SSScout

In the topic of Neckerchiefs:::What Kudu and Nessmuk said... Since the Boy has become a Scout, I have had a chance to compare Then with Now. I have begun to feel that alot of Scouting has been 'softened' to supposedly make it more appealing to "Todays Boy". (a spin off?). Consider: ** Neckerchief becomes a decorative item, rather than of intended, practical use. It is "optional", by Troop decision. ** Rank requirements have been obviously eased, Frinstance, no signaling requirement for FC. (you find the others). ** Uniform in general is less military ( a good thing) but has lost it's practicality. Cuffs on short sleeves? Yeah, multi pockets on trou are better... ** Upper rank requirements (S,L,E) have been "stream lined" with many of the E required MBs now required for S and L. ** The boy no longer has to plan for himself, what MB to earn, how to find a MB counselor, how to become a POR, etc. The Troop has in house MB counselors and planned MB sessions, on a schedule, that by necessity MUST lead to Eagle. ** The beginning ranks (Sc,T,SC,FC), demonstrably have less outdoor stuff to do. The Scout Handbook has less instruction on outdoor skills and games than the older Handbooks. "Scouting for Boys" became "The Handbook for Boys" became "The Boy Scout Handbook". Is that significant? ** The "Field Book", which was a volume of advanced outdoor skills, is now more a manual of Junior Leadership Training. With my older FB I can identify trees, barbecue a whole ox, and pass the first Scout Ranks. With the new FB I can lead a trip to the Sierras. Is this better? ** Oh, that's enough for now. What say you, young and older ? YiS

Aw, aw, aw,,,,mon voyageur, he say... Iz zere a franch vershaun of zeze song, Eh?

I eventually had three books. Looking back, I think perhaps the "politically correct" folks may have been active even back then. My first book past Cubs (Lion then Webelos) was "The Handbook for Boys" . Read that title again. Small, thick, black and white, LOTS of stuff on nature, tracking, camp craft, etc.but pocket sized. Sometime later, the bigger "Scout Handbook" came out, bought that. Full color, pretty, but no indian/Scout on the cover, only a Scout in full stride.. Why the title change? I am not equiped to compare the two for content. The third was also a larger book, again with a "pretty "cover. Same difference in title. Seems even back then, 'they' were trying to make us more exclusive? Is that the right word? Boy vs Scout Handbook vs Manual Is there a difference? I have them all socked away in a box out in the garage. I'll get'em out again sometime the Boy gets curious about his old mans history...

Ah, the joys of the net... Many movie sellers for every genre, just google the title... First source for me is www.moviesunlimited.com Don't forget to review the GtSS when watching the rescue scene. YiS

Unmaking Makes The World by Wendell Berry The year relents, and free Of work, I climb again To where the old trees wait, Time out of mind, I hear Traffic down on the road, Engines high overhead. And then a quiet comes, A cleft in time, silence Of metal moved by fire; The air holds little voices, Titmice and chickadees, Feeding through the treetops Among the new small leaves, Calling again to mind The grace of circumstance, Sabbath econonmy In which all thought is song, All labor is a dance. The world is made at rest, In ease of gravity. I hear the ancient theme In low world-shaping song Sung by the falling stream. Here where a rotting log Has slowed the flow: a shelf Of dark soil, level laid Above the tumbled stone. Roots fasten it in place. It will be here awhile; What holds it here decays. A richness from above, Brought down, is held, and holds A little while in flow. Stem and leaf grow from it. At cost of death, it has A life. Thus falling founds, Unmaking makes the world. * * * Good Scouting to you all.

