skeptic

As noted already, it's not really new. Even in the early years, I am sure that the level of attainment varied widely from unit to unit. Our small unit struggles with the amazing loss of skill regularly with our own youth. Last week, the primary adult suggested they may want to consider a complete review of pioneering stuff. When I was still actively working with COR events, generally the compass area, I was frustrated how many patrols had no clue how to even use the compass, much less orient it with a map and so on. I had a couple of senior youth that walked about 30 percent of the patrols through the courses each year. I was always glad to see the two or three expert backpacking goups come through, as I never had to help them much. We rand a pioneering event that had them lashing the traditional travois, but then taking it apart to create a flagpolt to hoist their flag on, though a few had to borrow a cloth for that. Again, some did well, but most had little idea about raising a flagpole and the attaching guys. Round lashings were a mystery to most.

Can never remind too often. Aaron on Scouting on YP https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2025/04/14/when-it-comes-to-child-protection-we-are-all-mandatory-reporters/

Aware and taking precautions. "Be Prepared".

Simply a fabulous video about a major donation to the Museum. https://www.facebook.com/nationalscoutingmuseumbsa I likely will not have the pleasure of seeing it now, as travel is difficult, but I was fortunate to see part of this at least at the 2010 Jamboree.

Not sure I understand your question. No, I was or am not at the current international event. I have in the past attended three Nationals, and I observed many attendees either not getting the heat and humidity challenge or simply ignoring it for some reason. In my active adult life, I have encountered many extreme temperature and weather situations to which I needed to pay attention. Point is that heat and cold are major factors, but they include the levels of humidity as well which often are overlooked. Precaution is always the main consideration, and most of the time, those precautions are warranted. It they do not come into play, then nothing lost.

I first learned about humidity at Lackland AFB in 1965. I arrived in San Antonio at 7ish PM in the first week of June, coming from So Cal, 29 Palms. It had been over 100 every day the week before I left, but there humidy often was single digits. I got off the plan at the airport; it was in the high 80's, much lower than when I left home, by the thermometer. But I sort of just become a puddle of water right there on the tarmac. I had worked in an open pit salt mine in the Mojave just prior to that time, and I was used to hot, really hot; but as noted single digit humidity most of the time. We did have the occasional clothing clinging thunder storms on occasion; it smelled good, but everything just clung for hours after the storm moved out. Pay attention and do what has proven to help.

One of our long time adult staffers who was in charge of first aid and medical stuff for campers would get up in front of the group every morning at flags and say "drink water; don't puke!' While we were at a bit over 5000 feet, summer was very dry, as it was on the edge of the desert off the 5 between Bakersfield and L.A. I am a bit surprised that when the known weather is known, why the do not automatically furnish neck cooling rolls or similar devices. Also, making the youth, and some adults keep hats on is also a given. Today, we do have options not known at one time, wicking long sleeve shirts for example. A.P. Hill was hell due to humidity, and I guess the The Summit has that challenge too.

As long as it seems important to some to "pick sides" there will be issues. A bit of irony with how when BSA stood against the changing societal issues they got clobbered, losing sponsors and being sued. When they knuckled under, it just reversed itself and caused even more problems. Nobody wins with the refusal to simply find the middle ground and work within it.

Have no words: https://www.aol.com/news/pete-hegseth-senior-adviser-pushing-150435751.html Pete Hegseth senior adviser is pushing for Pentagon to cut ties with Scouting America Courtney Bruce Kubec

As in the beginning of this thread and its variants, nobody wins. The suffering and trauma never goes away, even with money settlements. Sadly, it almost seems as if the larger part of the iceberg had to show after the Catholic and BSA tragedies. The fact the issue is not limited to youth organizations or churches or whatever is finally being acknowledged. What is frightening is that the depth and expanse of this problem is still only beginning to be admitted. We live in and have lived in a society with seriously sordid and harmful personalities and problems that have been swept wherever or simply denied for decades. Sadly, it is likely no matter what the responses are or will be, the problem is tied to the human animal and its worst inclinations.

I tried to not say more, but the bill makes an effort to stop the lawyers from milking things. That is important, as it makes the whole process far more difficult for all concerned. The emotional insults were expected though, as ruined lives will always have pain, though putting that pain on others with no logic is sad, thus the sad emoticon. As far as my personal pain from a long life, it is nobody's business and I choose not to blame those not involved directly, nor to expand my scarring onto others if I can avoid it.

