SSScout

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

Boy, took a while to wade thru this. Buddhists aren't Chrstian. Muslims aren't. (I'm 'commissioning' a new Troop and Pack sponsored by a mosque). Hindus aren't Christians (met a couple of HScouts at the Jamboree). I've even met some Christians that didn't act much like the Jesus I know. """((joke))Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!" He said, "Nobody loves me." I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?" He said, "Yes." I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?" He said, "A Christian." I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?" He said, "Protestant." I said, "Me, too! What franchise?" He said, "Baptist." I said, "That's great! Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?" He said, "Northern Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist." I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region." I said, "Wonderful! Me, too! Northern ConservativeBaptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?" He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912." I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over. So ya pays yer money and ya takes yer cherce. If a LDS person considers themself a Christian, it ultimately isn't for me to say nay. but still, "by their fruits ye shall know them." I think it was Gandhi who said that the most Christian person he ever met was Muslim. (This message has been edited by SSScout)

Thank you, Ea. As Willy Sutton said, "because that's where the money is." So, taking the suggestion, if you wish to find BOYS, you ought to go to where the boys are. Schools (we've been thru that), TV, libraries, newspapers (well, the parents read'em, we hope), mebbe blogs are next? But the point is that, just like alot of Scout stuff, one can't depend on National or Council to do it. As way opens to you, just do it (outside of that reserved one hour a week, of course). Because if the boy doesn't want it (quality program, boy led, etc.), the parent ain't gonna support it. And if the boy doesn't know about it, he isn't gonna want it. I guess they all go together, don't they? So you tell the parents about the opportunity and the boy about the opportunity and then try to clear your calendar's saturdays for the next 5 years...

...because no one uses candles on camp trips, that's why... Don't trust Council or District to put Scouting in the public eye, you local unit folks gotta do it. On the inside page of your local paper are all the phone numbers and email addresses you need to get started. The smaller and more local the paper, the more they will love to "cover" your Scout event. Cub Scout Day Camp, Camporee, overnight visit to the local historic warship, local boy earns Eagle, local group (!Troop!) to hike 200 miles thru New Mexico mountains, if your Scout group is going to do it, TELL SOMEONE. If your Cub Pack has a PR person, very often the local editor will love to include the results of your Pinewood Derby and you know the boys will get a kick out of seeing their name in print. MAKE THE CALL. WRITE THE NOTE. TV stations are a possibility if you have "eyecandy" to go with the story. Monkey bridge, flag ceremony, lots of Cubs cheering, watergun fights, rock climbing. Radio stations are not as good sources of PR as they were because most are into music and not so much about local news, but ya don't know until ya ask. The phone call is best to pique their interest. Ask to speak to the NEWS editor, they will send you to the right person. Be persistant. You may have to repeat your story many times to many people. Be patient and upbeat every time. **After 6 phone calls, speaking to at least four different people, I convinced the "Metro" editor to cover our visit to the USS Constellation. One quarter page story, two scouts interviewed. Of course it was worth the effort. **Umpteen phone calls, several emails, and the Washington Post sent a photog and reporter to our CSDC. One half page with 4 photos in the local County insert!! Even the reporter said he had a good time! **District makes contact with a local weather TV man. Guess who speaks about Scouting for Food on TV for a week!! **How 'bout the traffic 'copter overflying (flpflpflpflpflpflp) the Camporee? Now, I have no idea how many (if any) new Scouts we gained from these, but they cost NOTHING but effort. All it needs is SOMEONE to make the calls. 'Course, if National wants to get Mel Gibson or somebody to do voice over for a thirty second rockclimbingflagraisingtugowarrafttriphikealongmonkeyropebridgearcherybbgunsoccergame interlude, well, nothing wrong with that. Oh, that's Mathew 5:15.

