skeptic

Sharing this great note from our area: I had to tell you this...At Trader Joe's on Saturday, Shirley Lang and Den 5 were selling when a man came up to look at their table. He asked the boys for the large caramel tin. They gave him one and he said..."I would like two please". The boys were excited when he said this and gave him the extra tin. The man then told them..."Last year I was in Iraq. One day we received popcorn from the States with a note saying that the Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America sold popcorn and collected donations to send corn to the troops in Iraq. My unit was in high spirits that day because we realized that the youth of America was doing their part to let us know that they appreciated us. Thank you boys from this soldier and all the others that I served with. I will always buy popcorn from the Scouts to show MY support to you." How awesome is that? Shirley was very moved by this man as was I when I heard her story. Just goes to show that we are not only helping our boys with these sales, but we are helping those serving over there feel appreciated! Just had to share, Kelsey from Pack 3176 (This message has been edited by skeptic)

OGE: You are right of course; and to think I even have a signed b/w photo Of James "Arness" from the 1960 Jambo. Shame on me for letting my "old-timer disease" get out of control. We do not have Hallmark on our cable; she does not want to pay the extra for it. Am waiting for the change in broadcast to see if maybe they will add it or offer a better deal.

Mighty Mouse for president; Mr. Bill for VP.................

While in college in Arizona my ex and I had a 12" bw tv on which I loved to watch Lost in Space and Twelve-o-clock High. I was deprived in the late 50's, most of the 60's, and even early 70's, having little access to tv. We lived in the desert with no reception unless you had an aerial 40+ feet high. Then was just too poor to have one, or working too many hours. So now, I find myself watching any of the "oldie" stations on cable. Think I have finally seen all the MASH ones, and most of the Bewitched, Genie, Beaver, and so on; but some of the really old ones do not show up much. Waiting for the Waltons to come back on someday, as I often was at work or school during their hey day. Still do not think have seen all the Little House episodes, but they tend to replay what must have been the most popular, or maybe they were only allowed to buy so many? Would like FAME to reappear, as well as a few of the more obscure late 50's sitcoms. Also, Reagan's old program, Twenty Mule Team or something like that. Speaking of old programs; I have always found it funny in a way that on the old Gunsmoke radio program, Matt Dillon was played by Robert Cannon; voice fit perfectly, but compare to James Arnett on the TV version. Just is comical to me. Sure there are lots of others.

OGE That just Frost's me............ Build any walls lately?

So, Old Grey Eagle; did you recognize it, or did you have to look it up? Not too many would recognize it, and most younger people here likely do not even know who he is. I will be going to a performance of his in Palm Springs November 8th. Just curious.

Yep, back in the 70's, I applied for a MC three times through my bank; filled out the application and submitted it. Got turned down each time, even though I had two accounts there with adequate funds and no bounced checks. Turned out that my income from GI Bill (I was a grad student and working full time)was not counted. Finally went to the manager of the bank, and he approved it; but the normal system would not do it. Now, I could have gotten a half dozen or more if I wanted to; but I only have two, and pay them off every month if at all possible. College students get in all kinds of trouble with the "easy" cards. When I was an undergrad in 1969 I had to beg to get a card from my bank in Arizona; the limit was $50, and there was no way they were going to raise it with my income levels at the time. Rational thinking seemed to be use by the banks back in those days.

