Fat Old Guy

" In all the years I have been scouting I have only had an event like that take place." Huh? "artificial rules" Is there such a thing as a natural rule?

So Bob, you'd have no heartache if a Scout showed up for a campout wearing camo pants and carrying a 12" Bowie knife?

Bob, did your Scouts have to pay a fee in addition to the BSA dues and Boy's Life fee?

So Bob, are we to infer that your troop the troop which you are honored to serve has no rules other than the Scout Law? Not one, single, solitary rule?

I don't see how "Trustworthy" has anything to do with Sheath Knives. And when it comes to using the right tool for any job, a folding knife is a compromise, at best, for any job.

Since my last thread went astray, I'll try again. How about the "no sheath knives" rule that many troops enact. That is not covered by any BSA policy nor by the Scout law.

I'm not a great outdoorsy, rock climbling, survival, hiking type and I know how those type love carrying water bags on their backs but I'm not enamored with the idea. I know that the idea is supposed to be that the hose is right there so you can take a sip whenever you want and not have hydration problems. I've seen too many people, youth and adult, go overboard. They'll suck down all of their water in a half hour because the tube is right there. Water is a diuretic, if you have too much in your system, the body gets rid of it. Next stop, a tree. Ten minutes later another tree. Now you're dumping water and thirsty. No more water. Where's another tree? Just my observations.

I could have sworn that was in the Scoutmaster's Handbook but I couldn't find it. However, in the 7th edition of the Handbook it says, "It is not absolutely necessary to wear a uniform to prove yourself a Scout."

"And the Righteous Brothers aren't even related!" I was pretty old when I found out that their name was really Righteous and that they weren't brothers. The Statler Brothers aren't all brothers either and none are named Statler. Next, we'll find out that Anne and Nancy Wilson ARE brothers. Ugh!

"I too think the Cooking badge is too long.......not by number of requirements, but by time needed" What about "Sports," that can take the better part of a year to earn. Scholarship? Reading?

"This boy will endure many years of never being up front as Scoutdad put it. At each den meeting, and at each pack meeting, someone else will be up front. Slowly but surely you are eating away at this kid. You are embarrassing him and humiliating him! Not in a single watershed event, but over a longer span of time. Unfortunately its not only him, but all the other boys that will never make it up front. " What about school assemblies that recognize the students with good grades? Don't those embarass all the students who don't get good grades? I've heard that many schools have abolished honor rolls for that reason. First dodge ball and now honor rolls. I've seen kids and parents who are resistant to wearing a uniform. If he really wants to be "up front"," he can pressure his parents to get him a uniform or to let him wear it properly. If his dad tells him, "No son, I'm against uniforms because they smack of militarism," maybe the kid will then take pride in his lack of a uniform. Or his might decide that his dad is a butthead.

" Nuget(whatever that is)" Sheesh! Some people. Teg Nuget is the "Motor City Madman," a well known rock star.

Now that's a tough question. There's the frozen Snickers. Cadbury with hazelnuts. Hershey's with almonds. Hershey's special dark. Clark Bar. Butterfinger, Nestle's Crunch, really good licorice . . . If I could only have one type of candy for the rest of my life, I'd go with Hershey's with Almonds.

"Cotton KILLS!" I've worn cotton for over four decades and I'm still alive. On the other hand, the manufacture of synthetics causes pollution and some may be carcinogenic. In the winter, give me wool. In the summer, I'll stick with cotton.

"Ok, what's this obsession with skivies? What is a skivy anyway? Do regulation skivies really exist?" Good question. I had long believed that "skivvies" was just a Naval slang term for underwear. I did know that it was first applied to t-shirts but later, through common usage, expanded to both t-shirts and underpants. I went looking for a good reference and found that Skivvies was a trademark, now expired, from 1939 for a brand of t-shirt. The navy issued white t-shirts, so they became "skivvies" to differentiate them from the old fashioned singlets (what the kids now call wife beaters and what we called Dago-Ts (Hey, even Jay Leno calls them that). Skivvies is never singular unless used as an adjective (skivvie shirt, shivvie shorts). There used to be regulation skivvies but I don't know anymore. I always bought my own skivvies, the only requirement was that they were white and I believe that I could wear either v-neck or crew neck. If the Army uses the term skivvies, they have a regulation skivvie shirt for wear with the BDU. I'm not sure if the Air Force wears underwear :-)

"Which proved to not be what the Scouts wanted." I want to be able to buy beer at 2 AM but I can't. Life's tough.

