SSScout

G2SS are/is guidelines/rules. As in all things, the rules/guidlines for my family may not be the same as my neighbors'. Like many on this forum (and elsewhere in Scoutworld), I played soldier and cowboys and indians. Hoppalong Cassidy and Roy Rogers and John Wayne were often on our TV (and Dave Garroway. Dates me, I guess). Good guys catch and kill bad guys. I "died" my share on the playground. But this is a different time. When I teach Archery at CSDC, I make sure the boys realize that I want them to have fun and they can get great satisfaction in mastering the bow, but to also realize the responsibility they have to use the bow correctly. Serious business. Toy guns DO look like REAL guns, even if they are painted orange. They are made to look real. Some less then fortunate children have taken up the REAL gun and used it as a toy without (I think) realizing the reality of their actions. Families grieve accordingly. I pray your Scouts and children are not ever in that group. The Lazertag and paintball games are INTENDED to be as real (even when they are not) as possible WITHOUT ACTUALLY KILLING YOUR ""ENEMY"". It is INTENDED to be emotional, as emotional as the real thing. The participants play at killing, even if the players or game promoters protest to the contrary. The same is true with egames like 'Public Enemy' and 'Full Metal Jacket' and 'Grand Theft Auto'. To win at the defined game, one must kill and steal and lie. These "games" do not practice the skills and do not promote the goals I want for my family. Scouting does. These games do not. Can you improve your hand-eye coordination, teamwork, judgement, cooperation, and strength and stamina without using a goal of trying to kill someone? I say yes. When my son or his Scout buddies talk about such things, I engage them and get them to see the other possibilities. Some time back, I related the story of my encounter with a toy gun. It was a nice cool fall day and I was on my motorcycle, coming around a left sweeper, when I looked up to my right to see a person aiming a rifle at me from the top of an embankment. I nearly laid it down right there, but I had presence of mind to keep it up, come around and turn up the driveway I had just passed. I found a 10 or 11 year old boy, holding a very realistic looking TOY gun. I whipped off my helmet and told him, in no uncertain terms, that if I was anyone else, he'd be on the ground, that gun would be in pieces, and I'd be talking to his parents. "It's only a toy, mister!", he said. I told him I didn't know that, that he nearly caused me to have an accident and hurt me by his actions , even tho it was "only a toy" and he should NEVER point ANY gun, toy or real, at any living thing again... I rode off. I hope I scared him a little. He should be about 40 years old now... It is a differnt time. We cannot allow our children to consider the idea that it is FUN to needlessly cause injury to ANY living thing without challenge. That said, my son has earned the Shotgun MB and Riflery MB is on the horizon. I want him to be knowledgeable but to realize the purpose of these weapons lies in his heart. Liz?

Kudu: Thank you! I agree, card trading ain't the wide game I know. "Capture the Flag" The usual, played with a 'flag', a 'jail', a defined area, and teams. "Jugs" Like CtF, but with a 'Pantry' of water filled gallon jugs (any number) for each team to retrieve and carry to their pantry. Tagged opponants must SIT where they are tagged and wait to be rescued by their own team members. Tagged jugs are carried back to team pantry. Winning team has collected all the jugs. "Jail Break" Police and crooks, police tag crooks and send them to any of several jails, crooks tag prisoners and they must escape holding hands, running together. Police can retag crook train. Tag head of train, ALL go back to jail. Tag one, everyone behind him goes back. " Steal the Bacon" Adjusted rules to accommodate a much larger playing area. Caller calls out single or numerous opponants to StB. "All First Class Scouts. GO!" "Anyone born in JANUARY! GO!" " If your name begins with T", etc. Bacon may not be in the same place as before, but must be placed in plain sight. "Amoeba" In a strictly defined area, "IT" tags whomever he can, and they hold hands and try to collect everyone else. Either IT or the amoeba can tag others. Last one remaining is winner.

I need some opinions... Our Troop has been asked to "color guard" the flags in a parade for our local museum. The parade terminates at the museum, natch, but there is no flag pole at the museum. What they want us to do, is , with appropriate ceremony, place the flag poles (US and State) in stands at the band stand on the museum grounds, where there will be a festival thru the day. Note: the band stand will be used by several acts, and there is no plan for a 'band' to play the Star Spangled Banner at the flag placement. Question 1: would it be appropriate to bugle "Call to the Colors" as the flags are dropped in the flag stands? All 45 seconds of it ? a shortened version? Or only do the commands to the color guard and salute the flags and PoA as usual in a meeting? Question 2: There is no "official" closing for the festival, so we anticipate just waiting for the museum folks to say "g'bye" and then we retrieve the flags and go home. Thots?