After all, we all depend on each other , right? We don't drive to the grocery store except for the skill and efforts of our friends the auto workers union and OPEC. Thus, we must realize our responsibility to provide for the archeologists of the future, by LEAVING STUFF BEHIND for the curious students of the early twenty first century. LNT but L alittle T every so often, even on Mars. "Frank! Look at this! It has a hinge and... are those numbers? and this smooth surface, What are those.. figures.. looks like ...N...O...K..I.. oh, I can't make that out...A? no...H? I bet Professor Velikovsky will love this..." op cit. "Great Moments in Architecture" by David Macaulay And "Motel of the Mysteries" by David Macaulay (This message has been edited by SSScout)

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/02/AR2007120201896.html?sub=AR In Pa., Scouts Refuse to Lift Ban Chapter to Ignore City's Order to Alter Policy Excluding Gays By Dafna Linzer Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, December 3, 2007; Page A03 The Boy Scouts in Philadelphia are refusing to break camp. The city has given the local chapter until today to renounce its policy of excluding gays or forfeit the lease on the grand, Beaux-Arts building it has rented from the city for $1 a year since 1928. By refusing the city order, the Boy Scouts in Philadelphia face losing their headquarters by June 1, or else must pay market value for the property. (By Michael Perez -- Philadelphia Inquirer) "We're ignoring the deadline," said Mark Chilutti, a member of the Cradle of Liberty Council executive board, which operates the local Scouts chapter. "It was the least bad option we have." The decision is likely to intensify a four-year standoff with city officials who have been trying to enforce a 1982 "fair practices" law that bans municipal subsidies for organizations that discriminate. The city solicitor, Romulo L. Diaz Jr., had given the chapter until today to change its policies. If the Scouts refuse to do so, they will have to leave their historic headquarters by June 1 or pay market value for the property, which the city has placed at $200,000 a year. Diaz said in a recent interview that he would begin looking for a new tenant for the 100-year-old building tomorrow. The confrontation between the city and the nation's third-largest Scouts chapter began in May 2003 when the national Boy Scouts held their annual meeting in Philadelphia. During the conference, a local Scout challenged the organization's policies by announcing on television that he was gay and a devoted member of the organization. He was promptly dismissed by the council. When the city responded by threatening to evict the chapter, local Boy Scout officials considered breaking with the national policy. But they were soon facing the prospect of another eviction, this time from the national Boy Scouts, who said Cradle of Liberty would lose its charter if it opened its ranks to gays. "We are a franchisee of the national council," Chilutti said. "If we were a McDonald's franchisee, we couldn't sell Whoppers, even if we thought it was a better product." The Supreme Court ruled seven years ago that the Boy Scouts of America, as a private organization, has the right to exclude gays from its ranks. The Boy Scouts also prohibit atheists and agnostics from employment on the grounds that such beliefs are inconsistent with the values of the country's largest youth organization. Two years ago, Congress passed the Support Our Scouts Act to protect chapters from local government attempts to strip them of access to public facilities in response to the anti-gay policy. The Cradle of Liberty Council tried to satisfy the city and the national organization by issuing a four-line statement that concluded: "Prejudice, intolerance and unlawful discrimination in any form are unacceptable within the ranks of Cradle of Liberty Council." But gay rights groups worried that "unlawful discrimination" gave the chapter cover to continue anti-gay hiring practices. Jeff Jubelirer, a spokesman for Cradle of Liberty, said the chapter has not faced any discrimination charges in recent years and has since adopted an informal "don't ask, don't tell" policy for its support staff. But potential scout leaders must affirm that they are not gay. Cradle of Liberty says it serves more than 64,000 youths, mostly from the inner city, and that, as a result, its programming is centered on mentoring and after-school programs instead of suburban camping trips. It also hosts the oldest scouting event in the country, a three-day annual encampment at Valley Forge to commemorate the harsh winter that George Washington spent there with Continental Army soldiers. Chilutti said the Scouts are still weighing their options and are looking forward to reopening the issue in January when incoming mayor Michael Nutter is sworn in. "This is a city with a very high homicide rate and many other problems. I doubt the mayor's first priority is going to be to evict the Boy Scouts," Chilutti said. (This message has been edited by SSScout)(This message has been edited by SSScout)

""Knife? Yew caul thet a knife?"" Yes, Mr. Dundee, I call that a knife, so do my Scouts...

