SSScout

Well, it does help if you are close to water. My home CO chartered a SeaScout Ship back in the late 1950's , the Skipper was a CPO retired.... They went down the Potomac on a raft of 50gallon drums built into a raft, and up the Chesapeake bay . Eventually, the local SS s named their local Regatta (read wet camporee) after him, the Nygard Regatta : http://www.ncacbsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/52nd-nygard-boarding-manual.pdf SSS759 had fun and excitement until recently. They were last bottomed with 2 - 30' sloops, but the Unit disbanded two years ago, due to lack of active members. The boats were sold to pay off the slip fees, etc. .... We are locally working to "refloat" it.... Like all Scout things, you need some dedicated Scouters, and a local Charter, and some really interested teenagers. ""Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing - absolutely nothing - half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.”

Uniform inspections... Once upon a time, I played trombone in the Purdue Marching Band. I had friends who were in ROTC. We would compare notes on uniforms, spit polishing shoes, creases, etc. I was once told about a ROTC company inspection. My buddy's squad was insistant that the inspecting Louie could NEVER be pleased, he ALWAYS found something to count down. So they picked one of their group and made sure everything was perfect. Pants pressed and draped just so. Shirt lined, tucked in. Buckle polished, nails trimmed, hair combed and slicked, hat just so, shoes spit polished so you could shave in the reflection. They CARRIED him to the armory, placed him in the spot and formed up around him. Wiped the floor around him, dusted off his shoulders, shoes, heels were even polished. The Louie was duly impressed and reportedly gave out his first ever 100%. When the company was ordered to march in review, the wax covering the "sample's" shoes popped off in one big flake.....

You might try a recipe I saw once in a book about Paul Bunyan…. You mix the pancake batter with popcorn and they flip themselves....

Amen, brother.

Ah, pity the poor Scoutmaster..... When A Scouter’s not engaged in his employment (his employment) or planning to go camping with his Troop (with his Troop) his capacity for innocent enjoyment (-cent enjoyment) Can easily be knocked off for a loop (for a loop) Our feelings we with difficulty smother (-culty smother) When some Scoutmasterly duty’s to be done (to be done) Ah, take one consideration with another, (with another) A Scoutmaster’s lot is not a happy one. Ooooohhhhh… When Scoutmasterly duty’s to be done, to be done, A Scoutmaster’s lot is not a happy one. When the helicopter parent is not hov’ring (is not a hov’ring) When the Scout is not a-cutting off their thumb (-off their thumb) He loves to hear the bug-a-ler a-bugling (bugler bugling) And enjoy his tea while sitting on his bum (on his bum) When the PLC has finally decided (has decided) Where the Troop should hike on weekends yet to come (yet to come) Ah, take one consideration with another (with another) A scoutmaster’s lot is not a happy one. Ooooooohhhhh, When Scoutmasterly duty’s to be done, to be done, , His duty is often not a happy one. (happy one). ( with apologies to messrs Gilbert & Sullivan)

It is the attitude that is important. If he had no hand at all? I would make sure he had a cuppa later for being a Scouter. Right hand? Four fingers: God, Country, Others, Self. Those are the Parts of the Scout Promise I mention and remember. Three fingers? Cub Scouts use two, ScoutsBSA now use three, adults hold a whole hand open, thus showing they can be trusted and are not holding a weapon (old history/tradition, yes?) 1tree has a nice idea... a Scoutmaster's minute about the symbology of the Scout Sign.

That's what's wrong with today's pop music. No stories... Pray for John Prine:

I am still surprised at the amount of seeming hypocracy sometimes exhibited in the BSA . Scout Promise? Scout Law? So simple, yet so difficult, it would seem , for some to follow and apply to their lives, responsibilities and assumed duties. It would seem some folks will, unfortunately, seek to be "the" authority, regardless of the established rules and procedures. Regardless of the realities. Regardless of the damage done to others in the process. Parentinscout, I do sympathize with you, having dealt with the BSA "good ol' boy" network myself, but not in anything like your well described case. Retaliation? Oh yeah. How dare you question our pronouncement. If you don't like the way you are treated, don't you dare compare it to the Scout Promise and Law. Just go away...… I wish you well in your efforts to shine light on poor behavior, behavior that is in no way reflective of the ideals espoused in our Scout Law and Promise. "Making ethical decisions, " is that what I heard?

