Tampa Turtle

I'd rather push this down to the SPL and PL's--they should be becoming more aware. But that wouldn't be acceptable.

Man, I got enough to do in the field without worrying about filling out a "best" report! Beat us to death with paperwork will you? This smacks of National fishing for data. If national really wants it that bad have them set up a toll free hotline and we can call it in.

I like the Onion website is selling "Cheat to Win" yellow wrist bands. I discussed this with a couple scouts on how even if you think cheating is OK "because everyone is doing it" there are consequences--loosing achievements, no one will trus you, and in this case folks despise you.

I have been watching some of the old TV shows from the 70's, Mary Tyler Moore, Bob Newhart, etc. While not violent, obviously, there are references to promiscuity and homosexuality that I swear I never got the first time. In one Mary finds the perfect guy but he turns out to be gay. And the old Dean Martin roasts got kinda raunchy.

You need to use a Lazer Printer not an Ink Jet. Does not erase well. I use mine also with my Space Pen. Or you can just use a zip lock bag.

I agree with Z. As ASM I may comment to committee members or SM on the big picture as part of the team but I concentrate on playing my position as ASM--supporting the SM and working with the boys. Really it is the fun part!

We clearly crossed the fenced areas that had signs prohibiting firearms not 20 minutes earlier. It was marked on the map. We saw the guys across the field 5 minutes after the shots. He was between us and the river so we know it was not private. It was not during a "hog culling weekend"--we do our best to avoid those situations. Pretty sure on this one. The guy could have just driven 15 miles south and done what he wanted.

Hey JoeBob then how many NRA members couldn't own guns? ;p

Rite-in-the-Rain sells blank sheets of water proof paper for $30 for 200 sheets (or 15 cents a sheet). I used their pads on campouts. Pencil works better than pen.

I think #2 is going to be pretty subjective; I would just shop around for a friendly shrink. I am not sure that #3 could even hold up legally and would be very hard to administer; I do not know if folks understand the genetics of mental illness--so I do not think #3 is practical short of a genetic test. #2 is what you gotta work on. A lot of crazy people go untreated and their is no national registry. So you would punish the folks who sought help and get diagnosed and the crazy families could skate by. My kids are adopted...which crazy family do we use? And if we can't find them I guess we say no? And what if stupid was just as bad as crazy? Why not an operator's license? Fun discussion though.

Jambo is too rich for my blood. I'll be taking the boys to the UK this year...

Let us remember that research should be: (1) Data openly available for review. (2) Method published for peer review and criticism. (3) Be repeatable using above data and methods. Repeat until necessary.

I agree with qwazse. Once I hear a prospective SM say "we don't want the inmates to run the asylum" I know we will have a problem with boy led and--surprise, surprise--Patrol cohesion and the whole thing. Especially with the older boys. Seems to be self fulfilling. This weekend I was hammocking with my young son. Because of the mosquitos we had to retreat to early and had plenty of time to chat before sleep. I was once again AMAZED at how accurate a 13 year old's appraisal of the attitude and engagement of the SM's he has had was. He NAILED it. You can't fool the boys, at least for long.

After spending 3 days and 30 miles hiking with some boys through areas where no firearms is allowed AND once again having some yahoo discharge a firearm nearby where we were hiking on a designated trail (and wearing orange)I really wish the "gun folks" would support restrict idiots with getting firearms. Some folks are just too stupid.

While all children are equally precious I am sure that Obama's kids are at a higher risk of being kidnapped or assassinated than mine. I am sure the Secret Service is the best judge of this. I have never begrudged any President's immediate family's protection regardless if personally like him or his politics. How many movies and TV shows are based on this? As for "everyman" Christie--I think there is a method to his madness.

And she was a very pretty young mom. (sigh) Yes those scout values and a deep seated fear of Mrs Turtle with a butcher knife.

When I was a DL I guess I was in the middle of the mom-dad wars. It is a shame when Scouts gets used as a club to the detriment of the boys. I have learned to be more careful of my "male role model" position as once I had a mom assume I would fulfill some *ahem* husbandly roles as well. Must have been the uniform.

I shared a car trip with a fellow ASM, 5 year vet, who was gushing about Wood Badge. I listened, realizing that I have some prejudice after hanging around these boards. He was very excited when I used the word "ticket". Really into it. After 15 minutes I asked him: "And how will this directly benefit our Troop?".