When teaching Whittlin' Chip or Totin' Chip, we always teach safe handling of ALL types of knives/axes/saws. Then, as G2SS or District rules dictate, we note that (ie, no "survival" knives, etc.) and we make LARGE note of school restrictions (knife possession equals suspension). Folding knives (clasp and lockback) only on Scout activities. Others not necessary (except for perhaps kitchen knives for cooking use). ASM shaving with super sharpened axe will be considered later...

Troop 1390 and Troop 1396 Partnered for the tree sale. Douglas Doerr is Scoutmaster of Troop 1390. His email is: doug_doerr@msn.com I spoke to him this evening and he gave me permission to publish his email here. He said that he has had offers of support from as far away as Alaska. He said that they have received donations that more than make up the loss of the trees. What a lesson for his boys, that so much good can come from such a poor example. One man asked to "buy a stolen tree, not a real one, a stolen one". So Mr. Doerr said the trees would have been priced at $45 and $60 so the man sent in a check for $60. Mr. Doerr said his Troop would discuss how to utilize the "extra" money, perhaps helping another not so fortunate (?!) Scout unit or use it to help recruitment. He invites your communication. Yis again and again....

"Spider Web Carry" Create the following: A ring of cord or other material, maybe 6 inches in diameter, diameter depends on the size ball you will use. On this ring tie 5 or 6 (or more) lengths of cord about 5 or 6 feet or so long, spread out in a wheel spoke array. Now, Place the ring on the floor and spread the cords out radially and evenly around it. Place a ball (basket ball, dodge ball, tennis ball, depends on size of the ring and vice versa) on the ring. Participants grasp rope ends and ((working together!!)) carefuly lift the ball up off the floor and carry it to another location and place it carefully down again. Variations: Dump the ball into a container. Pick the ball up again without touching it. Do it SILENTLY. Everybody RIGHT HAND ONLY. LEFT HAND ONLY. Make two and have a race.

Dale City, VA. Scout Troop raises money by selling Christmas Trees. When they return the next day after unloading the delivery truck the day before, they discover someone has made off with a goodly portion of their stock. They already have pledges of aid to make up the loss from folks as far away as Alaska and Illinois. http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1107/475907.html(This message has been edited by SSScout)

Our Troop got it's trailer after the conjunction of several lines... (1) Troop had accumulated alot of gear. Over flowed the Scout Closet in the CO. Spread around in several Scouter garages: 2 burner gas stoves, water coolers, Troop tents, Tarps, cook sets, etc. (2) Patrols (once 5) all made Patrol boxes and Camporee type tables. (3) Troop got smaller (1 Patrol), dads left too. (4) Eagle Scout graduated, gave his Scout Acount to Troop to purchase trailer, spent project converting empty trailer into storage and carrying racks. (5) Another Eagle project built a storage shelter for the trailer and more shelving on the corner of the CO property. Troop still small. Now, the Troop is again a larger more active size. And so we got a trailer that sits mostly, and we draw things out of it as we need for camping trips. If it's a real expedition, a camporee or big family trip to the beach park, we haul the trailer. Otherwise, it is a big closet.

As with the boys trou, we usually iron on patch material INSIDE the knees of the cotton/poly trou pre-emptively, thus reinforcing the area that wears first. We haven't bought the switchback types yet, having not really liked previous 100% nylon stuff. When and if we do, should we consider the reinforcing of the knees? Will iron on stuff STICK to the nylon anyhow? Nylon always does "pill" in reponse to abrasion. Goes with the territory. Chinese, eh?

As with the boys trou, we usually iron on patch material INSIDE the knees of the cotton/poly trou pre-emptively, thus reinforcing the area that wears first. We haven't bought the switchback types yet, having not really liked previous 100% nylon stuff. When and if we do, should we consider the reinforcing of the knees? Will iron on stuff STICK to the nylon anyhow? Nylon always does "pill" in reponse to abrasion. Goes with the territory. Chinese, eh?

