SSScout

May I guess? 'Scout's Own' discussion? From Rumi: Let the beauty we love be what we do. From the Navahoe: Before me peaceful, behind me peaceful, under me peaceful, around me peaceful. Robbie Burns: (with appropriate accent, if possible) Sum ha' meat, and canna eat, sum ca' eat but ha' nun. But WE ca' eat and we ha' meat, and so the Laird be thank-ed. Try www.religioustolerance.org www.boyscouttrail.com www.usscouts.org for other graces and prayers.

What he said. We would wrap an egg in a slice of bread and pack it in the billy pot of our BSA cook kit. That would be the toast and egg for the next morning on the trail. Bacon wrapped in waxed paper around the bread and egg. Good for at least one day w/o refrigeration. Speaking of fresh eggs... The Ballad of Hard Luck Henry By Robert W. Service Now wouldn't you expect to find a man an awful crank That's staked out nigh three hundred claims, and every one a blank; That's followed every fool stampede, and seen the rise and fall Of camps where men got gold in chunks and he got none at all; That's prospected a bit of ground and sold it for a song To see it yield a fortune to some fool that came along; That's sunk a dozen bedrock holes, and not a speck in sight, Yet sees them take a million from the claims to left and right? Now aren't things like that enough to drive a man to booze? But Hard Luck Smith was hoodoo-proof- he knew the way to lose. 'Twas in the fall of nineteen-four- leap year I've heard them say- When Hard-Luck came to Hunker Creek and took a hillside lay, And lo! as if to make amends for all the futile past, Late in the year he struck it rich, the real pay-streak at last. The riffles of his sluicing-box were choked with speckled earth, And night and day he worked that lay for all that he was worth. And when in chill December's gloom his lucky lease expired, He found that he had made a stake as big as he desired. One day while meditating on the waywardness of fate, He felt the ache of lonely man to find a fitting mate; A petticoated pard to cheer his solitary life, A woman with soft, soothing ways, a confidant, a wife. And while he cooked his supper on his little Yukon stove, He wished that he had staked a claim in Love's rich treasure-trove; When suddenly he paused and held aloft a Yukon egg, For there in pencilled letters was the magic name of Peg. You know these Yukon eggs of ours- some pink, some green, some blue- A dollar per, assorted tints, assorted flavors, too! The supercilious cheechako might designate them nigh, But one acquires a taste for them and likes them by-and-by. Well, Hard-Luck Henry took this egg and held it to the light, And there was more faint pencilling that sorely taxed his sight. At last he made it out, and then the legend ran like this- "Will Klondike miner write to Peg, Plumhollow, Squashville, Wis?" That night he got to thinking of this far-off, unknown fair; It seemed so sort of opportune, an answer to his prayer She flitted sweetly through his dreams, she haunted him by day, She smiled through clouds of nicotine, she cheered his weary way. At last he yielded to the spell; his course of love he set- Wisconsin his objective point, his object, Margaret. With every mile of sea and land his longing grew and grew He practiced all his pretty words, and these, I fear, were few. At last, one frosty evening, with a cold chill down his spine, He found himself before her house, the threshold of the shrine. His courage flickered to a spark, then glowed with sudden flame, He knocked; he heard a welcome word; she came-his goddess came! Oh, she was fair as any flower, and huskily he spoke. "I'm all the way from Klondike, with a mighty heavy poke. I'm looking for a lassie, one whose Christian name is Peg, Who sought a Klondike miner, and who wrote it on an egg." The lassie gazed at him a space, her cheeks grew rosy red, She gazed at him with tear-bright eyes, then tenderly she said, "Yes, lonely Klondike miner, it is true my name is Peg. It's also true I longed for you and wrote it on an egg. My heart went out to someone in that land of night and cold; But oh, I fear that Yukon egg must have been mighty old I waited long, I hoped and feared; you should have come before; I've been a wedded woman now for eighteen months or more. I'm sorry, since you've come so far, you ain't the one that wins; But won't you take a step inside? I'll let you see the twins! *From "Ballads Of A Cheechako" Published 1909

Man, I'm sure gald they don't charge extra for all this extra entertainment. Boubon Pecan, please. You may drizzle with dark chocolate sauce, if you have it.

