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I'd love to get you on a slow boat to China All by myself, alone. Get you and keep you in my arms evermore, Leave all your lovelies weeping on the far away shore. Song by Frank Loesser His daughter, Susan Loesser, authored a biography of her father, A Most Remarkable Fella (1993), in which she writes: ""I'd like to get you on a slow boat to China" was a well-known phrase among poker players, referring to a person who lost steadily and handsomely. My father turned it into a romantic song, placing the title in the mainstream of catch-phrases in 1947. †The idea being that

What is our purpose? Is it to "graduate" kids with a knowledge of knots and first aid? Absolutely not. Those are only methods, not the aim. I see so many Scouters forget this simple fact. I was a Scoutmaster for many years. My career has honed my skills as an expert in physics based modeling and simulation. Or, as some would state, with no useful practical skills! So, I was usually only a step or two ahead of the Scouts wrt knots, first aid, etc. After awhile, I got it. Practice makes perfect. After ten years as Scoutmaster I was teaching these skills to my fellow Scouters. Sin

"At every point, the Scout leadership tells us that they will go this far and no farther, but here we are again -- so it's hard for me to believe, in the long term, that the Boy Scouts will allow religious groups to have the freedom to choose their own leaders," Moore told Baptist Press July 14. I don't think the BSA has ever denied a "religious group" (ie. a Scouting Unit) the freedom to choose their own leaders except in an exclusionary way. In other words, they never forced a unit to choose a particular leader but they have banned units from choosing particular leaders. Now, with this

Qwaze, "maybe" was used in my post because a Scoutmaster determines what gets counted as sevice hours and different Scoutmasters may have different opinions on what counts as service.

Requirement or not, the question was framed by lepzid and the correct answer is yes, hours spent working on an Eagle Project may be considered as service hours. I know some folks mistake EBOR with ECOH sometimes. I've been guilty of that slip myself. Many times at an Eagle Court of Honor, the mention of total service hours is publicized and time spent working on their project should be considered as part of that total - as well as any work they may have done on other Scouts Eagle Projects.

Yes, I admit I erred on the "completed all requirements" statement. He did not participate in a BOR going in. I thought that would be understood. What folks don't realize is the fact that it is perfectly acceptable to ask a Scout at an BOR for Life to tie a bowline knot (which happens to be a First Class requirement). However, the purpose of asking that question is not to deny the Scout his next rank but to evaluate the Scouting program the Scoutmaster is running. If the Scout can't tie a bowline knot, a discussion should be had with the Scoutmaster to find out why? Did the Scout eve

Who is in charge of advancement within the troop? What are the requirements for first class? Who is responsible for signing off on those requirements? What is the purpose of a board of review? Think hard about these questions and you'll find your answer. If you are lazy, read further. 1) The Scoutmaster is in charge of advancement in the troop. 2) First Class requirements 1-13 should have already been completed and signed off, including #12 for demonstrating Scout spirit before the BOR. The board can't negate these sign-offs. 3) The Scoutmaster has the authority to sign-off on

Avoid the cost and go with a den chief! Added plus - no jealous parents asking "why my son didn't . . ." Added unsolicited advice - make sure the den chief is NOT an older brother of a cub in your den.

It is always appropriate for a BSA member to wear their uniform to a scouting function. Now, for you son's ECOH, I would wear your uniform but make it the "plain" one as opposed to the Panamanian General uniform so as not to distract from the real VIP of the event.

What is more important in the army - the Colonels and Generals or the warrant officers and Sergeants? The answer is both are needed and the army would not function properly without both. Now, the real question is - does this boy of 16 and you want him to serve the Scoutmaster (that is what a JASM does) or serve in a leadership position with the boys? Don't have a JASM lead the boys and don't have a troop guide, SPL, Intructor, etc. carry out Scoutmaster assignments.

Here is a personal example. When my oldest (now 23 years old) wanted to be a Cub Scout I signed him up. The next year, I was my second son's Tiger partner. The next year my wife signed me up to be a Wolf Den leader and for the next ten years I was some combination of Den Leader, Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster and Unit Commissioner (never less than two positions!). During that time the council changed structure twice - merging with with the council next to in geographically and a few year later forming a state wide council. Camps have closed (mothballed) to save operating and maintenance co

Must be a bummer to be formally labelled as "non-essential" in your job.

