SSScout

Oh, what he said. The WebeloS Scout is almost thru with Cubbing. They've been "following Akela" for the past years. Time to see if they can stand on their on, with dad and mom nearby , just in case. Encourage them to work as a TEAM (Patrol, yes?) , planning their activities, where and how and what. Tug 'o war stuff, really PULLING together, working together on a given project, for your CO, or some other worthy. A Webelos Den of my ken helped lead the Pack in building bird houses and neatening up a school courtyard to hang them in. They were allowed to put a plaque up attesting to "Landscaping by Cub Scout Pack xyz of Littletown" Let them become the "big brothers" of the Pack, demonstrating flag courtesy, cheers, helping to build stuff with the younger boys. At least until the "graduate/bridge over". Let them take pride in their new skills and be able to show them to others. Thanks for all you do. Now, let THEM do.

Talk about bringing back memories... Wing, you should be appropriately proud and embarassed, but so what? As has been said, the effect you've had is not unexpected. Be forwarned: Be ready to offer a toast or give a small remembrance at the wedding reception/dinner. Speak your heart, And don't hold back. When my daughter from first marriage came to me to introduce her fiance, she was a grown woman, on her own. Unbeknownst to me, the new man in her life had somehow gotten on the wrong side of the mother. My ex, with whom I had a polite, if not really friendly relationship, could not be molified and so she did not attend the wedding. I gave the bride away in the traditional way, gave a small speech at the dinner, and cried openly. My present wife said she had never been prouder of me. Mucho congratulations.

It has had and will have a greater impact on activities. It is no longer "a two hour drive" but a "75 miles at 20 miles per gallon time $4 times two round trip" drive. Since Scoutson started taking classes at the community college, he is much more aware of gas saving driving techniques and regales us with stories of students in the school parking lot who sit in the car, engine running, windows up, A/C on, stereo blasting. And wondering "who pays for his gas?"

Need: one adult who is comfortable acting silly. Boys sit in big circle. Akela tells them: "Okay, we're going to play a game! I'm not going to tell you WHAT we're doing, but I will show you how to do it! When we're done, I will ask you to tell me what we've done! "Now, I am going to turn 'round and face you all around in the circle (Akela does so, turning/moving slowly around, facing each Cub in turn). "As I face you, I want you to do just what I do, and keep on doing it until I show you something else. So let's start with this:" (((Akela starts with first Cub, demonstrating rubbing his hands together until Cub rubs his hands together , then moving slowly on to the next Cub, who starts rubbing his hands together, and so on around the circle. If necessary, caution Cubs to be quiet, and not to start until Akela gets to them. When Akela gets back to the first Cub,(all Cubs are now rubbing hands), Akela then snaps his fingers, thumb and 2nd fingers, on around the circle. Next, gently slap thighs. Fourth, softly clap hands. Fifth, loudly clap. Sixth, stomp feet. Seventh, clap and stomp. Then, as you work around the circle, go back down the cycle: Stomp, clap loud, clap softly, slap thighs, snap fingers, rub hands, then last time around silent. ))) "Wow, that was great. Now, who can tell me what we just did? Did that remind you of anything?" Depending, you will have some discerning Cub guess "rainstorm?" which is the idea. Works best with 10 or 12 or more. Go slow. Make them pay attention to you. LOOK the Cub in the eye as you go by. Guaranteed 6 or 7 or more minutes of attentive activity. Last time I did this, it was under a picnic pavilion with 30 antsy CSDC campers (and their Den Walkers, who I insisted join in), during a lightning alert. Then we sang songs, another story. Well, not too quiet, and no tables. Maybe this is not the suggestion for you. Oh well, just came to mind.(This message has been edited by SSScout)

The trick is to convince the Scouts/Patrol to plan and pre-pare their grub. You can pack in cans of Dinty Moore and fruit salad and such, or you can take the cheap big boxes of pancake mix and parcel it out in plastic baggies, pre-measured per meal, pre freeze your burgers (when wrapped up, will thaw by dinner time on the trail), and even carry raw fresh eggs in the proper packing. It depends, ultimately, on (1) what your appetite and calorie requirements require (winter camping needs more calories than summer, but camping needs more than TV watching)(2) what your pocketbook will allow (precooked, lightweight freezedry food is expensive) , (3) whether you are car camping (patrol box 50 feet to tent site from car) or trail hiking (10 or 20 miles between tent sites on the AT or Philmont trails), (4) how experienced your Patrol is (go slow, build up to the expedition). (5) and how easily your boys see the advantage of Patrol cooperation (not everybody needs to do or carry everything for themselves) (6) whether you will be camp fire cooking, or small stove camping, or LARGE stove camping. What are you willing to carry how far? Sometimes the Dinty Moore "outweighs" the "Mountain House", but you have to do that comparison yourself. I once did a demo for my home troop. I showed them the BIG box of Bisquick, box of powdered milk, then pre measured into a baggie amounts of mix and milk. Which do you want to carry on the trail, the BOXES or the BAGGIES? I added sufficient water, mushed it around, lit my old Primus and oleoed up a small cook kit fry pan. Fried up the batter (made three cakes) and turned 'em over with my fork. Small baggie of strawberry jam, Yum! , No glass to break, no heavy big boxes to carry, fewer pots to clean, Scouts suitably impressed and we saw some (not all) different cuisine on the next camp/hike. Demos, discussions, research (don't reinvent the wheel), tryouts, competitions (Patrol cooking at Troop meeting?) all can lead to good eating .

