Tampa Turtle

Agree sustainability is not the same as LNT. Dryers are by design highly inefficient appliances. That is why I have a very high spin cycle washer to extract as much water before hand as possible. I think it is a good thing to connect LNT with daily life.

We never did snacks at Pack meetings --we has 120+ scouts--except for very special occasions.

I am not sure what happened beyond the QM and 2 PL's left early leaving the unloading and unpacking to others (heard that one before). I assume other boys did the job so: (1) Did all the boys have to skip the fun night and do clean up--even the ones who did their bit after the campout? (2) I would not worry too much about the change in plan notification--it happens. (3) Who made the decision? The SPL should have decided how to handle it...

My son's nickname was "skunky" for...obvious reasons. So "Moose" not so bad.

Boomer, Looking back I agree that the main part I got out of sports was on how my assigned positions (Center, Holder, Long Snapper) contributed to the Team though rarely I got much individual glory. But boy--if you screw up it sure is obvious. I still am a "team player". Adults who treated me as a real person made a big difference--in my case my 6th grade male teacher who turned out as flaming gay as they come. But he saw how uncoordinated I was and held me back in class to practice throwing the ball around. My dad never bothered. That was all I needed to encourage me to do more sports and eventually play a little high school ball. (When I was in college I sought my old teacher out and told him.) Later when I was a teacher I kept an eye out for kids that needed a little extra help--I think I got that from him. Oh course I was molested by my so-called "hetero" football coach--so I do not think it is the activity so much as the individuals. I learned from him that adults will use and betray you and lie about it. I also learned that if you had a reputation as an honest boy when it was he said vs he said that you had a better chance of being believed. Agree that a non-parent adult has a big impact; maybe because you think that your folks HAVE to love you and believe in you and it means more with someone else. As a scouter I try to seek out boys and point out legitimate progress I see them do ("Tommy you really humped that pack for 10 miles. Remember last year you barely finished the 5 miler; I can't believe how far you have come!"). I think it needs to be legitimate because boys have a pretty good BS detector since they get so much false praise these days.

I do not think it is your language. Last year our Troop online discussions were burning up the keyboards; this year very little. I have observed this in other groups I belong as well. I am not sure why. I know the older the folks I deal (45+) with the more I communicate with them by phone or email. The younger guys (25 and under) seem to be texting and rarely even read an email. The folks in the middle I do not know. Also folks get barraged by email; it could simply be buried. However in general it seems the etiquette of actually responding to a request, pro or con, seems to be dying out. It gets harder and harder to nail down a meeting or attendance with anyone; so much is done on the fly. I would not worry about your writing style; though I thought you were a guy--probably associate a handle with "Moose" in it as masculine.

I would be proud of a boy who brought that up in his EBOR--wrestling with those questions is exactly the kind of character we need to be developing. I think "what do we do" should be based on the right thing --and dang I am conflicted over that--than what is expedient. And expedient can mean losing funding/pr as well as losing RC/Mormon scouts. It should be based on what is right.

Yes I think he figured that out!

I find the Varsity program very confusing. My oldest asked me about it this weekend; couldn't think of a program near me to point out as an example. After reading emb201's response I think I was right to be confused.

It is always that way. You need to walk the walk and not get nasty. Show people what we do. Some folks will always be offended no matter what we do--be it God, or uniforms, or dirty scouters. I get the same look when I start some story with "at my church..." While I am of two minds on the Gay thing I do not think that BSA's change on that would convince some people. I had a bad experience in cubs when I was a kid and thought poorly of scouting as a result. If it was not for my boys wanting to do it and me getting involved I would still have that opinion.

I think a SM 1-Needs to be a positive person with a sense of fun, remembers what is like to be a boy, and keeps the big picture. 2-Is tactful and persistent in dealing with troublesome adults and the minutia of modern day scouting. 3-Has a supportive spouse.

qwazse-me and my big mouth. I passed on the skit idea and now I have to organize it!

Part of the problemtunity is that some families eat early (we did at 530 on scout night) and some at 8 so those boys were hungry. There is a social aspect to eating together and it is good to get them settled down during announcements. I just don't like the expectation for every activity. Also there is the healthy/junky snack argument and special dietary issues etc. I never liked the expense. Again this is a good thing to delegate.

V-V Agree. Hold the line. Some parents and boys will game the system. I tell them what is the point? It is just a bit of cloth--learn the material and have fun.

