SSScout

Excellent question, who is qualified to "teach" and pass on Whitlin' Chip... First, alot of Cub Scout leadership is, after all, self selected. Hopefully, a possible WCh leader might realize their limitations and act (or not) accordingly. Suggestions: In our district, we always try to have a segment of the IOLS be "Woodtools", ie knife, axe and saw use and safety. This by necessity includes requirements for Totin' Chip, which realy does automatically include the Whitlin' Chip material. A Totin' Chip carrying Scout, knowledgable in safe use of knife and axe, must know the Whitlin' Chip material. Accordingly, you might ask the District Training Chair to refer you to the "Woodtools" instructor. He might be willing (any doubt?) to come and give your CS leaders a short seminar for Whitlin' Chip. Then too, having passed Totin' Chip once need not equate to being a good Whitlin' Chip instructor. I knew an SPL who collected pocket knives, had a goodly assortmment. But his goal seemed to be showing off his collection and hearing the Cubs OOO and AAH. Some ASM counseling showed him the error of his way and he became a true believer in teaching knife safety (that, and catching his finger in a clasp knife while trying to close it one handed).

"Scouts Own" "Outdoor Interfaith Service" Diversity awareness... Our district makes sure to have a "Scouts Own" discussion/training in the IOLS training weekend. Alot of good comments and uh-hums during. Single faith units vs diverse faith units vs no faith units (rather not bring it up. Don't want to OFFEND anyone). How to approach a religious service (there's that Scout word "service"*) so as to let it bring everyone in? or no one but a few? or ... But a good, spiritual experience can still be had out in the woods, and many good quotes/readings/prayers/thoughts are available to them that seek via the google. Bible and q'ran can exist side by side. The Golden Lotus has much to recommend itself. "The Redmans Gospel" by Seton will provoke much thought. The Irish and Sufi both can pray better than me. An open mind is a good qualification for a Scout Chaplain. RE: Father Mulcahy of MASH. Hey, maybe SCOUTER.COM needs a new section on Chaplaincy? Or (shudder) just RELIGION? * A visitor comes into a silent Quaker Meeting. He sits down beside a Friend on a bench and waits. After a few minutes in the silence, he leans over to the Friend and whispers "when does the service start?" The Friend leans over and whispers back "after Meeting is over". YiS&C

Depends... Coming from a mom who was one of the first women to get a BS in Journalism way back when, (Chicago Trib in the 20's). Growing up, I sat and watched her write for a local paper. ("Daddy, what's a typewriter?" And what's this package? Car Bon Pa Per...") In her 'declining years' she was a 'stringer' for no less then 3 local papers (two of which are still in business). She would pick up on ANY activity/personalnews or item of local interest and the papers would publish it. Awards, service project, athletic endeavor, fun times, school play, church social,she would put it in good grammatical order and in some section (as appropriate) it would appear. Scouts, second grade, PTA, little league, state rep kisses farmer Johns pig, she'd do it. I doubt if the present papers (or other media ) are any different, they need CONTENT and they need INTEREST. Depending on their own BIAS (and yeah, each will have a bias) there will be some niche for your Scout news. But no paper will print stuff they don't know about. Each unit has to rattle the media cages to get their attention. Don't be bashful about it. You might not get the NYTimes to go gaga about Troop xyz doing a cleanup of the Northwest Branch, but I dare say the Podunk Chronical will. Make the call. We've had articles about Pinewood Derbies, trips to historic sites, Webelos Cross Overs, Cub Scouts Renovates School Courtyard, Troops go to Philmont, all you have to do is get the basics together and call it in, fax it in, email it in. Natchurlee, they like it neat and pretty and "in format", but they will talk you thru it if you try. Who, What, Where, When and Why. Call back person and number. "The Scouts of Troop xyz will stay overnight aboard the USS Constellation the weekend of 25 January. The Scouts look forward to learning how the Navy of 1855 did things. They will sleep in hammocks below decks, swab the decks and serve watches much as the navy of 1855 did. The Uss Constellation is the second oldest US Navy warship still afloat and is part of the USS Constellation Foundation in Baltimore. Troop xyz is sponsored by the Third United Umteen Church of West Side. Mr. John Smith is ScoutMaster and may be reached at 123.456.7890." This is the generic "release" that we used. It led to an interview of some Scouts and a longer article. I have no idea if it led to boys joining , but it was fun seeing it in print. MiS KiF YiS

What's the exchange rate for Yap Island currency? I seem to remember that the citzens there make their own 'money'.