Naw.... Hemingway, mebbe. " Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for that guy..."

Yes, I will pass along to our District eNewsletter. Thank you.

Always STUFF your tent, else it will ROLL.... Troop camp at Pine Knob on the AT. Windy little place. Scoutson assembles umbrella-dome tent, turns to grab stuff to put inside, before he can turn back to the tent, his buddies are yelling about the tumbleweed tent, roooollllling down the trail in the wind. He and his buddy go running after it and bring it back to it's assigned site. Bad Tent!! Fully staked down and laden with gear, no more escaping tent. My usual tent has a heavy bathtub bottom. It only fits in it's bag if folded precisely in thirds, and then rolled up tight. The nylon part is roughly arranged inside the rolling. The rain fly is also rolled up and then the tentpoles and pegs rolled up evenly in the roll. Fold and roll...

I think we have already established that National sometimes has trouble with consistancy. The wording on the shirt IS a motto, but is it THE motto? ("what's a motto?" "Nothing , what's a motto with you?") What we have here is the marketing folks not talking to the Scout Program side of the aisle (or perhaps not having Cub Scout experience). Just "do your best " to make sure your Cub parents understand the difference between a motto and THE MOTTO. Oh hum. KiS MiF YiS

Well yes, greetings from Murlun. I get up to Bawlmer as often as I can. 'Bout time to arrange anudda visit to the USS Constellation for the Cubs. But, again sorry for your OA troubles.

Betcha didn't know BSA made automobiles. Well, not THAT BSA, really, but also motorcycles? No, not THAT BSA. Well, the names are confusing, come to think of it, and "BSA" has a nice ring to it. http://www.bsafwdc.co.uk/page11.php Too much empty time, keyboard is calling, and what do yu expect?

Oh Hum.... Did you miss the 100th Anniversary Lionelm O gauge BSA Train set? http://www.lionel.com/products/finder/ProductDetail.cfm?ProductNumber=6-30123&expandBranch=0&Keywords=&CategoryID=455&RailLineID=&CatalogId= AND... http://www.lionel.com/products/finder/ProductDetail.cfm?ProductNumber=6-39319&expandBranch=0&Keywords=&CategoryID=455&RailLineID=&CatalogId= Souvenirs! Investments! Will ebay be around in 50 years so we can sell them to another nostalgia collector? Makes the Railroading Merit badge all the more, er , something.

Is that the National Boh "Land of Pleasent Living"? If so, welcome to the vitual campfire from anudda Ol' Line Stater. Sorry to hear of your complications. Sometimes, "life gets tejus, don't it?"

If it is the thing I just googled, it seems to be macho macrame. 1,000 lb test parachute cord woven into a bracelet or necklace. Did the camp give you yours? Is it in Tiger Cub colors (orange?)? Did it come with a name plate/ tag? How much cord does it include? Some of the companies that make them list stories of how the cord has been unraveled and used to save/tie down/do something. My WB course gave out plastic glow in the dark "100 years of Leadership" bracelets, with our WB number on it, too. Nice souvenir.

I even tried to get the G2SS up, but it wouldn't come for me. Aha. So the G2SS would seem to allow pocket knife use by Wolf Cubs, implying W/C earning, but , again, no mention anywhere else. Akelas end up deciding for themselves, again. Thank you, Basement for the lookup. *ahem* and would you ...?

Weeellll, there's where we get in the gray area again... Everything is ultimately up to the local Akela, after all. To the best of my knowledge, the W/C is not mentioned in the Wolf book. It is mentioned in the Bear book requirement #19 Shavings and Chips. It is mentioned in the Webelos Book. I know of no reference, "official' or "psuedo official" that allows Wolfs to earn W/C. As always, it is next to impossible to bring something up on the National site, but our good ol' non-official sites : http://www.boyscouttrail.com/webelos/webelos-scouts.asp and http://usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/bear.asp#SHAVINGS and pretty good references make the same notation. I would not do a Cub Scout Tiger or Wolf W/C instruction or award, but that's just me. If the parents want to let Johnny use a knife at home, fine by me, but not with official Cub Scout sanction at a C/S event. Not til Bear or Web. That's how I read'em.

