Tampa Turtle

I got one boy who uses a sharpie and his arm for the duty roster at campouts.

jpstodwftexas, You don't need a chuck box but a chuck wagon! RyanRon, Welcome.

If you are starting from scratch and are focusing on backpacking then I would go with 2-man, preferable tent-tarps. Tent-wise I only have personal experience with the Eureka Timberline 2-man (easier to set up and durable but a bit heavy). Also the Eureka Apex AT 2 man. (Pretty tight, mesh is great for Florida, a little hard to set up rainfy, still pretty heavy.) Both ran be about $120 but are going on 5 years. Hammocks may be the way to go but that may be $60-100 per boy. And finding trees could be a problem. Bivy Bags? No experience but I have made one from Tyvek. It is now a grill cover. I think a lightweight tarp system with hiking poles could work. May want to incorporate bug mesh. What is your budget?

Youngmaster, Didn't mean to come down on you. All Troops have their somewhat arbitrary rules. Our old SM would require pen in pocket and watch on wrist. At our last PLC the new SPL handed out pocket notebooks w minipen. Since it was surplus from some Military conference the boys hung on to them. Even the ones that would never remember anything can sip in their pocket and forget. Sometimes we use 3 x5 cards. I see one problem with a notebook is it less likely to be carried out in the field. We have 80 scouts (50-60) active. In our case I would leave such a thing to the Patrol Leaders to figure out.

I think the scouts are a pretty good judge of gear but lousy shoppers. I find we adults at our Troop keep foisting failed equipment strategies on the boys (i.e. Patrol Boxes). This what we did: (1) Extol the glory of the Patrol Box. Response: (yawn) (2) Decide that NEW patrol boxes will excite them. (boys decline making them) (3) Boys should "own" patrol box by customization. (parents ended up doing it) (4) Patrols decay out of abuse and neglect. (parents refinish them) Boys really wanted to do Dutch Ovens. So we haul Dutch Ovens and Patrol Boxes out to camp site.

I find the older boys will "call out" the younger ones on missed duties. "Hey Billy are you Quartermaster? Why is the Patrol Boxes missing? When I was Quartermaster we always blah, blah, blah. (Dramatic sigh) here let me show you." Works far better than any notes, videos, or contracts. (Though we have tried all that as well) Funny thing is boys have all sorts of learning styles. My oldest will not retain anything he writes but will memorize the verbal. Others seem to need pictures, others will memorize the scout manual...

Notebooks, hmmm. IMHO I think you can encourage them but require them? We strongly, strongly encourage the scout handbook, some paper, and a writing implement. Some boys make up their own notebook but many would NEVER do it. While notebooks are a swell idea (I am a notecard or pocket pad man myself) it seems to smack a bit of school... We had an issue like that with out general meeting. We finally just put up a big duty board for the meeting and after a couple of meetings didn't really need it. I would further argue that it should be up to the boy leadership to figure this out... Good luck.

All in all it was nice thought from Ol' Packy.

I am getting into the "let the 50 year old cripple stagger under his backpack" stage.

Yes. There are 14 year olds who have a couple hundred miles of hiking experience in our Troop--all their family did was backpack summers.

Not a campout but a party. When I was in 6th grade one of the girls was planning a birthday party that was the first real girl-boy party. (a pool party no less). I was a nice boy but not very popular. I was not invited at first and really, really wanted to go. I felt snubbed. A couple days before the party I did get an invite but declined in a snit. So I never went. Big mistake. It was "the" party of the year and the reciprocal invites back and forth pretty much cemented the "cool people" well into the beginnings of High School.

There is a campout my son missed because of me and still regret. He (the one with Tourettes) was trash talking on the way home to a bunch of extra-virginal Webelo potential recruits. I told him to stop, and stop, and stop. Then I said "One more time you miss the next campout". Of course he didn't stop (in retrospect he really couldn't). So as soon as I got to the Scout Hut I got out and in all my fatherly glory forbade him from the next trip. The moment the words slipped out I regretted them. Also an ugly ending to an otherwise nice weekend. Turned out the next campout was the annual Survival Campout which he had prepped for a year--he viewed it as his "test of manhood". He missed it. My wife forbade me from backtracking. I went on the campout to help out but every meal was like ashes in my mouth. I would like to say he learned something about controlling himself--but not really. And in 3 years we have never repeated that campout.

We have the same issue now. I recommend getting the SPL and the QM into the conversation and to get feedback from the PLC.

Yeah it looks pretty bad over in South Florida. The maps show you got plastered. I saw a lot of houses had some flooding. As for where my house is maybe we got 1-2" of rain. The sun is out now as well. TS warning just ended.