I no longer can read the articles behind the 'Headlines'. Clicking on a 'headline' reliably yields a "Page Not Available" message, everytime. Comments?

Leader asks during planning for an annual 4H dinner, "would anyone mind if I say a grace before the meal?" No one objects, grace is said, meal is eaten. Membership includes at least five known faith persuasions, including "undecided".

I once attended a Pack meeting for a totally different reason (okay, I was asked to come and talk about camping programs), but when I finished, I found myself WANTING to compliment the boys on being so well uniformed, which mostly they were. But I gave a SHORT talk (with the CM permission) about the use of the uniform as a way to show folks where one had been, what one had accomplished, that once you knew the "code", you could "read" the uniform and know alot about the Scout. I spoke about the pride of being a Scout. Would they wear the uni to school? I didn't chastize anyone for lack of correctness nor single out anyone for being well dressed. But I pointed to EVERYONE as I spoke, and included everyone in my comments. Made it a point to compliment the PARENTS for being so attentive to their boys appearance. The CM told me later that he had some parents come to him later to ask about uni issues. A first. He thanked me, an ousider, for stirring the pot alittle, as he put it. Follow as the spirit leads... YiS

Boys throw rocks into the still waters of the lake so they can see how far they can throw and hear the KERPLUNK and see the ripples spread. Not to raise the water level.

It is now getting somewhere we are. Many Religions (there's that word) , Quakers among them, try hard "officially" not to do honor to other religions that they deem to be 'incorrect' or 'wrong'. The honorific pagan names accorded in the past to the days of the week, the names of the months, the names of the planets are excellent examples. To totally remove ALL RELIGIOUS (ie, honoring previously believed in and worshipped gods of various hues), one must fall back on the original old time Quaker tradition of NUMBERING the days of the week and NUMBERING the months of the year,and then referring to the years (anno domini?) as "the 4th year from the big snow that crushed the Baltimore Railroad Museum Round House Roof". And we really do live on the third rock from the sun. Somebody once worshipped the moon, asking it to provide big harvests, therefore monday is not a good government choice for a week day name. Must be "second day". January honors the Roman god of time/history Janus, so the government should use "first month". Uh-huh, Month... honors the moon... need a new name for the 1/12th of the year thing...firstwelveth, secondtwelfth... Can't acknowledge any religious belief in any govermentally sanctioned activity. Taxes remind me of tithing. Didn't somebody say a person should render Caeser type things to Caeser type entities? Atheism is a belief, if only a belief in a LACK of belief, and thus is due our respect and (at least) tolerance. Government can't honor it, tho. I interpret that pesky amendment to include the establishment of a "lack of religion" too. Equality of access is important. It won't be me or you that ultimately rewards (or punishes) our choice of belief. ((how we came to that belief is not the topic here.)), That is, if we believe that someone IS going to reward/punish.. oh never mind. No one damages me by not believing as I do, assuming that's ALL they do, therefore I have no reason to mind or object to the way they feel (or not feel). But to totally remove all religious reference from our activity would be not only awkward and difficult, it would be Orwellian in nature. "And the heavens proclaim the Big Bang" doesn't sound quite as impressive. Then to, placques could be set up to educate folks about the attributes of the orbital rocks and you could space them in scale distance from the Central Star. I know from my astrophysics class that Rockone is very hot. YiS.

Happy new year As a poor college student turned poor batchelor new home owner, I worked for a while as a bus driver for the local transit service. I would note what was left out on the curb and often come back to "shop". I have collected (all in working order) a clothes dryer, couch, color tv (yeah it was a tube set, but 24"), floor lamp, a plexi half globe 30" in diameter that I later learned was the navigators dome from a Martin Mariner (served as a sky lite on my porch), steamer trunk, book cases, camp trunk (with casters became a tool chest), reel to reel tape deck (wollensak), turn table deck, automotive floor jack, large camp tent (old Coleman, used it a few years), many aluminum tent poles, shovels, rakes, a spare tire and wheel for the truck I was driving right when I needed one, many, many books. And lots of "etc." I used them until I couldn't any more (irrevocably broke or the new wife didn't like the decor) at which point the item was given to someone else, recycled, or put on the curb again for the next generation. (the tube RCA color set went to an electronic historian/hobbiest. The good tubes therein were literally irreplacable). It's the American way.

