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drmbear

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Everything posted by drmbear

  1. Your concept and how you relate to that "higher power" is not necessarily the same as how everyone else relates to that higher power. reverent/ˈrev(ə)rənt/ Adjective: Feeling or showing deep and solemn respect: "a reverent silence". Synonyms: respectful - deferential From "A Scout's Duty To God And Country" at USSSP: We are concerned that we do not place a single Scout in the position of doubting the values of his own faith or feeling singled out and isolated because of his own faith. We should never create a climate were a Scout feels compelled to choose between Scout
  2. Jesus' teachings are not generic - really universal regardless of how you believe. Same with the ten commandments. The foundation behind all modern religions are universal - there are things that all of us can consider absolutely true. On a whole other level, there are things humans all over the planet, no matter their religion, recognize and celebrate in just the same ways they have for tens of thousands of years. Hey, there's nothing wrong with recognizing the changing colors and the leaves falling, first frost and snowfall, the darkness of winter and the return of the sun, the new growt
  3. My brother and I were thinking of reserving camping nearby for a day of visiting, but then spend some time whitewater rafting as well. Our sons won't quite be Jambo age by 2013, but will for the next one after that. Like you desertrat, I was at Philmont in 1976, and my money had been spent on that. The Jambo the following year was just too much for my family. I'd aged out by the next one and in college, though my brother, 4 years younger, got to one. I think the high adventure camp at the Summit will be cool, but the Jamboree isn't as big a deal. But if I managed to become a Scoutmaster
  4. Isn't that the whole point of BeAScout.org? Another option is to purchase a domain for $5 from GoDaddy or another and have it point to your Scoutlander site. I'm still not sure whether Google will do much to help you though.
  5. Why do we say grace before a meal? It's just stopping long enough to be grateful, give thanks. If not to God, then to the farmer, for the weather, the rain, the sun, good fortune to have enough money to pay for it, etc. Isn't the Scout's Own about the same thing - taking long enough to stop and recognize our fortune, our thankfulness for the opportunity to be out in the woods, good weather, bad weather, a warm fire, keeping mosquitos at bay, surviving the weekend, etc. For me, the Scout's Own service was everything in my spiritual journey. My family didn't go to church, though I went with
  6. Have you seen "The MacScouters Big A Scout is Reverent Resource Book"? It says it is: A Compilation of Resources to Support Preparations for the Scouts Own and to Support Spiritual Growth within the Troop, Compiled by Kyna Hendra, ASM Troop 92. At over 100 pages, it is full of resources like what you're wanting to create. I probably found it at MacScouter / usscouts.org, but I like what it includes.
  7. It seems to me that Scouting should be a safe place for a youth to grow into a man - isn't that a key element of what Scouting is all about? For me, it doesn't matter whether a boy is gay or straight, they have exactly the same issues of developing and growing into a man, and I have found no better place for helping them be ethical, capable, impactful, leaders in society than through Scouting. I've said over and over in my life that a kid can't have too many loving, caring adults, helping them through their life. Regardless of sexual preference, a male child is growing to be a man, and that
  8. Wasn't it the communists that thought social engineering and directing people into what the government thought they were "best" at, was a good idea? That worked out real well, didn't it? I'm an engineer - guilty of pursuing one of those "practical" degrees...
  9. Our Chartered Organization Rep, one of the ministers at the church, was recently active duty military, now reserves, and he said he would personally "take care" of any adult leader that harmed one of our boys. I know he said it in jest, but we all have to take responsibility for protecting Scouting and what it stands for. All the more reason to bring in and involve all the parents we possibly can.
  10. Beavah, Yes, I'm part of a men's group, and I have no problems with the idea that it is for men only. In reality, a whole other can of worms is that I think women, no matter how capable, knowledgeable, etc., have no place in camping and outings with Boy Scouts either, but BSA has already gone there. Women gather, men gather, and we all gather together, and the dynamics and scope of what can happen in each of those situations is different, and all good, and all important. Around the "men's work" idea I've spent a lot of time wanting to better understand that whole boy's to men transitio
  11. Responsible gay parents of a Cub Scout age boy is against the rules, but a heterosexual child molester can easily register as an adult leader in Scouting so long as he or she has not yet been caught. And those things like smoking, alcohol, drugs, etc., have an immediate, known, negative impact on the kids. Selection of leaders based on sexual orientation when the goal is to "protect" our children seems to miss the point completely, because I can just about guarantee that you would find no greater percentage of child molesters in that population.
  12. Since I am the one doing the work to meet the requirements of the award or knot, I print the card out at the beginning of the year to make sure I did the things necessary to earn the award, etc., why would it be tacky to claim the award. I did all the work to earn my Eagle as well, and turned in the paperwork for that - no one thinks that is tacky. It is the only way to earn it. Some of these new Alumni knots are so complicated, no one else but you would ever pay enough attention to what you are doing to actually submit you for the award.