Yup, Debbie was worse. That was what I was expecting--a Debbie scenario. I hope NOLA doesn't get too much rain. This is one weird storm.

We do: - 2 x 1 week long AT Hikes a year. Location is progressive. Older boys. - Trip to Washington DC. (occasionally)Visit the creepy Boy Scout memorial! - Usually a end-of-the-year beach trip, alternating Florida coasts. Sometimes east coast surfing or west coast sailing. Will recommend Ft Pierce State Park and nearby SEAL museum.

Things are going great! Thanks very much for asking. The storm is very lop-sided and moving toward NOLA--hope they do OK. Keys and Miami area and area north of us got a lot of rain but not us. Even north of us looks pretty wet. I hope Camp Flaming Arrow doen't get too much flooding. Really not even a Tropical Storm event in the City iteself. Nevertheless I and Scout-son#1 spent hours this weekend at home moving things, tying stuff down, etc to prep for a Tropical Storm. Seems that whenever I really prepare not much happens. Even the Pinellas beaches look OK--overcast but not too stormy. School is closed so my kids are happy. Had to laugh at NBC news showing Tampa residents getting sandbags. It was at the local Y and maybe 40 folks got them--really because we got sorts of areas that flood houses on a normal rain storm. If the City is giving them away might as well stock up. Workwise, I was pulled at the last minute from working the Emergency Operations Center for the RNC. So this week I go back to my normal paper-pushing job. I was relieved not to be doing the 12 on 12 off shifts but frustrated that I trained for 18 months and was replaced by folks with no preparation. I live and work on the edge of Downtown Tampa and so far it the RNC has been a minor inconvenient--very much like an NFL game. But the big days are Tue-Thursday. I work in the nearest Government building that is unsecured so my co-workers are nervous as we are across from a designated protest spot. Have seen a few token protesters and protest trucks--all a bit pathetic. I feel a bit sorry for the RNC organizers the storm has really cut a lot of fun and fundraising opportunities out. I read some of the local strip clubs complained that they are not seeing the business they hoped for. On a sidenote I was proud of Scoutson#1. He was in civics class and the boys were having a lively Romney-Obama debate. When one boy said "Obama shouldn't be president because he is black" son jumped up, pointed, and said "You dude, are a bigot! That is wrong and not a good reason". Teacher sent a note home about him speaking out in class and that him being a Boy Scout should have better behavior and set a good example. I sent back "I told him--Great Job!".

Sad. I had the National Geographic poster of the Apollo 11 astronauts in my room as a kid. I remember seeing the moon landing in the late afternoon (California Time)-- it was so hard to see anything. I recall putting my eye up on the screen to see if I could see better. I remember later that day (or the next)walking around downtown of my small city looking up at the moon, people friendly, and saying things like "can you believe it". In an era that had a lot of tension and divide it was one of the few periods I remember different folks seeming together.

Eamonn, Not harsh. Yes it is demoralizing but I think it is good to be reminded to be on the alert from time to time. I know I am far too naive, trusting despite abuse as a youth. I know I had a bad "vibe" from a Dad (and a few comments from mom's feeling "uncomfortable" on how he handled children) and he was the one handling the adult paperwork. It was a bad situation --you do not want to make a false accusation with all the fallout--but I had to do something. Coincidentally a parent was FBI and tasked with child crimes. Became a bit paranoid about this sort of thing--occupational hazard perhaps. Apparently ALL of us had been checked out. The dad I was worried about came out clean but I think we do keep an extra careful eye on him. But yeah it is discouraging.

We had a campout where some boys did not dig a cat-hole but it the middle of the night "left a deposit" or two for discovery in the morning. Unable to find a perpetrator we asked for a volunteer to bury it properly and a scout cheerfully stepped forward. We recognized the lad at our COH with our first "Golden Scoop" award without going into any details. He was quite proud of it.

I do not like knots on my uniform now but if they would let me attach them to dreadlocks I might let my hair grow out. I think it might be a good look.

I'll jump in. While I was not a Boy Scout as a youth I am a leader and now after a couple years get publicly identified as such in my neighborhood, church, and workplace. Therefore "living up to the law" has prompted me to be more helpful, cheerful, and kind than my more base nature may be want. I know I will go out of my way more to help a stranger than before. As I have to scout sons when I admonish them "a scout is cheerful" when they are surely in the morning or whatever you better believe that they throw it right back in my face!

Ah man, now I have to quit!

I do hope someone will have a Zippo in their pocket...

Link to BBC story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19265010 "Brilliant" UK Scouters! Happy sparks.