Fat Old Guy

I don't want to go to South America but I do want a Corvette so send me your 'vette and I'll let you sleep in my tent in a jungle.

Gee "Will & Grace" is filled with homosexual basing and it wins awards even though the stars are heterosexual. Odd how the double standards come about.

They were taken out of the catalog a couple years back but you might be able to find some at the Scout Shop. You could also call supply division (number's in the catalog) and ask if they have any on a shelf somewhere. Also, try ebay (http://listings.ebay.com/pool1/listings/list/all/category13885/index.html?from=R11)

My daughter's Girl Scout troop meets right after school and they have the snack first. The troop leader said that if they don't do the snack first, the entire meeting is peppered with "when do we have our snack?" Kid's are hungry after school. I used to wolf down a dozen cookies and a glass of milk before doing my homework.

"Swiss army knife by Victornoix. Vintage 1955 still sharp" I trust that you sharpen it on a regular basis :-)

Try ebay. I found these flags there. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3629712051&category=404 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3629734215&category=13886 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3629859279&category=13890 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3630497874&category=404 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3630263831&category=13888

"If the custom neckerchief must be the same size, can you clarify NW what size you're referring to?" The insignia guide says that they must be the same size as the official neckerchief. However, one could argue that it doesn't specify which official neckerchief so . . . . you could make it the same size as the old humongous square neckerchiefs. I can see why BSA says to make them the same size as official neckerchiefs, if they didn't we'd have some troop somewhere looking like they were wearing zoot suits.

"Baden Powell => ex-military => initated the Scouting movement. Military ranks silver is "higher" (out ranks) gold." Good try but that dog is still in the kennel. B-P was a Brit and all British officer's insignia are gold/brass.

"There is only one died in the wool measurement date for membership and that is 12/31." Does this mean that everyone recharters at the same time?

Using google.com, I found http:www.lanzadera.com/scoutsdeguatemala. The site is in Spanish.

This was argued about not too long ago. Some heraldry sites state that silver was a higher ranked metal than gold because its white color represented purity. Odd, considering that silver tarnishes and gold doesn't. The Bronze, Silver, Gold ranking of medals as in the Olympics is a fairly recent invention. A few years ago, I read an explanation of the meaning of the colors in the Scouting context but I can't find that reference.

"there seem to be quite a few families with a very marginal commitment to Scouting." I think that many parents put their kids into Scouts simply because they want something to fill the hole between sports seasons. I'd bet that if my troop lost all but the guys who really want to be there and be Boy Scouts, we'd be down to about 30% of our current strength.

MS-DOS 3.3

"I believe I heard at one time that GSUSA sold the patterns for their uniforms so folks could make them themselves. I always thought that was a great idea. Is it true?" I've seen Girl Scout fabric at fabric store in the recent past. Both the official green and a white fabric with the "Service Mark" on it. As for Boy Scout uniforms, it's too bad that they don't make the youth shirts in 100% cotton. My cotton shirts have been through hell but the stains come out. Over the years, I've notice that most stains, especially oily ones, latch onto plastic closthing and won't come out with anything short of dyne-e-mite. Actually, I don't think that you really need the explosives but you do need to be a bit creative for stain removal. A couple years ago, my son got a nasty salad dressing spill on his shirt. Stain Stick, pre-treating, etc. didn't do anything for the stain. Finally, out of desperation, I tried turpentine. Good-bye stain. I just had to let the shirt air for a couple days before I washed it to get rid of the odor. There was a time that the field uniform was a true field uniform and could withstand the rigors of outdoor activities. Alas, that time is long past. Yeah, I know that some will complain about having to iron a cotton shirt. All I can say is "don't be so lazy." It takes five minutes, at most ten, to iron a shirt. Better yet, spend a $1.25 and send it out for heavy starch. I will agree that Girl Scout uniforms are expensive. Even more outrageous than Boy Scout uniforms. I bought my daughter a plain white polo shirt ($4.50, K-mart's boy's dept.) and used my ink-jet printer to print an iron-on service mark in the right shade of green (about 1.4" high). I put that on the left sleeve, just above the cuff, and it looks pretty good.

Bic pens, at least until you dip them into liquid nitrogen.

"Why does the membership year and the Charter year have to be different? Why can't membership be taken from the charter?" I'm a bit confused here. We sign-up new scouts in September and they pay a pro-rated fee. Then in January (our recharter time), they pay the full fee. Consequently, memberships run with the charter year. Looking at the membership numbers numbers and rosters that come from Council, membership is taken from the charter. Do things work differently in your neck of the woods?

I'd change the order. If the boy was in your pack last year, he should be guaranteed a slot. I know of a pack with a Webelos Den of 15 boys. It works because the Den Leader has three assistants. Nobody else wanted to be den leader but they don't mind helping. At times, they operate like two or three dens because five or six boys will want to something this weekend with one assistant and next weekend there be a different group of boys signed up for another actvity. Everyone stays active and no one feels left out.

"with my fairly large neck size and my generally large size, a neckerchief looks out of place because ends are so short on me" I have the same problem. When I was going to Scoutmaster School, my patrol consisted of four large men and four very petite women. We made two sizes of neckerchiefs. It may not be regulation but it looked good and the chief of the Uniform Police is my wife's sister's brother's cousin's father-in-law so I have nothing to fear there. I've convinced my troop to order larger neckerchiefs for the adults. Again, not regulation but who cares? Which is worse, a non-regulation neckerchief or orange sweat pants with a uniform shirt?

Man O'Steele, how does one wear a uniform "quietly"?

Maybe you can defer that nomination for a ten or twelve years.

Sounds like circumstantial evidence and I won't even convict my kids on circumstantial evidence. However, circumstatial evidence will prompt me to launch an investigation that rivals the Spanish inquistion. That said, I'd keep my eyes on those girls.

Yep. He never made it past Life but he exemplifies the Scout Spirit.

"We" should not add or take away from the requirements. No, it isn't "should not" it is "may not."

Uniforming, like advancement is encouraged but not required.

Dan brings up a good point. There is no such thing as a "Class A" or "Class B" uniform. Those are not Boy Scout terms and should be avoided.