Local Bear story: WB weekend, out near Harpers Ferry, camp ground near the AT in VA. First morning we go to breakfast, one of the men asks if anyone had a "big black Labrador" (meaning dog) in camp? Well, we knew the camp caretaker had some dogs, but upon inquiry, nope, wasn't one of them... oh well. Next morning, one of my camp mates said he didn't sleep too well, seems there was a "big bull frog" near camp that kept him awake with it's "wonk, wonk, wonk" as it went thru camp...?THRU CAMP? FROG? This gentleman was a city kid, so some of us went back to camp and looked around and , by golly there they were, bear tracks in the soft dusty areas. Seems that 'big black Labrador" that was seen at a distance the day before was a Black Bear!! No food in OUR camp, just a lot of sweaty old men... YiS

"... and thought that acting up would get him sent home." Well, in that part of his life, I guess he got what he (thought) he wanted. Makes me wonder where else in his life he isn't getting what he (thinks) he wants? He probably isn't aware of it... I bet he'd enjoy a couple of lessons in carving from an patient expert.

Signs UP !! Before we dismiss the class for summer recess, let's review the summer reading assignments: Of course, the DoI and the C, all umpteen pages... Common Sense Speeches and Letters from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (choose two for report) Federalist Papers * * * Movies to watch: Day of the Jackal Z Gandhi The 49th Parrallel Follow Me Boys (don't forget to review the GtSS) Judgement at Nuremberg Soylent Green King of Hearts It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World And don't forget your assignment is to develope an essay of from 50 to 5,000 words comparing any American president with Idi Amin. Especially examine their social support programs. Have fun over the summer and see you next fall. "It's for the Kids".

Neckerchiefs.... When my Boy moved up to Scouts, he chose the Troop in which I had been a Scout, lo those many years ago... They presented him with a "custom" made N, blue, with the T number and town embroidered in color on it. Pretty. Cotton/polyester, shirt weight I would judge. I compared this with the N that I had worn as a Scout, ironed and folded up neat in the bottom of the bureau. My old one was a heavier cotton,"sanforized", red, with a seperate embroidered patch (3inches square) sewn on it's tip end. My well worn one was a full 4 inches longer, on the long diagonal, than my Boys new one. As a ASM, I got a new blue N to wear, but somehow the shorter N just doesn't seem to fit right. I recently got back from my WB weekend, and the WB N is also longer than the T N. It fits better, lays easier, looks (and is) longer. Adult neckties have the same problem, if the necktie isn't long enough, it just doesn't look right. If you are designing/ordering a spanking new Necker for a new T, by all means, set a precedent. Get the boys to design/approve the design. Have a contest. Vote on the various designs. Try to convince them to get a heavier weight material, one that will last and take abuse, not just be "pretty". And make it large enough to fit well under OR over the collar, and lay flat enough to look in proportion for the Scout as they "grow into " it. And for the Adult leaders to wear, setting the example, as leaders, for the boys to emulate. A larger, more durable N may be more expensive, but the idea is for the boy to never need (or want) another. And then look to the future, be confident of your success and order fifty (or a hundred)at a time (cheaper that way). Note that the "new" Scout handbooks rarely mention any other uses for the neckerchief other than decoration of ones neck. Maybe that's why the necker has gotten smaller, less desirable for the Scout to wear. Good Scouting to you

After a funfilled CSDC, and sending the Boy off to summer camp (both church sponsored and Scout), and after reading about "favorite camps" and "Huh?????"' I find myself wondering.... ...And what is the news from Chicago and Owasippe? Hello?

