SSScout

"If Bugling be the food of Scouting, play on ! Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting, The appetite may sicken, and so die. That Bugle call again! it had a dying fall: O, it came o'er my ear like the sweet south, That breathes upon a bank of camp tents,,, Stealing and giving odour! Enough; no more: 'Tis not so sweet now as it was before. O spirit of Scouting ! how quick and fresh art thou, That, notwithstanding thy capacity Receiveth as the sea, nought enters there, Of what validity and pitch soe'er, But falls into abatement and low price, Even in a minute: so full of shapes is fancy That it alone is high fantastical. ""

Yes it is still available. I have put it up on several sales sites, both Scout and general merchandise, and have had only ONE nibble. And they wanted to know about "shipping" which I could arrange, but nada, *sigh*

Can you say ""Owassipe " ? We have had this conversation many times. Had the same conversation in the Potomac Area Council of the American Youth Hostels, once upon a time. Seems we had a "volunteer" who found out that real estate was a profitable pursuit, and the AYH dealt in old properties as a "non-profit" (!) so he "volunteered" to help acquire an old hotel.... The local AYH council had to join forces and the volunteer was officially dropped from membership. Here in Scouter dot com land , we had a wonderful time learning about the great Scout Reservation of Owasippe. Seems the local Scout Council had plans to sell the camp and (among other things) reallocate funds/property.... The various Scouters got the CORs together and held the people involved to task... You can look it up. The camp still exists. Perhaps (perhaps? ) there is real estate involved .

Rain gear... "it depends" on the expectation. In hiking the Camino , I saw many "solutions", from NOTHING (!), to ponchos to school crossing guard yellow rain slickers. I used a poncho, covered my backpack and me, the condensation and splash up on the inside surface was troublesome, but the overall effect was good I thought.. Ventilation. True story: Movie production company was doing some work in New England (I think) about ocean fishing, sails and working sailors. The cast was dressed in new bright yellow slickers. The locals reminded the crew (politely, of course) that since realism was desired, the cast should look the part , and the locals were willing to "loan" them some "experienced " rain gear. The movie crew gave the entire town new rain gear, the town got rid of all their old worn out gear, happy ending....

Those leetle scraps of cardboard... I can look at the ones in my shoebox collection and remember the folks that taught/exampled/pushed/cajoled/applauded/rewarded me along the way. Merit Badges, ranks, OA, camps.... will today's Scouts save those scraps? WIll they miss them... There is a comic with a fun stand up routine who struck a cord with me... he mentioned the photos we like to show people.... "here we are at uncle frederick's house. That's grandma Matilda and ...." then he talks about WHAT we photographed: special events, formal photo portraits, everyone neat and pretty.... "Now, what will our grandkids show off their phone..."here's my breakfast in 2024, isn't that a NEAT waffle....the maple syrup was just too too..."

Plumb was the company for the BSA handaxe for many years.

MiF KiS,,,, arts and crafts,,,, Make gifts for mom and dad (and brother/sister? wadda concept). The Scoutcraft stuff can be included, should be included as the Cubs grow into it, but the Make it Fun Keep it Simple has to be the watch word. Give the Cubs , no matter their age, things they can accomplish and take pride in. Long time ago, I remember taking scraps of plywood, sanding them smooth, gluing pretty National Geographic photos to them and then CAREFULLY shellacking them . After they dried , we glued picture hanging hooks on the back, and PRESTO , Mom Day presents. Along the way, we went hiking, learned about birds, visited the zoo and local firehouses. I kept many of those kids as friends all thru high school and into adulthood.. Were my parents involved? Absolutely. Were the other parents involved? Absolutely. Are things that changed, maybe three generations later? Perhaps, but that's what we are here for, for the Societal History. Today's parents must be made aware of the need to make their kids feel worthy and loved, so that THEY will want THEIR kids to feel worthy and loved. "The purpose of life is the planting of trees under whose shade one does not expect to sit".

