Dizzy ona cliff

It would be good to recognise a person who not only has the skill and patience to deal with feathers and pass on those technical skills, but also some respect for the meaning behind the feathers.

Based on my own dealings with feathers I would take the title of "One who tries to work with feathers" rather than "feathermaster". Ditto with those who have skills with beadery and other work.

Would these positions fall under the jurisdiction of the vice chief of ceremonies, dance or both?

Jeff

There are the standard positions for the lodge, which are listed in the guide for officers and advisors, and these could be applied to a large chapter with a youth and adult for each position.

If there is a need for a sub position, even if it is only a temporary duty, it would not hurt to create a position provided that you also have a youth position associated with each adult so it does not look like you are creating an adult run program. It is usually best to keep it simple and not create positions with overlapping duties or for which there is no need, but it would probably be good to have list the hierarchy of who reports to whom.

It sounds like as with many lodges/chapters distance communication is a problem, and so some have tried forming satellite meetings via telephone. Not great but sometime better than nothing.

In regard to the training that you missed, some of the most important advice that I received is that of keeping in mind our purpose and intent, being patient with the youth, and letting the chief drive the car.

I am going to Shasta-Trinity, and although it looks like we may have several for Bridger-Teton, we do not yet have firm commitment.

Jeff

SFF should be a fairly simple task, so if the troop still has an adequate representation of leadership assigned to the food event, then they should be free to attend the OA event, but priorities should be weighed if it was known that their absence would cause a problem due to a lack of leadership for any remaining troop members that were scheduled to participate.

I would only exercise the option to not approve a scout in rare problem cases. If a scout is a little lazy or apathetic, then they may not even bother to attend the ordeal. If they are basically a good scout then the exposure may actually get them excited to become more motivated. At the worst they would just become another flapper, but even a flapper can be reenergized with the purpose many years later when their son wants to become a Tiger Cub. So it is hard to predict how far down the line results will actually happen.

Eamonn,

Your ability to pour heart and soul into words probably speaks for many who are engaged in scouting. With lesser weight I have sometimes struggled to keep my life balanced, and I usually find that identifying the concerns and prioritizing is difficult. On one hand as your relationship with HWMBO is unique, and therefore a priority since no one else can take your place of importance in her life. On the other hand as a caregiver you must take care of yourself and allow yourself to be engaged in those activities that reenergize your soul with joy and purpose. As you said meetings will suck the life out of you, but I can imagine that teaching some youth the ropes and giving them the skills and confidence to enjoy life on the water can breath the life back in to you.

Jeff

Stosh,

You sound just like my wife who will not let me sing in public or whistle in the house. If you want to spin this off on another thread you could let me whine about how lucky you are to have your choice of talented buglers while I feel fortunate about the rare occasions that I do get to hear a somewhat decent bugler play reveille in the morning rather than the typical method that involves a variety of tunes being banged out with a piece of firewood on a large metal bucket.

Jeff

I have no musical skills and so always thought that the tunes played at dawn and at flags were the same, but of course the squeaks and squawks produced by the buglers probably did not help. The difference was quite apparent when I listened to an mp3 version.

Okay, so I should have also said to leave the scissors at home, but also as a flag dedication the ceremony it should also be a fairly enthusiastic event. A morning ceremony would be best if possible so that the flag could remain up for the entire day, and a bugler playing Reveille during the raising would be a nice touch.

It many ways there is not much difference between a ceremony for flag retirement and a flag dedication, but just remember that you do not burn the flag at the end. A typical ceremony involves a gathering of people, a brief statement about why we are gathered here, some words about the flag, and then the color guard raises the flag followed by the pledge or national anthem.

Words about the flag could be gathered from various patriotic readings, but with some time and creativity it would be more personalized if thoughts were gathered from members of the strike force and scouts in regard to what the flag means to them in your town and as a national symbol.

It also depends on the competency of your current ASMs. Is one ready and willing to step into the position? Does your CO have any clue about who to pick for a new SM? If the new SM has little experience and only minimum training, would you be able to hang around as an advisor for a year or two and ease the trauma for the boys?

But don't most camp rangers live too far out in the boonies to meet girls and have a social life?

My son who just recently turned 20 is trying to figure out what to do with his life, and so I have been trying to think of some advice that I can provide.

His two main areas of joy and interest are pottery and scouting. He is quite good with wheel thrown work and has sold several pieces but would like find a place where he can develop his talent and make a survivable living. Although he will soon be an adult in OA years, he has many years of camp staff experience and would like to remain involved.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks,

If only there were more scouts around the world, then maybe we could see ourselves as the siblings of humanity.

I usually wear my fleece over my regular pants so that I can pull them off when the temperature starts warming up without also removing my regular pants.

