packsaddle

Gopher Judy, You'll probably have to go to Queens or maybe Far Rockaway (perhaps Inwood) to hear anything about Larry the Cable Guy. I understand he's been blocked elsewhere on the island - at least that's the way is in the the Five Towns area.

Yep

Eamonn, I am very sympathetic with your anxiety and I hope you never have to actually experience anything like that for real. The memory of my daughter being loaded into an ambulance, and the rest of my family hospitalized, burns in mind. Drunk driver crossed centerline, 0800, family on way to school, head-on collision. Drunk uninsured. Life changed forever. Years of litigation and medical attention. Family doing OK today. I am keenly aware of the young driver statistics. Occasionally, I invite representatives from MADD to make a special presentation to the CO and committee. I hope it causes them to think carefully. Occasionally I catch one of the boys doing something stupid in an auto. I let him know that there are other people besides parents who care about their driving safety. It usually works for a while, anyway.

You can take those fish before you gut them, roll them in the right kind of ink and then make fish prints on clean t-shirts. Sort of a personal memento of the event. Takes a bit of practice, though. Then while you're gutting the fish, the shirts can cure and you can wear them, smell and all, home.

Not racist, my vote is with Hunt. I'm sometimes considered a redneck (although I don't fly the Confederate flag above the American flag). And I don't make jokes about rednecks unless my neighbors are in a very good humor. My introduction to Larry the Cable Guy (as well as many other wonderful aspects of life) was provided by my minority friends (male and female) in Alabama who think he's one of the funniest guys around and with whom I have shared much laughter and camaraderie over the years. Personally, I'm not sure what a troop logo is or should be but I could think of some better role models. However, I have reminded myself of our patrol cheer back when I was a scout, let's see, about 40 years ago: "We don't smoke, we don't chew, we just go with the girls that do!" Git 'r done doesn't seem so bad. As for Trevorum, gotta love 'im! Edited part: minor typo, sorry(This message has been edited by packsaddle)

Dug, Welcome! I too am puzzled as to what we will find objectionable. And I'm not sure a guy who doesnt post here anymore would have judged many of the rest of us as being strictly BTB. As for me, after about a decade I'm still eager to learn. One problem with BTB is that the book is so darned unclear at times. The book, as I understand it, is there to provide a model that works and I think there are good ideas and policies there. Some of them are a bit confusing. But if I understand the spirit of what you say, every troop is unique and continually changing with changing membership. AND it is "owned" by the CO, not BSA, so the CO is the ultimate authority as to whether the troop is delivering the program they want or need. If the CO is happy, BSA will likely not interfere. Besides, my experience has been that BSA is ready to accept the dough and reluctant to provide help with real problems. So I say if it works for you and the CO is happy, go for it. Have fun. Maybe we'll catch you guys on the trail sometime. (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

Trevorum, I've seen your picture. I vote for 'Mr. T' Semper, most of the time when I hear that, it's delivered with sarcasm...indicating that I need to do some more work.

My children actually started out calling me 'Papa' (which I still prefer). But as soon as they were old enough for peer pressure to take hold they started calling me 'Dad'. I absolutely rejected the good ol' Southern 'Daddy'...made me think too much about Burl Ives. At first, when I was a cub leader, some of the other boys were confused and started calling me 'Papa' as well (single mom families). I let them, actually it was kind of endearing, and strangely, the moms didn't mind either. After their first year, though, the confusion subsided and I became 'Mr.' Some of them tried to call me 'Doc' for a while but I couldn't stop thinking about Milburn Stone (character from Gunsmoke). Actually, come to think of it, that one probably fits my personality.

Fuzzy Bear, that was an OUTSTANDING idea! If BSA actually came out with a line of piercing jewelry (with official insignia, of course) it would settle the hash on this issue, provide a new outlet of expression for the boys, AND a new revenue source.

My son called me 'Dad' and the rest called me 'Mr.' and we had no problems. Actually, it should work the same as between you and anyone else. They call you a formal name unless you request otherwise. The boys are people just like the rest of us. The same social rules should apply.

I believe it is acceptable for the community organization to provide the paint. Once he gets started, he could do the work of estimating how much paint is needed and submit a plan to the organization for how much will be needed and how a shortage, if any, could be avoided. He will have his hands full organizing the painters and scheduling the work. Have fun.

I also advise training as soon as possible. We were in a similar situation a few recent years ago and it was a rocky trip. With an even age distribution among really young scouts, the adults must provide a lot of help teaching the boys how to be scouts and how to become troop leaders as you acquire new recruits. Once the boys become comfortable with the troop and each other, challenge them to bring more of their friends into the troop. Entice them with the recruiter award. Build a great program that takes advantage of the size and strengths of the existing group. Let them have a lot of fun as they learn and grow. Recruiting will be easy for upcoming generations. We had little success getting older boys to join a small group of young scouts in a troop that was pulling itself out of a hole. I think your best bet is to devote yourselves to the boys you have, make them feel good about the group they form and about the troop they are part of. That will, in our experience, be contagious and other boys will come to you in the future.