Sorry for all that I am a bit of a fuzzy thinker. Gotta a big trip this weekend and my mind is elsewhere. Folks are all family friends. I think the marriage is in a bit of an alcohol fueled disintegration. Might recover if Dad gets his act together but in any case Boy is being neglected and he always had issues. Dad is a bit of a non-conformist so Scouting seems pretty un-cool to him. Plus I guess Dad would feel insulted if he knew the boy needed a "good male influence". Boy joined CS thinking it would be more like Boy Scouts but it was mostly arts and crafts. Found it boring. Boy likes canoeing. hiking, camping, fishing. So good fit there--depending on Troop. Needs to get away from stress at home sometimes in a more structured setting. I sent Mom a list of my most new parent questions (aside from gear and rules) and gave her the place and times of several good Troops and suggested she visit. One was mine. I have friends in the other so either way IF he joins someone will keep an eye on him. Really not much else to do but repeat an invitation sometime. I have been in the middle of the mom-dad scouts divorce battle before. Hope Dad will stay neutral. I mention the movie connection because it is funny as heck.

Beavah, Exactly. And we never got all the particulars. Lots of speculation. In our Troops past (before I was there) we had one boy (Bit of a thug) stab another in the leg 2-3 inches with a K-Bar. He did get picked up my police at the campsite but his buddy's family refused to press charges. The fact that he was the local HS star QB no doubt helped. After 4 months the then SM let him back him "to save the boy". This is the same boy who stole a ASM's car at a camp-out and drove his patrol to a rural bar and got drunk in the middle of the night. So the reinstatement was obviously a BAD call. His mom was a key committee member who threatened to sue the CO and Troop all the time. All 3 of her boys were jail house material. Of course 2 made Eagle. Mr Knife is now a SEC starting QB and likely to go pro. He has already had his share of controversies and I expect him to hear more of him when he is in the NFL. I hear some of these stories from our retired SM grey beards and I am glad for are small scale behavior issues of late.

Appears the guy made it all up. Sad.

There have always been crazy people but they seem to be growing. I guess the internet allows them to hook up. When I was a in high school a friends' mother was a holocaust survivor. She was a lucky one--she went to a camp at 4, was smuggled out, and was hidden in a convent. All her family perished. Very sad story and she was pretty bitter. She still had her tatoo. I remember her showing me it like yesterday. She was a mom like mine but someone had marked her and had intended to kill her. I felt a bit shocked. (and growing up in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood its not like the Holocaust was news) Fast forward a few years and I am in College in Georgia. Some Yahoo (from Jacksonsville, FL I recall) was saying how he knew that (1) all Jews had horns and (2) the Holocaust was a fraud. I assured him that, while I was a fine Catholic boy I had dated my share of Jewish girls, and in all my close physical examinations I never found any horns. Second I had seen a prison camp tattoo first hand. Last thing I recall before his fist hit my face was that his Grandmother and the bible were not liars. He never did fully matriculate from that educational institution. Since then I continue to be amazed at how hard and how lazy folks will be to stay ignorant.

Some background. Boy was in cub scouts for a short while, got bored, and left. Dad is kind of down on scouts (despite being a former and helping his older son in a Troop)and is exiting the picture. Mom is looking for a positive male role model environment. Boy likes hiking and camping. Saw Movie and got excited. I have a growing experience through working with the 13-14 year old scouts who were cross-overs and their need for more adventure, etc. But I was wondering what experience folks had in dealing with a 13 aged newbie. So that is why I wanted to stimulate some discussion. We had a boy join at 15 and it was pretty funny to see him with the 11 year olds at the Mountain Man program at Summer Camp. He had zero camping experience but was a quick study. You could tell he felt a bit silly at times. Now he is 17 and a Star and one of our better Patrol leaders. But beyond that I really haven't seen that many 'late bloomers' who stayed after after a few months. I admit this boy will be a 'project'. I am such a sucker.

I would like to resurrect this thread. A family at church is having a hard time and the mom is interested in getting her almost 14 year old son in Scouting so he can have some better role models and he enjoys the outdoors. So mush of scouting now seems oriented to getting the young crossovers into scouts--what about the needs of an older boy? We have had a few boys like this and they usually turn out to be pretty darn good Life scouts. (By the way he was inspired after seeing Moonlight Kingdom)

I think the responses on both sides stem from the reluctance to come up to the parent and say we got a problem. No one likes to hear their child criticized. So behavior goes unchecked. You gotta combine compassion with backbone and it is easier said than done.