGES the CSDCs to BE IN THE BLACK..... Overages (not "profit", perish the thought) fall to the Council. Many times I have heard from the Council Program Director, "your camp spends too much money on staff pizza...." 3) Compare your event with other, similar (District Camporees?). I would say some Camporees pay their way, some show an "overage" ( I would not say "profit", because it is not held to make a profit, but to have fun and do Scouting!), some may have a "loss". The District has (if it's like our District) a slush fund in the Council books that covers such contingencies. Any overage goes in the slush fund to cover the next time. Your Troop can do no less. 4) Extra money? Hey, give'm a patch! If you are pressed for time, you can go to the Council shop and buy generic patches. Pen on the year, use up the extra money. 5) Make a donation to your Council's Friends of Scouting. Use the money to rebuild the Council's bulletin board at camp. Use it immediately to benefit the Packs, maybe a Movie Night lock in! 6) IMRRHO, your Troop earned the money. Put it to good, Scout use. I have never heard (and, believe me, this Scouter.com would talk about it) of a Council auditing a Unit's books. They leave that stuff up to the CO. If you are, as I perceive, self chartered, then your adult committee folks need to make that decision on the suggestion of the COR. It is not just up to him, all by his lonesome. Remember the Cub Scout Mantra.... KiS MiF, KiS MiF.....

And the oft forgotten requirements #9A: "Discuss with your Counselor how Catsup can be used to improve almost any recipe. #9B: Explain to your Counselor the difference between Catsup and Ketchup. Discuss how the history of America has been changed with the invention of Catsup."

Marijuana is close to being legal in many areas, for many reasons. But beer and liguor and tobacco and some OTC drug products ARE legal. How about he offers some bourbon to a 13 year old Scout? How about he sneaks out to the waterfront for a chew? His hypocracy is my main issue and his "Trustworthiness " is his SMC issue here, to my mind. "Oh, a little weed won't hurt you, makes you feel good...." Yeah, a Scout is Cheerful, but how does that come about? One's feelings are largely choices. If you feel the NEED to create the feeling, there's another problem... " Everyone does it" No, everyone doesn't. And mere statistical popularity doesn't make something healthy or RIGHT. " It's my life, I 'm not hurting anyone else..." Don't think so. Somebody raised, harvested, smuggled, cut, sold that stuff. All illegally. The Mob (pick a name) syphoned off a large amount of money from that . Some Mexican gang is probably using his money. Just like alcohol affects drunk driving, Weed impairs your abilities, it does NOT improve them. Who are you going to hurt, really? Get those Scouts high on white water canoeing.

KDD speaks my mind. If the Troop, thru the mentorship of the SM and ASMs and etc. doesn't provide the adventure and activity and challenge (for physical skills, "getting dirty" and leadership and service) then the Type AA kid will move on to the groups that do challenge him. CAP, ROTC, Outdoor club, Young Republicans, whatever. The Young Eagle does it because he CAN and WANTS to. Others may watch TV or do Wii really well, or smash car windows. It all depends on our offerings and the boy's family support and/or encouragement. All one can do is offer, but if the offering is lacking......

That's a lot of popcorn.

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!