Engineer61

Personally, the wife and I are both glad that our Troop goes mostly dormant for the summer. (One week of Camp and a couple of planning meetings.) Even then my wife (the AC) is swamped with Scout paperwork all summer long...it would be far worse if the Troop were active. Given the load from School/Work/Scouts/Band/Baseball, those 6 weeks in the summer are the only change we as a family get to unload and recharge.

Baby Boomer's = born between 1945 and 1965.

Let's not forget that most youth sports leagues last about 12 weeks. Scouting is 36-52 weeks. Can't make school break trips and summer camp because you have to travel to another parent? For get the POR's.(This message has been edited by Engineer61)

You know...at least for my Scout ... he would be completely happy if ... ... you camped twice a month ... ... dropped the boring Eagle MB's ... ... added more fun MB's ... ... dropped rank advancement completely. Just sayin...

Wait ... Utah? Again?

Clearly, youth soccer has been on the upswing for some time. Most of us in the youth baseball world view soccer as the primary cause of the decline of youth baseball. Soccer is easier to play at a younger age, from a skills standpoint. Run...kick. Logistically, it is easier to organize as well. Mark off a rectangular field of the age-appropriate size, get some kids and a ball... and have at it. Indoor soccer in the cold climates is doable as well...just get a gymnasium...most schools frown on hitting a hardball around the gym.

83E - Since I know a fair amount about Youth Baseball, I thought I'd chime in. Little League is not the only international youth baseball organization. There is also PONY. There are also numerous unaffiliated leagues all over the country. Youth Baseball doesn't end at 12. LL extends to 18 and PONY to age 19 (Although PONY is far more successful than LL at the upper ages). Usually, it's players who didn't make JHS or HS teams, or don't want to put up with the politics of making a school team that play in the upper ages. (This message has been edited by Engineer61)

I would comment that Marching Band is way more of a daily hassle than Scouts. Band practice is before school, due to the heat. They are on the field ready to go at 5:45 AM. Then one night a week they also go 5:45-9:00 PM.

I think there is a perception here that the reason more athletes and musician types aren't in Scouts is the time conflicts. I disagree. The reason these boys are in Scouts is that Scouting doesn't appeal to them. For some it's the outdoors activities that kills if for them, for some it's the uniforms that are the turn off. For those few cases that want (or are required) to do Scouting, then they do it. My son's H.S. band has 165 members. Maybe 4-5 are Scouts...and that's being optimistic. The fact is that Scouting appeals to fewer and fewer boys...that's the change in our world.

My first thought if an 11 year old said that to me in that scenario, I'd guess he's looked over the Oath and Law and has figured a way to exit Scouting.

Any comments on the sentencing of Warren Jeffs, leader of the FLDS?

Question: If this situation happened in a school setting (public or private) how would it get handled?

BadenP, I believe the Oregon Case proves well what "keeping it in the family" does for a problem. It perpetuates it.

Well, if there is an allegation of sexual abuse, then the Police will have to get involved. That will get messy fast.

Well said Eamonn.

Just curious Scoutmom... You apparently take umbrage with the boy's decision to diffuse the situation he was in by using a verbal retort that you say puts into question the boy's dedication to being "trustworthy" and "morally straight". I suppose there for if he'd turned on the bully and kicked in the groin... would that have been ok on the "boys will be boys" rule? And yes... 5 adults on 1 child discussing the child's sexual orientation IS an inquisition. The child is defenseless in that scenario.(This message has been edited by Engineer61)

I'd love to love for a politician where I know exactly what I'm getting the day he enters office. I know of two... Colin Powell Bernie Madoff I think Bernie is ineligible.

"The more private this is kept the better off the boy will be." No. Keeping it private or "in the family" says to the boy and to the world (when the coverup is discovered) that boys in Scouting are not safe from the persecution of the a few zealots with uniforms.

Dispel bad auras? Wow...5 boys dead guys, no "skit" can overcome that.

"But not those new Scouts who have a cell phone and spend their nights talking to or texting mom. Again, over and over, I have watched those with the means to instantly communicate with home spend the entire week in a miserable funk. " Maybe...just maybe mind you, those kids that have a miserable week, do so because they didn't really want to be there to begin with, but were told to do so by pushy parents.

Hopefully, that Scout runs away from that troop before he gets the hot needle, burning cigarettes and thumbscrews. As a parent, I can say definitively that I would rip all the involved adults a new one if anything close to that happened to my kid. Unfortunately, your son should probably expect "guilt by association" some time soon.

Power? Plenty of solar power units being sold for camping...even with a 12V DC outlet for car chargers. Saw them a couple weeks ago at REI. There are also hand crank cell phone chargers on Amazon.

"Why the rush?" Life is what, a billion times faster now than 1910? Our kids do far more than just one thing...time for all that is a competition. Camping blows an entire weekend. No time...

"Sending a cellphone to camp is like saying to your child that you as the parent haven't truly come to peace with the notion of them being in our care." Bingo! I don't. ===== "He was shocked when I told him he needed to go to the commisary and get a pocket full of change and then come back down to the phone and start feeding quarters into it to call home. His response, "Well, I'll see her in a couple of days, she's probably doing fine" " How about... dial '0' and tell the Operator you want to make a collect call. That's kinda one of those emergency communication lessons I taught my kids.

I would only question the washtub based on the source of the washtub (country of origin). A galvanized tub from China could (and probably does) have all kinds of non-zinc components in the coating...and the tub for that matter. They don't exactly know about quality control, or safety. For example, if the galvanization is contaminated with Zinc Chloride, the melting point drops significantly to 565 F. Zinc Hydroxide melts at a lower temp of 257 F.(This message has been edited by Engineer61)