So the topic of howcum today's kids don't seem to take to Scouting like us old folks remember, comes up *So many choices of activity... sports, clubs, church, ,,,, *Parents seem to want someone else to "raise the kid", and hence do not want to Be A Part of the Scout Unit.... *Many present Scout Leaders seem to want a "classroom" environment rather than an "outdoor" environment and the kids react to that with a large portion of "ho hum".... *Parents are very protective of the kid (school shootings, drugs rampant, bullying not attended to, child abuse in schools and church, traffic and strangers out in the woods, police not responsive, media/TV/movies not family friendly, etc....) and averse to "letting them just go". Maybe the parents have good reason. How does that translate into not being a Scout? ... I would like to suggest a new one: Most kids now are TAUGHT by the school, by the parent to NOT be self-reliant and self motivated. They are TAUGHT to wait for instruction, permission, direction from SOME ONE ELSE . They are routinely punished for NOT waiting for permission, direction, instruction. But that is what the Scouting world was originally built on, the kid that had been allowed to take some scrap lumber and build a shack or tree house, AND if necessary, fall out of it and GET HURT. Folks are so afraid of letting our kids GET HURT. There is that, of course, a skinned knee is one thing, an AK47 is another. The "natural world" is avoided. The kids are taught to avoid dirt, doing for themselves, or getting lost , even by accident. I know (I know !) most of the folks on this chatroom are of the older variety, if not in chronological sense then in a spiritual sense. How many kids now a days are turned loose in the backyard, or in the stream bed behind the neighborhood, or told "be back by dinner time" ? How many , by comparison, are handed a tablet and told to sit and watch a cartoon show? Watch the scenery out the car window? Talk to folks about the history of the town? Naw,,,, put a movie on the TV screen hanging from the roof of the van. You have a hard time buying a family van without such a screen! The lack of Scouting, traditional Scouting, out in the woods, on a trail, in a tent, cooking over a fire (even charcoal), having to eat whatever the Patrol cooked (that the Scout cooked?) , I think came from the knowledge, gleaned early in life, that a person can go out there (there ! ) , find stuff to do, discover how things work, pile one thing on top of another (by myself, without anyone else's help) and by extension , do it in a wider more adventurous venue thru Scouting. God bless the adults/parents that allowed (encouraged !) me and my compadres to get dirty, cold, wet, hungry, and taught us, not to WAIT for instruction, but how to teach each other how to get out of those problems. Plan, think ahead? For myself? Or WAIT for someone to TELL me what I might need? Play the "what if" game? No wonder kids refuse to use the toilet at camp. It is not just a revulsion of the condition of the toilet (!) but an unconscious revolt : "you can't tell ME what to do." Now, how do we convince the parents of today to encourage, allow, their boys AND girls, to get dirty, cold, hungry, go discover, protect our natural world, by DOING rather than WAITING for someone else to give them permission? Thank you. We now return you to your regularly emailed complaints....

Wow, here is why we created the "Faith and Chaplaincy Forum". Oh, wait..... mrkstvns You are on the money. Are you a Scout Chaplain? You would make a good one. When I began to help with IOLS , I noticed there was no mention of "Reverent" in the syllabus. When I offered to lead a discussion about such, I was taken up on it, and the following was the result. The need to include the Scout's Spirituality , often misnamed or misconstrued as "proselytizing" is often missed. as in many parts of Scouting, the Scouts need some examples to proceed . How do they know how to plan a trip if they have never been on one? What Parks? What trails? Same here. Don't forget BP's guidance: "" Reverence to God and reverence for one's neighbour and reverence for oneself as a servant of God, is the basis of every form of religion. The method of expression of reverence to God varies with every sect and denomination. What sect or denomination a boy belongs to depends, as a rule, on his parents' wishes. It is they who decide. It is our business to respect their wishes and to second their efforts to inculcate reverence, whatever form of religion the boy professes.”" I will be copying your work, mrksrtvns, and here is mine for your consideration: https://www.dropbox.com/s/76zk9ri7glgu9gt/ScoutsOwnDutytoGod.docx?dl=0 Next time you pass thru Maryland, look me up. Coffee and pie are on me.....

