Basementdweller

rich folks take care of their own. Case and point. Went to college with a fellow....He was a definite under achiever, family was mad he went to a public university and stayed in the dorms. My life was definitely better rooming with him, received his cast off clothing and left overs he wouldn't eat.... His major was business, another disappointment to for dad. He graduated and was going to marry a gal beneath his parents status....well they took care of it. This was the mid eighties and jobs were hard to come by, he went to work for Meijers which is a better class of walmart box store as an assistant manager. I lost track of him for a number of year.......well ran into him, facebook......Seem grandpa died he held a patent on a key process in recycling or production of aluminum.....Well, he is quite wealthy now, doesn't work. He married a gal whose parents are majority owners in a paint company. He worked for the father in law as an inventory controller from his description...... Now retired at 44 years old. So despite his best efforts to the contrary he lives in a 5 million dollar home on the lake with a collection of Porsche and Triumph motorcycles...... All this thru luck of birth. He is a failure in my eyes, what is his legacy??? He is an absentee dad, Personal vacations, country club, boats and trout clubs are more important that his son and daughter. So Rich vs Poor scouts. Rich scouts jump on planes and go to summer camp, have troop busses and tandem axle trailers. Monthly campouts involve trips further from home base and include more expensive high adventure. An example is my friends boys cub Pack drove 12 hours each way for a weekend outing in Charleston a board the Yorktown. They also rent a lodge at Mammoth Cave halloween weekend, $1500 for the lodge according to him cause I asked. Other huge trips. Scouting with money is much easier....Uniforming isn't a problem.....Personal and Troop Gear isn't a problem, Transportation to events isn't a problem, money for camping isn't a problem. Typically the marriage rates are higher, so dad is either at home and active in the boys life. This allows much higher adult participation in the troop. The Poor kids don't know any better unless the adults clue them in. My boys are happy camping and backpacking free and cheap at the state parks and national forest. The worst my boys ever felt was when they were made fun of 2 years ago at summer camp, but that may have been as much about race as class station. Poor scout challenges Single parent homes Extremely limited pool of adults able to be leaders Most adults with a criminal record and refuse background checks No or limited extra money for scouting No or poor quality personal gear Uniforming is always a challenge No vehicles or vehicles in to poor condition to leave the city, transportation is a problem Most parents work odd shifts and weekends, scouting is not a priority Troop gear is nearly irreplaceable, fundraising is impossible in our home area. The schools and neighborhoods are tough, muggings, drugs and violence. Case and Point......Winter camporee, Air temp is 10 degrees wind chill is single digits below zero. Boys show up with walmart sleeping bags or just blankets to sleep in. Most don't own a decent pair of winter boots, several show up in tennis shoes, winter coats only three in the group. We went for the day, the troop accrossed the beltway had 4 season tents for everyone, The boys had winter boots and coats. I simply can't ask my parents to buy winter gear for a single weekend. They don't own 3 season sleeping bags let alone a winter bag. on and on. Now we have poor spoiled kids too, I am sure they are just as bad as their rich brethren. We have helicopter parents too, many the kids are all the parents and grandparents have. I wish no ill will on the folks who have money, I just don't like having it rubbed in my face or my boys faces. Rich folks nearly never "get theirs" They can afford good attorneys and buy their way out of most any legal situation. Look at white collar crime, insider trading, the boys steal millions and get 6 months at Club Fed. 16 year old knocks over the circle K for $50 and gets 20 years at the state pen. Rich DUI gets pleaded down to wreckless op, I know for a fact, Poor gets a Public Defender and loses license for a year or jail time for first offense.

Spun it from Beavah because he wrote about conflict avoiding adults. Troop hopping is a result of someone putting their foot down. Had a scout come take a look at us a couple of weeks ago. He had a bad BOR they said he did not fulfill his POR duties and would not pass him. His first question to us was if he could get his next rank based on the POR he held in the other troop. SM said No he would need to do the required work in our unit for him to sign off on with confidence. Never saw him again. Lost one to an ugly family situation and the COR refusing to allow new Man in moms life to join as a leader because of moral concerns. Lost another to Parental merit badge fraud. Lost another to a parent Lying about a swimming test....kid failed it at camp when SM forced a retest at summer camp.

SMT every camp ranger I have met live on the camp with their families......The kids ride their bikes around camp, swim in the pool and such. I view it as a perk of the job.

So how many time do you get a scout visiting see if he wants to change troops???? So what are the reasons??? Scout Driven? Adult Driven?

Remove the Eagle workbook...... What is the right thing to do????? Fund raise and then by the material or Mom and Dad buy the material then raise money to cover the expenses after the fact Move this situation to a work place. How is this young man going to do this at work or college???? What is he going to learn????? Mom and dad will bail me out?????

