SSScout

(withdrawn)

I would favor a "special" made award. At a Jamboree, we had a big sit down in the arena, but things were delayed. TPTB recognized this, and so OA folks threw Dixie Cup Ice creams out into the crowd. Some of us took this as a "sign". We just happened to have some twine with us, somebody had a marker. PRESTO ! Dixie cup lids became "Jambo Arena Waiting" awards. We made up several dozen . I have mine in the collection. Our Troop once had a particularly strenuous canoe trip once. Because of a faulty map (County Parks provided !) we had to add 5 miles and several hours to the trip. Didn't get home til after 11pm. I thought that deserved a special recognition. Went down to the Scout Shop, did not see anything that seemed really suitable. Then, I spied a leather kit with a 4" Scout fleur des lis.... ummmm. I turned it upside down, imagined a little, and came up with a canoe with a paddle in the back. Trim off a little here, ink line there, lettering so.... punch a hole.... AHA ! The Longest Canoe Trip ! Made 8 of them, worth the effort, I thought. Make him a one off award.... leather, wood burn, whatever. He will remember it.....

Yeah. They are not yet old enough for an elapsed auto warranty.

Requirements for Eagle... Scout #1... father and I were good Scouter friends. Sons were in same Cub Pack, joined different Troops, but knew each other, saw each other at events. Scout #1 completed all his requirements, filled out all the forms, workbook etc. well within time limits. Troop OK, District OK, Council said "This is last years form. You must fill out the up-to-date form..." Scout said to hell with this, quit Scouting. Six months later he joins the Air Force. Scout #2. Parents eager for son to "make Eagle". Scout is 15 and a half. Dad asks me to speak at son's CoH, read Eagle charge, I say certainly, proud to participate. Kid was active in Troop, I thought well liked among peers.... All paperwork, requirements fulfilled. Troop OK, District OK, Council OK... CoH party held, fine small affair. Never saw the Scout again..... Scout #3. Has fun with Scouting, but halfheartedly pursues Eagle stuff. Complains that he is always being "pursued" by the younger Scouts (well, he is named a "Trainer"), never gets out with the older kids. Is encouraged to go to Philmont (second time as a "Trek Leader") and Jamboree Staff. Finds a good project. Turn in workbook to Troop Committee age 17.956. Scout #4. "The Unknown Scout"... At this time, I live in a small house some distance off the road. One afternoon, I return from work and turn into my drive, I see a bit of color on the side of the main road. I stop, get out to look. It is a Scout neckerchief, with woggle installed, dirty, thrown over on the gravel shoulder. The woggle is still on both ends of the necker. I contact the local Troops, but no one ever ID's or claims it. Scout #5... Scoutson (yes he is Eagle) is photographed sitting on a stump, with an axe and file in his hands. Watching him is an obviously younger Scout , standing closeby, hands on knees, looking intently at the axe and file. I sometimes wish I knew what happened to that younger Scout, so many years ago. I know what happened to Scoutson.

Jesus was not "a" Christian.

It is truly amazing that so many of us survived childhood. My best friend and I in fifth grade found and captured a "little brown bat" and managed to sneak it into school and left it in our teacher's desk at close of school. Never did hear the result....

2016 ? ? ? ? Peter Lewis?

Some sad things: * The adult who tells you "I wish I had finished Eagle" "* The kid who tells you "I wish my (old man/ mom/ granddad) would quit bugging me about ""Eagle"". *** The Scout that tells you about how his Troop goes camping once a month, and his (old man/mom/granddad) never goes or takes them. **** The Scout who hears about the previous Scout and says "Our Troop goes to summer camp. That's it." ***** The adult "leader" who insists that every Scout event (defined as any group of Scouts doing Anything together) MUST have two adult registered leaders....

Being a "registered" Scouter/adult does not mean they are a "Scout Leader". The Pack/Troop can have many "adult registered" and still have many stand back and "I don't have the time" "I don't know anything about this Scout stuff but Susie loves it" "Here's some money, take care of Jake for me" type people. Then too, you can have the "no, no, that's all wrong" type person, too....

Oh, I can relate. I retired from county government service. Our Transit Service was a local creation, the original idea being that the local folks could do a better job "locally" than the bigger multi juridictional agency. I started out as a part time driver. . I got promoted thru the years. One of the people I learned from, I'll call him Dave, had been in it from the beginning. He knew it all, had the responsibility to get things approved and done. I loved working with Dave because he was not afraid to assign jobs (to me, for instance) and express appreciation for one's initiative. When he retired, they LITERALLY had to create three new positions, with three new sections/departments to take up his responsibilities. All of a sudden, no one seemed to have the responsibility to assign, or approve or take the blame..... Our service seemed stagnated for a long time. But, we survived . The busses rolled., anyway.... But I remembered the idea that it took at least three new people to take Dave's place...

And boy, try and understand the time effort and work that went into THAT. photos, Identify, shape recognition, dentured or not, color, leaf orientation, ,,, A five year old human should be able to identify any English alphabet letter, no matter how it is oriented, sized, type face, slanted, italicized or colored. Same for a Chinese child, but wow.... the pictogram collection there. And the IT folks are having fun making sure the App can differentiate Poison Ivy from Raspberry or Jack in the Pulpit. Back in my pre-retirement days, I was tasked with collecting various destinations (libraries, election precinct sites, museums, historic trails , parks, ) and listing the bus/metro routes to get there from here. Drudgery, but useful drudgery so I was told. That led to the computer gadget that did the same thing.....

