Tampa Turtle

My son was wearing his (Polyester, Nylon?) BSA scout pants at the campfire and a ember melted a small hole in them. Which is the best way to repair them?

I am stealing that idea!

I want to thank everyone for some great clarity and ideas. I have passed my ideas on to the SM and SPL and plan on working on training the next ASPL on working with the POR's. I will be making the "no more automatic POR check-offs speech" to the parent soon, too.

Chippewa29, Interesting. I might show this to the ASPL as a tool. If you could send me something. Could you contact me via private message?

Since my email spun off this thread I am a big believer in competition. I was just mad I got maimed in a losing football season; a championship game would have made it easier. But seriously I think competition --especially Patrol vs Patrol competition is healthy. Yes a much gentler approach is needed with cubbies. IMHO the "everybody is a winner" attitude erodes the ability to get boys to understand that they must meet the advancement and merit badge requirements. That is why it is easier to deal with "do your best" in cub scouting vs. "be prepared" in Scouting. Boys naturally compete anyway. That said it is important to minimize subjective competitions if it leads to boys to feeling their is a sense of injustice; trying to find fair competitions is tough. We try to rotate the type so some are brain or knowledge based, some are oriented toward those with more scout skills, some are easier for physically smaller boys, etc. We try to make them fun. If they are silly sometimes the adult "patrol" competes as well --we usually lose. It is hard to teach good sportsmanship --on either side of equation-- if there is no winner or loser. If an older boy is playing sports would we even be asking this question? Or spelling bees or getting grades? I have only won a couple big competitions in my life --1st -courting my wife and 2nd getting a job after beating out 80 other candidates. And yeah after many, many losses it felt all the sweeter.

I did hold my elementary experience against coaches. I have know some great ones. I did have a football coach is High School who was a real you know what. I was a Center and pulled some tendons in my ankle. I could barely walk off the field. Coach made me go back in the next series. Promptly tore out 2 on one side of foot. Still have the limp. Think about that coach every day. We only won one game that season anyway--what was the point. Realized I was just a piece of meat to him. Jerk bag.

Get the Tiger leaders trained up as soon as possible. Give them the support of an older hand. They tend to be rather skittish. Make sure they get a shirt; seems to make them more committed.

Candy fire You have the boys practice making a fire on paper plate using edibles. First mini-marshmallows to make a fire ring. Some coconut for tinder, pretzel sticks for kindling, pretzel logs for fuel. Put red hots on to represent the fire. Or any other suitable candy/snack item. Then they get to eat them. Some boys carefully build a log cabin or teepee structure, etc. Very popular. Requires some organization to do for 100.

I thought an emergency service project was when a scout realizes he has not done any service hours and the COH is in 2 weeks?

TwoCub, Sounds like you have a large Troop as well...Yes we could have done what you did. We had 3 ASPL's but they were all "just in case". More than enough work to spread around. I like the Troop Guide, Program, and Supervisory division. I guess we can present that option to the next SPL. We have had the TQM and PQM's. While it has not gone as well as we liked we have made good progress with 1/2 the PQM's. We give the PQM's POR credit as it is big job with a lot of responsibility. The TQM is a real driver and gear head. We now do mostly Patrol gear and if a patrol doesn't pack their gear --so sad, too bad. The patrol boxes and gear are getting well marked with individual patrol colors by the active patrols so that is a good sign.

We have almost weekly uniform competitions with the SPL awarding SM-supplied prizes for the most complete and correct outfit. Some boys getting very competitive (winners been decided on issues like brown shoes, watch, pen). I have also told a few boys "lets get that updated". SPL almost had a sewing session one week (I like that idea). A boy without the correct rank and position cannot sit for BOR.

Den Yells-Dens are encouraged to use their yells when there name is mentioned at Pack meetings. Relay races-we have done some good ones based on camping equipment (pass the sleeping nag) Balloon stomp -great for den meetings Cub Scout How-To Book--lots of ideas. Candy Fire - always popular. We have done it with 100 boys at a Pack meeting. Keep the Pack meetings moving! Consider taking the meeting outside if you usually do it in a classroom or cafeteria. Or if you always do it in a park find a new location. We had a den meeting in a City Park, took a hike for 30 minutes, had a meeting at a "camp site" (picnic table) and came back.

I found the amount of enmity toward Bush just as bad. While I did not vote for him (I voted for -gag- Kerry.) he is the leader. This is our process like it or not. I concentrate on telling the boys you respect the office; you don't like it help a campaign and vote when you can. Its a tough job regardless. Kinda like my attitude toward SM's.

The POR patches drive me crazy! Boys leave the old ones on and take forever to put the new one on. Velcro might be OK if it is Khaki. I did that for my Webelos DL/ASM patches but it is not so great. The new "smokes" pocket is a great disincentive to getting the patches on. This has been a great discussion. Ideas I like: (1)Letting younger guys do it --the best candidate for the job. (2)Working with the ASPL, he does the check off. Goal is to work on the boy not the requirement check off. (3)Display Board. More recognition over all. (4)More flexibility in positions; a scout volunteered to be our "health officer" (food safety and first aid stuff) and I am inclined to let them do that sort of thing. I bet if we had a "fire master" there would be a line a mile long.

Most of my family is on the west coast. I think it was a different experience East vs West. Most folks found out when they turned on the morning news. Real time vs. happened event. I think there was more rumors, confusion, and fear as it happened. On a side note: When Reagan got shot I was a smart-ass college student. Couldn't stand him --could not believe he got elected. That day I did not have the news on and went to a small store in my south Georgia college town. Lady behind counter "Isn't it a shame about President Reagan?". Thinking I had found a kindred spirit I replied "Yeah, stupid SOB; even that idiot Quayle would be better." She frowned up and threw my purchase at me. When I got in the car I turned on the radio and realized what had happened and hit my head on the steering wheel over and over.