LSMFT = Little Scouts Make Fine Tigers MiFKiS (Cub Scout Mantra) Make it Fun, Keep it Simple.

Here comes the email from our CSDC PDirector: listing supplies he is ordering... "4 - 40 lb bags landscaping river rocks" and then the yellow paint that will be used to make them highly visable . They have to be collected so they can be used again. Targets, range defined and roped off, proper backstop, it will alternate days with slingshot. Archery all days. Should be fun...

Fellas, the trend is there. If we forbid rock throwing as a safety issue, then why not make it a CONTROLED activity? "A new area introduced in 2007 for Cub Scouts only. Scouts throw rocks in our specified rock throwing range at a variety of targets and are overseen by a trained range official." ((quote from a CSDC brochure)) Just a coupla Councils that list RT as a CSDC activity . NB:: It is always listed as a "CS ONLY" activity! Great Rivers, Pittsburgh Area, Patriots Path. Blackhawk Area, NCAC.... Love the rock skipping... My record is 11. Too bad you can't go out and get the good skippers back (or can you?)

I like twocubdads idea, it agrees with what I do at CSDC. I first set up aseries of maps I've collected from various sources and show how maps are a SMALL representation of the real world. I start with a map of the universe(!) I got from National Geagraphic. This connects to (shoop!) a map of the solar system (Mars! Earth! Jupiter!) which connects to (shooop) a world globe,and here's North America and the (Ta Da!) U S of A! but globes don't fit very well in the pocket, soooo... we invented a way to FLATTEN the curved Earth and (shooop) here's a map of the world! Let's see now, can we find the U S of A? Aha! And here's where Maryland is . Let's enlarge the little Maryland so we can look at it (SHOOOP!) Okay, who knows what THIS part is? Right! the blue is water, ....on down to the location of our CSDC. The park service gave us a couple hundred maps of the park, nice location sites, trails, map symbols, the Map Key, Scale. we orient that (SHOOOP!) to see where we are. "Okay, when I count three, I want everybody to point NORTH. ONETWOTHREE!" Talk about agreement about which way to go. We give out small working compasses (about a buck a piece from Oriental Trading. Yes there will be some defectives, order extras ) which are ok for whetting the whistle and mini treks around the camp. We divide each Den into smaller groups and go for a mini trek. Go due EAST twenty paces, then due South twenty paces (gotta talk about paces!) then due WEST twenty paces, then due NORTH twenty paces, where are you? Tigers experiment, play with the magnetic qualities. Webelos take it more seriously and we talk about better compasses, and declination. For the BL, the CSs need to do more, but we give them the basics and they can go home with the knowledge. KiS MiF

Did they sell'em to him for the price THEN, or the price NOW? We had an old time hardware store nearby that would price the goods and that was the price until they sold the item. Old lantern chimneys, grass scythe, mower parts for the 1947 Troybilt, if they had it still and you needed it, that was the price.

In our area, model rocketry CAN be considered "fireworks". Depends on the venue and situation. AND on the consequences of the model rocketry. If, for instance, you launch a MR (powered by an explosive motor, like Estes type, on a sufficiently large property and it lands in the property, no problem. BUT, if it lands on someone else's property, it could be treated as an illegal firework. ($$$$ liability!). That's page 32 in my G2SS. Not to be done at any of the public parks round about. But this year, our CSDC is to be held on an IWL property, and a MRClub will be doing a demo. All cleared by the Council, the IWL, and the county firemarshal.

Gee, my Buster Browns were handed down to another Cub when I outgrew'em. Mom got me another pair ("my dog Tige in the heel!") . How in the world did a Scout shoe survive in new condition? Were these "collector" items to begin with?(This message has been edited by SSScout)

Okay! Cub Scouts have a new projectile to gain proficiency with... ROCKS! Just learned that this new "range" sport has been active at several Council camps and will be offered at our CSDC next month! Cub Scout Rock Throwing (at targets!)! BB Range Officer is appropriate, so I am told. What say ye all?