JiKC: Absolutely. When the boy signs up, the parent(s) are also handed an app and it is explained how important it is to the Troops success to have an active Committee. Oh, BTW, was that the parent helicopter or the UFO helicopters you referred to?

How many Patrols? How many judges? say, 3 tour around to each Patrol site and sample cuisine? Deadline for cooking finish ("Meal must be ready to serve at 6pm")? Add points (so many for this plus so many for that) or take away points (start with 100, deduct 2 for each pot/utensil used in cooking, 3 off for bark in the ragoo, etc.)? Extra credit for serving and ambience of meal setting? Patrol sits together at a hand built lashed table or scattered around tent site? Does sanitary prep count? Overall hygiene? Hand wash station? Does Clean up count? Camp stove or Camp fire? Charcoal or only wood? Camp Kitchen Safety: everyone Totin' Chip equipped? Fire prevention equipped? Patrol Style points: Chef hats, aprons, etc. Grace said? Are they listed in the Mobil Guide? Give ""STARS"" for outstanding Haut Scout Cuisine!! Bone Appetitee!(This message has been edited by SSScout)

How old is the Troop? Find the "first" Eagle, if he's still around, ask him to come and speak about his time and his challenges. Seven at once is a wonderful opportunity, but as has been said, it's the boy'(s) party. Work with (him) them and do it right. Newspaper coverage? PR? Search these forums, you'll find many types of ceremonies, both grand and humble. From Petite Fours to hotdogs and slaw. Congrats to all. Continued Good Scouting to them all.

Scoutfriendshortridge: Good sabertooth chop. Light weight carry no u-ten-sil, no need. Eat when burned sufficiently. Ummmmm. Wipe hand on loin cloth.

760: Yep, as in all volunteer groups, the work is done by whoever shows up. It's good if all the TC members take the "TCMember" training (online), but really, any Troop parent who shows up is on the committee. And, indeed, the TC members need not be parents in the Troop. Our home Troop's CC has a son who graduated from Scouts more than a few years ago. He still serves as TCC and very well too. Keeps us all up to date and ready. Many of the active TC members are new to Scouting, some old timers. All are supportive, with ideas, time, experience, and ownership of the various tasks and activities necessary to the Scout Troop Program. A good TCC works the phone, invites EVERY Tparent to participate, works to eliminate cliques and "old boy" networks, for soon the "old boys" won't be there anymore and then the "young boys" ;-) need to take over or there will soon be no Troop. Remain on the ethical high ground, do not allow yourself to be brought down to their level. Good Scouting to you.

Measurable and verifiable. In our Mega Council, the WBers came from all corners of the realm. I had one Patrol mate (hoot hoot) lived about 12 miles away from me, everyone else, some more than 40, across the river. Our TG was almost 50(!) miles away from me, the WB SM about 15. The TG was, as you say, our Ticket Counselor. We communicated mostly by email. He worked selling (among other things... duct tape!) And traveled more than alittle. When I thought I had all my ducks in a row for any Ticket item, I made copies, wrote a letter about it all and mailed them to the TG. He would email back with "congrats" or "I think you need thus and so...". Or he might phone me and we'd talk. Only time we'd meet in person would be for one of my Patrolmates beading, we'd talk then, too. You'll know when you're done. When you tell your TG, he'll know too.

All parents in the Troop are ex officio on the TC. Make sure all know about the purchase. The Treasurer must make all transactions open and available to the TC, this is only reasonable. How is the trailer titled? Who owns it? Who purchased the tags? Who holds the registration? Who insures it? The COrg by rights (unless the Troop is 'self chartered', another can of worms) owns the trailer and the IH and COR should be made aware of any great capital acquisition. These issues all need to be addressed ,too, besides internecine politics. I was once part of an organization that did sponsor hikes and canoe trips and such (not Scouts) and we always "rented" a van from one of our loyal parents. We felt the org should not OWN such equipment. Our rental agreement allowed for insurance and responsibility for various contingencies. He kept the van in good repair, we used it for good purposes, he was paid a reasonable sum for use of his van. Kept our costs down and predictable.

