scoutmomma

Where does the veteran unit bar go? There doesn't appear to be any room between the Council patch and the new pocket on the new shirt. (edited to remove a mistake)(This message has been edited by scoutmomma)

If Avery were a troll, his statements would have been a lot more combative than they have been. and I don't see the point in assuming so. Avery, if you are looking for a reason to quit Scouts, there are better ways than making a case that you don't belong in Scouts because you don't believe in "god" or "God." You say that your parents want you to stay in Scouts, but raised you in a non-religious, non-theistic environment. Do they understand about BSA's stand on "Duty to God" as part of the Scout Oath? About being "reverent" as part of the Scout Law? Have you talked with them about this? Are you saying that you do not feel reverence in your life for anything? As far as BSA is concerned, belief in God is not just the Christian God -- as has been stated, that includes non-theistic non-Christian gods. A belief in a higher power can be something other than "God" as defined in a Western, Christian point of view. A belief in Mother Nature as a higher power qualifies. What do you enjoy about Scouting? What do you dislike about Scouting? Do you have other activities at school and elsewhere that you are more interested in than Scouting? If you want to quit Scouting, look at what else you have going on in your life than has moved you to this point aside from this issue. If you are looking for a reason to quit Scouts, is this the only reason, or is there something else? Look at your own Scouting experience and ask what you have gained from it. Do you think Scouting has value for you in other ways? I agree that at age 14, you should give it some more time. Even if you do not believe in a Christian God, that does not mean that you cannot be reverent and do your duty to some God other than a Christian God. But again, if you really don't want to be in Scouts, and you have other reasons -- conflict with a sports team or other extra-curricular activities like music or the school play -- you should talk to your parents about why you are more interested in those activities, rather than saying you don't belong in Scouting. We all have to set our priorities, and sometimes Scouting does not come first.

Buying a non-spiralbound book and taking it to Kinko's to have it turned into a spiralbound book is cheaper than buying it readymade with spiral binding, at least in the case of the Boy Scout handbook. Most of our really active Boy Scouts have their books start falling apart at some point, and we actively suggest their getting them spiral-bound at Kinko's. My son carried his beat-up book with a big rubberband around it for awhile, but since I had Kinko's "spiralize" it, we've both been happier.

Buying a non-spiralbound book and taking it to Kinko's to have it turned into a spiralbound book is cheaper than buying it readymade with spiral binding, at least in the case of the Boy Scout handbook. Most of our really active Boy Scouts have their books start falling apart at some point, and we actively suggest their getting them spiral-bound at Kinko's. My son carried his beat-up book with a big rubberband around it for awhile, but since I had Kinko's "spiralize" it, we've both been happier.

My son passed his Ordeal this weekend and is now a member of the Brotherhood of Cheerful Service! Hey, so did mine! (though in the Northeast) He's been totally jazzed about it ever since he came back, and I'm so proud of him.

That was interesting with the ankle zippers. I like the ankle zippers myself. Being able to unzip the legs and take them off over boots is very practical for hiking trips. Personally I've preferred that. I don't mind the idea of unhemmed for the canvas "convertibles" but would rather not have to hem Supplex nylon. And how will Badge Magic work with Supplex nylon shirts?

Yes, but I would make HIM do it!!! :-) Now that is an idea that I had not considered... :-) Thanks for the suggestion, I think I like it!

Help my son just arrived back from his ordeal and he drop his sash in the dirt Hmm...my son came came from his ordeal today with his new sash dirty, too -- he dropped it in the mud and stepped on it so it's definitely gotta be cleaned! Am I understanding correctly that the best way to go is cold water and Woolite?

When I went looking for forms recently, I found a nice "Forms" link on the sitemap, but it was for Cub Scout Forms. There should be an easier way to find the Boy Scout forms -- I dug around and found them, but it wasn't very easy.

GW wrote: Well, there was no problem until the boys detached their pant legs and being boys in the 21st Century got them mixed up. "Wah, wah, wah! Johnny came home with two left legs and one is too short for him!" Not a problem in my son's troop -- none of the scouts will zip off the legs because the shorts are too short for their tastes --

I must say that "All pants sizes are universal," gives me pause. There's "Ladies" size shirts but not pants? I have trepidation how "Adult Classic Fit" and "Adult Relaxed Fit" are going to work for both men and women!