Get outdoors......got a nice chuckle out of your post. I agree with a good many of your points.. Summer camp......many of the SM's, I am going to say over half were probably in their 60's. So where are their 30 and 40 year old SM's or ASM's?????

Camp check in is camp check in. We have scheduled times.....The scouters ignore it. our time was 2:15 and I checked in behind a troop that was supposed to check in at 3:30, It was 2:10 verizon time. It is once a year. I just grin and bear it. I mentioned it on my evaluation form that folks were not adhering to their scheduled check in times. Some scouters just can't sit back and enjoy the chaos, kinda like going out shopping the day after thanksgiving and complaining about the lines at the checkouts or complaining that the dining hall is noisy.... Our swim checks took an hour even with the line....we still had 2 hours of free time before dinner....No big deal in my book. (This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

This fundraising nonsense falls into the same catagory as scout families asking for money. Had a family who I paid for their son to attend camp then they went to disney...... Yet another bought a new 60" tv while son was at camp this year....... So what are the chances of those boys getting any more assistance in the future???? How is that going to impact those following them???? Same goes for the Eagle project......EC goes and gets the supplies and food donated.....Then the donors sees or hears about the EC fundraising to pay for projects.... What do ya think????? Looks bad.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

How about moving a boulder for the local High School....your dad is a excavating company owner??? Mulching the playground.......dad paid for the bulk delivery, and then the boys spread it. Ramp was a purchased item, just took removing old one and installing new. Church had it in storage for a couple of years. In the grand scheme of things I don't really care I was just curious is all......The thread down below with a mom sayin here eagle candidate is bustin his butt just got me thinking. I know a couple life scouts spending their days in front of the the game console instead of moving with purpose.(This message has been edited by Basementdweller)

Mulching a play ground. Installing a handicap ramp at a church.

Just curious...... Seen a few and I bet the boys didn't have 8 hours in them including the actual work.

No money from a fundraiser should ever go into a parents pocket. Bad PR for sure........then you have the questions about surplus dollars. The summer is still young get the potential eagle off his butt and start fundraising now.......seems pretty simple to me.

Eagle.... That is why we hear stories of moms and dads doing eagle projects, questionable scout spirit, poor POR performance and boys barely having the minimum number of required nights of camping. No more no less

Mr. B rarely eats beef.....couldn't tell ya the last time. It's a holiday I would like some steak......off to the store. Holy smokes, have you priced steak lately???? Well I can't afford $40 worth of just steak for one meal. Chicken breast it is...... Ran out to the farmers market on got some fresh sweet corn. Nice quiet day with the family.

I stepped down as CM in June. The new CM had a bunch of big ideas....Planetarium at $6 per head, Baseball game at $10 a head, Bowling at $6 a head, Picnic at $5 a head......... Well, parents complained about the cost and attendance has been poor. The summer program I planned was generally free activities......We fish, hike and take advantage of the Park rangers and various clubs around town. At the Committee Meeting I spoke and let them know my thoughts. A family of 4 at the ball game is a $100 proposition and most simply could not afford it.

Recruiting is like fishing......Ya never know till you throw the line in. I wouldn't think it would be very successful, but heck, why not. Now if ya had a bunch of guys on MT. Bikes doin tricks, boy scouts with packs and climbing gear...Ya may have made a sale.

There is a huge difference between sending lowes a picture of the Troop with the trailer with a thank you note and having a 3 foot long lowes logo on the side of it..... Fish I would make the CO aware you are accepting a $1600 donation from lowes and have them issue the appropriate tax form. Because lowes is selling it to you below what an ordinary customer can purchase it for...... I forget what it is called.....there is a phrase for it....Little help please.

Not sure what you guys do at summer camp when the boys are out in the camp....... but is certainly is not a vacation....the SM and I spent the week working on the list of ranger projects. I came home last week and I am still sore from swinging a hammer all week.

So why should a Life to Eagle be held to a higher standard than second to first class???? If you want to make a bigger difference.....Hold the lower ranks more accountable and then the life to eagle will take care of itself

So how do you purchase from ebay when you don't have credit cards or a paypal account???? Many of my familys do not.... So I buy them from craigslist or the thrift stores when they call.

sitting here shakin my head.

The camp we attend has a no sibs or tag along policy. Period So let me get this right, mom and dad both go to Resident camp with scout son???? So how many adults attend? and is there a reason that more than three would go???

peeing in it was a nice touch I am sure they appreciate it.

Oh I can see national working on a chart, on line required training and a "hydrate safely card"

Oh got under your skin......... From your description your camp isn't adequately staffed if troop adults are expected to council merit badges at camp. So what happens if no adults attend who are qualified to council first aid or shooting sports????? Just think all this over something as stupid as walking to the shower. So what kind of a mud hole did ya leave for this weeks troop to enjoy???