It all boils down to desire. Do you want to make cars (or widgets) or do you want to make money? Henry Ford early on realized that it would be a good thing if the workers in his factories could afford to buy (and want to buy) the products they produced. If you want to make money, then design and connive to do so. If you want to make cars, then design them to be efficient, dependable and useful. You will make money. If you desire to make too much money, well, see what happens? Making things that are designed to be used is different than making things that are designed to be sold. One of the ironic things is the gigabucks the CEOs have been paid are, in my opinion, "make believe" money; that is to say first, it isn't cash it is for the most part 'promised ' money. Second, the multi millions that have been amassed by these giants of industry, are pretty much unusable for any real purpose. If the stocks are cashed in, the stock market drops. If the cash in the banks is used to buy yachts or private islands, this does not improve the industrial base and help support the folks that must buy the products that they make. It is ,therfore, entirely appropriate that if our tax money, borrowed tho it may be from our grandchildren, is used to prop up or delay the demise of an industry, that conditions be palced on it's use and that it's users be held accountable for the required use AND that all this be held up for the publics perusal and consideration. My '96 Mercury Villager (Nissan Quest that it is) has 206,000 miles and I anticipate many more canoe and camp trips.

What you want is "Shooting Sports for Cub Scouts" Pub. #13-550. I don't think it is "officially" available online. You should check with your Council Store. My copy is c/r 2004. Someone nearby will have a copy you can copy. Gunpowder firearms are inappropriate for Cubs, but air powered BBs are ok with appropriate planning and Range Officering, etc. Also Slingshots and Archery, which our Cubs really love. Think basic safety: Range demarcation, access limits, target backups, safe technique instruction and practice, range discipline and decorum, all that stuff.

Uhh... Burn saber tooth chop, teeth, hand, why need , what you say, u - ten - sil?

"Shoes? You had shoes?" Can't remember why I joined Cubs, but I did. My mom and neighbor mom were Den moms. I think my dad had the unfinished basement done out in knotty pine just so we'd have a good place for Den meetings. He cut out the cork for the Thunder Bird key holders, the plywood for the glued on magazine picture mom's day presents, drove us for the Den and Pack trips (mom didn't get her license until she was, gee, mid fortys?). Taught me how to care for paintbrushes properly, nice lettering and poster making (spelling! Penmanship! Composition!). No font finding back then! Of course we had the whole uniform, pants too long and hemmed up, let down as I grew. Yellow piped pockets, buttoned down on one side and up on the other (Why??). Brown "Buster Brown" O.I. BSA Shoes from the (Trivia: what was BB's dogs's name?) Hecht Co. Big ol' boat of a Buick Roadmaster with 6 or 7 Cubs (no seatbelts) on our way (in full uni) to visit the Zoo, or County Fair. Scout-a-rama at the County Fair grounds, our Pack sold ready made popcorn (not Scout type yet). Only popcorn at the Scoutarama! We sold out early, as I recall. My dad went to the local movie theater, they told him where to go to get HUGE bags of the freshly already popped corn, and as I remember, they DONATED all of it! Filled up the whole Buick R/M, barely room for him and me. Boy, that was along time ago...

The problem with being from Delaware appears to be a lack of opportunity. Opportunity of title proliferation. 'Round here, near our Nations Capitol, along with all the worthy folks you mention, we also boast of Deputy District Executives, Regional Directors (overseeing multiple Districts), various Assistant Scout Executives and, altho I can't remember the men's titles, a few Pros that hold sway over multi State Areas (Central Atlantic?). Then I know a fellow who is a "Water Front Manager Trainer", travels around to various camps and training... WFMs! We could talk about us non-pros, too...

Oh, one more thing occurs to me. Patriotic sentiments aside, a really impressive sight can be a "massed" flag group in a parade. Get together with some more Cub Packs (and Scout Troops?), work to get many US and State and Troop and Pack flags together, make them Scout size appropriate, and work to get a sizable contingent together. Think of the possibilities, yes?