This just hit the net. Too little too late, but a step in the right direction IMO. https://www.aol.com/emotional-vote-bill-limiting-claims-093139185.html

The last few years of our scout camp operation, the camp is now gone, they had developed a flag retirement as part of the campfire program. When it came time for Taps, they had a real bugler, though his back up was a trumpet or coronet; but the interesting part was the response from afar on a trombone, repeating the notes like an echo. It always moved me. We lost our troop bugler to age out, and right now none of the few scouts care to learn. But our official bugle is almost a hundred years old, and we also have number of others that are newer. The hardest thing as I understand with the bugle is that most of the work is done with the mouth, though it appears there is a small slide of some sort on the instrument. We also have locally the what seems now requisite playing of taps with the bagpipes.

https://blog.scoutingmagazine.org/2025/04/01/breaking-scouting-musical-to-premiere-at-jamboree-2026-then-move-to-the-sphere-in-las-vegas/

That is actually the best response and I apologize for bringing it in. Separating frustration from places it should be left from.

I find myself wondering if we might no longer automatically call the POTUS the Honoary president/ Honorary suggests the root word, or so I thought. Just saying, and just my own observation.

Who knows; it may relate to the person involved and his idiosyncrasies. Many Scouters had harsh words for him during his last administration, especially after the Jambo. We will see.

While I agree it should have been no huge issue with proper prep and back up. But I also know that today, common activities we did with little thought are now preexamined for ANY type of legal problems. And, knowing it might get really cold could be one of those. When we still had our camp, and we did Winter camp, prep was stressed, but we also had a fireplace in the dining hall and one of our out buildings and the dining hall was kept with a fire. So contingent plans were in place, which were sensible and available. Today we are in constant CYA mode which does considerable harm to simply learning to cope. I have no solution for over reactions and fear of problems, as too many people refuse to take responsibility for anything that comes up, even if the situation had a way to deal with stuff. Johnny or Susie came home with a cold and had a miserable time, so here is our medical bill. And they will no longer participate. It is sad, and dealing with it is frustrating, but each one that somehow survives such awful experience will mostly smile later and wonder why they did not do more. We had annual flashlight wars after dark at the winter camps, and some units went to separate campsites and did their own program, but joined with the larger group as well.

It has been a while back now, but I, along with most of the leaders in camp years ago, when the North Korean leader was much younger and just becoming a fixture in TV news, my scouts did a skit for campfire that spoofed him and brought down the house. At the time, we had a relatively new member, I think he was 12 or 13 at best, an immigrant from South Korea. The youth made him up with pillows and such to be Kim, and then proceeded to do one of the best satirical skits I have ever seen. Won is now in the Navy, having gone to Annapolis after graduating number one in his HS class, and also becoming an Eagle. He stayed with us through HS and until recently I heard from him regularly and we visited if he came home. His life has gotten complicated and too full I fear, but still hope to have him call and we can catch up. Point is that the youth completely caught me off guard, as well as most other adults. I suspect their skit may have been a victim of our modern society today, if the adults actually paid attention to its theme when submitted for approval.

Finding dependable news sources is itself hard. Newspapers are almost gone, and any real journalism in most is lacking. Once in a while something good is in a column or editorial or political cartoon. The time when it took me half the day on Sunday to make it through the paper is long gone. Online often has pay walls, so getting access to some good discussion is harder, as I refuse to pay them, though on occasion I might if it seems important enough. Few of those come along though. I used to get the Sunday L.A. Times, but it got so bad that I stopped it. Our local paper on a good Sunday takes maybe a half hour, including the comics, and only a few good local pieces show up. There are a few descent online mags, and once in a while I find something in them, though often have the paywall thing again. And we all know how great the various TV "news" outlets are. And now it is harder to verify things, as the fact-checking is suspect as well much of the time. Thanks for views shared; they helped a bit.

So, we should find ways to expose them without trying to influence them seems the answer. How to do that is not clear, as I have been accused of being "woke" and also disrespectful when I have pointed out what seems to me to be blatant bending of our ruling documents and poor examples being portrayed by elected people. I will not call them leaders, though I guess that too could be considered disrespectful. A very fine line and hard to toe.