Who can identify this one? THE ART OF CATCHING TRAINS 1. I came through the clothesline maze of childhood in basketball shoes. Up from the cracked cement of sidewalks. Long hair blowing in the breeze from barber-college haircuts. I moved into the country knowing love better than long division. Tricking out with women twice my age we acted out our own French postcards. Dr. Jekyll in the schoolyard, Mr. Hyde behind the barn. After school the trains, their whistles known by heart. Pennies flattened on a rail and dresser drawers with matchbooks from every northern town - thrown by unknown travelers who never waved back. I knew the U.P. right of way so well that gandy dancers called me tow-head till they learned my name and engineers would sometimes whistle down the scale on seeing my arm raised. Baseball's just a sissy game to anyone who's waved at passing trains. You learn from hobos the art of catching trains. Locomotives slow at trestles and whistle stops to hook the mail. Diving through an open box car you lie there till your breath comes back. Then standing in the doorway you're the king as crowns of hills and towns go by and nighttime eats the Summer up and spits the stars across the sky. How did I come to know so many lonesome cities with only pennies in my pockets ? I smiled a lot and rode a lot of trains and got to know conductors and railroad bulls by name. From Alamo to Naples is a ride that took me nearly twenty years. But here I am, my cardboard suitcase traded in for leather. 2. Now a traveler under the gray-black Winter sky moving down the mountain by torchlight, I've come to find a gathering of eagles. Not for the sake of mingling with the great birds, but only to justify a thousand streets walked end to end. Ten thousand evenings spent listening to the small sounds of the night in station after station. Not every town in Switzerland has a golden Gondelbahn, but there are other ways to climb the hills and reach the lonesome cities of the world. Riding friendly bodies you can inch your way to Heaven let alone the far side of the room and who'd deny that brushing elbows in certain streets has not produced for every man at least one vision of Atlantis. For me old habits don't break easily I wait for trains. Sometimes I feel I've always been just passing through. On my way away, or toward. Shouting alleluias at an unseen choir or whispering Fa-do's down beneath my breath waiting for an echo not an answer. Everybody has the answers or they'll make them up for you. Just once I'd like to hear a brand-new question. What about the trains you ride do they go fast or slow would I recognize your face clacking past the poplar trees if I were stationed on some hill ? If I did I'd know you by the look of nothing in your eyes, the kindred look that travelers have, the one that says a tentative hello. If while riding down the rails you see a boy in overalls along the railroad right of way, wave as you go by. Signal with a frown you too are going down the same road. Small boys need encouragement the freight trains in their minds will only take them just so far. Be kind for small boys need to grow.

Speaking of old shows........... One that was a shoo-in was Get Smart; see it now on one of the "oldies" networks. Same station had Combat a year ago; odd how dated it seemed, especially the jeep scenes. Ever wonder how all these supposedly well trained people can shoot so many bullets and still not hit anything? By the way..........They are talking about bullet trains between Frisco and LA. Ooops, got off track again.

Serious; isn't that the dog star? Oh, no, that's Serius. No catty remarks now..............

Perhaps I have missed it somewhere in the blizzard of comments and often circuitous thoughts, but how do these proposals address the "credit card" usury? While it certainly may not be on the level of the home loan fiasco, I cannot help but think if there were forced caps on credit card debt interest and other fees, many people would then be able to apply more money to paying down the debt. Of course the banks need to suck it up and not count on continuing their obscene profit margins on these services. Maybe it is addressed somewhere in all this already, but I have not been able to pinpoint it. What say those of you more schooled in this area?

This current litany reminds me of some of the absolutely inane and silly gabble from a van load of scouts on a long trip, especially if you are only actually catching every third comment. You find yourself trying to make sense of things, chuckling about some of it, and finally trying to tune it out before it drives you nuts. Truly a scouting board.(This message has been edited by skeptic)

Yep, we real dino's may remember when we had quarterly community COH, with all troops represented in a town and awards to troops for advancement categories, skits, and so on. Tried to make that happen again once about 20 years back, and it was not widely welcomed. But, of course, it always brought news coverage back then, which is generally lacking today. Any out there still do this in their areas?

Am I reading correctly; Merlyn and Rooster have come close to agreeing on something? Oh my!!!!

Not sure I want my VP, or possibly P, winking at other world statespeople while in discussions of international import. She did better than I would have thought, but as noted, really did not improve my opinion much. Biden obviously was able to draw on better personal experience in answering. Again, as noted, it would be great to actually see and hear a true debate where the participants actually spoke to each other and actually addressed the subject head on.

