clemlaw

>>>>>I remember being hung upside down while mom pinned my bobcat too my shirt.

I suspect as such programs go, it's probably a pretty good one. The "activities in an open field" quote above is a bit of an exageration. I believe it does include swimming (pool), BB guns, archery, and some kind of boat rides. The council has day camp programs that include the BB guns and archery. For a Tiger Cub, they are big draws. But for $200, I'm sure we could buy a BB gun and a bow and arrow. Of course, is exactly what my Tiger Cub wants me to do, and he's even pointed out how they could be used in self-defense for the inevitable bigfoot attack. I think we're pro

>>>>>some camp's "program" for kids in an open field just off of the summer camp site facility. Eating institutional food from a mess hall or sleeping in a wall tent with cot. Nope not for me.

I'm sorry to hear it! >>>weren't having any fun in scouts because they had to plan trips, menus, calendars, actually do leadership

I made Eagle in 1978. Now, first of all, I do realize that this was during the "improved" Scouting program of the 1970's, but what I'm about to say would also be true during the 1960's. (I had already mostly completed the First Class requirements by the time of the switch over. Also, I--and every other Eagle I knew--completed mostly the same Eagle required MB's. There were alternates for many of them, such as Emergency Preparedness for Lifesaving, but I'm not aware of anyone who took advantage of the "easier" alternate required MB's.) When I made Eagle, I do remember thinking to mysel

I became a Cub Scout in 1969, and it's surprising to me how many supposedly revered traditions did not exist in 1969. I must have gone through three Blue and Gold Banquets, but I really don't have much recollection of them. I have only one vague recolection of being in the Legion hall where it took place, but this might be a composite memory of all three of them. I have no idea what food was served. I had never heard of a "crossing over" ceremony until recently (although I have been informed that they did exist in at least some packs back then). No elaborate arrows were awarded to any

As far as I know, I'm the only Lion parent here. My son was a Lion last year, as our council is one of those participating in this pilot program. I was under the impression that we were the first one, but I could be mistaken. I'm not aware of any particular ceremonies, and I doubt if there are any, since it is a fairly new program, and our Pack was mostly "winging it". I do applaud you for recognizing and including the Lions. Since there's no Lion "rank" badge, I suppose it could seem like they were excluded if most of the other dens advance in rank at the B&G, and they don't.

I think some people are getting confused from the use of the word "agent". Maybe this will make things even more confusing, but to me, the relationship makes a lot more sense if you use the words "unpaid employee" instead of "agent". (And no, you're not really an employee, and there's no such thing as an "unpaid employee". But it just seems to me that the relationship makes more sense that way.)(And yes, when I say "unpaid employee", I really mean "agent". But it just seems to make more sense if we avoid that word.) So you're an "unpaid employee" of the CO, and you owe them a ce

Well, unless things have changed since I was a youth in the 1970's, I don't see why not. I was tapped out (now known as "called out") the second year I was eligible. I wasn't ready the first year, but apparently the other scouts in my troop knew that, and they didn't elect me. The next year, I was ready, and they voted me in. >>>>(y'all know what part I am talking about).

I doubt if the issue is going to come up very much, since there are probably very few 6th grade graduates who are still 11 in July, and of course an even smaller number of them will be signing up practically the day the join Scouts. But I don't really see the issue. I went to the 1973 Jamboree as a 12 year old sixth grade graduate. I believe that I wouldn't have been old enough if I had been that age for other Jamborees, but that was the one year that regular troops went to the Jamboree, and I believe they lowered the age requirement for that reason. It was our summer camp that year, a

I think that's a great idea, and it highlights one of my pet peeves with the BSA (which it looks like they're in the process of correcting). Like many old scouts, I drifted away from Scouting during college, and was never invited back. Almost thirty years went by, and nobody ever called me--not even to ask for money! There were times during that thirty years when I was too busy to help out, or too broke to donate any money. But for most of that time, I would have helped out and/or donated, if someone had simply called me and asked me to do so. Yes, I should have come forward m

I'm not normally a big fan of "canned" meeting plans, but in a crisis like this, they seem like a perfect idea: http://www.scouting.org/sitecore/content/Home/CubScouts/Leaders/DenLeaderResources/DenandPackMeetingResourceGuide/TigerDenPlans.aspx If you browse through the Tiger book, you should be able to find an uncompleted requirement or elective. Chances are, there will be part of a meeting plan at the link above that covers that requirement. You can either follow the meeting plan, or use it as a starting point. You might also want to browse through the list of belt loops and

I really don't consider myself an expert outdoorsman, but I know a large number of skills that I always assumed were common knowledge. But it turns out that they're not common knowledge, and I occasionally amaze people by doing something simple. For example, the reason why bunge cords are so popular is because there are a large number of people who have absolutely no clue about how to use a piece of rope. Since the rope doesn't come with an instruction book, they don't know what to do with it. Or perhaps some of them, because of lack of experience, mistakenly believe that the bunge cor

>>>>>NO I don't "hate" homosexuals. I'm tired of hearing this rant whenever a person disagrees with a gay spokesman/propagandist.

