Tampa Turtle

Orange shirt was good call. If there is a clothes closet in your or a nearby pack encourage the Tiger parents to see if they can get a blue shirt. Those little Tiger shirts get outgrown pretty quick.

I looked at the pdf and it was pretty fun even if it had stuff like trenching in it. I liked a picture where they were putting up the two shelter halves and I could identify a taut-line hitch.

Maybe your wife did get screwed over but Girl Scouting should be about the Girls not the adults. Both of you need to walk away. If you think your daughter is with her friends and having a good time and you can tolerate the situation than stay; if not then try to start a new Troop. Trust me on this. I (and my wife) have been down a similar road before; it ain't worth it even if you are right and "prove" it. Life is too short.

Ohhhhh...I will have to check that out.

I don't see anything different? Seems as slow as ever. Sorry to be a downer.

acco40 pretty much nailed it. I agree with DeanX as well and have made the "Mr Turtle lost his temper, made a complete A$$ of himself, and apologizes to Mr ##" speech. But yeah I think the other guy needs to work on chilling.

If the boys are willing to haul 'em I guess it is their call. Whatever works in your Troop and reinforces the Patrol method.

I would try canvasing some of the neighboring Troops for what sites they prefer. I have found that our neighbor Troops use a whole different "constellation" of campsites. Can get some good ideas on good doable trips. Start small and build upon success.

I find it kinda hard to get. We use a lot of State Parks. To be honest Google Maps works pretty good--I have found new parks faster that way. No camping?! What happened? Even car camping is better than no camping. I guess to be an optimist think how excited the boys will be when you introduce the fun part!

Really our Campaign Finance laws are badly broken and there is bad money flying to both Presidential candidates these days. The system stinks. Some big money is flowing to both sides--a lot of special interests hedge their bets; and Obama as the incumbent is gonna attract certain money because the incumbent always does.

Welcome, welcome! Don't let us geezers scare you off. It is great you are helping out. They will listen to you over me.

I looked up, he has an estimated net-worth of $90 million. I think he could swing it! I mean he earned it and everything in that free market system some claim to know and love. He has a hot commodity in the "Morgan Freeman" name these days.

At the dire risk of being a target, I confess the Coffee Patrol members has occasionally even PARTICIPATED in games pitting the patrols against each other. In each case we picked games that our age and size put us at a disadvantage and true be told we were pretty darned humiliating but we wanted the boys to know that we were not "above" a silly game. Really did as an ice breaker. Our last SM was really a good one for getting down and playing with the boys--i.e. showing them the best way to make a belly flop or squirt with your hands. Scouting is a paradox that helps guide boys into

In the 1980's my Dad requested through the Freedom of Information Act his FBI file--if it existed. Sure enough Hoover's boys had a 4 page file on him. This was the salient points: -In '54 he was a college student at an upstate tiny NY teachers college. The vice president of the young Democrats he put up a "Gov Dewey memorial highway" sign alongside the dirt road in front of the campus. As Gov Dewey was visiting the campus that day it got in the campus paper as a "practical joke". -He worked on JFK's presidential campaign in Long Island as a volunteer on weekends going door to door in

I think it is a benefit and I think the boys enjoy the drills even if we adults hope we never have to do them. I remember my aged dog breaking her leg one holiday and my Webelos I scout running for the first aid kit and splinting supplies to package her up for the vet. He was cool as a cucumber while Mom was freaking out.

Goodness what a tempest in a teapot! Our adults can wear a "Coffee" or "Old Goat" Patrol patch and we wear them proudly wear Patrol patches go. Why hang it on a pocket and confuse the newbies. The main adult Patrol is the Coffee Patrol and you earn it by doing 5 campouts in a year and a weeklong camp. We have the nicest Patrol box and divide up the chores, etc. This is also good modeling for new parents as well as adults. And we have a snazzy flag. A few boys got inspired by our flag and made their own. We try to rig our dining fly with the appropriate knots and frequently boys drop by to

I say 2 man. It just divides easier and they are easier to set up. We usually have more problems with boys staying up all night when they are in 3-4 man tents.

Beavah is right. I think a practice run is OK but these things get institutionalized and just grow and grow and become too much of a focus.

We do a drive through dinner for $5 each. Costs us $2 and make $3 profit but takes a LOT of labor. Sold about 1,500 tickets, about 70% show up for it. In addition we get about 30% extra in straight cash donations--$3 donation is better than a $5 ticket since you do no work. Everyone is expected to help out--sell tickets, cook, serve, clean-up, or make desserts. It helps that our church has an industrial kitchen. And we are on a major road. It is a great Troop fundraiser for us. Pays for awards, troop hut costs, troop equipment, and subsidize some of summer camp. We leave Popcorn and

I was at the movies with my son and his friends, all scouts. They all got excited for the trailer for "Expendables II" when Chuck Norris came on. I mean they weren't even alive when this guy was active. Maybe he is making a you tube comeback. I liked the Family Guy episode when Peter says "you know what Chuck Norris has under his beard?...another fist."

If you are lucky you can have a DL and a really good ADL and they switch off each year. I had that experience and we were true co-leaders by Webelos. But I lucked out that year.

Mr Bovine, I am on a similar track on not sure what my next job will be AND Mrs Turtle has been firing the warning shots and I can hear her reloading as I type. So please, please take this advice from someone who has been married a LOOONG time: (1) Make the marriage a priority and that means time as a couple. Schedule it. (2) Strictly define and limit your scouting time weekly. (3) Make sure she is OK with it. (4) Set a time limit and then reassess before re-upping. Good luck.

(1...2!) I'm a little Teapot, Short and Stout! (3...4)Here is my handle, here is my spout! Everybody now! Bang on the Tables my Teapots!

I think the potable water supply issue is one of the first things to look at. We usually require at least a gallon for backpacking and may bring more as a backup. For water trips aside from individual Nalgenes and CamelBaks we also bring 1+ gallons per person. The rivers we go on frequently has enough fertilizers or other issues that make it hard to use. We find the 1 gallon milk jug size to work pretty good. At least they can be used as ballast!

Welcome. As a (former) academic I encourage you to get involved. Not only is it fun bust fascinating for people watching.