Is it "Good Enough" ? Worksheets for Merit Badges.... Texting LOL, LMAO, letters not written, knots that don't hold, "like", "hacks" that have nothing to do with axes or hatchets or cheap taxis or lousy attorneys,,, Believe what I say despite what you see, "You mean I CAN make that decision?", "What if everybody acted like that, eh?" Well, I was only joking, I didn't really MEAN that, it's just a manner of speaking, it's what everybody says.... History is what we agree on, not what we have proof of.... Oh, I'll never use that silly knot... "Oh, I have people to take care of that." We can pay for that , no need to do it ourselves. It's easier to use paper plates and plastic stuff.... Well, the other Merit Badge Counselor let me... "Was THAT good enough?" Can't we get an extension for my boy? He's only late by a few days.... I can't take off work for this, isn't there someone else that can lead this hike/meeting/training/show and sell? What are we paying these dues for, anyway? I want my kid to be a Scout, it will get him a higher rating when he joins the military/applies for college/trains for the Olympics/fills out the application for (fill in the blank)....

The Amish have a saying (they have lots of sayings): Show me what a man does with his hands that I might know his heart. One of my observations concerns the youth I encounter , both in and out of Scouting. Hand manipulation. Tying knots that HOLD. If one is concerned about a small thing like a shoe lace tied so it won't come undone, that person might also be concerned about other things, done right, so they won't come undone. The standards we set. "Oh, that's good enough." Is it? The idea that the Scout/youth can be taught, trusted, to do what is necessary, not just "good enough" (whatever that may mean). Kids in first grade that don't know their right from their left, over versus under.... I see it when Cubs try to fold the US flag in that triangular tradition. It takes time, and I often have to shoo the father away from the Cub who is really experimenting with his hands, seemingly for the first time.... The misguided EBoR that asks an Eagle candidate to tie a Bowline... If they can't tie it then, it does no good to ask them, and it is not a failure of the Scout, but of the Troop.

And so our history becomes stories for our children. If it is OUR history, tell it so it can become THEIR history. I made it a point to take Scoutson to the grandmother's farm site, which is now mostly a subdivision, and we found the original culvert that was under the driveway, it was still there, but the driveway had gone back to nature (!) into the backyards of the houses....

True story: Way back when, our Troop had a regular campsite on the property owned by somebody's uncle's aunt (....) way back in some timber. It was a good mile back off the paved road. We had even developed some regular "Patrol " campsites. One sunday after breaking camp, I was the Patrol leader, and would be the last one out of the camp. I packed up, shouldered my pack and walked out up the trail. When I got to the road parking area (it wasn't really a "parking lot"), I discovered there was no one there! I had been left behind ! My Patrol buddies hadn't realized I was not there with them. Poor planning on my part, as PL.... Nearest phone might be 3 or 4 miles down the road... Knock on a house door? Naw.... I walked on out to the main road and sat down. I knew my folks would realize I was not at the church to be picked up (or was I going to be dropped off at home? I forget). I had a canteen of water, some snacky food, it was about 1pm I guess, so I sat down to wait. Yes, I was disappointed no one missed me, no one "counted noses", there would be a discussion later, I guess... Cars drove by, no one stopped or asked about me. I guess I looked "equiped", backpack and all. A couple of hours later, my dad showed up, and none the worse for wear, we went home. What would happen today?

Hoot, hoot, hoot.... Get your tent set up in your back yard. Make sure the mice haven't got to it, it has all the ropes, stakes, RAINFLY (we had one new Scouter show up with a "new" tent he just bought at a yard sale, "oh, is that why it has all that nice ventilating screening on top!" ), it is still RAINPROOF, and you remember how to set it up. New boots, broken in? Gear check list checked? Questions answered? Uni complete? Comfy (!) camp chair ready? Pencils sharpened? Smile and singing voice ready? See you on the trail !

Show them "The Guardian" .

Perhaps (perhaps) a case in point.... Fellow Commish once helped a Catholic church stand up a Scout troop. They REQUIRED their Scouts to be Catholic. They averred that ANY male youth could join, so long as the family belonged to a Catholic church. The Troop lasted exactly three years.... Scouts is Scouts. Our diversity and acceptance of any who will agree to the Scout Promise and Law , at least to say them together(?), and do Scouty things, is what we must/should be about. The CHARTER ORG is another issue. By BSA/SA edict, the CO can define who will join their Unit. How big the included community is may well define it's success and longevity. In our council we have Vietnamese community Troops that are large and successful, and Muslim Units that survived the pandemic and abuse emergencies when others folded.