Yes, Abuelita is probably the best. And even though I don't think the instructions say this, it will, of course, be richer if you use milk instead of H2O. We also order various food from Honeyville Grain, and their Mexican Hot Chocolate mix is as good, or better, than Abuelita. They also have various other flavors. As far as instant hot chocolate mix, it's the best. I have links to some of the flavors on this page. I don't have a link to the Mexican style, but if you click on the sampler, you should be able to find it: http://www.w0is.com/miscpages/FoodStorageStaples.html W

>>>>>We are also told that the church would leave the heat on 60, and the ac on 72 for our use, however the heat and air is off when we arrive, and we've had meetings in fall/spring in which the room read 88 degrees, and winter temps as low as 40 degrees.

I'm sorry to have to put a damper on things, but you're going to have a heckuva time trying to find Enip Doow Derby patches at the Scout Shop. You'll probably have to give some thought to the rules, since it's likely that the Scouts will think of things that you hadn't thought of. For example, an electric motor won't have much difficulty travelling the full length of the track, so you're probably going to have a multi-way tie for "furthest".

>>>>But I just had a mental image of a 5 year old tiger in even the smallest Boy Scout shirt.. I just had to share..

Anyone who has little kids around the house has probably watched "The Incredibles" about a hundred times. And whenever the subject of Arrow Of Light ceremonies comes up, I always think of the following dialog from the movie: Helen: I can't believe you don't want to go to your own son's graduation. Bob: It's not a graduation. He is moving from the 4th grade to the 5th grade. Helen: It's a ceremony! Bob: It's psychotic! They keep creating new ways to celebrate mediocrity, but if someone is genuinely exceptional... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317705/quotes

And for parents who don't yet have the book, it's on page 13-17 of this link: http://www.scouting.org/filestore/ypt/pdf/46-014.pdf When I went looking for this online previously, I only found it as part of a much larger document, but this one is only about 20 pages long. Even if the parents don't have internet access (if there's such a thing these days), it wouldn't be too difficult to print this out and give it to them. And, as noted above, it looks much less daunting if you also print out the Cub Scout Promise and the Law of the Pack, and then ask them to go over all three of

I also agree that making cracks about who pays for the choir robes probably isn't going to be particularly productive. Apparently, as others have pointed out, the charter agreement states that the CO provides a meeting place. The original post states that the unit was asked whether it would "consider paying" a certain amount for utilities. I doubt if the charter agreement _prohibits_ the unit from making such a payment. Also, the church is under no obligation to sign the charter agreement next year. And if signing it is a financial burden for them, then it's not realistic to expect th

Folks, The original poster is apparently a parent, and it sounds like the Pack and/or Troop her son is in doesn't run everything exactly the way we would, and probably doesn't run everything exactly by the book. But if that's the case, it's certainly not the original poster's fault, and from the tone of the responses, it sure sounds like we're jumping all over her. As for the original poster, the Council office needs to enter all of the advancement into their computer, and that record should include the Scout's date of birth. So chances are, if it went through properly, the Sc

Well, I can only speak of my experience with the best Patrol Leader in the history of the BSA, who happened to be my Patrol Leader when I joined. I joined an existing patrol at the end of 5th Grade, but it was essentially the "new scout patrol" (although nobody told us that it was). Most of the members were in 6th grade, and had probably all joined Scouts early in that school year. The Patrol Leader was in 7th grade, and as far as I knew, he was an expert woodsman. In retrospect, he was probably just a Scout who had a pretty solid understanding of most of the skills required for First

>>>>>When I gave the scout sign and promised my Duty to God I was shallowly going through the motions I needed to continue spending time with friends, gaining leadership experience

First of all, congratulations! We didn't have that tradition back when I became Eagle about a hundred years ago (OK, a Scout is Trustworthy, and 1978 isn't quite a hundred years ago) but it sounds like a nice tradition. I would suggest that you think of something that will remind them of the project in some way. For example, if the project involved digging, then maybe give them small shovels (or pens that look like shovels). If it involved cutting logs, then a small axe (or some novelty item that looks like an axe). Obviously, the value would depend on how many volunteers. If you