Did the presenter have any QSL cards to hand out? Neat souvenirs. Ask him/her about QSL cards... Lookee http://www.qslman.com/

A B C D Can I bring my friend to tea?

Think twice about the size of Cub Scout Parade flags. The same pole/flag that is carriable by a Star Scout will be a little tall for a Bear or even an average Webelos Scout. The pole and flag that the Cub can carry in "at drag" to open the Pack meeting and post in the stand at the front of the room will generally be too big to safely carry, even with a harness, in parade. Plan on a pole no more than twice the hieght of the Cub, and a flag of like proportions, maybe 1/3 the hieght of the pole. We're talking about weight and hieght and balance and wind here. Good Scouting to you! MiF KiS !

Lisa and John and Firecat have the answers (1) The council CANNOT ask for donations for anything else but the Council. Don't expect the 'trickledown'. (2) You can make the request to the Town Council on behalf of your Pack for whatever use (camperships, new equipment, whatever) but make sure it is accepted by your CO on your Pack's behalf. (3) Make sure it is clear to all in your presentation that your pack is open to all, without distinction of faith or other allegiance (some Scout units do make such distinctions). This will give you more credence in the eyes of the politicos. (4) Be sure, whether you receive the 'grant' or not, that you do a "good turn" some how for City Hall. Flower bed maintenance, color guard duty for Council Meeting, bird house construction, something. Keep your Pack out there in the public eye. The PR can't hurt. Good Scouting to you and thank you for the stuff you do for our kids. Story: As FAEE for the CSDC, I was approached by a Souter BoD member of a local business. He said they were lining up their charitable donations for the year. He had heard we had problems with the fee charged by the Park Dept. for our use of the Park for the CSDC. Could they take care of that for us? I said SURE! We went thru the Council bureacracy about the company covering the Park Fee (about $3000.). The Council said they would gladly accept a FoS donation and then earmark that for our CSDC. Ultimately, I was told the company decided they could not foot the whole of the bill and made a smaller donation, noted "for XYZ District CSDC Park Rental Fee". We never saw mention of it on our balance sheet. CSDC still came out in the black, tho.

As I said before, I could not attend the info meeting, but I did attend '05 Jambo.I think the idea of "saving trees" is a noble one, but I will ask, where do you put 50,000 Scouts? In tents? In Troop sites? Compare that to the attendance and arrangement/dispersal of the normal summer camps at GSR. The clearing will happen and the tromping of 100,000 feet in 10 days time will take it's toll. The second growth and remaining first growth will suffer, no matter what.

Oh My... http://comics.com/the_buckets/2009-03-25/

Hal: By gar, I thought that must of been you I saw going down the Bay Trail that year! 64,65,66. I musta used a gallon of Vaseline for seanettle protection for the Mile Swim! Pohick Bay Camp, eh?

Whenever the old fellow was asked to lead a prayer he always began with "Lord, prop us up on our leanin' side". After hearing him pray so fervently thus, he was asked the story behind it, because we knew there must be one... He answered, "Well sir, I got an old barn out back. It's been there a long time, been thru alot of bad weather and it's served it's purpose well thru many a storm. It's still standing, but one day I noticed it was leanin' off to one side a bit. So I went and got some Pine poles and propped it up on it's leanin' side so's it wouldn't fall. "Then I got to thinking about that and how much I was like that old barn. I've been around a long time. I've withstood a lot of bad weather and hard times in my life and I hope to say I've met my purpose more than not. But I come to realize that I find myself leaning to one side from time to time. Maybe we get to leaning toward anger, leaning toward bitterness or hatred, leaning toward alot of things that we shouldn't. "So we need to pray, "Lord, Please prop us up on our leanin' side, help us to stand straight like you wants us to. Help us to make our purpose your purpose. AH-men."

Please do me a favor... Send this in to "SCOUTING" magazine. This is what it's all about. This is a successful Scout Leader. Pass this on to us all.