I CARRY a square box Primus. Lights first time, everytime. Scouts carry a collection of types, so called pocket rockets, MSR, etc. Troop trailer CARRIES two burner Colemans, all of which used to be white gas fired. We discovered a conversion kit for the liquid fuel stoves at the local Dick's. This kit also saved my two burner J.C.Higgins stove! (God knows how old that stove is. It was my father in laws). The kit consists of a tube and valve/regulator that inserts into the stove where the gas tank tube would insert and a spring to hold it in.. A propane tank (or extension hose) screws onto the regulator. Presto! A new stove! Kit retails for $18. (on sale for $14.50 ) . The stoves can still use the liquid fuel tanks, if desired.

Check the material. Is it the older cotton/wool canvas? or the more modern nylon stuff? Go check with a couple of cleaners before you go with a particular one. You want to ask for new, CLEAN solvent, not the end-of-the-day stuff. Often rust type stains can be spot cleaned with OTC stuff like "oxyclean". Perhaps it's time to think about retiring the ole faithful. Maybe a glass case on the wall of the CO? What about all those ribbons? Many years of ribbons would make a heckuva display. Any signatures around the edges? What's it's history? YiS and Happy Christmas

Gateways have their time and place. Consider ... Building comeraderie, team spirit, Patrol/Troop spirit, pride of belonging, memories, encouraging creativity, pride of accomplishment, sense of space, skill acquired, leadership and working together experience. Hiking the AT, aloooong time ago, my Troop once came up to a shelter site that already had another Troop encamped. We took a less desirable area, but we made it ours, at least temporarily, by instantaneously creating some "streetsigns" a "welcome to" gateway and labeling the cooking area a "restaurant", the SM and SPL tents "city hall". Lashings and notepaper and sticks. The other Troop looked on in wonder. We had a joint campfire later. Camporees, Jamborees, perhaps longer-term sites are better suited to such efforts, but I remember the fun. Next morning, before lunch time, we dissassembled it all and were on our seperate ways, having left only footprints and fire circle ash (duly scattered).

""Some Christians Shun Christmas and Its Trappings" by Jacqueline L. Salmon, Staff writer http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/22/AR2007122201747.html For some Christians, Christmas is just another day. "It's not in the Bible", said Arnold Hampton, 58, minister of the United Church of God Columbia, who hasn't celebrated the holiday since 1966. "Jesus never mentioned it". # # # # Gives one pause.... In the mean time, y'all have a happy Jesus birthday...

Without trying to recount the history of the holiday of Christmas and its many celebratory rituals (visits to Kmart?), I'd like to point out that many 'Christian' religions regard such celebrating as 'vain displays', and unworthy of the faith. Mennonites, Quakers, Hutterites, Jehovahs Witnesses, Amish and others certainly recognize and remember Jesus' birth, but note that no one day should be considered "holier" than another. All are God's creation and therefore everyday must be worthy of note in our actions and worship if we are to be loyal to His teachings and example. But the tree smells nice in the house and it is better to look at than the TV set it replaces in the corner of the living room. All things in moderation. And the Sabbath was created for man.

Fscouter: Short answer, Yes. Except substitute "Scout" for the word "Eagle". That is waaaay too limiting. Not every boy will approach Eagle, but all of them can pick up a bit of the 'ideal'. Then, too, not every Eagle is really an exemplery Scout...(previous discussions) I can think of little better than to give a boy (or girl!) the skills to feel confident of their ability and judgement in ANY given situation, be it back in the woods on a cold winters day or in the voters booth or next to a man clutching his throat or in a stuck elevator or in a School assembly or in the family kitchen. I can think of no situation where Scout Skills and/or the Scout Law and Promise cannot find purpose. How 'bout them POTUS candidates? Any place they could apply Scout experience there? (if they had any?) I guess that's where my mission lays, kinda like the definition of "art". I know it when I see it? Also see the small booklet "In The Founders Footsteps" YiS

