SSScout

Let's date a few people. Dave Garroway.... "Omnibus" And his signature sign off was...? Peter Graves was the narrator for what oceanic documentary? (and nothing else that comes to mind) TWTWTW means? and who was in it? BoBo Brazil was not a place but a...?

The more Potential energy, the more Kinetic energy... *Mount your weight as high in the aft end as you dare. Cars with weights in the belly of the car are slower then with weights high in the rear. The fastest car we had one year had a wedge shape with a big bolt glued vertically on the top of the rear (5.00 oz.) *If the car does a controlled wheelie, so much the better, Less wheels on the track, less drag. That said, you still can't have the aft end drag on the track. * Listen to the man about axle drag.... LET THE BOY DO THE WORK,DAD>>>

Greetings JeffD: I think you may be confusing the PIN requirements with something else. Check out www.usscouts.org/advance/cubscout/sports/BBgun.html You'll see, I think ,that your Cubs did pass the bare requirements, which for Belt Loops are never too onerous: 1) Explain safety rules... 2)Demonstrate good BBshooting technique... 3)Practice shooting (at your Scout Camp) in the time allowed... Nowhere does the Belt Loop have an absolute accuracy requirement. KISMIF YiS

'Dad and Lad', 'Mom and Me', 'Son and One' 'Parent-Scout',regardless of THE RULES, I like to think of it as a chance for alittle individual quality time with ONE child. Let the siblings have their own 'one on one' sometime later (or earlier). If everyone goes family camping too, so much the better. But give your Cub some 'special' time with A mom or A dad. (or A uncle or A aunt...) 'Course, if you have more than one Cub in your family, maybe you could go to more than one 'Son and One'... Jes' a thought...

Pack: On behalf of the 'Old Line State', my apologies for our misbegot ex governor. Okay, so we have 'House'. Do the 'Simpsons' count? I thought it was a step in the right direction when I saw 'Vegetales' on a Saturday morning commercial station. ( ooooo a weekend w/o a Scout trip!)

SMA: Thanks for the comps. If you think the Cubs know the routine, then sure, go for it! Make sure you have enough parents to do the whole CSP and/or the LotP. Gets hard if you have to go thru the bag TWICE! KISAF YiS

My forum friend, the short answer to your question is yes and yes... In our house, we have explained to our son that tv shows that demean husbands, wives, and generally does not laugh WITH a person but AT the person, may not be a show to spend time with. I often told my Cubs during my tenure as a CM to keep in mind the computer motto, "GIGO", "Garbage In, Garbage Out". That if you put bad data in your program, you can only get poor results out. Hence, if you only put poor quality stuff into your self (junk food, soda pop, video games to excess, tv shows that tear down the human experience rather than build it up), then you will not get the best stuff out of your life. We watch the shows with our children and ask the hard questions of the shows, and remind them that the PRIME reason of the show is to convince one to BUY STUFF. My number one son already realizes that the time he spends on TV can not be spent star gazing or tending his rabbits (wanna buy a rabbit? Excellent pet!), or going to a park or... If we are to correct the mistakes of our previous generations, we must learn them. Our family is big on the drama of history, not so much suitcases or pretend soap operas. I'm quite proud of my son when he notices inconsistances and "hey, that was dumb. I wouldn't do THAT" moments in shows like LOST and SMALLTOWN and NINE. Cable? Dish? no thank you, not so long as I must take trash tv along with the useful stuff. But again, they are trying to get us to BUY STUFF. YiS

So, if a boy believes he is 'doing his duty to God' by NOT believing in him?... Can Athieism be considered a... dare I say it...religion? Try www.aeu.org Now, understand,"ethics" is not the bare basis of my experience. but it is a place to start in the continuance of THIS thread.

Oh yeah... Mile swim at summer camp. Camp Roosevelt on the Chesapeake Bay. My buddy Don rowed my boat while I swam and then we switched roles. Half a mile out to the bouy and back to the dock, thru the Sea Nettles...(jelly fish)... makes me shiver to think of it. CampRoos is now included in the Calvert Cliffs State Park and Nuclear Power Plant...

Wiggs: Thank you for including us in your efforts. Please keep us posted about your (and your Scouts!) progress. YiS

OGE: You have confused that old saying, "Baking chocolate chip cookies is its own reward".