Yep. Only Bears and Webelos earn Whittlin' Chip. And with good reason. Hand eye coordination, ability to deal maturely with sharp tools, etc. Note that there are no "official" requirements, only the stuff on the back of the card. It is up to the Cub Leaders (Akelas) to teach "good tool useage". Google "Whittlin Chip, Cub Scouts" and you will find many good curriculums (curriculae?). Also, much discussion on this site , many times. Use the search function. It is almost entirely up to the skilled, knowledgeable whitttler to be the instructor and "do it himself". Another option is to check with your local Scout Troop and Commissioner to see if they would know of a knowledgeable instructor for you. My Scout Troop did a W/C station for a Webelos Weekend, to good effect. Lots of soap chips left over! PM me and I will email back my own favorite curriclum, which, unfortuunately, is not online.

THREE THOUSAND American Scouts??? How did they get to France??? Maybe they are from US military based in Europe? That is a neat display, no doubt about it.

Calico said it all. I will ad some personal observations. 1) A wool (NOT synthetic) watch cap. It should fit snug, but not tight. Hair is good insulationNOT! It ain't fur, which is hollow and fits together differently. A thick heado'hair is not warm of and by itself. Cover it with a wool cap. Uncovered Heads do lose much heat. 2) new, dry wool socks. Again, NOT synthetic or cotton. The new syn blends may be worthy for hiking, but wool is still the best overall. Hang the previous days socks out to dry, change into them in the morning, use the dry sleep socks for that purpose. 3) I also sleep on the side, and find I often need to hollow out some shoulder and hip hollows in the ground to spread out the bumps. Look for those sticks and rocks when setting up the tent. One of the first things I remind the nascent Scout when they set up their tents. Worth the effort. Or, try laying towels or other clothing to give you a contoured bed space. The one or two spots where your hips and shoulders hit the surface may be your problem. 4) Never liked the mummy bag. I am 6'2", and have to have a 78" rectangular bag to be comfortably snugged down. Wiggle room. 5) Fluff the bag after you unroll/unstuff it. You will get more insulative quality if you help the bag regain its loft. Pull the fluff out from the bag and help it stand up. Good Scouting and sleeping to you !

Oh go ahead and take the credit. If the City Manager knows you and the work you arranged and did, ask him to get the City PR folks to work up a press release about the SPECIFIC Packs and Troops that helped. No mention of the District or Council need be made, not necessary. Get it out to the local press and media. When they call the Council for comment, I can guess what may happen, but sometimes fantasy should be left just as that. Keep us posted.

Since, as the philosopher said, "the work is done by whoever shows up", I imagine the OA Chief is trying to get more folks to "show up". Now, I will make the observations that: 1) as has been said before, I don't think there is such a BSA allowed policy. Would be counterproductive. 2) Since the OA is not a representational democracy, it can't be about decision making. In my Chapter, they are pleased when members show up and (see above philosophy comment) "do the work" or "make the decisions". (don't like the decision? Show up at the meetings!) 3) I seriously doubt if anyone would stand in the doorway (campgate?) and deny entrance to an OA gig to any OA member from a non-rep registered Troop. Plain dimb. 4) Someone could attend the next Chapter meeting and ask about this, AND contact the Chapter Adult Adviser.

I always find that the Scouts are for what ever reason, not able or afraid to or just avoid making the wraps and fraps sufficiently NEAT and TIGHT, both of which have direct bearing on the sturdiness of the structure. Doesnt matter if it is a handwashing tripod or a signal tower of some size, getting them to make it NEAT and TIGHT is the thing. See http://ajm.pioneeringprojects.org/pioneering/PioneeringProjects.pdf for some challenging projects. Page 75 is a merrry go round.

Yep. Even us Quakers are finding it appropriate to check on anyone who has contact with our children. Staff at the Yearly Meeting summer camps are checked. At our monthly meeting, our First Day teachers are required to have references and checked out. The insurance company, GuideOne, either recommends or requires such things. And guess where they got their model? From BSA YP, it would appear, they being so similar. Welcome to the big city.

Yep. One loooong pole, braced by the rainfly and tent pegs fore and aft,and the floor port and starboard. "Theres even a special outside sleeve for inserting your patrol flag. " The pole is for a flag. Or poking your tent mate. What ever happened to the tarp over the rope stretched between two trees?

Well, back in my day, Cubs didn't have PWD! But that got me thinking. I posted that my first (owned) car was a 1948 Ford F1 panel truck, and that is true. But the first car I DROVE (dad wouldn't let me try the family cars yet, and I doubt if he ever found this out), belonged to the next door brothers, who were about ten years older than I at the time and had a good garage (the family owned a farming/sawmill/logging business). I was , oh, maybe 12 or 13. They were what we might call "modifiers" now. They took a 1948 or so CROSLEY (!) and shoehorned a small Ford V8 and 3 speed manual into it. That thing could burn rubber, or at least tear up the farm roads behind their house. I remember the floor board under the front seat was non-existant, being that the transmission took up most of that space. Ah me......