Inknprkn: Ditto all the above. Congrats on getting this far along. Hope you had a leetle fun along the way and made a few friends! Three questions for you: 1) What's with this "...need to do 1-2 more of the regular ones"? You don't know exactly how many MBs you have and therefore need? Sit down at your dining room table with your Eagle packet/notebook and figure it out. You either have'm or you don't. Bluecards? 2) I wonder why you are asking a bunch of (well meaning, concerned and knowledgable) strangers about this. Are there issues with speaking with your SM, AdC, ? Have you an Eagle Advisor in your Troop? (oops, more than three questions) Any contact with your District AdC yet? Don't forget to keep your PARENTS informed........ 3) What are you doing wasting time reading this? Get cracking, boy! Good Luck and God speed! YiS

Ditto the 'burning bridges' and new unit vs transfer unit to a new CO. DE would always want to see new units rather than t/f units. Tax ID: For tax free status, the Pack/Troop/Crew buying at our Scout Shop is always tax exempt, covered by Council status, not unit. Then too, the CO (at least in YOUR case, a PTA) should be non-profit/charitable; therefore you might inquire to use their tax ID, since they "own" the Pack. If you buy things for PERSONAL use, then you pay the tax. There's that word again...

It is , indeed, a good day. Thank you Ea.

God and Taxes... Typical subjects for a Scout forum, mmm? "... but teach a man to fish, and you'll never see him on a saturday again." (sez friends wife)

Been busy with my Meetings Christmas pageant... live sheep. Pack: Say, if there is a Christianity test, what's a passing grade and, by the way, who does the final grading? Can I register for pass/fail? Is there a CURVE or PERCENTILE CUT? Can you 'audit' the course? Can one 'opt out'? I always tell my kids EVERYTHING is a test. Lots of popquizzes along the way...Just not everybody passes. Read the homework and take notes during the lectures. AND ask the Instructor questions when they occur to you (some pupils call this prayer). You might not get another chance. Extra credit?

Since we have no local source, we must import such gustatory nuanced material. GW: Do you favor Baxter State Park or Quebec's Mont Treblant?

In this era of litigation and medical miracles , why have I not heard the phrase " err on the side of caution"? At my WB weekend, I had TWO embedded ticks in my leg, at the same time. When I realized what the discomfort was, I reported it to the first aider (a paramedic in 'real life').I offered to drive myself home(a 45 minute drive away), but she insisted that this was an ER thing, could be infected, mebbe deer ticks, Rocky Mountain fever, Lyme desease, needs to be documented, surgical removal, etc. Well, I can drive myself, nearest ER's about 25 minutes away. No, no, this is too serious, call the LSU from the fire station down the road...and so I was wisked away in the back of a state-of-the-art ambulance in the company of a crusty old veteran paramedic and her cute, blonde, 19 year old 'apprentice', both of which insisted on inspecting the sites, on the old mans inner thigh. ummm. Oh well, the ER doc excised the remains of the ticks, took them in for culturing and some time later my home doc put me on a 'profilactic course of antibiotic'. All is well. I doubt if a camp RN would have done less. In the older days, that RN would've swabbed the sites with alcohol, gently teased the ticks out with some tweezers and sent the Scout back to camp. This is better? I don't think so. As I told a friend who had broken his foot, "That's why God created orthopedic surgeons".

Senior Scout earned Eagle. Plan his own ceremony? Sure. Invited the Troop to a camp out on his grandparents farm. Invited Troop family to the campfire saturday night.(bring your own chair). SM and CC and all did the award thing in front of the fire under the Pine trees. Nice fall night. Very Scouty. Brownies not necessary. Hot cocoa and cider and hot dogs on sticks and all the fixins. Sing the Scout Vespers. Go to bed happy. YiS

The AL beanie only works (ie., absorb the high to mid frequency control microwaves) if it is properly grounded. Therefore, don't forget the necessary trail wire. Most EEs I knew in college ran the wire down their shirt and pants leg to the ground plate/heel tap on the bottom of their penny loafers. Seemed to work. YiiiiiiiS