yelruh

Trevorum

I agree with you on a lot of issues, but as a religious person I do not feel it is man's job to: "homosexuality is a sin and should be punished/eliminated." I know many gay men and woman, and I have zero problem with them as people, while I don't agree with their life style, I would certainly not judge it, because I haven't lived in their skin.

in your later post, the only thing I would agree with you is that:

"Everything else in their shtick is ... media trappings."

and I'd add LAW SUITS against anyone who touches them.

I think most people are very much a live and let live situation with gays. As long as it's done in private among consenting adults, it's a very different issue than proselytizing.

I've been with a group that has done the blue and gray routes by bike. You have to leave the bikes at times, or walk them across fields. Those are the only two parts, I think would be reasonable to do.

I think if you are having a lot of younger non-hiker liking scouts, bikes would make long hot days a little shorter.

We did it when a number of boys were working on their Biking MB, so it did double duty for training for that.

Walking does give an appreciation of the battlefield, but if you are trying to squeeze everything in. Biking is certainly an option to have up your sleeve.

The reason there are two offices is that it was two councils before 1996? When they merged.

I've been to the Valley Forge Scout shop a lot, since it is actually closer to us then our own Council's.

I know they combined functions to cut costs. Better for a Council to manage 3-4 camps, then for two councils to try and manage 2 each. there are some costs that they were able to cut, because they duplicated each other.

I only microwave in glass, so doing eggs in a bag a couple times a year doesn't bother me at all.

Then again, that way I don't get any shells, which when I've had scrambled eggs someone else has made, I've gotten a number of times.

They also were on the Today program this morning.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032633/#

then you have to look for it, but it was a similar spot to the other one, but on national news!

I think it's important for a troop to have troop tents. Our current troop just bought a bunch of new ones, because we've gotten a bunch of new scouts, and there has been some loss and damage. So it was time to do it.

Often the older scouts will buy or be given matching tents, so they can use their personal tent, but they will look uniform.

The adults have a variety of tents, if it's going to be a crummy weekend, they will use a couple of big ones, because it is nicer to deal with.

I live outside of Philly. There is a bit of talk in the press about all the good that the scouts do for the city. This at a time when the city has a climbing murder rate.

I find it interesting that the scout counsel aren't the ones doing any obvious barnstorming about this issue. They maybe doing something behind the scenes.

What is especially interesting is that there was a troop on national TV this morning on The Today program for helping a woman on the AT at Hawk mountain this past weekend.

I've never seen anything like this in my years of scouting involvement. my sons have been in a total of six different troops.

Usually, when the boys go to summer camp the MB's they take are talked about with the SM in terms of what they know about the program and were the boy is in his advancement. If you don't think the MB program at summer camp is any good, then why are they going?

As a MBC, if I have a scout come to me with a partial, I will review what he has already signed off and then go forward.

Since this parent just found out, I would suggest, a first step is to have the scout ask the SM who in the troop does the MBs that he did at summer camp.

My son has a lot of sensory issues. Food is one of them. We also don't eat pork or shelfish, or mix meat and milk for religious reasons. He would often volunteer to do the grocery shopping, so that he knew exactly what they were having.

He'd also make sure his father would pack some cheese and tuna fish, so that he had something if what his patrol was having wasn't something he could have. Notice it wasn't junk food, it was real food, and often the cheese would be put out to share as a health snack for anyone around.

Sometimes when the adults were having something his father didn't eat, like pork or shellfish, he'd eat with one of the patrols, and one of the them would get what he couldn't eat.

I can't think of a single troop that doesn't drive sometimes at night.

One thing I've seen several times is trips that were suppose to leave Friday night were punted until Saturday early morning because of the weather. There is no value to setting you self up for a lousy weekend, and unhappy kids by setting up in the pouring rain, in the dark, in 38 degree weather.

I think convoying is much less of a problem now with cellphones. I know on the way home, the kids all call their parents when they are about 1/2 hour away from the pickup point.

Usually someone travels behind the trailer, in case there are problems, but not right behind.

With some meds, and some people you can't cut down quickly or go cold turkey because of withdrawl problems. Doctors believe what the drug companies say. I've seen people weaned off of Paxil in a hellish 2 weeks, and a very comfortable 2 months. Yes it's more work, but a heck of a lot less stress.

Drugs also take some time to start working in your system, so stopping for a weekend really isn't helpful.

One benefit of stopping meds over the summer, is if you are changing medication. That way you clean out the system, and give the body a chance with the new medication.

Asperger's is also a Specrum disorder, so not every boy has the same issues, or same levels in every area. Just because you've seen one kid with AS you haven't seen them all, you've just seen one!

You can also have ADHD and Asperger's just like a boy can have a broken arm and allergies to peanuts.

The problem with some meds and "holidays" is that you actually have a withdrawl period with some, even though the manufactures say they aren't addictive. Addictive means your body craves it, withdrawl means your body misses it, and is having problems, but doesn't know enough to tell the brain, I need my meds. So if a kid skips medication his body is used to, his behavior might be worse than if he had taken it, or had never been on it to begin with.

The other common mistake is for someone to not drain the elbow noodles before adding the butter and cheese powder for mac & cheese.

Usually, it is an older scout that catches that and steps in to explain the time their patrol did it.

I also wonder about the buddy system.