Amen, Gonzo. Let's see if I have all this straight... Public school charters a BSA "club" for the purpose of organizing a free "safe ride" home for people/students who need a "safe ride" home because they are too drunk/hung over/high/lost their ride from after school activities/etc. School authorities see a vauable program that will benefit the community. BUT...they do not realize that the students participating (the "drivers") in the program will be required to JOIN the "club". The only requirement to MAKE USE of the program is to raise one's hand and say "I NEEDA RIDE HOME", but to be a driver ( and be included in and covered by that modern day required convenience, INSURANCE), one has to JOIN the CLUB. One of the requirements to JOIN THE CLUB is to profess a belief in a higher power, ie (a) God. Can't profess such belief, can't be a member, can't help folks home with a "Safe Ride". Somewhere along the line, (1) BSA neglected to notice that the "club" was going to be chartered by a (shudder) public school, contrary to BSA's rules/guidelines/codes/letters of intent to Councils. (2) School district neglected to notice that participants in "club" would be asked to declare belief in a higher power (ie God), contrary to public school rules/guidelines/codes/US Constitutional SCOTUS rulings/etc. (3) Everyone neglected to notice that our diverse adverse universe requires that someone will come along and ask to be accomodated, contrary to the disregarded civil rights regirements of a public school district. How'm I doin' so far? Now the BSA Council discovers that (1) their rules/guidelines/etc have been (shudder) disregarded and (2) the school district discovers that (shudder) they need to adjust to accomodate another minority (and respecting the minority's rights is one of the things that make our nation the bulwark of freedom that it is. Read the DoI) and (3) the local bar association discovers another discussion topic for the next convention. Resolution: BSA council and school district each in their own way say "Gee, I din't realize. I'm real sorry". Local Methodist church picks up "club" charter, offers "safe ride" program to schools in area. Toll free number is donated by local Kiwanis club and phone company. DE is chastised by BSA Irving and also back slapped for almost getting it. Community gets safe rides, kids get neat activity and learn civic resbonsibilty. And bar association gets discussion topic. As to school choice, some countries (African nations come to mind) require parents of children to PAY A SCHOOL FEE or the child does not atend school. That's a choice. No children, no fee. Less tax for the childless. As to religious choice, well, that's one of the reasons some old dead people fought a war, if I remember my American history class, thank you Mr. Wozniak. It all seems simple enough to me... But it has been a neat thread, everything one might want for late night early morning reading....logic, law, history, pathos, emotion and romance (well, maybe no romance...) But it was good, none the less... YiS(This message has been edited by SSScout)

A good blank calendar (and I mean Blank), with inspirational stuff to read: Friends Tract Association www.tractassociation.org You can download in adobe or frames, or order paper copies.

I am unsure about what the SafeRides is about. Were the Scouts providing a service to the school, or sponsoring a "club" for boys and girls to join? If the former, how can the Scouts deny any student use of the service? If the later, how did they get away for so long with such a requirement for any students membership? No other "club" in a public school can deny membership because of religious affiliation or lack thereof, can it? It wasn't a religiously based school (read "private") was it? BSAs motives are admirable, and I agree with them, but the means often leaves alot to be desired. Reverent, yes. But Trustworthy is the first point. YiS

Baltimore has a real estate policy called "Land Rent". The original owner of the land can essentially ask for rent from subsequent owners seemingly forever (if the arrangement was set up that way). The land and the structures are considered SEPERATE, as absurd as that might seem. This land rent thing can also be bought and sold, and often the land purchaser can lose track of who his land rent owner is, and without knowing it become 'in arrears' in the land rent, and end up in court, losing his property. (he is always free to move his building, eh, eh, eh). Not that Philly has that arrangement here. Perhaps the city will end up with the LAND but not the BUILDING. The city might end up buying or renting the BUILDING from the CoLC. Baltimore is presently considering legally rescinding all land rent contracts and ending this bizentine artifact from the past.

When I attended Purdue University way back when, I worked in the campus newspaper, "The Exponent". Being the muck raking rag it was, we were always on the look out for campus scandals. We turned up, in the budget reports, the fact that the campus commisery bought three grades of coffee. The most expensive went to the faculty club ("University Club") in the student union. The second most expensive went to the student union restaurants, where parents went for lunch with the kid. The third order ( price: fully one fifth the price of the faculty club brand) went to the student dorm cafeterias. I actually got a chance to taste test all three, and could not for the life of me detect any real difference. Oh Hum. Got at least three days columns out of that, as I remember.

