codger

Love the idea of being around for the next 30 years! Thanks, guys.

Hello. I'm Codger. I'm not a teenager - far from it. I'm pushing 50, but feel like 30. I believe in the Scout Law. All of it. I don't back down to bullies, because I remember a time in my long ago youth when a boy and girl on my bus was bullied, and I felt ashamed I did not have the courage to intervene on their behalf. I won't repeat that mistake. I identify with the old Boy Scouts of America - where kids earned their badges, parents trusted each other, society trusted Scoutmasters, and nearly everyone tried to do the right thing. Today, nearly everyone does the "me" thing

Well, this thread is interesting for what the posters DIDN'T suggest - that a group, such as Boy Scouts, can add to the dialog about kids that are bullied is this: Membership in a group (Scouts) where the members are made to feel valued and valuable is the best insurance against a child that feels so alone in the world and vulnerable that they consider suicide. Simply put, if a child feels valued by his or her peers and family, they are less likely to consider suicide as a response to the inevitable bully. Almost all of us have been victims of harassment and bullying at one time or

Here's the final update on the actual campout: We camped Friday evening in beautiful, warmer than seasonal weather, and were delighted to enjoy ham and cheese omelets for breakfast. Then we made 6 quail habitats (large brush piles) on various areas of the property. After lunch we worked with two conservation officers to spread food around the shelters and put out 50 quail, distributed evenly among the shelters to establish coveys in each of the habitat locations. The boys worked hard, and had a great time. They especially enjoyed watching me get hit in the face by two flushing birds as

Here's an update. After a meeting with the SM, SPL and ASPL, we agreed that the troop will still camp at the site on the weekend in question, but the SPL will adjust the program to teach the boys other skills for the upcoming camporee/competition. We decided I would take the SM, ASM and SPL (who is the SM's son) to the property to pick out a couple of likely campsites last saturday morning. I brought my son (First Class) and the ASM brought his son (First Class) at the 9am time, but when we arrived at the SM's house to pick him up, no SPL. The SM stated his son was still asleep, and would n

Thanks for the replies, folks. Mostly I just needed to vent. I did find some suggestions helpful - such as involving the SPL in the process to secure the use of the land. The difficulty was in developing the program, where none of the scouts could conceivably have done that, since they never were trained/exposed to any type of rustic camping, or survival situation. These are very suburban/urban scouts, who never really ventured off a trail or into unknown areas at all. This situation is common in boy-led troops - if the boys don't have the ability to develop a program, the adults need to

Boy, I just got burned by my SPL and SM. Last Fall, my troop PLC decided to hold a Wilderness Survival Campout to learn the skills and practice for the merit badge. I (committee member) volunteered the use of 500 acres of woods and fields nearby (Central NJ) that my hunting club uses (in March - after seasons close). I presented in writng and in a personal presentation to the hunting club and received permission to use the property, and even to make primitive shelters using cut or fallen natural materials - can't do that on public land. Got permission. Got club members to volunteer to

Guys: Like Narraticong, I, too, attended KMSR as a boy, and now am very sad that it comes to this - closing the camp. Here are some observations: A summer camp program is not only nice to have for a council, but is in my mind the NUMBER ONE priority of a Council. NOTHING else a council does has as much impact as the summer program. Central NJ Council has neglected this for years, since before the merger 10 years ago. Literally, we can get everything else our Council does by internet delivery system and email - except a camp. The septic system problem mentioned in the letter is 1

I know what EAmon is talking about. I am the CC of my youngest son's Pack, and a committee member of the Troop with my oldest 2 boys. I own a real estate brokerage in the area (don't mention the real estate market in the last 2 years!) and can only agree with the post. In the past year I have paid for full page ads in the Pinewood Derby program, bought popcorn, bought pizza, baked goods for the bake sale, drove the Troop trailer on 4 campouts, paid for campout fees, patches and food, uniforms, and gear. The FOS thing bugs me because it seems that it is the volunteers that wind up paying ag

I, too, was a bit disappointed in the quickness of some members of this forum to jump to the conclusion that OMH was lying when he posted the first time. While I wasn't born yesterday, and don't automatically assume everyone tells the truth, I do give folks the benefit of the doubt until I KNOW they are lying. It is obvious some here cannot. More importantly, we took (I am assuming)an oath to be TRUSTWORTHY as socuts, and should, then TRUST others that have or will take that oath, until we have evidence (not supposition) that they cannot be trusted. We can take it from OMH that he was

Another thought on the overweight leader phenomenon: it is my opinion that the men and women who are most likely to be Scout leaders have the following attributes: -Strong home life, where families are served home-cooked meals on a regular basis -they come from cultures where gatherings of friends and families involve serving meals -they tend to put service to others ahead of personal goals like individual fitness -they tend to live in suburban and rural neighborhoods where walking is not the primary transport mode - the auto is. At the same time, those thin people tend to come from

My wife and I, too, immediately picked up on this - we have our Chief Scold Executive and other senior Scolders, I mean Chief Scout Executive, telling the VOLUNTEERS we are not up to snuff, when the PAID PROFESSIONALS cannot adhere to their policies and pronouncements. I say we all get together and send a cheesecake from each unit to the headquarters for the BSA leadership to pig out on! Let's make a statement that until they walk the walk, they can keep their opinions of our health to themselves.

Well, I see two possibilities here. If Council overrides the Troop and awards the Eagle over the Troop's sincere objections, there is a very good chance that it did so not because the Troop was at fault, but that the parents of the boy made a huge stink, and Council leadership caved for political reasons on a 'marginally qualified" boy. It is not unheard of that the mere threat of litigation from helicoptor parents is enough to somehow convince Council staffers that the boy is more deserving than he is. In that case, it seems the right thing to do is plan a modest COH and present the award.

The most important observation on this issue is that despite the obvious support of the driving public, the State of Connecticut does not feel that the Scouts perform a needed service to the community. If they felt the service was in fact needed/desireable/of value, then they would find a way to make it happen, and then tax it! The only lesson to be learned is that the State does not value volunteerism, and volunteers should stay home. What a sad time we live in - we'll all be worse off for it.

It seems to me that if National is going to prohibit unsupervised campouts across the board as is rumored, then they should at the same time change the Scout Law. If a boy is NEVER allowed out of the adult's sight, we sure don't need TRUSTWORTHY scouts. They will have nothing to be trusted with. By the way, I have been at various times in the same (and only) District as a Cub, a Boy Scout, a JASM, Committee Chairman (of three different units), Treasurer of a Pack, husband of a den leader and more since I was 8 years old. In otherwords, well known to several generations of scouts and

Well, I'll relate a time when my scoutmaster saved our troop from an ugly incident BECAUSE he brought a 6-pack of beer on a campout. He was a great Scoutmaster, very reliable and responsible, and NOT an alchoholic. We were camping by the shores of a lake, in a forest, with no other people around for miles. Late in the night, we were gathered around the campfire, when a DRUNK redneck came driving fast through the woods and skreeched to a stop right in front of the fire. He exited the truck and shouted for us to "Get out of the road - stop blocking the road". He threatened to run us ov