jwmerica

Okay, I'm probably going to offend some of you folks out there... This whole thing burns my tail up! I was born in 1959. I was a thalidomide baby. I have seal limbs. I didn't participate in Cubs because the Bobcat leader who lived next door to us lied to my Mom and told her kids with disabilities weren't allowed in Scouts. My Mom should have called council, but she wasn't too bright early on dealing with discrimination. I did participate with Troop 302 at Joseph Pomeroy Widney High School from 1971 to 1973, in LAAC. The school was for disabled kids and so was the troop. Cary Bates was our SM and that man should be sainted! He dealt with kids who were blind, had polio, amputees, Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, acute asthsma and AUTISM! He had 1 ASM and a Junior ScoutMaster to assist him. The Junior had Downs Syndrome. There were between 12 and 14 of us scouts. Two patrols. I was PL of one patrol. We did everything "normal" scouts did, including participating and competing at Camporee and Summer Camp in 1973! The ADA aside, Baden-Powell meant for Scouting to be accessible to ALL boys, as did F.R. Burnham! This issue of disabled scouts and leaders being unwilling to work with them or the troop or other scouts making disabled scouts and their parents uncomfortable or unwelcome is inexcusable! That the parents had to sue BSA is equally inexcusable! Denver Area Council has a Special Needs Executive who sole job is troubleshoot these kinds of situations and to find ways to serve special needs boys. The SM's request that a parent accompany the autistic boy on the trip is not unreasonable. My son has acute ADD/ADHD and mild Cerebral Palsy. He participates fully in our troop as do I. When he goes on a trip, I go. We also have 2 boys with autism whose parents DON'T go along on our trips. The adult leaders took the time to learn how to work with these boys. We also have an SM who is willing to medicate and take responsibility for these boys, as will the other leaders in our troop. It comes down to how committed an adult leader is to the ALL of the boys in the troop. Not just the normal, easy boys, but the boys who require extra effort too. It requires leaders who will take the time to learn about these boys. It takes MEN! MEN WHO CARE ABOUT SCOUTING, ALL OF THE BOYS, AND LIVING THE 9 AND 12 TO THE BEST OF THEIR ABILITY! Broadside fired. Running under full sail. Black flag has been run out! Bring it on! YIS, JW Merica

Hey Guys, Thanks for the welcome. I like zinging the zingers. ;-) Folks get their panties in a wad over the darnest things. I just scored the "new" beret I've been wrangling over on Ebay. Now I'll have two. My "working" beret and my "Sunday, go to meet'n" beret. I don't know how I came to like or even start collecting berets, maybe it goes back to wearing the beret when I was a boy. I developed a love for these funky, little hats over the last 34 years that I can't shake. Some of my favorites in my collection are/were an Irish Guards beret that I lost to a woman who snatched it and dropped me; a plain black Bancroft that was my everyday headwear all year round. I'm currently bidding on a Green Foreign Legion beret, 2nd REP (Regiment Etrangere Parachutist)complete with flash/insignia. Weird hobby. Cheers, jwmerica

I have been involved with Scouting a total of 9 years. 71-73 with Troop 302 in LAAC. I rose to the rank of Life. 3 years with a scouting style half-baked explorer program from 75-78. 02 - present with Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. I've been a PL, DL, CM and ASM, I also directed the 2004 "Tales and Trails of the Rockies" Cub Scout Day Camp for Centennial District, Denver Area Council. I'm a Woodbadge graduate and got beaded in Nov. 2005. I hope to meet some of you at Round Table someday soon. Cheers.

Mea Culpa, Thanks for the welcome. Didn't really look at the dates. I thought it was an interesting thread and I wanted to make a contribution to it. Two cents as a matter of fact.;-) I get asked about my beret all of the time. There are definitely many different schools of thought on the wearing of the red beret. I've been told it looks dashing and have been called a fascist while wearing it. I don't really give a hoot what people think of it. I wear it because I like it and its still valid class A headgear. I have all the class A headgear except a campaign hat and I couldn't be bribed to wear one of those! They're heavy, expensive, have to be stored in a press to keep them nice and cost a fortune to clean. As to the practicality of the beret, its wool and keeps my head warm when its cold. Its stays warm even when its wet. In hot weather I can soak it in cold water, wring it out and have a pretty efficient evaporating cooler on my head. If I'm not wearing it I can roll it up and shove it in an epaulet. Finally, it fits over my headlamp. ;-) A word to the forum moderators, if folks feel "haunted" by old threads, why not delete them after six months or so and use the drive space for something else? Scouts is supposed to be thrifty... Cheers.

The Red Beret is still valid headgear. If it has its "Official BSA..." label in it you're good to go. I'm an ASM w/a Troop in SoCal. I hung on to my beret over the years. I wear it proudly now as my Class A headgear. In '73 my older brother, a 'Nam veteran, taught me how to train my beret. 1. Soak it in cold water. 2. Wring it out really well. 3. Put it on your head and center the insignia directly over the left eye. 4.Using the insignia flash as a hard point, fold the beret down in front to bring the back of the beret forward. Push the flash back up vertical. This creates a pocket behind the flash. Grab hold of the beret just over the left ear and hold on to it tight. Grab the right edge of the beret and PULL bringing it down over the right ear. Work your way around to the back of your head. While still holding the left side of the beret, use your right hand and smooth down the beret. 6. Leave your beret on your head for at least 1 hour, smoothing it down about every 5 to 10 minutes, so that the wool develops a memory of your skull. 7. Take it off and let it air dry. (**I also let my brother talk me into removing the liner, this allows easier training and shaping**) I store my beret on an old tupperware container when its not on my head. It still fits great after 33 years. IMHO the beret is still the best looking class A headgear there ever was, but they have to be trained and worn properly. I know the above method works because beret collecting is one of my more bizarre hobbies and I like to be able to wear my berets when I want to. In closing, the beret in deed only looks good on a head with a "high/tight" haircut. "Hippy" hair just doesn't work. I'm looking for another one on ebay so I can have a spare. Cheers. YIS, JWMerica