NJ, you know, don't you, that he didn't die...he simply went home? A mini-rapture on 11 May 2001, perhaps.

My wife, gotta love her, is fond of suggesting that if persons who reject science in favor of faith were honest enough also to reject all medical advances derived from scientific research...things would take care of themselves. Lately, I think about her suggestion often. As far as the so-called afterlife goes, people often advise me to go to you-know-where...in between offering to allow me to kiss their 'butts'. Given my mutual admiration for them, perhaps I should cultivate a liking for warm climates?

Being near a university is a great advantage. Each year there is an international festival on a nearby campus that is open to the public. The troop and pack both plan an outing to it. The dozens of nationalities are represented by dance, art, food (for sale), and costume. It is a lot of fun for everyone and a huge success as an outing. I would check to see if something similar occurs near you.

This field has been plowed before. See, for example, the thread on body piercing, started on 20 Dec 2002. I don't like mutilations of any form. However, I say nothing to scouts with piercings and tattoos because there is nothing I know of in the regulations regarding such and I defer to the parent(s). If I am asked I merely state my opinion. And as I mentioned before, I am often ignored.

"Records show that Choicepoint's Chief Executive Officer and President bought and sold 458,600 company shares in eight biweekly transactions between Nov. 9 and Feb. 15. These transactions occurred after the company learned in October that criminals had duped Choicepoint into allowing them access to Choicepoint's massive database, but before the problem was disclosed to public investors." I think Martha Stewart serves as a good example for what should happen to THESE guys.

I do hope that Rory is something alive. Perhaps canine?

What was it that Eisenhower said about the military-industrialist complex? Looks like we're there... At least we got the lowest price - I hope. And hey, that just makes it less likely that we'll claim a WMD threat and invade China. I hope.

Trevorum, I liked that. What is the source? Are there more like it?

Trevorum, I liked that. What is the source? Are there more like it?

"playing that dreadful Country and Western sound seeping out!!" Bite your tongue, Eamonn. You should savor the pleasant privilege of being able to listen to both kinds of music at the same time, Country AND Western. What kind of computer is needed anyway? Maybe I can dump one on you..oops, I mean donate one to the worthy cause.

Humphrey Bogart voice: "It's the stuff that 'conspiracy theories' are made of..." I agree with NJ. I had thought that the background checks were being done the same way as those for gun purchases, through the FBI. But it's an interesting situation. Hey, here's a thought, we could subcontract all of our national security stuff as well, you know, through Wackenhut or whoever. We'll save a lot of money and government will be even smaller. And you KNOW a business would NEVER be tempted to give assistance to terrorists for MONEY. Gotta run...just had a great idea for a novel...

Sir_Scoutalot, Check with the local historical societies regarding early explorations, etc. Also Nashville District Corps of Engineers will have an archeologist on staff and possibly a historian who might be able to help with existing and potential trails on federal lands. The Corps would be very cooperative if you are putting together a historical trail group. Finally, identify the existing trail systems and see if any are available to provide linkage to a trail network. Hope this helps.

Fuzzy Bear, that's a nice timeline. Regarding your concluding remarks, I have a different view in that I think the conflict between religion and science is 'apparent', that is it seems like a conflict, but does not actually exist for science. I know of no scientist who believes that science can address religious matters in any manner. I DO know religious persons, plenty of them, who think they are under attack by science. And in their minds the conflict is real. The book I mentioned has no ISBN# so anyone wanting a copy would have to contact the author, Gerardus D. Bouw (Ph.D), or the publisher, The Biblical Astronomer, located in Cleveland, OH. I found some interesting statements so far, I'll share one: First, "The fall of geocentricity and the beginning of the false theory of heliocentrism (the earth spinning daily) beginning in 1613 marked the division between the one perfect Bible, the KJV 1611, and the many corrupt versions. The false theory of evolution came in 1860, followed by the first corrupt modern version in 1881." Here, the author is addressing the fact that all versions of the Bible after the 1611 KJV version are corrupt. And he related this to 1613, presumably the date that Galileo published his "Letters on Sunspots" providing observational evidence in support of the Copernican model. He also related it to 1860 which I surmise is June of that year in which Huxley debated Wilberforce regarding evolution. They have sent 46,816 free copies to churches, the top two of which are Assemblies of God and Church of Christ (Non-instrumental) (whatever that means). The rest are various flavors of Baptist and Church of God and Mennonite. I have no idea how these faiths relate to each other if at all. You can see this for yourself at their website: http://www.geocentricbible.com/id23.htm But before everyone charges to that site to feast on its wisdom, I bring to your notice the statement that, "The difference between Christ and Satan can appear to be very thin. Christ is the 'bright and morning star.' (Rev. 22:16). Satan is called the 'son of the morning' (Isaiah 14:12). As both refer to the sun, Satan can be mistaken for Christ!" Hard to top that! Bon apetite!