Tampa Turtle

This stuff reminds me of practicing Catholicism. You have some things that are "Officially Biblical " and some things that are part of the "Living Tradition". I think the intent of wearing the Eagle Mentor pin outweighs any Omission/Commission sin of not adhering to BSA uniform standards.

Basement, Your welcome. We have one boy who ONLY does #2 on a hike. Something about the woods! He says those hikes "un-block him". When he is coming we schedule in a little extra time. But he will NOT use the latrine. I don't know why he hasn't got a nickname out of the deal. We have had groups of boys ready to blow on a campout over aversion to what facilities, or lack of them, are available. I figure that is a valuable part of Scouting--learning that being a man means using some pretty dreadful bathrooms. Really. I (cheerfully) used my first cat-hole this year (thanks Boy Scouts!) to set an example on a back packing trip. It was an unusual-- experience. It is, like a lot of little things, an acquired skill. We have cat hole training lessons, proper location, dig the hole,practice squats, etc during some of our hikes. Little lessons like that break up the hike. And give them something to tell their mothers.

I remember back when Nixon was president bringing my deluxe set of X-Acto knives and blades to 4th grade for making a diorama. (I think it was the Afrika Korps-8th Army scene...boy that dates me) I could have armed a gang with all those knives! I remember the teacher holding it for me after class and giving it back at the end of the day. I think it was because the other boys started getting excited and waving them around. But I got them back and no hard no foul.

Recently I had to "camp out" at my in-laws house as I was cleaning out after a death. As a diabetic I carefully brought a box of food--a lot of which was in cans. Stupidly I brought my trusty old Barlow knife instead of my scout knife and....no can opener! Really messed me up. You know it is really, really hard to open a can wit a screwdriver and hammer. As for the bottle opener...I am no longer, for medical reasons, a beer drinker. But my son was given a bottle of (soft) cider with a bottle cap the other day. He had no idea what it was. He got his scout knife and popped it off...but I think that was the first bottle cap to come off in our household in 10 years.

I am in the Tocabaga district. We used to be the "Rough Riders" after TR (who stayed in Tampa before shoving off to Cuba). I understand *ahem* why "Rough Riders" may conjure some images of unscout-like behavior but I miss it. The boys still we wish we had it. I could drive across our district in 30 minutes. I have seen our District Guy at my old Pack meetings as well as some of our Committee meetings. Makes suggestions but in general seems supportive and helpful. I am less impressed at the Council level--all my interactions with them --on anything--is that we are always doing it wrong and that they are the REAL scouts. So a move toward a "super council" may be a move in the wrong direction. But that is just my opinion.

qwazse, I beg to differ with my esteemed colleague. From a US perspective yes we have shrinkage. Internationally there is African and Asian growth in the RC, Episcopal, United Methodist,and Baptist churches. In some cases the new (and very conservative) leadership is coming FROM there to "re-colonize" North America. So we may have more International-Us Splits.

Set up base camp on Friday nights and start incorporating day hikes. So they just have to carry some water, food, etc. Pay very close attention to water drops; that is the biggie for us. Water is HEAVY. Start them on learning to make tarps. Have them experiment on making some of their own gear. Still 1st year is tough. By 2nd year some boys can be doing 10 miles. The location is pretty important. For young'uns we try to keep them pretty flat, with pretty sites, and a bathroom stop. Bathroom issues can be a big deal for some.

Beaver540, Campfire USA might have been the only ones authorized to use those tools.

I was following the BSA comments page and they were noting how companies are not working on roofs without a harness. I know that one requirement is driving roofing costs here ..err through the roof.. They need to develop a logical safety guide for working with tools. The vocational argument by BSA is bunk. Can't use a leaf blower but can weld? Solder a copper pipe? Drive a boat? This is developing into a HUGE blunder by Irving. As the discussion continues no doubt soon it will enter the media conscientiousness and be a PR disaster.

If this stays we are 6 months away from Bears being banned from Pocket Knives.