As with the boys trou, we usually iron on patch material INSIDE the knees of the cotton/poly trou pre-emptively, thus reinforcing the area that wears first. We haven't bought the switchback types yet, having not really liked previous 100% nylon stuff. When and if we do, should we consider the reinforcing of the knees? Will iron on stuff STICK to the nylon anyhow? Nylon always does "pill" in reponse to abrasion. Goes with the territory. Chinese, eh?

As with the boys trou, we usually iron on patch material INSIDE the knees of the cotton/poly trou pre-emptively, thus reinforcing the area that wears first. We haven't bought the switchback types yet, having not really liked previous 100% nylon stuff. When and if we do, should we consider the reinforcing of the knees? Will iron on stuff STICK to the nylon anyhow? Nylon always does "pill" in reponse to abrasion. Goes with the territory. Chinese, eh?

Oriental theme? Poke around, you can find a "custom" fortune cookie bakery, maybe some Scout fortunes? There's a basis for a skit! Scouts at a Chinese reataurant, and as they open their FCs the fortunes come true! "You are talented in aquatics" and the waiter spills water on him...

I don't think there's any truth to the rumor that the Pet Care and Cooking MBs are being combined. But my Dinosaur Husbandry MB has always been a source of pride to me. Just ask my son.

Ditto the MB mills, camps and Saturdays. The boys have come to expect MBs handed to them. I rarely hear (my son included) of a Scout going out and SEEKING the MB. I escorted some Scouts to a MB Saturday at a local camp. The info made it clear that the Canoeing class was meant to complete incomplete MB blue cards, but there were a couple of boys that came EXPECTING to get the whole MB in one day. I ended up being the lead instructor when the scheduled fellow didn't show (? Trustworthy?). As to plant ID... my father was a timber cruiser in his younger days. I learned about trees before smaller scale things. I have trailed along behind some Scouters giving a nature walk and had to grit my teeth and use my best diplomatic language to correct some well meaning gaffs. On a lighter note, I had a Scout friend name of Henry, whose plant identification system was like this... here's a big green thing and here's a little green thing and this one ain't got no green things on it... ( and he was the SPL for a time). So would we have any Eagles at all if not for the MB Saturdays?

Ones behavior is dependant on ones experience and education. One does what WORKS, according to past experience. What is desired? and how can I get it? How did my mom and pop get what they want? By education, I not only mean the sit down and listen kind, but the watch what happens kind. Ones experience comes from family and everything else. If the everything else is lacking, guess where the experience comes from? When a boy becomes a Scout (whyever he becomes a Scout), he brings alot of OTHER experience and education with him. Attention? Raise hell. Bad attention is better than no attention. Approval? Prove I'm right by force rather than logic or discussion. Who's in charge? I'm better if I'm in charge and I'm in charge if I can yell you down. Saisfaction and pride? Accomplishing bad things is better than accomplishing nothing. Self worth? Since young folks define this by adult approbation, it helps to make it CLEAR what is expected and what is not acceptable. When one is older, hopefully the idea that one is worthy in God's eye (if not my dad or moms) has been internalized. Confidence? Knowing how to do something (stirring up trouble) is better than knowing how to do nothing. Merely mouthing the Scout Promise and Law does not help the Scout understand what is expected from these ideals. SM Minutes, hikes at night, campfire talks, SM conferences, CoH ceremonies that include SP & L reminders, all need to be implemented. The adult leaders cannot merely hike off and hope that the Scouts will "work it out" . Thru experience (projects, hikes, camps,etc.) and education (getting them to 'think outside THEIR box'), the Adult leadership must help the SPL and other Scout leaders (and the OTHER Scouts can be leaders in this by peer example and protest) to lead the Troop, and by example, show the younger Scouts what to do and how to act when it is THEIR turn. It ultimately takes two to make an argument. If one side of the argument can be convinced of the immaturity of rising to the bait, then the instigator will be left by himself. Believe me, he does NOT want to be left by himself. Boy led, yes, but not all by myself boy led. Parents CAN speak to each other, too, ya know.