The night before my wife and I had had a big fight and we weren't talking but 9/11 made us forget about it. Sept 11 was going to an off site meeting. Waiting in lobby saw Today Show coverage of small plane hitting tower. Saw 2nd. plane hit live. We had our staff meeting for the next two hours with the picture on and the sound off and tried to figure out what was going on. I found my notes from that meeting recently--we managed to actually get something accomplished. Recall at the time was that 20,000 people were thought to have perished at the Twin Towers. On the drive back realized we were at war. We had turned off the news. When I walked into the downtown conf room the big screen had the news on and a map of the country. The IT guy said that almost all the planes were ordered down but 4. Folks with family in New York were frantic. My son was 3 and at a jewish day school. I suddenly panicked and wondered if that was a target (there were a lot of PLO bombings back then) but realized it was run by a ex-israeli paratrooper who watched them like a hawk. We were sent home early like a lot of Govt workers that day. I remember seeing the police swat team with sniper rifles and M60 Machine Guns on the top of the parking garage next to City Hall. There was a rumor that President Bush and Air Force One was at MacDill AFB a couple of miles from our house. I remember feeling that I wanted that fat juicy target as far from me as possible. Later wondering where the heck was he. A lot of confusion. It was very quiet as people went home early and watched the news. Stores were pretty empty. There were no planes in the sky which felt odd. That night an unsettling sight at home was my 3 year old taking his white airliner toy and flying it into a refrigerator box over and over. He couldn't talk yet and we kept him from the TV but his teachers had the radio on. The next day we would learn that a family friend, a dentist who was a Navy Reservist doing a week at the Pentagon, was missing and presumed dead.

Ah yes I still have a 13 year old who still believes in Santa Claus.

Venividi, You hit right on the head. What do we do until we get there. The best candidates would be the new scouts. They are the ones showing up to help. I know it is not supposed to count until they are 1st Class but it would serve the older boys right...

Got it: SPL does PL and TG which makes more sense. ASPL does the rest (if filled) So I will propose the SM works with the SPL I will work with the ASPL

I am going to ask a really dumb question... The ASPL position does not mention supervising Troop Guides, Scribes, Web Mastters, etc. Is the supervision implied?

We have a few boys who really just like going camping and hanging with the guys. I regularly argue with some of the adult leadership about pushing them to Eagle.

I like the direction this is going. The ASPL description does say "Helps train and supervise the troop scribe, quartermaster, instructor, librarian, historian, and chaplain's aide." The leadership corp wouldn't work too well since 3 out of 5 PL's were pretty bad. I like the listing. Another problem we had were folks too lazy to change their POR patch. Made it hard if I ever had a question. Who supervises the Troop Guides? And if you do not have a New Scout Patrol do you need them?

OK. We had 3 ASPL's none of whom did a darn thing. (3 was huge mistake--I was not involved in that) Assume the ASPL needs to meet with these guys. Then it seems my plan should be to help train the ASPL to respond to the SPL and how to manage the POR's. Kinda like training a new supervisor.

Forgive my free associative ramblings I was just a baby on my mothers hip when she ran into a neighbors apartment to see the TV. My dad was a big Kennedy man and was always sad about it. I vaguely remember RFK's being shot. For me it was the Vietnam War bug out when I was 13. I remember the panic on those last planes out, the co-pilot kicking folks off the ramp. Reading the paper the next day. Really shocked me, we lost. Seemed such a come down after the moon landings when we strode the earth like giants... 9-11 shocked me but I had little ones and the feeling of being unable to protect them was difficult. My mom was 6 and lived in Honolulu in 1941 and clearly remembered hearing the explosions. Her best friends Dad died on the Arizona. My great uncles were welders at Pearl and cut the living and the dead out of the ships. That was the big family remembrance. They treated Dec 7 real personal. Years later I am at the Kennedy Museum in Boston at a evening reception looking at some Kennedy memorabilia, John-John's crayon drawing and the oval office photo with it in the background. It is the a couple days after John-John's plane crashed. Met some of RFK's kids, the younger ones, that night. It was a pretty somber affair.

In our next round of non-elected POR's we are attempting to create some kind of system for keeping boys accountable. I have been tasked by the SM to come up with something. It is my reward for complaining about the deadbeats. The SM is busy working with SPL and PL's. The SPL's and PL's have been mostly busy with the Quartermasters and APl's. They get the rudimentary leadership training. The area that is not getting attention is all Chaplin's Aides, Librarians, Scribes, etc. Most are AWOL or minimally functioning and it hurts the Troop. Right now they are given a form saying that they, and their parent understand they are taking on additional responsibilities. They are given the position description. Beyond that no one may talk to them until their SMC or POR and by then it is too late. Our original plan was to have an adult counterpart for each position for guidance but we had too few volunteers. Anyone do anything for this? It is a big Troop so we really need a good number of positions working. I am thinking some kind of one-on-one meeting a couple times a term asking them what they are planning and if they did it. Kinda like at work. The size of the Troop is such that even if some boys are doing their job I may never see it so don't know. I assume at some point if I can figure out a good method I can train the boy leadership to do it and just check in with them. In general the younger the scout the more conscientious in his duty. Partly this may be due to time conflicts and partly because the older boys were spoon fed before.