Vicki

CNY - I would add one more element to your training - NYLT (which has replaced JLTC). This is my first day back at work since serving as ASM for an NYLT troop so I don't have time to write much, but this is a premium program for teaching the patrol method by example, learning some scoutcraft along with management stuff at the corporate level and allowing scouts from different troops to mingle and learn from each other. Vicki

cstrainer, perhaps I am a tad overcautious in this area, but I think I probably would have pushed the same buttons as the ASM in your post. If the boy is going to make statements like that, then he needs to know the potential consequence (he gets sent home and his parents are REALLY inconvenienced). Another thought, if the one time the scout called "wolf" and you didn't listen and he did commit suicide, would you be able to live with yourself? Not to mention the subsequent legal liability on the part of the BSA for not following established procedure in this area. Vicki

Science fiction, double feature Frank has built and lost his creature Darkness has conquered Brad and Janet The servants gone to a distant planet Wo oh oh oh oh oh At the late night, double feature, picture show I want to go Oh oh oh oh To the late night, double feature, picture show OK, I'm done now, having completely spent my Rocky Horror jones...wonderful trip, folks, thanks! It's so much fun riding on a hijacked thread... Vicki (adult's perspective but WILL NOT grow up, and you can't make me:

No, tonight it's Frank n Furters. V

You're spaced out on sensation Yep, that would be me, Riff...

I remember doing the Time Warp Drinking those moments when The blackness would hit me And the void would be calling Vicki

I had roasted pig once at a state fair - yum, yum!! We have a WebII who is a dwarf (his parents informed me that "little person" is considered by some if not most to be pejorative). His mom had talked to me on several occasions about how nervous she was about him camping, some of the activities, whether or not he could be successful, etc. So my ticket item was to contact any number of people associated with the BSA disability program, read up on the condition, solicit the advice of others in this forum, and, in the end, have a conference with the parents where we mapped out how he could

Good question, Dug! Especially since rour hasn't posted again. Vicki

Welcome Eagle81! Have to admit, my husband says I've "crossed to the other side" at this point - right about the time I got my beads and said "yes" to NYLT staff...but I'm still a newbie compared to a lot of the folks here... Vicki

In our council I'm told they are tolerated if they are stored in tackle boxes. Of course, a cooking knife in a patrol box is OK. Vicki

That's my oldest's birthday too - 13! I'll have to let him know... Vicki

Dan, I don't see where Ed is holding the Scout to a higher set of values than the adults. Perhaps the same set - I agree with him, everyone has some accountability here. The scout is capable of reading the requirement and knowing what it is. He also knows when others have done it and he has not. Vicki

Ah, gotcha. Thanks ehcalum. To answer the other question in the e-mail - my understanding is that if your troop wears neckerchiefs (mine doesn't) you wear the troop neckerchief unless it's a ceremonial occasion like a COH, then it's the taupe. I went out on the web and a couple of the websites I found said the same thing. Vicki

Very interesting. Our participant neckerchief was solid green with the axe-and-log - no sign of tartan to it anywhere...it was to be retired once we got the taupe neckerchief (it just looks pink:

Ed, I'll tell ya - my husband has bought and used Teflon and is on his second Calphalon fry pan. I continue to chug along with my cast-iron skillet and will NEVER give it up. The troop has three cast-iron DOs that are at that perfect stage of aging. Thanks for the advice, but wouldn't even consider aluminum - although I do have a funny story about a couple we met in Peru who borrowed our hotel kitchen and complained that it took so long to get to a "clean" surface on the cast-aluminum cookpot! I'm surprised a member of the staff didn't hurt them. Seattle, I'll have to differ with you

Cooking! Yes! I finally took the plunge and am bidding on a DO on e-bay even as we speak. Haven't done much DO cooking but I'm going to do some experimenting with lower fat dishes than we end up with on our cookouts. I do enjoy DO preparation but I'm sure others have been there before me with healthier recipes that don't involve a pound of bacon or two/three sticks of butter. Vicki

Ed, I've never heard of Emeril! Do love well-spiced food, though... Vicki

Well, OK, folks, thanks! One more question to ask before summer camp - my son just got "kitted out" for fishing, including a 6" filleting knife, sheathed securely with his tackle. I know our troop doesn't have a problem (several Scouts can't WAIT for a Boundary Waters year to roll around). But I don't know about our council summer camp. I'm known as kind of anal-retentive as it is, they'll love this one! Vicki (heading off to my second summer camp!)

Vrooman, I guess if it was obvious to me that the scout had not completed the requirements the absolute minimum action I could take would be to recommend against awarding him the rank. Then, if the majority on the board passes him, decide how much of a fuss to make. While I appreciate that there is grey area in this world, this seems to me to be a fairly black and white situation. I also understand that this could be a difficult and uncomfortable position to take - so you just need to decide which is more important, comfort or self-respect? When I've been put in similar situations, usually

Leadership training expenses for both Scouts and Scouters are paid for by the troop. Vicki

I've never taken a gift, nor have I noticed anyone else taking one (no gift table or cards going into the Eagle's or Eagle parents hand, etc.). Vicki

In that situation I think one of our adults would have sat down next to him and asked how he (the patrol leader) thought that hot dog was going to be split five or six ways... As far as camp cooking, on regular weekend campouts the adults cook separately from the patrols and the patrol menus are approved by the SPL. For summer camp, since we're all eating what the commissary provides, adults are split up amongst the patrols - gives the scouts a chance to practice guest etiquette! Vicki

Prairie, in our council there's a mini-camp (2 nights) for the Webelos 1 (between 3rd and 4th grades) and a week long resident camp for the Webelos 2 (between 4th and 5th grades). Totally separate facility from the Boy Scout camp. Vicki

We are fortunate in that we have a very diverse set of talents in the parents involved with MBs. For instance, mine are Personal Management, Cooking and Journalism. I'm an accountant, have been a journalist and have managed two semi-commercial kitchens as well as being a camper/backpacker, etc. We have an adult who manages a veterinary office. So it isn't a matter of "being willing" it's "being willing and able." It also helps that our council office has actually turned down people they considered unqualified to counsel the badge for which they were applying. Vicki

t487 wrote >I feel this is wrong because it limits the number of selections for scouts of other religious backgrounds as the other camps fill up rapidly.> tort, without trying to put words in his mouth, speaking strictly for myself, I think I understand what t487 is saying. From my perspective it would be OK if our council had more space - there is such a shortage of available space in our Boy Scout camp that to take one week out of the "camp lottery" to accommodate one specific, albeit large, group would be tantamount to discriminating against anyone who didn't belong to that grou