Scoutingagain: Maybe I didn't understand correctly. Are you saying the Methodist Church your Troop is sponsored by does NOT allow certain types of people to join? This thread is about a restrictive policy of a CO,yes? Our CO, again, a Methodist Church, has never, to my knowledge, restricted our membership or activities or who we can invite to what activity. Our Troop Chaplains Aide is from a Jewish family. We have families of at least 4 different flavors of faith in the Troop,including members of the church. Our only problem was when the new minister came in and 6 months later expressed surprise (at Scout Sunday) that the church had Scout units. No one had told her previously! An educational moment....

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Peace, now my brothers and sisters. God's will can be discerned by any with the ears willing to listen. (ask St. Francis.). Whether Catholic, Hutterite, Wiccan, or Zoroastrian, ultimately sin is not to be JUDGED by you or me ( I don't think). Religion, is, after all, a human invention. Vote with your feet if the local provider of dogma does not find agreement in your heart of hearts. There seem to be, if I believe what I see in the papers, many other mechanisms of God connection. The desire to reconnect with God is pervasive in humankind. More want it than not, it's the admission of the desire that seems most difficult. (Merlyn?) I think?. The "CO" does hold the right to determine HOW it will provide the franchise given by National BSA. And, conversely, National BSA can revoke that franchise (charter) if it finds the program is being mis-presented (and when was the last time THAT happened?) Martin Luther, where are you now when we really need you? YiS........

Our county Board of Education saw the leaves on the trees (?hand writing on the wall?) and established an "outdoor education program" with the local parks authority many years ago, built a dorm in a nature center, established a jr. COPE type course, and nature trail system and they were off. All 5th graders go, on rotation, for a 3 day two night long weekend. It is always an eagerly anticipated thing, many of the kids never get any other similar time away from home. The OEP folks keep alot of 'loaner' sleeping bags just for the occasion. They do a campfire, lots of games, too. Not sure about archery or 'shooting' sports. To my knowledge, Scouts have never been asked (or offered) to help, although I know that a few of the leaders of the OEP were Scouts in their distant past. I say go for it, local Council.

Any Troop Vehicle? Alla Time Vigilant? Almost Terrible Vindication! Atsa Toomany Violations... Anyway Too Verbose. YiS....

Greetings TBM: Ain't it nice to have a place to vent where ya won't ruffle any feathers and you're bound to get a sympathetic ear? Well, it happens that your story is not all that unusual. I would suggest going to your DE and having a sit down with him/her. Well meaning volunteers not withstanding, a CSDC can be either a real turnoff or a real recruiting tool. Be forewarned! you may end up like my significant other! She came into CSing wearing a large sceptic hat . She ended up going to Camp School (on the Councils bill!) and has been the CSDC Director lo these past years! Makes me ... first assistant everything else, I guess. The best way to improve things is to learn from other peoples mistakes. Go to the present CSDC Director and offer to help. You and them and the District DE can do a world of good. We always have a staff picnic before the CSDC. Get to know each other alittle, talk about policy. We REQUIRE Packs to come to the site the friday evening before the opening monday, to pre-register the Cubs, pick up the t-shirts, check paper work and have a walk thru for Den walkers to see the site and learn where everything is, and meet the staff (at least by sight). Makes everything go much smoother on opening day. Make the policy and then politely enforce it. Be willing to change it if things prove the necessity, but make it stick. When we said "no walk up registrations on monday" and made it plain in all our literature, we surprised no one when our DE had to turn away 3 parents who tried to do just that (we were at capacity of 253 Cubs that year), but the next year had no problems. Sorry to disappoint the boys, but the parents learned their lesson, we hope. We have lots of 'special events' and lots of Scout activities. I am recognized in the grocery store as the "Archery Guy". If you "get involved", don't be afraid to ask . They will come. State and county agencies (environment, natural resources, fisheries, State police, national guard, fire and rescue, Corps of Engineers etc.) have lots of programs they can provide to Scout Camps. The big hit every year is the State Police Medivac Helicopter, lands on our activity field in front of the Cubs,and the crew talks about their mission and the aircraft. Wows 'em. Just keep asking. Somebody's mom or uncle knows somebody who works for the umpty umpt company and their president was a Scout and... Just keep asking...REI and Home Depot are prime Scout companies. Big grocery stores, even the local hardware store can give you a discount on supplies if you mention Scouts. You know what the kids would like and need. Step out there and make it happen! Trust in the spirit to open things up for you. I'd be surprised if there weren't a couple of other moms and dads out there thinking the same as you. Find each other and remember Bob the Tomatoe: "It's for the kids". (only don't call'em that. Call 'em Scouts!) Yours in Scouting, (This message has been edited by SSScout)