Oh, what the heck, here goes... #1 It is the duty of every parent to teach, either on purpose or by example or by neglect, their form of religious belief (or disbelif) SO THAT the child(s) will have something to either ACCEPT or REJECT and REBELL against. That's all there is to it. If the child(s) accept it, well and good. If he/she/they reject it (pick a reason), oooo, the complications that can result. #2 I am not able to put up a web site for you folks to jump to, but if you can find the Washington Post, Saturday 21 October 2006, page B9, at the bottom of the page, you'll find the following, which I will partially quote: "Wanted: Religious Leader. Belief in God Not Required" 'Local Ethical Society Ponders Core Values In Choosing a Leader' "When you are a member of a religion with no scripture, no divinity school, and no denominational structure, clarifying what you stand for can be complex.... The (Washington Ethical Society) was plunged into major transition because of the retirement of its leader of 34 years..." The article goes on to speak of how the WES is certified by the American Ethical Union, how they hold a 'sunday school' hold rituals for weddings and deaths and baby namings, how they are held as a 'religion' by the IRS ( but many members bristle at that title). Do we Here we have an "atheist" religion? 3) " There is a spirit which I feel that delights to do no evil, nor to revenge any wrong, but delights to endure all things, in the hope to enjoy its own in the end. Its hope is to outlive all wrath and contention, and to wearyout all exaltation and cruelty, or whatever is of a nature contrary to itself. As it bears no evil in itself, so it conceives none in thought to any other. If it be betrayed, it bears it, for its ground and spring is the mercies and forgiveness of God." Part of James Naylors deathbed testimony (1660) 4) "...duty to God..." by whose definition? The boys? The parents? Conklins? The DRP? If the boys definition is that by teaching a good Totin' Chip lesson, he is doing his DtG, who are we to question? If by memorizing at length the catechism, so be it. If by practicing the Zen of Archery, so be it. If his parents hogtie him and drag him to (insert religious service here) and he accepts it SO FAR...If by being faithful in his recycling ( being good to Gaia?), and he can explain it as such, so be it. If he comes forward and declares "aw there ain't no god..." ...well... #5) Anyone out there studied Jefferson's bible? I sometimes think Ben Franklin and Mr. Jefferson (among others of our 'founding daddies') might have a hard time being Scouts of our generation. #6) Any Confuscians out there? I don't know if Con fu Tse would be accepted as a Scout Leader, altho he was the most moral/ethical person of his age and society? YiS Still...

You are speaking of something other than Lewis and Clark and President Jefferson, yes?

"Distance makes the heart grow fonder and the gas tank get emptier" +from the Tao of Scouting+

...Cub Scout Day Camp... ...Scoutcraft Pavilion... ... It's "Flag Day"... ... My partner and I have mounted a flag pole on the corner of the shelter (otherwise known as a picnic shelter)... 24 Cubs in a Den, 8 American flags, two state flags, two parade poles. We practice the art of American Flag folding ( is this the only national flag with a special folding routine? I know of no other). We practice parade position, stage position, Color Guard routines, all in less than an hour. My partner and I talk about the Flags history and design. What do the strips represent? How many stars? Which star is Marylands? Yes, all stars are equal that way. We run the flag up and down the flag pole at least 8 times, and practice square knot tying too along the way. We practice a basic 'meeting opening flag cermony and then... Now, I take the opportunity to stretch the Cubs minds, many parent Den walkers standing in the background. Our home Pack and Troop have Scouts whose religion will not allow them to say the "pledge". (more on that later), so we ask the Cubs "what would you think if you saw someone NOT repeat the "pledge of allegiance? Can you think of any reasons why someone might not say it?" Answer from Cubs #1: "They might be a terrorist" #2: "Maybe they don't speak english." Not once during the day did anyone give what to me was the two obvious answers ('course, I'm an adult) #1 They might be from a foreign country or #2 (from our personal experience) it might be against their religion. So we suggested those possibilities to the Cubs and then suggested that if they see this happen, they speak to the person afterward, that they might have an interesting conversion about it. We had several parents come up and thank us for our mention of such a thing. No one chastised us about it. So being respectful to our national emblem is a multi dimensional thing. YiS

Do we have any admitted Shintoist Scouts? Zoroastrians? Jainists? Sikhs? My goo'ness...

Credentials: My adult brother is a "developementally challenged" member of The ARC. My cousin and her husband own a farm/stable where they host 'challenged' riders at least twice a week in Frederick County, MD. They have a very wheelchair friendly set up, which I think they built , with volunteeer help, themselves. The horses are trained to sidle up to a 'dock' where the rider is helped into the saddle. Volunteers then help walk the horse and rider around the corral. And the look on the faces of those kids (and some not so young)!! Try this: Go to the agency that brings the riders. My cousin RARELY sees a family bring their challenged kin privately to ride. Ask if you can build the dock/ramp/steps for them to use at the stable of their choice. It would naturally be left there for use. Put a placcard on it : "Presented to The XYZ Agency of Clove County by Eagle Scout John Scout of Troop999" I'm sure the stable would accept this arrangement. This would eliminate any idea that the item had been made for a profitable place. Ummmmm?