But what concerns me more is the reports that this scout stayed in camp with one adult, while the rest went hiking. Where the heck is two deep leadership?

I'd be interested in knowing what more information about what really happened, before I start judging.

On several shirts and jackets recently, my kids have pulled a loose thread, and off comes the button. Then I take the piece of clothing and sew on the removed button. But I don't stop there, I go through all the other buttons 8-10 times on top of the stiches that are already there, so if the original stitching is pulled out, they don't lose the button too.

I just checked the link, and it doesn't work anymore, which isn't surprising.

My son's last haircut was a buzz 3 years ago this coming June. He usually washes it every day. When my hair was longer than his, the most I could go was 3 days, or I'd get a headache from the weight, the oil would catch dust, and it would get heavy.

His hair doesn't bother me, tattoos and piercings are a different matter, and although we don't judge people who have them, we don't want our kids getting them. This way he can push some peoples buttons, but not his own parents.

My son also has several unfinished MB's, including one from the first year he was in scouts. Since he's 17 that was a while ago! He actually is in the process of finishing that one up. He didn't finish one requirement to the MBC's satisfaction, so he wouldn't sign off. The MBC wanted something in writing, verses spoken like the requirements said. Unfortunately our son has some minor learning disabilities related to writing..... so that didn't work.

He's spoken to another MBC and they just have to find a time that works for both of them. It only should take 10 minutes, because the 2nd MBC knows the first, and was actually there the week at Science Camp when our son was working on this. He's very happy to do it verbally. Since model building it's not something where he will have lost skills or knowledge.

My son wants to get it so that he'll have even rows

I saw a note somewhere about the scouts at the service in Washington were acting as ushers.

On the CA photo, what I find interesting in the clearer shot in my newspaper is that the scout at the far left has his hair pulled back in a pony tail. Since my 17 year old son is in a long hair phase I'm saving this for the people who make negative comments.

Our local paper had a photograh of 4 Boy Scouts at Ford's casket at St. Margaret's Church at Palm Desert, CA in Saturday's paper.

I thought it was a very good shot. I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet except a Japanese english language site.

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/international/americas/news/20061230p2g00m0in017000c.html

Did any one else see this?

I got asked today if any of Ford's sons ever made Eagle.

I did some looking on the internet, and couldn't come up with anything, so do any of you know?

One thing I've seen groups do is make Old Ironsides the lunch stop. If you have enough adults, let some of them bring lunch there by car, and then take the place of some of the adults who have been with the boys all morning, it's a lot of walking. Last year when I was there, there was plenty of parking, you'd just have to wait for a space.

I've also seen a group so organized, that they did a mid-morning break with cold drinks and snacks at Fanuel Hall Market, so the kids didn't blow $10 on junk, and get spread out all over the place too.

It's not that the boys can't carry their lunch, but it's a lot of walking, and you don't want them to be eating it early, and it's really nice to have cold, cold drinks.

With cellphones this is a piece of cake.

I used to be a member of a church based Troop that had a cemetery. Every year they would replace the flags for Veterans Day. The man who was in charge of it would notify the Boy Scout troop, and we'd have a meeting where the program revolved around going out and replacing the flags, and then burning of the old faded flags. These were grave sized flags so it wasn't very showy, but there was usually one or two full sized flags, that he had been given through the year.

The gentleman who conducted it talked about the flag, and being in the armed services and what it meant to him. Then during the flag burnings, we went around the scouts, and they would add their thoughts about our country, and the flag.

As long as it isn't rainy, I don't see any problem with it. I've been winter camping when overnight temps were 5 and 8 degrees, but the days warmed up to the low 50's.

It was so cold in the morning that the eggs froze a bit when you tried to crack and scramble them. We kept things in the cooler to keep them from freezing.

The only time I've ever seen that you can't finish with the older requirements that you started with was when they updated a required one several years ago. There was a push on in our troop to get the boys finished with the old requirements before the deadline. Other than that one MB, I've never seen a time limit.

Also if the requirements change it's the Boy's option if he goes with the old or the new, not the MBC!

As the parent of a son with Aspergers (High Functioning Autism) scouting and a special needs kid can be a struggle. My son is on his 6th troop. He's 17 and just found a project he wants to do for Eagle, he's started to work on getting it approved. We didn't have a diagnosis for most of his time in scouting. It's been a whole lot easier to since we knew how to deal with a lot of his quirks.

Both of us are fully trained, for committee and outdoor leaders, so no one can pull "you didn't do this training, so you don't really know the program" on us. The training isn't hard, just takes some time.

You also need to get copies of the Boy Scout Information on Special Needs, and how they should be handled. The scout shop should have them, they are only a couple of pages, but have a lot of information. I don't have the titles.

Also, in the Scoutmasters handbook under the section of Special Needs it says "working with Scout-aged youth who have special physical, mental or learning challenges will require patience and understanding on the part of troop leaders and other Scouts. Begin by seeking the guidance of the boy's parents. They know him better than anyone." it goes on to say. "If the troop does not have adult leaders experienced in dealing with a particular disability ... parents should understand that they might be asked to provide additional assistance with their son's Scouting experience."

I haven't even address the bullying and the touching. Which are big no-no's.

My feeling is there is a difference between teasing and tormenting. Most tormenting is labeled "just teasing". Teasing is mutual, and not hurtful. Tormenting is hurtful and one sided.