"In Loco Parentis". As a sub teacher, if a student was not following the class rules (well known by all students!) I would confront the student and IN FRONT OF EVERYONE ELSE (!) remind the student. Since I was a teacher, I could not lay hands on the student (except in case of imminent injury), but being a big adult, I had no qualms about putting myself in his/her way, so to speak. As a Scout Leader, I have also done the same. Inappropriate behavior is the same , it only depends on what adult is in the authority role. Hands on? Perhaps. If appropriate. Limiting behavior? As appropriate. "You're not my mommy, I don't have to do what you say ! ! !" Oh, yes you do. Quote the Scout Promise and Law liberally. Sit the whole Den down and make them part of the solution to the problem. What kind of behavior is NOT Kind, Courteous, Obedient ? ? Can we have fun if everyone is running around? Can we get the packages wrapped for our Homeless shelter visit if someone is trying to do something else? Right. Another tactic. Put yourself in front of the attention wanting Cub , look him in the eye and say, "You don't have to remind me you are here. I know you are here. " and then go on with the activity. Do not worry about the CCh mom. YOU are the Den Leader. Unless the Cub has a real Attention Deficit Spectrum issue, you should not involve the mom. If you do, you may reinforce the Cub's control idea. And he is in control, until YOU take it. Reward marble jars, candle burning, candy, pizza party at the end of the month/year, behavior rewards all tried, all possible. "It depends". Do not, under any circumstances, make any threat you are not willing to carry out. If, for instance, you give them "three strikes" count the strikes and then do what the result is.... Sit down, quiet time, Ultimately, removal from the Den, removal from Scouting? You can do this. Remind your parents that these kids will ultimately choose the parent's Assisted Care Facility. See you on the trail.

I have been away from this thread for awhile. Somewhere in the archives of Scouter dotcom is a thread about whether a Unit can limit it's membership to a particular faith. BSA has said it can. The CO (a House of Worship?) can limit it's Pack/Troop/Crew membership to only males, only females, only Catholic, only Jewish, only professed Christian, only Muslim, it is their right, so long as they otherwise follow the BSA requirements and program. It is therefore also the CO's right to utilize it's Scout Unit as an example and (if open about the reality) use it as their active youth ministry to teach their faith. LDS units often "adjusted" their Scout's participation by age or gender. Scouting was, officially, the LDS youth ministry. When the LDS folks decided they could better define and serve their youth with their own LDS defined program, they declared they would be withdrawing from the BSA organization, and they are. "Can a CO profit off a unit?" This discussion has morphed from monetary profit to some other kind. The BSA program is about the youth (male or female) gaining knowledge, skill, confidence, responsibility and learning about "good citizenship". Cooperation? Recognition of who are our neighbors? Is the Scout Promise and Law so hard to appreciate as ideals to absorb and demonstrate? If a faith defines it's success as the accumulation of members versus the perfection of a young person's soul (by their fruits....), I would suggest there is another problem , which is beyond the scope of this forum to debate or decide.

It can be years later, or close in... A story from a friend of mine: We had been "the" staffers for our CSDC. The theme was the Lewis and Clark Expedition. My buddy and I were not necessarily L & C, but members of the expedition. He (call him Ted) represented himself as a French Canadian Voyageur, with the cartoon accent : "haugh, haugh , haugh we mus' get zee canoos reddeee, nec's pas? Mon aimee, augh, augh augh.... " and like that... At the Scout Skills Pavilion, the same: "haugh, haugh, haugh , zee rrrope, he go throo zee loop lik a zees, an' lik a zees... augh, augh , augh, an' voila ! " Ted comes to me a year (!) later, and relates the following: He and family had been shopping in the local Safeway when a young boy runs up to him, points his finger at Ted, yells "HAUGH, HAUGH, HAUGH !!" and runs off. Yes, we do make an impression.

The above is what was suggested awhile ago. It still stands. My last suggestion, about the letter to the Council Scout Executive and others are for YOUR satisfaction only. Your Cub Pack must still deal with this situation, and the above is what must be done, if not with your leadership, than with someone else's. If the wannabe CM is not the identified, selected, desired by the Pack CM, then he must be told and his membership in the Pack denied, REGARDLESS of what anyone else in the Scout world says or does. I wish you and your son well, God's blessings be with you, see you on the trail, and now I must get out and clear the snow off my car so I can attend our Pack's Blue and Gold tonight.

Yes, mucho congrats. I agree, let Mr. Xerox help you, and (a Scout is Cheerful) SMILE when you hand them the third copy of the paperwork that "they" say they had not previously received.... Don't forget the coleslaw with the BBQ at your ECoH...

Boot fit. My first RoundTable , I had a podiatrist talk to us about blister prevention, boot and sock choice. Boots are to tried on, NOT bought thru ebay.., toes can wriggle, heels are snug. lace snug across the instep, not tight across the toe. Do not be shy about changing the lacing pattern, or experimenting with other things. Be aware and sensitive to hot spots, particular "feelings" . As you hike, your feet will want to spread out, can they? Women should be aware that the shoe they wear to the office is NOT the size boot they should use. Try on a size bigger. Wool socks, with or without liners. My buddy and I hiked the Camino de Santiago, 500plus kilometers, I had 100% ragg wool socks, he used a wool blend and silk liners. I had NO blisters at all, he had none until the last 50 KM, and then developed a small one on his left big toe, which he attributed to a leather layer in his "old " boot that had come loose.