OOOOHH hum.. snurf.. ah.. Oh hey there.. yes I did have a nice nap. Is it spring already? Each unit's CO has its own "Qualifiers" for joining. Turns out the Brooklyn Jewish Troop that I met at the Jamboree has the same Qualifier as the Catholic Troop from Pittsburgh and the LDS Troops from Utah and the black AME Troop from down the street and the Islamic Center Cub Pack... if you want to ASSOCIATE with THAT type of unit and don't OBJECT to the way THEY do things, then welcome aboard. They are all Scouts. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE? Some wear yamulkes. Some only shake hands right to right. Some have grape juice at "Scout's Own". Some kneel. Some pray silently. Some turn to a particular point of the compass to pray. Some have highly educated leaders with lots of initials after their names. Some don't have any leaders in particular. Some take turns being each others leaders.... All of them raise their right hands , hold their first three fingers together and recite "On My Honor..." and I believe them when they say it. The particular Pack I am now working with has many folks who see the benefit of the Scout Program (modify it a little here...) but don't really see where they fit in the greater scheme. If the boys enjoy it, if they gain friends from their associations (at camp, making crafty things, earning belt loops...) with other units, how can that possibly be a bad thing? Are we here for Scouting (however you define it) or are we here to make sure that only CERTAIN people are Scouts? Have we forgotten BP's vision of Scouting being a means to better understanding between people and hence a force for (shudder) world peace? My present motto is "Less meetings, more program" All together now, "L M M P !" YiS

As a nascent UC, I have been given the assignment of assisting a struggling Cub Pack sponsored by.... an Islamic Community Association. The COR has spoken with me several times, plans are afoot. He is very sure that the basic tenets of Scouting are in no way in conflict with the values of Islam or the Quran. His wife is a Girl Scout leader. We are working toward training all the adult leaders, getting the Cubs involved in CSDC, and other extra-Pack activities. I am learning as much about the cultural differences as he is about the Scouting possibilities. Yes, the Program has to be 'adapted' in certain ways. More on those things later. Can you say "Diversity Ticket"?

Ditto all the above. High class tent looks like this: Floor: Should look like a plastic tarp. Tough and Crinkly. Walls: Lowers are coated, uppers are screened for ventilation. Rain fly (topcover): Coated: One side looks like a piece of cloth (top) and other side (bottom) looks like a shower curtain, smooth like. Sewn Seams are ALL taped. If not, get the SeamSeal stuff, in a tube, like glue (the spray can stuff may or may not work, depending on the material and construction of the tent). Turn the tent or fly upside down on a table, and work goo in systematically. Smooth it on with a finger, so as to fill in all the thread holes and edges. Here's the test: Try to breath thru the fabric. Nylon taffeta is porous and prone to drip and leak. My experience...

So I announce at the committee meeting that the National Web site has a new training page titled "Committee Challenge" and the boys and girls around the table react "so?" and we discuss the need for training of the Scout leaders in the Troop. Seems the Charter listing notes that certain of the Adult Leaders don't have the 'Y' in the 'Trained?' column . Other than practising our splices on hands and feet, how to convince them to go get "trained"? of the utility of getting "trained"? After all, we've all been 'trained' in the ole school of 'hard knocks'; been Eagles, been to Philmont (twenty years ago), led the boys up the Appalachan trail, what's to be gained? I always thought the coffee and donuts were pretty good....

On Line Training::: Keep looking. Our Council has both "Quick Start" and "New Leader Essentials" on the Council site. Which leads to anew thread.....