Cell phones.... True story.... CSDC. I have the Nature Pavilion. On day one, we do "Leave No Trace" (Outdoor Ethics). After passing out the LNT hanger cards (thanks to Protect the Outdoors - Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics (lnt.org) and some stories about Unintended Consequences ("I thought I put out the fire", ) I had the Cubs and their buddies each lineup by a corner of the pavilion, and take 200 steps out, turn 90 degrees, walk 50 steps, turn 90 degrees and walk back to the pavilion and on the way, pick up ANYTHING "God didn't put there". After the day, I was (not really) surprised at the pile of trash and human debris we collected. And the park was cleaner. At one session, during the walk, one of the adult Den Walkers was in the background on her cell: "I can't BELIEVE I said I'd do this. I know SOMEBODY else could do this Den Walker thing... Yeah, but I dread the amount of work I'll have next monday. It doesn't matter to Jake, it could be ANY... " and she went on for the three minutes the Cubs were out... I sometimes wish we might go back to only in person telegram delivery.... "Ahoy, ahoy? No , this is ONE. You want two. Yes, that's right. Two. You're welcome, Goodbye."

It has always been BSA's policy that so long as the CO follows the basic BSA policies (requirements, YPT etc.) the CO can set other membership requirements. Note the CoJCoLDS example. Some years ago, I helped establish a Troop at a Roman Catholic Church. They openly required that boys and families be Catholic. The Troop was very active for about three years, then gradually dried up and disappeared. We had a Muslim Troop some years ago, they declared anyone could join, realizing that their diet and activiites would be faith driven. Unfortunately, their membership was drawn from a very wide area( like 30 miles some folks !) and eventually lost their leadership due to work assignments. Sic gloria mundi. I also hear some other issues in the background of the OP's comments. I am sorry we cannot counsel better from afar.

Never hurts to bring your campcup. Properly secured by cord or carabiner. Might be Seabase mugs available for souveniring....

A Bug's Life (1998) - don't look at the light! - YouTube

Well, there is a way for to avoid "missing working with them"... Jes' sayin' . . . . hint hint . . .

Rules to live by: 1) The work is done by whoever shows up. Show up. 2) Train'em, trust'em, turn'em loose. 3) Ye canst not please everyone all the time. You will have three possible "bosses". Please these three and you will be doing good: a) Your God, however you perceive him/her /it. b) .Someone, somewhere, sometime, will ALWAYS be telling you what to do. A teacher, your spouse, a traffic cop.... At what peril do you NOT please THEM ? c) The fellow who pays you for doing what you do to get paid. Ethical? Legal? Satisfying? Fun?

"Good evening, Scouts. I've asked your SPL for some time tonight to present a special event. an opportunity, I guess. First I'd like to introduce Jack Arrowsmith and Jefferson Fletcher here. These Scouts are members of the Order of the Arrow. You may have heard of this piece of Scouting, maybe not. Let me explain a little from my history.... Each of you Scouts know about earning rank and getting awarded stuff for things you do and accomplish. Win the camporee competition? Hike thru Philmont? Canoe Northern Tier? You get a patch and bragging rights, right? Well, the OA is a different thing, but kind of the same.... We want it to be a recognition that these Scouts have accomplished something and deserve a ... recognition.... The Order of the Arrow is sort of a club, but to join it, you have to be elected by the Scouts in your Troop. They do the choosing. It is meant as a recognition that the kids that are elected are deserving of that honor. You Scouts know who helps you, who taught you, who got you thru that stormy night. I may not, but you do. Now, enough form me. Here, Jefferson, Jack, , take the floor..... "

This is the "latest" from NCAC: Amangamek-wipit lodge Let’s go camping guide (ncacbsa.org)

"" The Boy Scouts of America posthumously awarded Chester County's Evan Bass the rank of Eagle Scout at a ceremony Monday in Chester. Evan, a Chester County high school student, athlete and dedicated member of Boy Scout Troop 61, died in a tragic ATV accident on April 10, 2020. He was 17. Family , Scouts and Community finished Evan’s Eagle Project. The Palmetto Council of the Boy Scouts of America also presented the Bass family with the Spirit of the Eagle Award, a posthumous award recognizing the achievements of Scouts who lost their lives to “untimely accident or illness.” Salute . Gone home too soon ."" https://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/community/article251970098.html?fbclid=

So how do we address this ? How to email, USPS the camp, how? Texas is a mite fer for me to travel.... Yes, the charcoal chimney works. Newspaper, twigs, hot coals, old Cub books.... The one I use is easily 20 years old. Self tapping screws hold it together now.

Many moon ago, I worked for a county gov't agency. Big committee meeting about a problem perceived by the upper echelons (I was lower middle management, for lack of a better descriptor). When someone mentioned who should we report "X" to, the Big Boss said, why to me. I need to know about such "problems". When someone else said, I think I would call the police and 911 first, the BB said why? If it's already happened, we need to handle our end of things. But the occurance is dangerous and illegal.... Exactly . And our office needs to handle it. Contact us first. The meeting was then dismissed.... The BB was later given a "sideways" promotion.....

The following discussion explains why. This strongly implies the Scouts WANT to work/serve/help. Perhaps the place to do these is in the OA, and their efforts are not welcome in the Troop? Example of "Scout Led" vs "Adult Led"?

No comment on the Council stuff. Professionals come and go. DEs? Creating Districts is often a matter of "because I can". I used to work for the County Government. Every time a new department manager/chief was named, "things changed". The new guy wanted to leave his/her mark on things. Did it really make things more efficient? People more responsible? Often debatable. Same with the BSA organization. Regions? Sections? Districts? I have lived in the same house for almost 30 years. I have worked with pretty much the same group of dedicated Scouters thru that time. I have lived in 5 (maybe six, depends on how you define things) DIFFERENT named Districts/Service areas. Our present District is almost EXACTLY the same defined area that I knew in 1995. We still camp and hike.