So I suppose that on the troop charter he will probably be registered as a committee member, but the patch is just for an unoffical honorary designation.

I am afraid to look down the cliff, and claustrophobic in confined spaces. Backpacking & water activities are good enough for me. Work with what you have and keep your ears peeled for those with good knowledge and experience that would be able to guide your troop.

Jeff

Sometimes there is a fine line between having fun and being offensive, and scouting is a good place to learn the difference. It is the responsibility of the adults to offer guidance since most boys don't have the experience to see the consequences of their actions, and often the learning process is more effective if they can come to the decision on there own rather than being told "no".

As a guide to the troops at summer camp it would not be out of line for the commissioner to let the SM know that someone found the flag offensive, which could be the equated to one of the scouts from the troop wearing a t-shirt in camp that said "people from Iowa are scum sucking pigs", and then give the troop they opportunity to decide what action was necessary.

Once the problem was identified, the SM would hopefully have a discussion with the scouts regarding why it could be considered offensive. I once had a scout that kept tying hangmans nooses in defiance of an ASM that told him "no", when I took the boy aside to ask him why he was being defiant, he said that he did not understand because it was just a knot. Once I reminded him of some examples of how some people would equate the knot with mob violence he had a better understanding why the ASM was so angry with him.

One time in camp the boys were sitting around the campfire telling yo mama jokes, but one new scout said that he was offended because he thought that it was disrespectful to mothers. Even though the other boys tried to explain to him that they were just jokes, he was still offended so the boys stopped telling the jokes.

In the Midwest I have never felt threatened by pirates, so a skull & crossbones flag just represents old stories of adventure, and I would see no reason to take it down. Someone from Georgia whose great great grandmother was abducted by pirates might feel differently.

However, we have got to have some good-natured fun, and so sports teams, like Texans, should always be open to ridicule. It is too bad that in addition to good guidance that we adults also often try to pass on our prejudices and intolerance on to our children. Maybe the boys should just make up their own flags.

When I left the SM position after about four years and an ASM stepped in, the word was barely out before the DC asked if I would be a UC. However, although I took the UC for other units, I am also still with my old unit as an ASM, the activity is good and I think that the boys appreciate that I am still around, but in doing so I want to avoid giving the SM advice before it is requested or take any other action that would preempt his authority.

Jeff

I have seen some boys so focused on messing with something that they would not even notice that they were causing damage.

I might try setting up the tent and recreating the situation with all the boys. Give them the scenario that at some point during the week one of them was sitting in the tent carving on something, and the knife slipped.

Or maybe one of them was trying to poke at a tick or spider that was crawling on the tent fabric, and they did not consider that in stabbing the bug that the point of the knife would also pierce the fabric.

Jeff

A pack cover that still fits over a pack engorged with food is also important.

In 2004 the rain often started about noon and did not end till just before dinner.

Rain pants will be appreciated when the rain is blowing sideways, and then a poncho is worth little. On our way up to Wildhorse camp we had rain, hail, lightning & wind. By the time we got to camp our guys with inadequate gear were starting to chill. Not only were they wet from inadequate rain cover, but also since they did not put their stuff back in plastic while packing that morning and the pack cover did not fit, their warm clothing and sleeping bags were wet.

We got them dry and they lived, but hopefully the lesson was learned that the backcountry is not like summer camp.

Jeff

Ditto the full length Thermarest, although I think that I have one named the Backpacker Light or similar. I use a Thermawrap with mine so that something fluffy, but not clothing made smellable by contact with food odors, can be used as a pillow. My only problem has been the eight pinholes that I have had to patch. Maybe I set up the tent on top of something thorny one time. The patching was simple at home, but not a good trail activity.

Jeff

It sounds like you might have the start on a troop uniform exchange if your son's troop has the space. Our troop has had a uniform cabinet for many years, but maintaining the quanity necessary to make it useful is very dependant on troop parents that are able to find and donate low cost uniform parts.

I brought this question to the scouts at our troop meeting last night. It was the older scouts that spoke up first, two who just recently attained Eagle, and some others who are getting close. It was the unanimous opinion that such behavior was illegal, unethical, and so contrary to the scout oath. The younger scouts did not say much, just some comments or head nodding to support what the older scouts said.

I then tried to make the point that this could be on a slippery slope since there could be a question of first hand knowledge, parental consent and other factors, but the guys were adamant, especially the Eagles, that it was a matter of honor to uphold the scout oath. Any behavior that does not reflect the spirit of scouting, even if not witnessed, would not set a good example for others, and would be an embarrassment to other Eagle scouts.

It is interesting to note that these scouts have not always been perfect examples of perfect behavior themselves, but they have apparently developed some strong opinions of the character values that are expected of them.