yaworski

That is a pretty hefty increase, if my math is right it's 42%. When you multiply that by all of the members, both adult and youth, that's a few million dollars. On the other hand, $10 isn't too steep for belonging to an organization. Heck, for 90% of the population, if they can afford $7, they can afford $10. Yeah, I know that there are poor folks out there but I see too many of the poor standing in line to blow $20 on lottery tickets or $30 on cigarettes. Our troop is eating the increase this year. We'll probably pass it on to the boys next year.

"On the field they won 76 straight games over a spring and fall season due to the fundamentals they were taught and the amount of practice they had. They won the state championship that year." Seven year olds shouldn't even be playing organized sports. They need to be running around a playground playing "Calvin Ball." The fact that you remember their record says that to you the winning was much more important than the playing. Except when your life is at stake, the playing should always be more important than the winning.

" One boy, due to his family's religious convictions, had to wear pants on top of pants (shedding the outer pair for the test)! " I hope that his god or gods would fogive him for shedding his trousers when he fell off a boat for real.

"Yaworski: wearing his BDU pants and uniform shirt (with the mismatched button holes, of course), with a sinister wit and umpire mask as his defense." Sorry, I don't wear BDU trousers. I wear either a pair of 1968 vintage sateen fatigue trousers or, in the winter, a pair of "M1951, trousers, winter, OD."

On this matter, I agree with "Bob White."

"some will cross the street, let alone the country, to bother you. This has never happened b4 has it! Think b4 you post!" Try re-posting this in English.

"Yet half of the complaints you have with Bob are because he adheres to the framework of the rules and you either disagree with those rules or you just plain feel he is a know it all." All sports have rules that are ignored simply to allow the game to proceed. If I wanted to call a balk on nearly every pitch from the windup I could but I don't because the intent of the rule isn't being broken. In basketball, no one calls three second violation at a level below middle school. In high school, they get three seconds and that's it. Lane violations are the called the same way. Ask any official how many violations are ignored because it doesn't affect the play. Have you noticed that "Bob" rarely, if ever, has an opinion. He never says, "yep, it's a stupid rule" but it's the rule." "Bob" only says, "If BSA made the rule, it must be a good one." I'm sure that "Bob" applauded the addition of water survival to 1st class and then applauded its removal. "Bob" gets absolutely shrill about idiotic things like a troop decdiding that green jungle fatigues are okay or purchasing a campaign hat from a source other than BSA.

"(my profile was filled out until a poster here went overboard I did not want this person to find me or my family)" Since OGE quotes old rock songs, I'll borrow a line from the Kinks. "Paranoia the destroyer." Come on, do you really think that you are so important that some will cross the street, let alone the country, to bother you.

You'll notice that most of the fuss involves "Bob (I don't want to use my real name) White." "Bob" seems to offer very little to this forum except to spout BSA scripture and if BSA says it, to "Bob", it must be good. If BSA came out next year and said, "all camping must be done in BSA approved Winnebagos," "Bob" would cry out about the dangers of tents and how this is a change for the positive. If you don't follow BSA guidelines and rules to the letter, according to "Bob" you can't be running a good program. Read the thread on whether Cub Scouts can select their own style of neckerchief.

"The BSA website is almost useless at times. I don't find it any more dependable than most other websites. Why don't they have a page that says "this year's requirement changes"? I have never found anything on the BSA website about how to contact National. They don't even tell you the name of the head guys. " It seems that more useful information is found on the USScouting.org web site. Contact information for BSA would be nice. All current forms in PDF format would be another nice thing. Alas, we may never see that.

In a classic BSA move, their own web site (www.scouting.org/boyscouts/advancement/first.html) still shows the "floating pants" requirement. But the web site for usscouts.org has the current information. I still want to know why they like to change things without changing the publications. Oh sure, they have extra books that you can buy but why not just release a new edition of the handbook?

A den of 13? That's a bit on the big side. I know a fellow who has a den of 12. He fought tooth and nail to keep it that size rather than split it and now he regrets its. I know another fellow with a den of 12 but he has three talented Assistant DLs who take much of the load off him. His den is having a grand time.

