qwazse

Can't tell you if the guy was just spoutin' off or if it was a local restriction. He might have been thinking of the 16 foot tall "pumpkin chuckers" (which violate height restrictions and may require filing a flight plan in some municipalities). It's on you to chase this squirrel to ground. As long as you see nothing in writing (and you take the precautions you describe), fire away! P.S. - the stuff in parentheses is fanciful speculation on my part and based on common sense -- not spelled out in the G2SS. As I've mentioned in other threads, there are ways to build massive siege engines without violating OSHA height restrictions.

Sounds like many parents in your community have opted for the next big thing. Has Trail Life or some other group in your area been advertising heavily? The best you can do, IMHO, is rebuild from the bottom. Recruit those tigers (and one or two parents) or bust.

Given that the OP has enabled over the years, this might not be as easy as it sounds. Asking other scouters in the unit to handle this allows the the OP to move on (and donate his $200 bailout to someone who won't take him for granted).

Sounds like you almost got sucked into the perfect storm! Talking to the SM was the best move you could make. Have fun talking to your friend (if you haven't already).

Oh, how to describe the situation? "Stringing the pack along ..."

Tell the other leaders to handle this one because you're too close to the situation to make a fair judgement. That way, it's up to them if and how they want to collect. I would recommend that they boy be denied awards and participation in pack activities until accounts are settled. If monetary compensation is not likely, the committee might settle for some sweat equity, like hand made gifts for the leaders and the boys leaving the pack. Or, maybe there's a donor who will match whatever the family can pay back, up to $100. But it has to be a committee decision. Clearly, in the future you shouldn't accept popcorn/wreath orders unless folks give you the money up front.

Of late there have been several profoundly inarticulate posts from spammers. They link to pages for irrelevant products. How to handle these?

That's much different than our units. Most I find are lead by blue-collar folks ... sometimes the college grad who still lives with his/her folks and never found a career track. The most efficient of those tend to be ex-military. Regardless, very few have experience with non-profits. Partly this has to do with religion. Because of reduced participation in organized religion. Fewer adults have sat on church boards. My wife and I did right out of college. That enabled us to volunteer "side-by-side" with older folks who knew a thing or two about half-million dollar budgets long before we were scouters. When I was a scout, all of my committee (blue or white collar) were volunteers on boards for church, veterans organizations, college alumni associations, etc ... didn't take much for them to translate what they learned there to what our our troop needed. In my boys' troop, a minority of our committee have the same level of experience.

Isn't that an individual decision?

Yep, the 5 MBs should have been cleared at the previous delay.

That's how our council operates. Other councils don't want to entrust that responsibility to any single adult.

Oh, we have the "bought and paid for" summer camp staff fires. Usually they are held three nights of the week, our troop prefers to only attend the opening one.

I think you have the right idea. I would choose one a flexible set-up mode where you just slide the ribbons over the end of the bar. Use a piece of trim (anchored by a screw to one end of the bar and a rubber band or hose clamp at the other end, maybe another in the middle) to keep the ribbons in their place. Add a drapery chord to hang the bar (and hide the clamps at either end), tie a loop in the middle, place over a nail or vertical pole notched at the top to hang your display. Depending on the length, it might hang easily over the end of a table. (To reduce slippage you may want to use straps instead of chord if you do that.) This gives you the flexibility to fiddle with the spacing and how you would place the "vintage" ribbons. I can imagine situations where you might rather have them all at one end if you have one extra boy who wants to carry something, and all spread out if you have two extra boys who would be happy to hold either end. Good luck with the volunteers. Sounds like you should work your way down a phone list.

Just one poor beggar telling another where to find food ...

Also, those pesky electronic devices? Have the boys use them to scout out the best knot guide. Or maybe, if the one boy who has the skill is absent, have them give him a call and see if he can talk them through it. The point is that teaching/learning is about servant leadership. The teacher is actually at his best when he starts out with a little humility, "I'm a little rusty, but maybe between the two of us, we can figure it out."

"Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Cheerful" That's what all conversations among scouters should be. As far as the cyberstuff goes, personally, I'll only regard what one has to say after we've hiked 4 miles into the wilderness.

Then let them use the book! Throw away EDGE, which presumes that the instructor is the font of all knowledge, and let them teach using the method it took to bring the West out of the dark ages ... find a reference, read the reference, do the reference.