Wow. I am sorry for your travail. The last thing you might do is document all of it (yes, one more time) from the top. Read it thru a couple of times, have someone else read thru it to make sure it makes sense (and is not just your "unloading"), and send copies of it all to the Council Scout Executive, the District Executive and the Council Commissioner. These names and addresses can be found on line in your Council Website. If you still feel you can have no Scouting connection, I understand your reasons, but you might (might) find another Scout Unit down the road. I wish you well and your son a blessed life.

Hellooo. I had a strict Roman Catholic (they even used the term "Evangelical Roman Catholic") church that chartered a Scout Troop. They were very specific and open about only wanting and allowing Scouts of the Roman Catholic faith. It was a small but active Troop, maybe 12 or 15 Scouts at it's peak. They were active for maybe 5 years and then folded due to , I believe, a lack of recruits of any kind. We have at least two (soon to be three, I hope) nearby active Troops chartered to Muslim congregations. They, by comparison , make it a point to say they will welcome any Scout , but they must be aware that the Troop will do things in the Muslim way, as to religious obligations, food, cooking, etc. but will not require anyone to necessarily join in such. And they do have a few non-Muslim Scouts. A few. We also have several Troops , Packs, Crews and Ships chartered to Catholic, Methodist, Presbyterian and Baptist and Lutheran churches, and synagogues. I am not aware of any of them that count the Scouts registered in their Units as being included in their congregation's populations. Church census? Fine. Scout unit attendance? A separate thing.

Tunn Pannkaka : https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/real-swedish-pancakes-pannkakor-31040

See previous topic, "what's in a name"?

Scouts Canada sometimes holds regional Jamborees, and one national Jamboree.

It depends …. On the Scouts, on the Scouters, on possibilities presented and possible. The Troop of my yoooth had many folks with outdoor type careers, ex-military (WW2), farming, etc. experience. Just as I joined, somebody's cousin's uncle owned some property that they would let the Troop camp on. Mixed with fields and old woods (American Chestnut dead grove) , I remember it well. They were making plans for a more lengthy summer camp there, . One dad worked for the phone company, got used utility poles. Another dad had a tractor. More than one had chainsaws and tools. The poles were cut, drug a mile (!) into the woods where the Scouts helped build a three sided cabin, "Adarondack" style. Over the next years, We cleared camp sites, cleaned out and capped a spring with concrete and piping, dug and built a privy, dammed up the creek so we would have about 5 feet of depth to splash in (not really swim. We went to a local place down the road for that). Our Troop would stay at "The Property" for one or two weeks each summer, go there on the odd weekend, attend the Council summer camp, too. AND the older Scouts visited Philmont and Katahdin. It is up to the Scouts to be convinced such things can still be done. I know of local Venture Crews and Troops that design and do (!) weeks on the AT, thru the Allagash and canoe for a week or more along the Shenandoah and Potomac. No commercial outfitters involved, but yes, they do have some experienced people already . I believe the saying is that "Good Judgement comes from Experience and Experience comes from Poor Judgement." Get your Scouts out and make some poor judgement.

Local dialect..... "Tire patches",,,, "Hockey Pucks",,,,,,

For shame.... A bugle is the epitome of the human powered, middle distance communication device. Esoteric ? Obsolete? Poorly recognized, perhaps. Not so widely used and utilized as previously, perhaps. Obsolete? Only for those who own stock in lithium battery companies.... When I counsel BMB, I am always disappointed and still surprised at the Scouts that come and expect to walk away with a slam dunk merit badge . A brand new horn, still in the plastic bag, can't even make a noise on it, much less play a tune. What did they expect? "pre-requisites? What's that? " And then the next Wynton Marsalas walks in, answers every question, plays the calls from memory, knows when they would be appropriate. Thank you, Lord. The bugle only has five notes, six or seven if you are REALLY good, and can bring tears to the eyes of some listeners, for the GOOD reasons. Yeah, I know, I almost cry too, listening to some of the Scouts that come to me. Play the Tatoo back in the woods with some emotion, before taps..... I rank the bugle up there with holding up the Scout Sign. Hold up your Sign and wait? How many Scouts in your view hold up and wait? or even quiet down? If the Scouts are "educated" in it's purpose and use, how much more efficient could your Troop become? A well played bugle can be heard a mile away over open ground, less back in the woods, of course. Ever been at the Nat Jam and listened to the various bugles from the Troop sites here,,, over there... there... over here.... then listen to the Scouts complain when you tell them to GET OFF THE RECHARGING STATION AND GET BACK TO YOUR CAMP>

It's been a while.... Any news?