SSScout

You all speak my mind. The folks that want to believe without research or believing their own eyes and ears have , it seems, always been with us. One episode from my way past history sticks with me.... Way back in 19 and 66, our HS english class somehow (I forget why, maybe it was close to a holiday) got to discussing WW 2. Our english teacher , Mr. Emler, let the discussion flow where it would. One of my classmates, he was a football "star" , spoke up and declared that the Holocaust was fiction, made up by a Jewish conspiracy... Mr. Emler got very quiet, sat down on the edge of his desk and proceeded to tell us of how his Army unit had been among the first to enter, "liberate", Buchenwald. The class got very quiet. The footballer never spoke up again. It was not until much later that I made the connection, that Mr. Emler, and indeed many of the men, and women , I knew and admired were of "that age". My first SM had been in the army, but I never knew much about that. Our local Sea Scout Ship was Skippered by an old Chief Bosun's Mate. The local Sea Scout Regatta is named after him. And then we ignore what is right in front of us, and hope for the best....

I once proposed a "Religious Study/Faith" Merit Badge. It would have been a comparative religion sort of thing. They politely turned it down as not necessary with the Religious Awards program in place. Now, I want to reiterate that the rumor of combining the Pet Care and Cooking Merit Badges is FALSE...

As in any organizational effort, ""The Work Is Done By Whoever Shows Up"" Thank you for "Showing Up". You will not be disappointed. How big is your Troop? Encourage the PLs and SPL to do the planning of activities with your oversight and blessing. One of my favorite memories is as the Unit Commish sitting in the back of the room while the new (old, he had been there before. Another story) SM met with his newly elected SPL and PLs. The idea was to plan the coming year's camps, hikes, museum visits, etc. These Scouts were not new to Scouting, but new to their roles. The SM suggested things, trips, and the Scouts obviously were WAITING.... Finally, the nascent SPL said "You mean I can make that decision?" to which the SM responded ""DUUHH !"". They had a very successful year. As to your training, IOLS etc. Yes, sign up and have fun with it. IOLS is mostly about Scout Skills and safety and traditional things. Most of Scout Training, whether in person (how would you really teach knife and axe online?) or virtual, is about safety and personal experience of the trainers. Ask questions. Save Wood Badge for later, if you are new to the " Scouter" role, it is good to have some experience to compare WB to. One bit of personal advice: Do not neglect the "Scoutmaster's Minute" , either after the Troop Meeting or by the campfire. Your personal bits, observations, reminders about what the Scout Promise, Scout Law, real character is all about can have unknown , big results. If you need some ideas, some inspiration yourself, you can find lots of stuff in print and online. I recommend Robert Baden-Powell, Ernest Seton, and William Hillcourt from Scouting. Eric Sloan, Kipling, Jack London, St. Francis, Kahlil Gibran, John Muir.... outside of Scouting. Best of luck. See you on the trail.

Repeat after me:... Jamboree at the Summit...

A couple of things come to mind. I have been thru WB as participant and staff (twice that). As staff, I did not do any ticket approval, I was an "assistant" to others. One thing I never heard of was the cooperation between participants. Has it ever been known for folks to work together for a ticket? or two? Does the ticket HAVE to be only an individual, personal thing? Yes, my Patrol (hoot hoot) worked a training project for the WBTroop. Secondly, my experience was , to my WBSM et al, unique, in that some of my proposed tickets were about Cub Scouts, but I was registered as a ASM at the time. I had alot of CS experience, in CSDC and being a CM for a lengthy time. They liked my ticket proposals, but told me my tickets had to be about my registered position! This is a rule? yes they said. They put their various Scout heads together and spoke to me and PRESTO ! in 48 hours I was registered as a Unit Commissioner. Commissioners can do ANYTHING Scouty! (so they said). I am muti registered as a ASM, and have worked my way thru the Commish ranks so to speak, and still seem to be doing CS tickets fairly often.

Hey, still here.... I am about to give it away to a Bikes for Tikes organization....

Indeed....

How calculated? Usefulness to the community? Appreciation by the "beneficiary" ? Volunteer person hours times minimum wage? What a professional crew (Planner, engineer, surveyor, lawyer, carpenter, structural engineer, mason,,, ) would have charged to do the same thing? I hope the media hack that wrote that is "Counseled" by the Journalism Merit Badge Counselor....

In the Troop of my yoooth, the Troop had an overnight scheduled at least every other month, even thru the winter. We had hikes and other events, but somewhere we had an overnight, if not at "The Property", which belonged to somebody's uncle's cousin.... Summer camp too, both Council sponsored "official" summer camp, and the one we set up in "The Property".... I would hope the NEW requirements would differentiate between "under canvas, on the ground" (nylon? Plastic?) and under "roof" (long term? On platform? ). Carrying your shelter on Philmont, Katahdin or on canoe is a mark different than walking in to a Camp Scouter site and walking up a step onto a platform, even if it is under canvas held up by a 2x4 beam.

Someties the system works. Thank you, Kennebec Journal, thank you Maine court.... I have never visited Camp Bomazeen, but now , maybe, I could.

"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 .