Thanks Matt. You are right in noting the comparison between now and my era. I was in Germany for three years during the worst of Vietnam, and I heard some really scary stuff from guys rotating in, as well as some truly emotionally destructive attitudes. Then when I went home and went back to college on the GI Bill, I encountered the on campus issues and also traveling in uniform was often a toss up as to what type of reception we might get. I rotate back in December of 68 and entered ASU the fall of 69. Here is a verse I wrote about that time. It shows my confusion, as I honestly had already began to see much of the truth few of us wanted to accept, but also my realization that the problem was beyond me to solve. Safe Diana Ross’ plaintive “Baby, Baby”, vibrates from 1965. Chanute Air Force Base, Rantoul, Illinois. Late summer cumulus mount over the plains as Vietnam becomes more than a remote question of geographic trivia. Elvis and John still live; so do “Bobby” and “Martin”. I walk though the town streets in fall, shuffling through leaves, watching grey plumed squirrels, marveling at the crispness of air and colors. Desert autumn is dryer, more subtle. Soon Germany is my place, its myriad distractions, mini-skirts in London, streetwalkers in Paris, Swiss Alps and cows, skiing in Garmisch, and ever present beer. But I’ll not be able to forget my true mission. F-105’s roar, Phantoms scream, NATO planes attack daily the bombing range in Siegenburg where Hitler once dropped real ones. Letters arrive from home, news of high school friends injured or killed in the Far East. Here, “Six Day War” evacuees arrive, Czechs flee Russian tanks, and “rotatees” from ‘Nam are posted, tormented by fear, guilt, and hate. 90’s Finished 8-12-04 I went to HS in Twentyine Palms and of course I had many friends whos families were Marines. I lost at least one classmate, and know of others badly damaged both physically and emotionally. Today, some still live that era, but many say that they now understand the protests more, and while not forgiving the over the top nastiness much of the time, aimed at those least responsible, they at least get it a little. And I never was comfortable on campus during marches, as I was still in reserves, though no duty due to time in active duty. I have thought a lot about these things over the years, and I wish I could somehow understand better why so many are so dogmatic and unwilling to see others as simply people. Few of my peers are truly comfortable with that time, and a few are in serious inner struggles now that they have kids and grandkids and see similar stuff. That is why I want to share with the youth, but I also do not want to overstep or cause issues that affect them as people and as Scouting youth. Th blinders are a problem, but I do not know if those that wear them do so because the already recognize the problems and do not want reminders, or if they simply do not want to confronted with so much that is obvious. Well, since I have decided to be the first centenarian in my family, I have some time to work on it. Meanwhile, good Scouting. And may we all find a way to Do Our Best to live the Spirit.

ng from making mistakes and learning from them so does society. This post is a serious question that is challenging me, and I suspect may challenge others as well. How do we live the Spirit of Scouting when we live in a very challenging political environment that can easily grate against the basic precepts of Scouting?

Simply, how do we work around the huge issues that our political circus now presents, especially without being accused of trying to force personal opinion on our youth? I try to not discuss things of that nature directly with youth, though sometimes they specifically ask me my thoughts. I refer them to parents and suggest if they want to find their own position, that they do it by examining things from all sides. hopefully sources outside their normal interactions. But, as it gets worse, the concept of Citizenship gets really fuzzy, and steering clear is hard to do. So other than referring a youth back to family and so on, and suggest they read and maybe form an opinion of their own, how do we manage this. I am almost 81, and I do not remember a time when the political environment was so muddled and frozen by blind opinion. Do not know if there is a good answer, but just asking, as it is coming up more often, even from younger youth.

I hear you. Of course, we could simply teach this stuff for fun, but based on our litigious society, we probably need a release for even sewing; after all, there are sharp things involved, and some youth's feelings might be hurt if someone laughed at his sewing his finger to the shirt, or how crooked it was. I have been posting articles from our council history from almost a hundred years ago, newspaper coverage (imagine that) of camp activities and such. The youth are noted to work with the adults to improve the camp, and actually build parts of it. But today, the bad word insuranceies and the insurance companies and the black feathered lawyers make things nigh unto impossible.