For reasons too complicated to explain, I know a lot more about water bottles than I did just a month ago. Thegreenguide.com does explain the issues, but admits that the jury is still out on bisphenol-A: http://www.thegreenguide.com/doc/ask/nalgene . Most recently, the National Institute of Environmental Health Science released a draft report indicating that there was "some concern" about the use of the chemical: http://tinyurl.com/3j8bcb . BPA is everywhere, not just in polycarbonate (Lexan) water bottles. The linings of metal cans contains BPA: http://tinyurl.com/6q958q Consumer concern is what is driving the likes of Camelbak (http://tinyurl.com/5qgx2v ) and Nalgene (http://tinyurl.com/37lq7l ) to phase out the use of BPA in their water bottles, in favor of HDPE and a new "copolyester" called Tritan: http://tinyurl.com/5qabtv Some people have switched to aluminum, which doesn't have the health concerns of BPA, but has huge environmental implications in its manufacture: http://www.container-recycling.org/aluminum/dirty.htm The environmentally conscious and health conscious seem to be switching to light weight stainless steel (http://www.kleankanteen.com/ and http://www.guyotdesigns.com/stainlessbottles), though this new Tritan material may yet win out. Personally, I don't plan to toss my son's Nalgenes unless the bottles are getting scratched and worn. (Edited to fix broken URLs and a misspelling)(This message has been edited by scoutmomma)

Scotteng, thanks for the reminder about the importance of "the paper trail." We always file tour permits, and Council has never ever ever questioned anything we've included about leader training in CPR, Safety Afloat or Climb On Safely.

Bob White, the part that missed the mark was where you said: No leader should be under the misguided assumption that just because they wear a BSA uniform that they can do whatever they want and the BSA will pay for their mistakes. That is not how the liability protection works. Kinda felt like you assumed I was asking because we were trying to duck the training, which isn't at all the case. Sorry if you got that impression.

Bob White, I appreciate what you are saying, but that really wasn't what I was asking. We're not trying to duck training here -- just wanting to know if this particular "reason" given is accurate. Thanks to thebigguy, Beavah and John in KC, who gave me what I was looking for.

This actually came up in a discussion over the Introduction to Outdoor Leader Skills training.

Hmm...in the time that I've been reading messages here, I don't remember ever seeing a reply of "call National for an answer" before. Have I hit a hot button?

I've been asked to find out if it is true that BSA insurance does not cover a troop on an outing unless at least one leader on the trip is officially trained according to BSA specs. I have a fellow adult troop leader who, when told this by a Council volunteer, asked for specifics but was not given any official point of reference. Thanks for any insight.

I'll take Ed Rendell over any number of Pennsylvania politicians out there today.

Bob White wrote: Did you not post the reasons for turning the scout away in your second post? No, she did not. What she wrote was: I'd really rather not go into great detail but suffice it to say that for Star, Life, and Eagle, it would be best if a scout could at least try to articulate an answer beyond a shrug and "dunno" when asked basic questions (and prompted for more complete answers). It's really a huge assumption on your part to think that this indicates the BOR turned this scout down solely because he was inarticulate. In hindsight are there ways you think the board could have approached this situation to bring things to...if not a better solution, at least to one that met the policies of the BSA? When Lisabob stated: The procedures were followed and everything was done by the book. ...that says to me that the BOR met BSA policy. Bottom line, we were not there, and Lisabob was. She doesn't wish to share the details, and we should respect that, and not assume she's withholding details that would demonstrate the BOR was incorrect in its decision.

I'm still contemplating morally straight. Ain't it the truth? As for cleanliness, I always ask the scout if he used soap when he washed his hands. My philosophy about handwashing is: if you don't use soap, you're not washing, you're rinsing!

This just in: Dubya now holds the distinction of recording the lowest presidential approval rating in history at 19 percent, smashing Harry Truman's 55-year-old record of 22 percent. http://www.attytood.com/2008/02/worse_than_watergate_bush_scor_1.html

I'm not doubting that they exist. I'm just wondering where the heck they came from. My son's allergist (he has allergies and asthma) says that was a dramatic upswing of allergies starting in the late 70s. I understand that asthma is now the No. 1 chronic illness in children. Have you heard of the "hygiene hypothesis"? That seems to be the leading explanation for the dramatic increase in asthma and allergies: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070905174501.htm

Try a visit to glassbooth.org and after answering the questions, you'll get a chance to see how closely your views align with Obama's. Well, everyone else's too.

Can we go back to the Benevolent Protective Order of Ilks? I'm kinda getting to like the sound of the ol' BPOI. I keep hearing Groucho Marx in my head talking about the "ilks running when they find out it's only a waterhole. What they're looking for is an ilkohol!" I think I could use a little ilkohol right now.