Yes, it does get complicated these days. Youth may not share a tent with adults unless those adults are Leadership Requirements for Trips and Outings Male and female leaders must have separate sleeping facilities. Married couples may share the same quarters if appropriate facilities are available. Now, when we went camping, we would separate the tents of female leaders (usually few in numbers) and also face their tent is a different direction. It was more of a privacy issue than a safety issue. We'd also separate as best we could, the adults and youth. Adu

When I got married (to a good Catholic girl ), the priest wanted to know where she was baptized (what church) and when. I asked him if he needed that information from me and he paused for a second and then politely replied - you are Christian, correct? I replied in the affirmative and that is all they needed to know. Major point - I was either Catholic or "other." Hey, I knew what I was getting into.

Or, one could take make the simple definition of Protestants as any Christian who is not Catholic (the one "true" religion in the eyes of many Catholics). For myself, I chuckle at those who seek a label - either for themselves or others - be it Christian, Protestant, liberal, conservative, right, left, tea party or whatever. I guess many have a deep seated desire for belonging to something so stick or defend a group vehemently. Not my style, but then I've been accused of having soup dejour morals sometimes. I'll say one thing, for this non-Catholic, Pope Francis sure seems refreshing.

One can always tell non-Catholics by such statements as "Chistians and Catholics . . ."

I think the main issue is not the religion but to Scouters who are not members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) they view Mormons as participating in the BSA. To many Mormons, they see folks who are not part of their religion as participating in their youth program. Their youth program and the BSA are one in the same but viewed through a different lens.

The Pack - that's the short answer. Now, the committee is part of the pack. Make the pack funds visible - both incoming and outgoing. I know that if the pack committee I was associated with had gone this route I would be lobbying for new committee members.

I'll give you that the Scoutmaster is in charge of the advancement program within the troop but since the requirements for earning the Eagle rank/award should be the same for all troops - the Scoutmaster should not be setting the bar. I was a Scoutmaster to around 15-20 boys who earned the Eagle rank and I can honestly say that some stuck around to earn silver palms and remained active in troop (youth) leadership and some never returned after they earned the rank except for their ECOH. One of the best Scouts I've ever had the privilege to work with never got past 2nd Class and was a great P

I'd be embarrassed by this if I was of African American, Latino, and Asian or Pacific Islander descent. I need a California house bill/resolution to state that I'm valuable and not disposable? The reaction to these types of resolutions can be bad - i.e. non-African American, Latino, Asian or Pacific Islander folks assuming that this resolution implies that they are not valuable and are disposable? If one feels strongly that an injustice has been done - address that injustice. Don't make platitudes or paint with a broad brush.

I'll give you that the Scoutmaster is in charge of the advancement program within the troop but since the requirements for earning the Eagle rank/award should be the same for all troops - the Scoutmaster should not be setting the bar. I was a Scoutmaster to around 15-20 boys who earned the Eagle rank and I can honestly say that some stuck around to earn silver palms and remained active in troop (youth) leadership and some never returned after they earned the rank except for their ECOH. One of the best Scouts I've ever had the privilege to work with never got past 2nd Class and was a great P

I wonder what the statistics are for owning a HDTV?

Fred Johnson, I agree wholeheartedly. I don't think we should be handing out the rank like candy but I don't think we should be expecting perfection either. I think the fact that being an Eagle, along with the process of earning an Eagle, influences behavior - mostly in the positive direction.

My boys are now 23 and 21 (both Eagles!) - far from perfect but I like to believe they had fun in Scouting. When the oldest was around 14 and the youngest 12 (with at least one full year of Boy Scouts under his belt) we had a troop campout. I reserved two campsites. In one campsite we had the adults, visiting Webelos and Scouts with less than one year of experience. In another site, were the other boys - about eight or so who desired/deserved to camp on their own. Their site was about a mile away - out of earshot and our sightline. I drove the troop trailer to their site, they got out their te

Well I have seen even 2nd Grade Cubs kill a wild bore with their bare hands. They can only sit still for so long.