  13. I stopped ever registering Assistant Den Leaders. Most of the time it is more a co-Den Leader kind of process anyway. So in our pack we have no Assistant Den Leaders. The ones that serve as Den Leaders are all eligible for the DL awards, as they should be. When I first started as a DL, I registered myself as an assistant, because I thought the Tiger DL would be moving up. He ended up joining the military and leaving. The whole year, though I was registered as the assistant, I was the ONLY Wolf DL. Yet they wanted to say I was not eligible for the DL award. I didn't want anyone to be in
  14. Why is any of this about their sins? According to everything I've ever seen, we all sin. In my mind it is more about a kid having a chance to be a part of this great organization, and his parents or loved ones having a chance to be there with him. I can think of all sorts of scenarios where it is just "better" for both the kid and the family to be a part of Scouting rather than not being part of Scouting. Overall, our society becomes a better place. I grew up in a family that wasn't very religious. In Scouting I found the ideas of a "World Brotherhood of Scouting" and the overall non-den
  15. For the last fifteen years I've been helping as part of the leadership team for an annual men's gathering that grew out of an even older Washington Area Men's Council. One of the things really great about this gathering is that it is for men and boys, without any issues regarding religion or sexual preference. It is a safe place to do men's work, and to be men. We have men attending in their 80's, and boys as young as 5 years old. Although I've heard religion discussed (hey it is part of life), it is not what this is about. There are gay men, straight men, and in particular some regular a
  16. I just did a three day backcountry backpacking trip in Shenandoah National Park (VA). Since I knew there would be high humidity, including occasional showers, and we planned a trip with lots of swimming holes, I chose to wear the new Centennial (land to water) shorts, with the net liner, and no additional undergarments, just as they are intended to be worn. They performed outstanding, and at $20 are far, far less expensive than comparable alternatives available at any of the outdoor clothing providers I checked out. Dried quickly, no chaffing, comfortable in action. After that trip I actua
  17. The starting point should always be to refer to what is in the Webelos Handbook. If you are a den leader, fork out the $9 and get one for yourself. I'm actually having the boys establish the schedule they want for when we work on the activity badges, so long as it works overall for what we want to accomplish. Part of that is the expectation that they have read the chapter just prior to us starting the material. The chapters are very short and easy, but shouldn't we be increasing the responsibilities as they move to Webelos? I'm going to expect them to come prepared. So, since they sh
  18. I think if I were in this situation as a Scoutmaster, I am pretty sure that just about the ONLY thing I would do is lay out the expectations for what needs to be accomplished over the weekend, possibly to the whole troop (since the SPL isn't planning to be there). Then I would go into a normal adult Scouter mode of keeping my mouth shut, making a nice cup of coffee and something good to eat, keeping an eye on things, and just let them figure it all out. What is very possible is that new leadership can emerge. There could be a slow start and not everything you think needed to get done
  19. The kinds of things I taught when I ran Troop Leadership Training as a youth can be found at: http://www.whitestag.org/ The stuff I got out of that training has had more overall effect on my life than any other thing I got out of Scouting. For me, the current materials don't quite cut it on things you really need to know.
  20. I purchased a nice red fleece jacket, exact same color as the wool jacket, on sale for around $20. I'm very tall, 6'6", so I could get the red fleece that fits me nicely (sorry, no tall mans clothing in the Scout Shop). I bought the pocket patch from the Scout Shop, sewed it on, and I'm all set. It even has the same kind of fuzz that the wool has, nice warmth wet or dry, and I can toss it in the wash with no hassle. Wool is an awesome thing, but no contest to fleece for light weight, warm, durable, outerwear for the kinds of outdoor activities we do in Scouting. They've moved to durable a
  21. perd, I recently purchased the Scout knife from ScoutStuff when it was on sale. I bought two of them, and they do not have lanyards. Maybe they do now - I don't know. It still looks like the same overall make, though, and the edges of the handle are definitely squared off and uncomfortable to use. My old $2 KampKing is 100 times better. The blue Cub Scout knife isn't bad, but I wish it had a better selection of blades. The small Tinker (I don't like the one with scissors, useless on a starter knife) is a far better knife, and at least $5 less expensive.
  22. The serrated part of that recommended knife really causes a problem for me. I spent a lot of time looking into possible knives as I was looking to teach Bears for their Whittling Chip. The serrated blade causes a problem for what these young boys will mostly want to be using the knife for, and that's whittling, right? I really wanted to find a very inexpensive knife, that was like the old Camp King Boy Scout knife that I had as a kid - I still have that original knife, so I could show what I was talking about. The problem is that I have had the hardest time finding anything that quite
  23. For many, many years, I've used a big, wheeled garbage can for storing my kid's yard toys - balls, rackets, trucks, sand toys, ... you name it! It was easy for them to tip it to get out what they want, it was easy to put everything back, easy to put where I wanted, and it was weatherproof, keeping things dry and clean. I really see no drawbacks for storing and transporting gear - probably less expensive than some other alternatives.
  24. It may sound very funny, but some of the very best things I have ever learned about raising kids, I learned from training dogs. A very long time ago, I trained a couple of dogs using the guidance I found in some book, maybe Barbara Woodhouse. One of the dogs was completely unruly, but those principles of saying what you want them do do (instead of ever saying "no" or what you don't want them to do), small rewards for the behavior you want, and that they really like finding ways to please you, has been just as relevant to me as a parent (and Cub Scout Leader) as anything I ever learned in inf
  25. Funny, I was one of the hatchet injuries as a youth, requiring four stiches in my knee. Ended up back at the campout after my field trip to the hospital.
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