GernBlansten

GW, do your kids bang their heads on the ground? Is that why you don't want the ACLU to get involved?

Bigguy, We did just that last year. Formed a "venture patrol" of older scouts with the same idea in mind. They were excited and enthusiastic. It hasn't worked out. They are no more active than any other patrol. The true leaders are still active, but just as if they were in standard patrols. We (adult leaders) had hoped they would strike out and do cool stuff. They have yet to plan one outing. One camp out. One adventure.

Actually, the family wasn't too keen on having the movie produced, probably because of the portrayal of the dysfunctional parents. Sean Penn and Krakauer finally secured permission. That's why it took so long to from the publishing of the book to the movie. Have to say that Krakauer's "Under the Banner of Heaven" was the most disturbing book I've read. Especially after the current news of whats going on in Texas.

Those Colorado state parks listed are suburban Denver parks. Because of the topography of Colorado, we have a real hard time getting even cell phone coverage outside the metro area, except of course ski areas. I kinda like the idea of wifi at camp though. Would allow the SM to have a laptop to email daily status to the helicopter parents.

All to often, people approach training as it helps me, almost narcissistic. But in the case of leadership training, first aid, adventure skills, and really most every training; come to think about it, its to help those around us. Very altruistic.

Oh, you think its a pun. Picture this. At final announcements at our last troop meeting, I bring up the sale to all the scouts and parents that if they need the pants the scout shop is having a special promotion: "SCOUT PANTS, HALF OFF!". A moment of silence then the older scouts break out in a guffaw of laughter. Good thing I have no shame.

I'm not sure we saw the same movie or read the same book. Chris (aka Alex Supertramp) worked throughout his adventure. At a McDonalds in Arizona, as a combine operator in North Dakota, and for the hippies selling books out of their van in California. He knew about his needs for material things necessary to continue his trek. Like the gun, the canoe, the 10lbs bag of rice, all his day to day expenses. He never begged or joined the ranks of the typical vagrants, junkies and mentally ill. He just lived at a subsistence level. BTW, his boots were donated to him by the guy who drove him to his final trail head.

Hey, at least they are not advertising it as "Scout Pants - Half Off"

Punching a clock and staying within the lines does not make good cinema.

I'm particularly intrigued by the main character's wanderlust. The ability to turn away from the trappings of an upper middle class upbringing and education. Not too many Americans are willing to do that. However, I didn't like his complete lack of contact with his family, I thought he owed his sister at least some message of his travels. He clearly made some mistakes, one cost him his life.

I took Level 1 Avalanche training this winter. The instructor went around the room asking everyone why they were there. Most responses were to learn how to stay out of trouble in the back country. But one fellow said he was there because his buddies wouldn't go into the back country with him unless he was trained. You see, knowing how to rescue an avalanche victim does you no good if you are the victim. But having your buddy know might save your life. Kinda struck me as weird until I got to thinking about it. I'd rather have someone else in my group having WFA than myself. Consider it reciprocity.

Finally saw the movie on disk. Read the book a few years ago. Both are worth the time in my opinion. People focus on the way he died and how stupid he was, but the real story was how he rejected our material world and struck out as Alex Supertramp. But I doubt there would have been a movie had he died at the hands of a vagrant or hit by a semi on a remote highway.

Pack, is it time for an intervention?

I just want to sincerely thank, from the bottom of my heart, the good people of Pennsylvania, the birth place of democracy, for the extention of the silly season through the democratic convention. Tip of the hat!

Being the lazy sort I can excel at, I bought the REI Backpacker's kit (on sale of course). It has everything I could possibly want in a kit, plus more. A bit heavy and bulky. Supplemented it with female hygiene pads (for trauma and convience of absent minded female hikers) and diabetic supplies (for my son). Neat thing about this kit is it has four empty vials you can fill with your favorite cocktail of analgesics.

Our unit, over 60 scouts now, I guess could be labeled a drop-in one. We have no requirement for attendance, except for PORs. I tell new scout parents that our program gives the scouts the opportunities to advance to first class in one year. If they miss meetings or campouts, they miss opportunities to gain the skills to advance. Active, dedicated scouts usually get to 1st Class by first year. Others lag behind to a degree commensurate with their dedication. We don't kick these kids out.

Yes, I see units run high adventures and a lack of commitment by the youth to properly prepare for them. Drives me nuts too. I'd say that 50% of our crew for Philmont missed a majority of the prep hikes. I didn't. Neither did my son. But other priorities took them away. Sure you have a few that juggle their schedule successfully, but I really think that if we as a unit demanded mandatory attendence at all meetings and campouts, we would lose most of our scouts. Of course, the remaining ones would make for a great group of dedicated guys. Probably have a dynamite program too. Just much smaller.