We have a District "Webeos-o-ree." Similar events except that our guys were allowed to light the fire themselves. I do remember that the Eagle Scout teaching the knots couldn't tie a tautline hitch to save his life so he had to find someone else. Evidently some parents think that sleeping in a rudimentary tent is too rough for a Webelos. One fellow pulled up in his Chevy Subdivision and started unloading gear for about an hour or so it seemed. He had a brand new, three room tent, cots, air mattresses, and, get this, tiki torches. Two years later, we're still talking about him at meetings. The kid whose dad had the tiki torches went to Webelos summer camp with us but dropped out of Boy Scouts because "we didn't do anything fun." He skipped Boy Scout camp, came to two meetings and missed all the camping excursions. No wonder he thought we don't have any fun.

LOL! Sctmom, that was wonderful.

"From what I hear it was holding up a lot and making A LOT of them drop out of scouting." So? Why not remove all difficult requirements? What's more important, retention or learning? I know, according to BSA it is retention and advancement. It seems that kids today are programmed to quit rather than overcome obstacles. "I can't hit the ball so I'm quitting baseball." "I'm not a starter on the team so I'm quitting football." "I didn't get the lead in the play so I'm quitting drama club."

"The part of this that I still don't understand is statements such as "Webelos Scouts should not experience Boy Scout-type camping on the overnights." What is 'Boy Scout-type camping'? The 1997 Cub Leader Book even goes so far as to say 'If you use a council camp, be sure the Webelos campsite is away from regular Boy Scout camping areas.'" Boy Scout camping is supposed to be patrol camping without adults watching their every move. I'd think that it would be a good thing to have the Webelos near the Boy Scouts so when they realize that "those guys over there don't have their parents with them" they have something to look forward to for the next year.

Last night a confused parent said that they had found the 1st Class requirements online and they didn't jive with what was in the book. Sho' 'nuff she was right. Why does BSA changes requirements in mid-stream? Why don't they just wait until the next release of the Handbook? Better yet, why do they keep eliminating requirements? This time, the water survival is gone. What's next, the swim test? Lashings?

"I learned long ago to look an item over closely and try it on before I bought it" Often easier said than done. Most store frown on you opening 6 packs of skivvies to examine each pair of shorts. They also don't want you opening shirt packages and unpinning them for examination.

"Isn't that why those umps and refs make the calls they do......to make the fans and players mad?" I do it because the guys with the bent noses slip me $200 before the game. :-)

"OK, you have changed the situation I outlined." That's classic "Bob." He deliberately misconstrues what you write. He also twists your words and changes the situations to fit his imaginary world. If you dare to disagree with "Bob," he stamps his tiny foot and quotes BSA scripture.

See, "Bob," you aren't paying attention again. I said that the stuff that I buy at Wal-Mart hasn't given me any problems. As for your boss's Jag, there is a difference between maintenance and manufacturing defects. Back in the 70's my father bought a new Ford and none of the doors were true. That's a manufacturing defect. If you take a car in for a front end alignment, that's maintenance. Got it? Probably not.

"rlculver415 asked a "real-world" practical question and this forum has been going round and round talking about theoretical "ideal" situations." Bob (not his real name) White lives in an ideal world. Maybe "Bob" lives in Pleasantville, a world of black and white.

"You know very well yaworski that the scoutmaster is responsible for being the adult advisor for the PLC to make sure the scouts stay on task and within the scouting program. "If your situation EVER took place the first job of the committee would be to secure a new Scoutmaster. " Why? What rules were violated? She wouldn't be naked so there's no youth protection guidelines being violated. She'd be as entertaining as some of the skits that are put on. She'd be as related to Scouting as the trip to King's Dominion amusement park. It would as educational as a trip to the museum to look at paintings by Reubens.

Something that I find interesting is that the same Dad who is too "busy" to go to Scout training can find the time to go to coaching clinics for soccer or basketball. It's a matter of priorities and I guess that I'm guilty as the rest. I've been blowing off my referee association meetings this fall to be at Scout functions.

Quality manufacturers inspect every item, that's why you find "irregulars" at outlet malls, Marshall's and the like. I cannot recall having bought any item of clothing that was identified as "first quality" that had a manufacturing defect. I'm thinking hard. No mismatched pockets. No buttons in the wrongs places. No . . . wait . . .I'm wrong, I did buy a t-shirt from a street vendor at a fair that that the image printed on a bit crooked. Maybe I shop at better stores than you do. I guess that must be the case, you can't get any better than Brooks Brothers and Wal-Mart. I hope those Dockers were bought BEFORE Levi-Strauss dropped their support of BSA.