yaworski

That should have read: "As for the food issue. It should NOT BE allowed. Just like we confiscate Game Boys and cell phones, catering by mom should be stopped at the gate. Unless, she's bringing for everyone at her expense." Gotta learn to proofread.

Your summer camp experience sounds great! As usual, we went to a Scout Reservation, which can be a bit too pre-packaged. We took 50 scouts and at least 10 adults. If you want to talk about apron strings, we had moms go to camp and their primary function seemed to be following their son's from station to station. Why? Well, you know, the boys have "issues" and "lack confidence" so they had to go to make sure the counselors treated the boys right. All of the men simply relaxed, fished, or did other fun stuff (I spent most of the day at the rifle range, teaching). I wanted to gr

The problem isn't that the boys are friends and don't want to be apart. That's pretty natuaral. I'm nearly a zillion years old and I still like hanging with my buds. The problem is with the dad. Dad needs to know when to let go. I really don't see a problem with Dad eating with the Scouts but the Scouts should be doing the cooking. We have similar problems in our troop. Some want to treat the new Scouts like Cub Scouts and do everything for them. We have one ASM that did all of the planning for her boys. We have another that "let the boys plan" under her stern gaze.

It could be that the paper doesn't like positive news or that the poofter editor doesn't like the Scouts. One of the most effective things that you can do is to ask the adults in your council to write to the editor and demand to know why scout events aren't covered.

Since the boys are supposed to be running the show, how about asking them what they'd like to be doing? There's no need that they all do the same stuff. Some might want to build a home for poor folks, others might want to go mountain climbing. Tell them to come prepared with ideas, it's their program not the adults.

"Yaworski, Has anyone every told you that you have a way with words?" Not in such a nice fashion.

I'm really confused by this. What sort of equipment could you need on a backpacking trip that would require a wagon? Were you taking dutch ovens? In any case, if the troop authorized the borrowing of the wagon and the damage was due to stupidity and not malicious behaviour then the troop should pay. If the troop didn't authorize the borrowing of the wagon then the fool that brought it is responsible.

What sort of awards was the CM ignoring? Belt loops? Those goofy bead for the "Immediate recognition kits"? I've run across more than a few packs that don't award belt loops. If a boy earns one, the only way that he'll get it is if his parents buy it for him. We've become obsessed with do-dads and gee-gaws of all sorts. Today, parents aren't happy unless their Johnny gets something every month. A belt loop in Cubs, a new color belt in Karate, a trophy for showing up to play soccer. Not that many years ago, kids did things because they enjoyed them and the enjoyment was its o

"School starts back in 2 weeks here," Do they get out in April or do you have the shortest summer vacation on record?

"Okay now when you remove the baseball style scout hat where do you put it? " I don't wear the billed Scout cap but when I do wear a ball cap and remove it when I go inside, I tuck the bill behind my belt at the small of my back. I've seen others fold the bill in half and tuck it into a pocket.

Well, I guess this explains much. I had asked why aerosol bug repellents were banned at camp and was told that boys threw the cans into the fire. My only thought was, "How stupid can they be?" Well, I guess they can be pretty stupid. I knew better than to throw an aerosol can into a fire when I was seven.

Like many Americans in their mid-40s, I'm fat. Yep. Fat. Not overweight. I passed that long ago. Why am I fat? For the same reason that anyone is fat. I eat more than I burn. I don't care about medical conditions, blah, blah, blah. It is all simple thermodynamics. If you eat 2000 calories and only burn 1000 in a day, you'll gain a pound every three or four days. Is it easy to cut our food? Nope. Is it easy to increase activity? Nope. Do I view it as a disability? I suppose that it technically is but it isn't one that should be given special accomodations. I can hike, I

" I asked a parent about what merit badges his son was going to work on and his response was that he didn't know and didn't care, he was getting a weeks vacation out of it. What a great parent. " In days of yore, parents didn't micromanage their kids' lives and kids grew up to be respectful, polite and productive. Now parents are overly involved with everything that has to do with the kids and kids are rude and can't do anything for themselves. As smart as today's kids are supposed to be today, I don't see it. I don't see kids saying, "I want to get the radio merit badge" and r

"I have suggested that the CC convene a BOR for this boy as he has been in the troop for over a year and still isn't 2nd class despite going on all the outings." What's the BOR going to do? Bless him with a 2nd class badge? Maybe he doesn't care about advancement. Maybe he's just having fun. Back in the good old days, before everyone became Eagle crazy, advancement wasn't that important. I know a fellow who was a Tenderfoot for six year because he couldn't pass a swim test. Did it bother him? Nope and it still doesn't. He was having fun and that was what was important.