All good. (so much celluloid, so little time...) My choices... Remember the Titans Mr. Roberts Friendly Persuasion 12 Angry Men And a stretch, but thought provoking... They Might Be Giants

I seem to remember reading that the Army says a healthy adult can walk 4 mph, at a fair clip. Let's say a boy can average 3 mph. Now, let's say the boy carries a back pack holding a canteen of water, binoculars, a Scout handbook, a poncho, first aid kit and a snack, and let us further say that he PUSHES a non-selfpropelled lawn mower at a steady clip and takes 2 full hours to cut his family lawn (and ends up with a well deserved sweat), CAN HE add the calculated 6 miles to his Hiking Merit Badge AND/OR Fifty Miler patch diary??? UMMMM? YiS

Possibilities... 1) Our Troop sells Christmas Wreaths, end of November and start of December. We got the start from an add in "Scouters" magazine, I think. One man shepards the program, that's all we ask him to do. Two venues: preorders from a color catalog sheet and two weekends with 'stock' (ordered and paid for up front) in various places in our community. We cleared over $2000 profit last year. Boys actually have fun doing it. 2) Local Troop takes on traffic control and parking at the County Fair. One long week, but they are a big Troop and this is their only fund raiser. The Fair authority pays them well, I understand. 3) Another Troop/Venture Crew does ice delivery and trash removal at the Fair. Same arrangement, I understand.

Patrol of 8. "Officially", 1 Life, (on to Venture crew, usually), 1 Star (ditto), 2 first class (can't wait for Venture crew), 2 Second Class, two just crossed over 'Scouts'. Last overnight, 1 FC, 1 SC, 1 S. All participated in "Scout Skills" stuff, and had a (reportedly) good time. Can we not encourage the 3 to gripe to the 5 about being "Loyal" to the Patrol? Or are the senior Scouts lost to the VCs? Yes, this is a "mixed" Patrol Troop. 'Course , with a all New Patrol, everybody "graduates" about the same time and , presto, no more Patrol!! YiS

If you are a union member, and AFL/CIO affiliated, the national office has a scholarship program to pay for WB. Check with your Council and union local president. Shop Steward might not know about it. Only problems are , you must apply WAY BEFORE the program, and ONLY AFL/CIO union members may avail themselves of this. 'COurse, maybe you could convince your local to sponsor you? Or its national afiliate? good, recognized leadership training! Good luck, and have fun! YiS(This message has been edited by SSScout)

History, History... And if you ask, they will come... But first ya gotta find'em to ask!! Any time something like this comes up, I ask myself,"" Self? What would I, a mere Cub Scout, really like to see for the XYZ theme?"" And then I start asking friends, listening to my allegorical memory (ummm... Armor... Knights... swords...) and pay attention to what comes up . SCA? neat. Also: Here in Maryland, we have ROMAN recreators!! Legio XX. So Google the "Roman Army Recreators" and see what happens... Check with your local University liberal arts department, or the library. What Ho, Varlet!!

What Fscouter said. If one boy goes camping, one boy does the cooking and cleaning. If two boys go camping, two boys do the cooking and cleaning. If they make Beef wellington and potatoes au gratin and waldorf salad and cherries jubilee then they will have alot to negotiate as to who does what. AND they should invite me along (dutch ovens! Who knew!) If four boys go camping, the work load is spread and there is an economy of material and effort, IF all are willing to do their share and IF they can see that the OTHERS are doing a fair share. And there is the REASON behind the Patrol method. Learning and practicing Cooperation, community, "many hands make short/happy/easy work" (depending on the society you listen to). 'Course, if the Troop is small, the camp arrangements might be adjusted, but IMHO the Patrols should still remain. Two boys in the racoon P, and 6 boys in the Eagle, OR 8 in the Troop Patrol? IF the boys are afraid of the work or into manipulating others into doing the necessities OR feel dirty hands are beneath them, oooo that's a different thing.

Anyone out there know "The Button Factory" skit? It goes like this... Fellow comes on stage and introduces himself, all the while bobbing up and down rythmically... Hi!!... I'm George, and I work in ... A button factory... One day... My boss comes by he says George? Are ya BUSY?... I say no... He says... Can ya do THIS? (wave right arm up and down) I say OH KAYEE... (bounce up and down, waving your arm) HI! My name's George... And I work in a button factory.... One day my boss comes by he says George?? Are ya Busy?? I say No... He says can ya do this??? ( lift left leg up and down) I say OH KAYEE.... (bounce up and down, wave right arm, raise left leg) Do you see where this is going? Keep adding motions on until... HI!! MY NAME IS (pant pant) George!!! I STILL WORK... IN A BUTTON FACTORY... ONE DAY (pant pant) MY BOSS COMES BY HE SAYS GEORGE...??? I SAY WHAAATT???? HE SAYS ...ARE YA BUSY??? (pant pant) I SAY YEP!!! ( George falls pver...) Let he with ears to hear.... YiS