"I thought Peter and Paul made Mounds and Almond Joy?" Close but no cigar. No, Peter and Paul wrote a bunch of espistles. Peter Paul made the candy bars. Historic evidence points to Peter Paul being a mole in disguise.

" First of all it is currently impossible for that to be true on a physical level." That's what they want you to think. " I have met some of these people" And you prostrated yourself at their feet in abject adoration. Considering the number of stupid laws that are written by local, state and the federal government, assuming that people who are assigned to a task are the best qualified, is really . . . is "silly" too strong of a word. Consider that these well qualified volunteers are responsible for the current handbook. A similar group really did some strange things to Scouting about 20 or 25 years ago.

" First of all it is currently impossible for that to be true on a physical level." That's what they want you to think.

" First of all it is currently impossible for that to be true on a physical level." Considering the public schools' push for calculators in the 1st grade and most of my scouts' inability to do mental arithmetic, I have no confidence that people will become competent with a map and compass before going to the easy route.

AndrewCanoe said "Even after the attack from FOG" Your comment was sexist to say the least and, despite your protestations, racist. Adrianvs commented, "Even in his day, BP admitted that over-the-knee shorts were well, dorky." Now, baggy shorts are in style. The big difference is that 100 years ago, the shorts were worn so that the underwear wasn't showing.

"The point is that the program guides us to make the BORs reular and frequent and suggests they be done the same place and nights as troop meetins." Maybe those who write the books live in a different world. Our troop meetings break up at 9 PM. If we had BORs after that, we could be there until 11 or later. Makes lots of sense. As for who requests it? Why should the Scoutmaster do it? One of the purposes of the program is for Scouts to learn to do things for themselves. Maybe we will change our wording. Maybe the Scout will ask the Scoutmaster for a conference. The Scoutmaster will tell the Advancement Chair, who will then schedule a BOR and tell the Scoutmaster the time and place. The SM will call the Scout and tell him when and where, conduct the conference and then send the Scout down the hall to the waiting tribunal. I'll run this past the SM and Advancement Chair. Gotta stay in line with the words from Texas.

I have a moderately old propane lantern that has developed a strange problem. If I shut it off and attempt to relight it before a few minutes have passed, it won't relight. I can hear the gas whooshing. The match is right up there where it needs to be but it won't ignite. Any ideas?

I just had an education on money and Scouting recently, how Council stuff is funded and how district things are funded. DSteele can correct me where I'm wrong. Council gets no part of the registration fee, all of it goes to Texas. The Council gets its money from FOS and other donation streams. This money pays for Council building, the outrageous salaries that the DEs and other professionals get ;-), camps and other council stuff. Camper fees don't cover all of the costs of running a camp, especially the maintenance cost. That's why so much labor is provided by volunteers. District events, like Camporees, are supposed to be self supporting and not lose money. However, if the Camporee is in the red, the Council will cover the losses so the poor sod that bought the patches isn't out $250. District events all pay a 10% "support fee" (read that as "kickback") to Council but I'm not entirely sure what we get for that 10%. They claim that it helps pay for the DEs time at the event but since the DE works 60 hours and gets paid for 40, that time is free :-). Each year my council publishes where the money goes and where it comes from in the council newsletter. It isn't a detailed budget, just an overview but it is an eye opener. Even so, it is aggrevating to be a volunteer and have to pay for that privilege and then be asked to donate cash on top of the hourse that we put in.

Most of our Committee Members wear uniforms and the only people that are confused are the adults who think that everyone in khaki is "the Scoutmaster."