The Shooting Sports Director is the fellow in charge of a Scout Summer Camp Shooting Sports Program, that is to say, all of them. Gotta have the Camp School Course. The Range Master (or Range Officer, I've seen both terms used interchangeably) is in charge of the particular Shooting Sport: archery, BBs, Slingshot, .22s, etc. At CSDC (at least in our Council), the RM is in charge of the particular Sport. It is an adult. No RM on site, no archery, etc. He/she can have many jr. assistants (Scouts), and adult assistants but only one Boss RM at a time. Need a seperate RM for each SSport, each range. Scout assistants DO NOT run the range. He/she is in charge of layout, setup, running, opening, closing, approving the awarding of the Beltloops and pins ( the Packs do the awarding!) and safety and discipline on the range. The SSports course for RM is given by Council and overseen by the Program Director, who usually looks for a SSD with certification from a larger group, NRA, NAAR, IWL, etc. to do the class to BSA spec. Use to be an Archery RM, haven't been retrained in years. Lotta fun, but alotta work and you got to be on your toes with them Cubs. Especially the "challenged" Cubs, another topic...(This message has been edited by SSScout)

Hey, Hal, What a comment that would make about BSA's commitment to Urban Scouting. And minority outreach. What was that discussion awhile ago about our newest Chief Executive's view on what Scouts are interested in?

The large scale of the NatJam is one of it's attractions. But, a point well taken. Perhaps we could take a suggestion from Scouts Canada, which have more regional Jamborees. The eastern one is 5 August in Camp Samac, NE of Toronto. See www.ccjam09.com

I know, let's require Scouts to be able to tie certain knots... and hike , oh, say, 50 miles total in two years time, and ummm, maybe know how to treat wounds and accidents... and perhaps be able to find their way with a map and a compass. Hey, and be able to signal a message to someone a far distance away, say, without batteries... Just a thought...

Wash foot, dry thoroughly, place DT over plantar wart. Replace and repeat about every three days. Wart dissapears in a month or less. Place gauze over wound, DT strip over it. Water proof. Stays there until you get home. DO NOT use DT for wrapping package. Post Office will reject it, as it will peel off in their machines. Double it over, place inside Scout hat, place Scout hat on gorilla costume, worn by Scout in parade (and necker and large Scout shirt). Scout gets hugs by every teen girl along the route. Place INSIDE bike tire, to reinforce torn tire and protect tube to get home. Red Green, Red Green. "we're all in this together"

Washington Post, 8 May 2009, pg. A19 "An Evolution for Evangelicals" by Kathleen Parker ((Scientist Francis Collins, head of NIH Human Genome Project is a professed Christian and sees no conflict between scientific discovery and his faith...)) "Yes, he asserted to a room full of journalists gathered here, one can believe in both God and science. In fact, says Collins, the latter does more to prove the existence of a creator than not. " Though his own beliefs are firm, Collins understands doubt, skepticism and even atheism. He was once an atheist himself, believing only in what science could prove. As a medical student, hwoever, he stumbled on questions for which science had no answers. In treating dying patients he also began to wonder how he would approach his own death. Not with as much peace as his patients of faith did, he supposed." See the full article. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/08/AR2009050802383.html And a his website: BioLogos.org

Is it THIS BSA National Meeting? http://www.stammering.org/conf.html

Well, of course. No single project of such scale is going to advance without some opposition. Whether it's in the Adirondacks, the Arkansas, or the Appalachians. If BSA is determined to build the Jambo/Training/High Adventure site in Goshen, then they best be ready to listen and adjust and assure. They obviously can't please everyone, but they can strive to accomomdate and assuage the fears of the neighbors. "Full disclosure". It is just possible that somebody might ask a "what if" question that the BSA folks in drybone Texas hadn't thought about in the damp Blueridge. Yeah, the issues aren't about GLBT things, they are about the impact (good and bad) of the building and operation of a big camp and periodic temporary 5th biggest city in Virginia. That's alot of portapotties. And ground water well draw. And transportation gridlock. And trees cut down. And dam safety. And asphalt laying. Ad nauseum. I have a park near my home that is a "conservation area". It has been proposed to develope a "small" area into ball diamonds and soccer fields. Oh, boy, the activists (me among them) got up on our hind legs and went to the meetings. So far, the baseballers play elsewhere and us hikers hike here. It's the (thankfully) American way.

I also find such studies of little use. The ability to predict the "goodness" of a citizen by knowing their religious affiliation is very questionable. It would depend on ones view of the correctness or appropriateness of the religion in question. Merely asserting a membership or agreement with a particular religion would never predict the "goodness" of a person's citizenship. No need to produce3 examples here, we can all find examples of less than exemplery examples of Catholicism or Jewishism or such. Likewise, we can produce examples of lifes lived with wonderful loyalty to the religious founders teachings. But for any particular defined faith, who is the example to cite? Dietrich Bonhoeffer? George Fox? Gautama Buddha? Mahatma Gandhi? Bin Laden? Some will example charity, some forgiveness, some vengefulness. Some will vote and participate in "government, some not. If one declares themselves a "Christian" for instance, this implies a certain agreement with the teachings and example of Jesus. But how many hypocrites do you need to discredit the faith of all other "Christians"? The teachings of some Christian clergy can not be the brush to paint the rest of His followers. It is indeed true that you can judge the tree by it's fruit, and by little else for certain. And it depends on who is doing the judging. The "good citizen" in Vermont may not be seen as a "good citizen" in Natal or Abu Dhabi. I think it was Gandhi who observed that the most Christian people he knew were not Christian. Still, we must try to example the best our faith requires of us and be ready to accept the consequences of our actions from the rest of the world. In my case, WWJD?