Peripherally related to this is an article I saw in PARADE (I think)last week It talks about a man in the SW who has developed portable housing from large shipping containers and is beginning to sell them in Mexico to families living in shanties of old wood, cardboard, and so on. Cost to them less than $10,000, which even there, most can afford. The size is generally about 350-400 sq ft, and includes a small full bath and kitchen, as well as two small sleeping areas. They can be stacked or joined in various configurations to make small clusters for community, or simply set alone. I could not help but wonder if this might not be a plan for dealing with our own homeless in many cases. A bit of donated land (tax write-off), or public space; money paid in welfare or other inadequate income for many on the street could support the cost and get a large percentage into something safer and more sanitary. The point again is that there is a big difference between want and need. Too many of us have either forgotten that, or never knew the difference in the first place for some reason. Just the ranting of another "old guy" born during WWII and raised in a family that lived through the depression. My brother and I were "latch-key" kids in the 50's.

"Scoutingagain"; great post. Next time you go to a market, watch how many people are checking through with numbers of six packs or cases of beer, and often bottled liquor. Often they will add on two or three packs of cigarettes. Same people complain they cannot afford their bills. Lets see, for a hundred dollars or so I can buy enough food to cook at home for two for a couple of weeks; may not be glamorous, but it is enough and fairly balanced. And, reality is that even that is probably more than we actually need many times. How many unworn items of clothing, or pairs of shoes do we need in our closet; I know that I likely rarely wear over half of what is still there, and I have not bought much in the past year. Let's be real for a moment. Even if we as a society are forced to "give up" much of what we seem to think we need, we will still be far better off than most of the rest of the world, even if some of the things we still have are a bit dated.

Yep, the idea of God in us is not necessarily so far fetched. Depending on how you might interpret biblical writings, there are passages that hint at such an idea, starting with the "and God created Man in His own image". While I have gotten pretty rusty on remembering many quotes, it seems to me there are others that most of us would find familiar and could possibly be interpreted in such a manner. Those on this board with better credentials can possibly note them. As far as the scouts go, I do not personally see that being a negative, as it shows a deeper spiritual understanding than simply "God exists" or some such thing.

So, what we seem to have is an understanding that the conference of which we speak is for advancement, but the written description is not worded as such. So, perhaps the people with the ability should review a minor revision of the wording to make it fit the intent, and make it clear that this might lead to secondary, or possibly even tertiary conferences in rare cases. Of course, as a leader, we can also simply tell the scout up front that there is this possibility. No matter what, you will have occasional difficult decisions as a SM, and also occasional misunderstandings or simply demanding scouts and/or parents.

Moderators: at what point do you decide to lock down the pettiness by simply locking the thread? Please, I am getting a headache trying to wade through all this nonsense in hope that something worthwhile may appear. I really would prefer not to simply block them, as occasionally they actually have something to say that is on point and is not petty bickering and fingerpointing. Thanks for listening.

Sorry, but that is too cut and dried, which of course is why this discussion is still happening (well, bull headed and obdurate personalities aside); Most reasonable and legitimate rules/laws should be obeyed, but harmful, or unreasonable ones are subject to question and possible pressure to change, including civil disobedience or similar activity.

Many of you may have read Heinlien's STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND. I am reminded of the book with these discussions, as the main character (forgot name), who was human, but born and raised on Mars by Martians, and returned to Earth by a later exploration party, often said something to the effect "Thou Art God". The premise in the book, as far as I could ascertain anyway, was the idea that Martians believed God was in everyone, thus the expression, "Thou Art God". The problems arose though from an apparent ritual of what we would call cannibalism, something about becoming one with the other on death. The idea though that God is part of us all, and we are thus part of each other really gives a different perspective on things.

Okay guys; agree to disagree and move on!! This continued nonsense is the kind of thing that will drive people away from bothering to read any more. And that could deprive them of something that is actually useful. Enough already!! JMHO

Well, perhaps we should add something to reflect today's problems; you know, surviving in the urban jungle after you end up on the street. Just kidding!!

My experience is pretty much frustration, with email, a troop site with a calendar, and phone messages. Seldom get any responses to anything. Scouts and parents complain they did not know, but there were verbal reminders, paper reminders, calendar entries, and emails. Being busy is not an excuse. Unfortunately, I think it is simply a reflection of our society again. Unless it is a high priority at the moment, it is ignored. Commitment to anything is contingent on something more interesting or fun not coming along. But that is just me; maybe I am all wet, or simply too old.