"This is the concept of "standing": You cannot just sue when you see something wrong, you have to be personally affected by it." Then how the heck does the ACLU get involved when some small town in Alabama has a Christmas scene at town hall and no one, including the local Jews, has complained?

ScouterKid, I appreciate the position that you're in. My dad used to sign me up for things without my input. I am as musical as broken guitar but I was in a Russian folk music group for five years. I hated it but I couldn't quit. Nearly 30 years later, I realize that it was a great experience (not many people can say that they performed in front of 30,000 paying ticket holders) but that's now not then. Do I still wish that I could have quit. Yep. There are many other things that I could have done with my friends. Not just hang out at the mall but great groups that I could have

Would you promote him out of the goodness of your heart? Is that fair to the boys that passed the test? You're not denying him advancement because he hasn't met the requirements. If he had met the requirements and you didn't promote him then you could say that you are denying him. Even if he doesn't advance, there's no reason that he can't enjoy scouting. We're too advancement happy today. Advancement, advancement, advancement. Learning? That's secondary.

All you "never quit" parents sound like you're trying to live your lives through your kids. Sports, scouts, music, etc. are supposed to be FUN. Once you pay the money, he stays for the session but if he doesn't want to do it again, let him quit. Too many parents want their kids in Scouting to become Eagle Scouts. Not to learn useful skills because that is secondary to the goal. The same goes for sports, parents think that bassetball or baseball is the key to the kid's future. Enjoying the game is irrelevant.

"As a Scoutmaster I would never expect a parent to put the troop before what is in their childs best interest." This is one of the big problems in our society today. I see every week at sporting events, parents want their kids to play because they want to see them on the field. The heck with the team, the heck with the coach's plan. My kid comes first. I see the same thing going on in Scouts as well. My son shouldn't have to do patrol activities. My son shouldn't have to go camping with the troop. What do you mean that my disrpectful, rude and disruptive son isn't earning Life?

I've cut down good sized trees with a saw and with an ax. Unless you have a good sized saw, an ax does a better job.

"A Scout will not be tricked that a person knows them just by the fact that a person calls out their first name" I don't know if I'll buy that. I have a bunch of 12 year old Scouts that have less common sense than a Labrador Retriever.

"In our area they all have their first name on that jersey until they are teenagers" Call me paranoid but that seems to violate every common sense rule in the book. Joe Pervert now knows the name of every kid in baseball. Now when he sees the kid alone, he says, "hey Bobby, . . ." and the trap opens.

My simple answer is to bring it up at the Board of Review. He's not living by the Scout Law so he doesn't advance. The parents might not like it but that's tough. If the kid doesn't like it, he has two options -- conform or quit. You might guess that there are many parents in our troop who don't like me and that's fine by me.

With as much concern as we exhibit over the safety of the kids and protecting them from loons, I'm surprised that anyone would have the boys wear a name tag. BSA frowns on web sites or newspaper photos where the boys are identified. Why give the whackos of the world the opportunity to learn a scouts name? My troop has about 80 boys and I know about 75% of them by name after only a month.

I guess that the question that really needs to be answered is "Who is in charge?" Supposedly, the boys are in charge. However, the SM is there to provide guidance and make sure that what the boys do fits into the Scouting framework. As another however, it looks like one of the Committee's jobs is to makes sure that the SM runs the program that they and the CO want. Since the committee has to lay out the funds for the shirt, you could argue that they deserve final approval. Let's say that the boys design a shirt that is green and purple and you let them have them made up. Now