Ever watch a Roman/Biblical/sandal flick and notice the Rolex on the wrist of the hero? If you watch closely to "Fist Full of Dollars", you can see a Winebago go by in the distance of one scene. God help the poor Asst. Director in charge of continuity. I remember a TV show (which is in syndication and you'll see it sometime) in which the female lead injures her LEFT foot and hobbles around on a crutch under her LEFT shoulder for a while and then shows up with her RIGHT foot strapped and a crutch under her RIGHT shoulder. Guffaw! Oh the humanity!

Daddy-o, some thoughts that came as I read thru this tome... Harry Truman was once asked what a parent should do to help their children succeed. He replied, as I recall, that one should find out what the child likes to do and if it is not physically harmful, encourage them to do it. Personal story: When I was 6,7, years old, I suffered from allergies, my folks got me tested, and discovered that I was allergic, to one degree or another, to ANYTHING that had hair, feathers or pollen. I had reaction to my own dandruff. I rode in the cab of the truck on the hay ride. I remember taking a series of desensitizing shots for THREE YEARS. Finally, I could pet a cat or dog without flinching. Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts were what I wanted to do. Neither my dad or my mom had any Scout experience, (tho my dad had worked as a timber cruiser). My mom told me once when I asked, that I had come home from school saing that I wanted to be a Cub Scout with my friend. So what I wanted to do, they helped me do. My Scout Troop was an active one, and the advancement came automatically as we hiked and camped. Back then, Merit badges took an effort, as the Counselors might not be in the same Town, much less the same Troop, so the older boys took their time with the higher ranks. Weren't any Eagles, yet (Troop was only, it turns out, about 5 years old when I joined). Then, a boy joined whose dad was a Naval officer. The boy announced (!) to us that he would be Eagle by the time he was 13 and a half. Had it all worked out. Back then, you could not advance in rank except by a time limit in the preceeding rank. WELL, us older boys got together,(really!) and decided we couldn't let this upstart become the Troops first Eagle Scout! So we planned our own Merit Badge classes, called around to find the counselors, and me and two of my friends became our Troops first Eagle scouts. New kid was number six, as it turns out, and about 15. Now , Daddy-o, as to being over active. I was an honor roll student, played and marched in the band, played in a softball league, acted in plays, and did Key Club (jr. Kiwanis) and worked part time both in my dad's business and summers for other businesses. Some things were delayed for others, but it was all fun and I early on realized that some things were more important than others. Ya gotta pick and choose, after all. And my folks encouraged me in what I wanted to do. What does Daddy-o son want to do? REALLY want to do? As to mold allergies, yep, there is mold in them thar hills and woods, but I might suggest old mildewy tents and a possible sensitivity to the chemicals used in the synthetic materials in the gear and tents we now use. And explore with your health advisors the possibility of Daddy-o son outgrowing the allergies, or being desensitized to much of the allergen culprits. I still react to proximal cats and I know when goldenrod is near, but I ran track and cross country in school, too. And still it boils down to (heard this before?) what does son want to do? YiS

Miniature Golf. Any local industry can be approached for a tour "back stage". Saying "Cub Scouts" opens many a door. If you have the initiative, get together with the other local CPacks and organize a Softball league. Don't forget to apply for and earn the "Summer Activity Award".

Wahooker: Welcome to the Forums. And to a great adventure. Your Cubs will long remember the adventures you will help create for them. "The Pack helps the Cub Scout grow..." Ask your DE or your Unit Commissioner to obtain for you and your fellow DLs a binder labeled "Cub Scout Den Leader Kit". It comes with many brochures and other resources that will inspire and be useful to you. Also as has been mentioned, look up the book "Program Helps". Older issues are also very useful for craft and activity ideas. When you are registered as a Scout leader, you will eventually receive the Scouter magazine which will have an insert about CS activities. And don't just do Den meetings in your rec room or church basement. Take'm to the park, meet at the fire station, or arrange a tour of the local hardware store. Check with the State Police and see about touring their helicopter base. Wow those Cubs. Ask yourself, what would I like to see or do? Ask your Cubs and then take'm. KISMIF

*sigh*