A rafter of turkeys Also... A bevy of quail A bouquet of pheasants [when flushed] A brood of hens A building of rooks A cast of hawks [or falcons] A charm of finches A colony of penguins A company of parrots A congregation of plovers A cover of coots A covey of partridges [or grouse or ptarmigans] A deceit of lapwings A descent of woodpeckers A dissimulation of birds A dole of doves An exaltation of larks A fall of woodcocks A flight of swallows [or doves, goshawks, or cormorants] A gaggle of geese [wild or domesticated] A host of sparrows A kettle of hawks [riding a thermal] A murmuration of starlings A murder of crows A muster of storks A nye of pheasants [on the ground] An ostentation of peacocks A paddling of ducks [on the water] A parliament of owls A party of jays A peep of chickens A pitying of turtledoves A raft of ducks A siege of herons A skein of geese [in flight] A sord of mallards A spring of teal A tidings of magpies A trip of dotterel An unkindness of ravens A watch of nightingales A wedge of swans [or geese, flying in a "V"] A wisp of snipe

One of those encounters with those vermin cost me a Mazda Miata. Took out its feet doing about 65. Head went into the windshield on the passenger side, got cut in two as the rest went over the top and sprayed the trunk with a pink mist. Had it hit the drivers side, I wouldn't have fathered a scout. I hate venison. Insurance paid to repair the car, but still found glass pieces 3 years later when I sold it. I called that car DeerSlayer.

You strike a topic that is very deer to me. I've clipped four of them in the past 5 years. One just last month. Pack, I'm doing my part to thin the herd. I live in a rural area and commute daily into a metro area. I have herds of the big rats everywhere. On my driveway, in the parkway, down the highway. They spring from the bushes, the hills and dales. I've even had one run all the way across an open field to run into the side of my slow moving truck. You will know when I quit posting to this forum if I have an incident on my motorcycle. So I can say with great authority, there is no liability assigned to the deer. Everything falls onto you. If you don't have comprehensive insurance, you aren't covered and will not be able to recover from the deer's family or the state. Now if its a horse or cow, the owner has the liability. At least in my state.

I have no doubt that requiring our scouts to be fully committed to the program above all other activities would enhance our program. Nothing holds back a good program as when you have a low turnout at campouts and meetings. It really bugs me. However, if we implimented that strategy to the scouts in my unit, we would lose at least 50% to band and sports right off. My son included. They can't do both as they frequently conflict with meeting nights and weekends. It's not negotiable to miss marching band practice or ball games, especially in high school. Most of these boys are in multiple sports and extra curricula activities throughout the year. Not to mention homework which frequently becomes an excuse for missing meetings, especially near the end of the semester. We'd probably lose another 10% who just don't want to commit. These are the scouts who we really wouldn't miss anyways as they never really participate much, just show up because their parents demand it. These lost scouts will probably find another unit that didn't have stringent attendance requirements. Now it might make the remaining scouts more committed and we might actually have a better program for them in the end. Just much smaller. So who wins? Perhaps we need both types of units, one like Brents for those scouts who are fully dedicated to the program, and one for everyone else.

Lisa, You are in a unique situation. You have too many eligible adults than you have slots available for recommendation to the OA. Usually, in our unit, either the adults don't meet the camping requirements or are already OA. In this situation, I'd be inclined to let the PLC make the choice. The troop committee can be too political.

Congrats Brent, Looks like you are onto a great start. I think you hit the nail on the head though, you don't know what will happen when the boys reach those magic teen years when scouting isn't the most important thing in their schedule. I'm real curious to see how it goes for you. I like your statement of commitment. I wonder how many prospective recruits move on to other troops because of it. That would skew your results a bit. My son was real gungho on scouting through about 14. OA, SPL, two high adventures under his belt. After SeaBase this summer, he'll qualify for the the triple crown. Never missed a meeting unless he was sick or had a band conflict. But now at 15, scouting just isn't his priority. He still makes the majority of meetings and about half of the campouts, but other endeavors are tugging at him. Scouting is taking a back seat. He simply wants to do more than what the troop does. Oh, and the girl thing I think is starting to kick in. To add to that, he wants to help me rebuild a VW beetle project I've started. You think I'm gonna pass up an opportunity like that to bond with my son? I bet he thinks he will get the Beetle when its done, HA!

ed, a scout's politics has nothing to do with being an Eagle scout.

Why not ask what the scouts favorite color is too. Both questions have no bearing on the decision of the board nor his fitness to be an eagle scout. Are irrelevent questions appropriate ora waste of the scouts and the boards time.