Sure Kudu, It is only a few boys plus the older boys in the High Adventure Patrol. The tarps are great if it is 50 below or so at night--so not too many bugs. A few problems with ticks on cold nights--they seek out those warm bodies. A couple boys had a sil-nylon tarp with a no-see um mesh that hung down to the ground. It seemed to work OK. I think they bought it. One boy had some kind of giant mesh box he hung over his tarp (like they use in the tropics) but it seemed heavy (2 lbs) and had some condensation problems in the morning. One boy is using his rain fly from his tent and just hangs the top from a tree. Several boys use blue tarps or lighter weight tarps (I think they were ground cloths)and do a classic A-frame between two trees. They use some cheap visqueen for a floor. The younger boys seem resistant as they want that nylon wall between them and the outdoors. On a recent trip my youngest who weighs 70 pounds dripping wet went from his Eureka (tent, poles, rainfly, cloth, etc at 6 pounds) to tarp, line, stakes, visqueen at 1 lb 9oz. This was after he loaded 4 quarts of water, 3 days food, and a stove. Stuff flew out. I think he came in at 25 pounds total from skin out. The younger guys said it was cooler/scarier to see the outdoors but felt exposed when critters came near by. I guess that was the adventure part of it. Also changing clothes seemed to be an issue (I guess they could borrow a nearby tent for modesty or wrestle in the sleeping bag or just never change) Me I'm a hammock guy but I think a low slung tarp would have kept me warmer and bringing extra hammock stuff on a cold trip puts the weight up close to a tent. I am looking to repurpose an old rainfly as a tarp for the next trip.

I needed a list of craft supplies to always have on hand.

Get the Cub Scout How-To Book. Crafts are great but make sure to remind folks lots of boys do not like crafts nearly as much as adults (especially scrap-booky moms) like to teach them. Kids get crafts at school, camp, sunday school, etc. I think it appeals to adults because: 1-There is a cute finished product to show parents. 2-Since there is a product you haven't "wasted" time. 3-The boys sit and work on something (in theory) So don't use crafts instead of playing games. Do both. Boys like crafts if it is really going to be useful. An actual gift for mom OK. Something for fundraising, maybe. Something they can shoot, play with, or destroy even better. Therefore: Popsicle stick picture frame for mom= OK Popsicle stick Christmas decorations for Ronald McDonald House=maybe Popsicle stick working catapult-great!

We always met at 6-7pm. I am anti-snack but a lot of Mom's really want to do it. Eventually I let them work it out. We just said all parents needed to do something--lead a special topic, organize a field trip, get a speaker, teach a game or skill, drive, or bring snacks. Some folks opted for the snack route.

qwazse great idea! I have forwarded that one on. As a new parent I was very confused as to how the process worked--even with all the handouts. Each year you have a new crop of parents and boys anyway so it is a good excuse to remind some folks who are still fuzzy about it. Love the distraction part of it.

I would consider teaching the boys about tarps with bug nets in lieu of tents. Some of our guys are going that at least when it is cool enough to keep out bugs.

Dean Feel your pain. I do not miss some of the PWD dads. I had to guard the cars after check in because on two occasions dads tried to sabotage a car. In one case smashed the wheels down. Another time a dad got into a shouting match with our lady cubmaster; since then we always have a "big guy" at check in. Another time the Race Master dropped a finalist before a final heat--we let the owner check it but since it came in 2nd there was a stink. My sons opted to go for the design side instead of speed and usually won there and had more fun. Though pirate ship cars with a full set of cloth sails produce a lot of drag--they are cool.

My cat was on the table and got sprayed with mustard in the eye. Would run from the sound after that. East trick! I had a cat that would open a cabinet door, take a Pepperidge farm goldfish bag out, carry it in its mouth several rooms over to the German Sheppard in the dog crate. Dog would tear it apart through the cage and eat most of it. The Cat would eat the remaining crackers spilled all over the floor. (usually the Pizza flavor for some reason) This all happened while we were at work. Could not figure out how the dog, who had all the guilty evidence around him, could pull it off. Had to set up a video camera to capture it.

As long as food is involved a cat can be trained.

I will pass that along, thanks.

I don't think the unit is well organized; talked about if any "BSA grants" are available for support. That was a red flag for me. We have a heck lot more cops than fireman and the Explorer cops get to ride on patrol; I think the explorer F&R are more restricted. I don't know too much and hesitate to ask as my hands are full with my Troop. Do Explorer posts have any support system? I mean in BSA.