Sounds like tremendous fun. But, is there anything that involved, say, meeting at your scout house and hiking to a campsite (even someone's back yard)? I hike through some local game lands? A town hike, maybe where each patrol hauls some rope and sets up some demonstration pioneering projects in a public square? Or, simply visiting the sheriff and maybe sing a song for the guys in lock-up? These "low adventure" projects serve two purposes. First they are stepping stones to "big name" activities. They work the "have fun anywhere" muscle. Second, because the event is less stressful, and travel time is reduced, there's more time available to really work those skills. I usually find we need to do two of these "structured unstructured weekends" for every one of our events with specific agendas. Sometimes this is disciplinary. For my crew, for example, I've made it clear that we aren't considering a trip out West until I see some more care with fire on our local hikes. "He who is faithful in little things ..." Finally, when sure a fair balance has been made in terms of free time and structure, I've found it a waste of time trying to please the masses. If there is one kid who is glad for the activity, that's all I need to tune out 10 "whiners". To the whiners, consider using this phrase: "Since when is your prepubescent angst any concern of mine?" (Practice it in front of a mirror, because you need to deliver it deadpan when the time comes.) I remember one time years ago when Son #1 was watching me map out a hike for a to-be-determined weekend. He said "You'd better be ready to hike alone." I replied something to the effect, "Do I look like a pretty boy in some popularity contest?" Fast forward: his pack is ready so that after work, today, he'll team up with a couple buddies for a night insertion into a trail-head in the Laurel Highlands (accumulation, I'm told, is 'bout 5 feet). After previous outings, some of his buddies have told me of his uncanny knack for cheerful disposition in pretty foul conditions. So, keep the faith. Be yourself -- maybe change what you need to. Find a little more of that inner "crazy survivalist" or "drill instructor" or whatever you need the boys to see. The end product might be more hopeful than you can foresee at the moment.

Yep, I'm feeling the same pull ... but let's see if we can inspire you to be that "special kind of crazy ..." Questions: Where do you camp? On the back acre of a local farmer or the nearest BSA/State Park campground? Who pays? The parents or the boys? When the boys pay they learn pretty quick that if they find a local site, that's more money in their pocket for games. What do you, Mr. SM, sleep in? Younger scouts think I'm crazy when I throw my bag and tarp on a picnic table, and don't bother with my tent unless I'm really sure I need it. Where do you lay your head? How far from the boys? Do you send them on hikes? Or do they put up with you tagging along? Do they see you trying to learn a new knot, or remastering one you forgot? As they grow older they gradually imitate, each in their own style. My bag is cheap, my hammock is cheap, my matress - not so cheap but the Mrs. says I need to take care of my back. P.S. - My "inspiration" should be taken with a grain of salt. Our troop has been declining in numbers. (Crossovers going to two new troops in the neighborhood.) But the boys who are in it aren't quitting.

It does vary quite widely. With our troop, we encourage the boys to mix it up. Some nights a lot of effort simply goes into cooking an awesome dessert. Other nights, we introduce the O/A and if there are younger scouts that takes time. Some nights a few boys with guitar/ukelele will take requests. Other nights it's silly songs like "Grey Squirrel", "Froggy" (my favorite), "Singing in the Rain" or "Buttercup". One night the boys hacked their various phones and electronic devices and sang along with well-timed "beeps" and "bops". In our crew, typically everyone sits around and does their own thing. One time a couple of girl scouts spent an hour providing background happily singing to each other all the songs they learned since first grade, while everyone chatted, listened to the waves hitting the beach, or counted the stars. One time, while backpacking in Dolly Sods, WV the boys contented themselves with the smallest of fires in an open hillside meadow just pondering the Milky Way from horizon to horizon. That's my profile picture. I'd like to think if you looked closely enough in the darkest region of the image (from NASA, taken on that date), you'd see one tiny pixel and me and the boys around it looking back at you! Well you know that singing is just not appropriate when you're getting your picture taken.

Appeal for an extension. It's adults' administrative shenanigans that are delaying the project. In fact, if I were the SM, I'd let the boy start the project. He wants to be an Eagle. He may not get the badge, but HE needs to know that HE completed the requirements. If the district disagrees, that remains their problem not his.

We try to make sure there is as little to do after 10 as possible. That helps. My kids always needed more sleep, so they got short shrift. Worse, unlike me, they have yet to master power naps. They've all learned that lack of sleep will not be countenanced as an excuse for bad behavior. Being in venturing just aggravates that. (Most young ladies who I know are owls.) Son #2, at least, has no qualms about introverting in the midst of a crowd, curling up, and sleeping by the fire on the ground be it ever so wet. So while with the troop, lights out is pretty hard-and-fast, with the crew, good-night-time is always a negotiation. You tell me when you will go to bed. I nap. Then while my chaperons are zipping their tents I hike out and hold the youth to their GNT. After everyone has settled, I then spend a few minutes debating whether to set up my tent or find a picnic table. It's impressive how few youth want to stay up when I'm out there talking to myself. Good morning time is set by the needs of the day. Breakfast waits for nobody. It is not saved for sleepers-in. The youth learn quickly that their suffering is no concern of mine, they are best served by working hard, playing hard, and sleeping well.

Or corporations and alumni who want to uphold justice for pairs where one member bears the brunt of physical burden of reproduction due to biology will stop supporting BSA, and start supporting youth groups who uphold those roles as sacrosanct. No matter what, we are the pawn in someone's culture war until we are no longer the largest youth movement in the nation.

Whatever you do, be encouraging to the boys who haven't earn their bobcat. Tell them they have until May (or whenever your deadline for the last meeting of the year is). That THEY can read their books. THEY can find the things that haven't been signed off. THEY can choose the requirements to work on. THEY can ask their parents to do more with the pack or maybe find a relative who can help. THEY do them with the help of parents big brothers/sisters, DLs. THEY can get it done. Put it on the boys. After all, we're in this because they are our last hope!

My chairs aren't all that comfortable, so if a boy's willing to trade, I win.