mrs red feather

I hear you, torribug. My Christmas wish is so selfish I fear it may take me a few degrees closer to h*ll. I want my older son to spend Christmas in Kuwait. He got there a couple days ago to find his company is scattered from hither to yon. He's got a few days in-processing and then, who knows? I just hope he can spend Christmas there at camp with a good meal, cheerful companionship, and maybe some entertainment. I remember those wonderful USO tours Bob Hope used to do. We sure miss that good man. I hope you get a phone call AND a letter!

I watched the program with great interest as my sons are in that age group. I would not describe the young people on 60 Minutes last night as typical. They had clearly been indulged their whole lives. They even described their parents as their 'best friends.' These are the kids whose parents scheduled every free moment with the proper activities, soccer, dance, whatever the popular thing to do. These are the kids who always were given the latest toy, gadget, etc. They wear Ipods, their cell phones all have cameras, they wear the latest styles and drive nice cars. In short, these kids have never attended the School of Hard Knocks. Of course participation is all that their parents required. To require them to excel and achieve would be devastating to their egos should they fail. Participation puts them comfortably in the 'herd'and requires no effort. The kids interviewed are so far out of my own experience with young people. After the program my husband and I exchanged looks, you know, the kind with raised eyebrows. How had our own sons turned out so differently from the young people we had just seen on TV? We moved to the country when they were small. We never allowed video games in the house. We strictly limited their TV time. We emphasized good work in school, 100% effort in their activities, and helping out at home. Then we sent them outside to play.

Fat Old Guy, Food for thought? Well, maybe. With only 10 posts Backpacker hasn't been around long enough to know you well enough to deliver insults. Hmmm...that didn't come out quite right, did it?

"Houston-based El Paso Corp." Well now HERE'S a surprise! Wonder who owns it?

Oh No! Not Billy Jack for young girls! Not with the rape scene, the underage-sex scene, the pregnant teen!!! NONONO!!! Besides, it was Billy who always saved the day, the girls just watched him and went "Ooooo, Billy!"

Anne, I'm with you on the girls working together thing. I've been wracking my brain to think of a single one that does not involve women being victimized and then overcoming their oppressor. You know, concentration camp gals and such as that. NOT what you want to show young girls. I came up with plenty for boys working together, like "Holes" and "Stand by Me" but nothing for the girls! Hollywood, are you listening? OGE, we all loved little Hailey. I remember being horrified when she cut off her long blond locks for "Parent Trap."

Eamonn, Thanks for your plug for the PBS series "Liberty! the American Revolution." I taped it a couple years ago and still watch it frequently. I also purchased the companion book on ebay by Thomas Fleming. It's a good overview of the Revolution and has lots of great pictures but unfortunately no bibliography. I just finished reading "Washington's Crossing" by David Hackett Fischer about the events of late 1776 and early 1777 which turned the tide in favor of the Americans. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the subject. I am also reading "Private Yankee Doodle: Being a Narrative of Some of the Adventures, Dangers and Sufferings of a Revolutionary Soldier" by Joseph Plumb Martin. Yep, the same young soldier from the PBS series. This is one of the very few existing recollections of a private soldier in the Revolution. In my opinion schools on this side of the pond also teach too little history. Enjoy your holiday, all!

I have seen it. It's a visually beautiful film about a young girl who is the obvious choice to become the next leader of her people but is denied the opportunity to learn important skills due to her sex. Naturally she overcomes all odds and succeeds by the end. The only drawback in my opinion is the New Zealand accent, which takes some getting used to. I would recommend it.

ummm.....I'm a little confused. Left-wing liberal media...aren't those the same guys who used to be the right-wing capitalist media? Seriously, if you want a balanced look at current events with no drama (and some people don't), try MacNeill-Lehrer.

Thank you, FOG. I was wondering what to do tonight with red out of town. Barnbuilding with Harrison Ford sounds perfect. BTW, I have lived in a houseful of men for so long that blunt speech doesn't bother me in the least. As long as it's mine!

I somehow forgot Gary Paulsen. My guys loved "Hatchet" about a 13-year-old boy surviving alone in the Canadian wilderness after a plane crash. Paulsen has also written some terrific memoirs about training dog teams and running the Iditerod.

My sons are now 21 and 19 and have always enjoyed reading, especially the younger. When they were little they enjoyed action heroics from TV and movies and would act out Star Trek and Star Wars, Thundercats and Ninja Turtles. I took a look at younger feather's bookcase to refresh my memory of what he was reading from about 10 to 14 years old. Besides a few of the classics you mentioned, I found lots of Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert, Ray Bradbury, C.L. Lewis, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Ursula LeGuin, and his all-time favorite, J.R.R. Tolkien. When he was in 5th grade, say about 10 years ago, he was given a Mark Twain reading list. If he read all the books on the list he would receive a prize, such as a Pizza coupon. I read them too. This was the most depressing collection of fiction I ever saw. Can't remember the titles of most of them, but nearly every one was about abandonment and carrying on against impossible odds. Almost none had intact families. In non-fiction they both enjoyed "The Raft" by Robert Trumbull, about a WWII crew shot down in the Pacific and how they survived weeks on a raft. Also "Hot Zone" by Richard Preston, about the possibility of an Ebola epidemic. For you modern-day adventurers I highly recommend Carolyn Alexander's "The Bounty" about the mutiny. It is fabulously researched and very well-written.

The more I think about this the madder I get. Probably because I grew up in a very rural area where most everybody hunts. Daddy had 3 rules that we learned long before he ever let us even touch a gun: 1. Wear blaze orange when you go in the woods or fields. Even if you're just hunting mushrooms. 2. Know where your partner is at all times. 3. If you can't ID it, don't shoot it. This is just so very sad and so very preventable.

They were hunting hogs???? The kid was wearing a black cap???? What a totally stupid, easily preventable tragic loss of a young life.

SPL, may I point out that this is an international forum? That you may have scouting friends from other countries reading this, that they have allegiance to their own flag, and may be offended by the idea of our flag flying 'arrogantly' above their own? I would also point out that with awesome power comes the awesome responsibility to use that power wisely. There must be a measure of humility to provide a balance and prevent arrogance and pride from running a destructive course. Patriotism does not mean that the world recognize our flag as the 'best' flag.