First year I had 12 Tigers and no helper. Second year 20 Tigers (6 with disabilities) and a 1/2 helper. 2nd year was better. Because: -I spent a lot of time planning. - I got the Cub Scout How-To Book and kept a box of supplies for games in the car. I could do 6-10 different games if I needed a time killer. -I took Tiger Training. I learned "there is no Tiger Requirement Police". If I could come up with more fun activity that meant the intent of the planned activity I would substitute it. - I had some Boy Scouts come in and demonstrate manly scout skills, canoeing, compass, etc. They idolized them.

I have found that scout skills and hurricane prep go hand in hand. Our power goes out here at a drop of rain so we get plenty of practice. So we can do OK at our house but I do miss the AC...especially after a storm. Also it doesn't hurt to go "honey it's not a camping stove it's our hurricane stove"... What to do if the power goes out with your stuff in the freezer? You start eating it! In order of what will spoil first. When I was a kid in South Florida there was always the traditional eating all the bacon and sausage and milk when you were on Hurricane Warning to use it up. Yum!

I have had my P38 can-opener on my key-chain confiscated at the Hillsborough County Government Center. When I asked (very politely --especially when talking to a man who has a Taser and a gun) if I could get it back and return later he refused. In fact he threatened me with arrest. I mean I was gonna gnaw at the skin of a County Commissioner with the thing? My keys were longer and more sharp.

Yes! As our Troop is becoming more boy led I constantly have to re-adjust how I interact and what I do. Just as I was becoming comfortable... If nothing else the personalities change.

Perhaps they should just rename it "the franchise fee".

We have a traditional church that is growing so it can be done but it does take a lot of work. And like Scouting "growth" may not be the best metric.

I am surprised the Uniform Policeman has not commented.

That is tough. I worry about our UMC host. That church has been losing members to a more bigger, vibrant UMC down the road. It is embarrassing. I too made the move and after one service we could have an ASM meeting--5 or 6 scouters who used to belong to our CO. And the bigger UMC has a cracker jack Troop as well. Almost all the Troops here are Church based, UMC, Preys, RC, LDS. One or two are "Squadron owned" at the base. Elks are hanging on by their fingernails. Rotary getting smaller. I see the Moose making a big push. In Tampa a century ago the Cigar workers had HUGE social clubs--Spanish, Cuban, Italians, etc. Has their own subscription Hospitals. Folks basically lived in these clubs. Beautiful buildings. Now almost all the old members have died out. So yes if you live in an area in decline the health of the CO's will continue to be a problem. Here we still have population growth coming back...some jobs...lousy jobs, but jobs so some churches are staying stable or declining slower.

"Now it's burning!"

My $0.02 is I just don't care to know about anyone's sexual identity.

Email guy or not there are communication nuances that we miss out when we are not Face-to-Face. Phone is next as you have some tone, than email. We all have inadvertently angered folks when we wrote things poorly. So while I agree with Eamonn that is probably not the way I would handle that I do not think you are "too bold" for trying to help.

I can see the the prohibition on alcohol stoves--I find it very annoying. But I have seen a lot of near accidents with Propane and canister stoves. I see little emphasis on wood gas stoves. I was surprised to see the Esbit tab stove in Scouter as I thought the gas was bad to breath.

Hawkins, I agree. With too many rules the really important ones get buried and ignored. I just can't keep track of that much stuff--so will I ignore them all or just avoid that activity altogether? Maybe BSA should just release a list of super-safe activities one could do. I think some of this is the typical Home Office-Field Office conflict.

Yes there is new competition. I do not know about the Presbyterian Church issue, all mainline Protestant denominations are eroding. I think BSA is in a similar position that the United Methodist Church is in. (This week is the 4 year General Conference, where delegates set policy. It is in Tampa and I am following some of it) Many denominations, especially in the Northeast and Midwest are in serious decline. Some folks say the Methodist church needs to liberalize it's gay position to appeal to folks turned off by the traditional message and grow the church. (That is the theory)Meanwhile, in the Southeast and overseas it is growing. These areas are much more conservative. Concern is that being too liberal will hurt those area's growth. There is a counter-proposal to let some councils set their own policy. Ironically some of the same folks who say the UMC must open up to grow the church in their areas are blocking greater representation of the ultra-conservative African delegates. Politics, politics. So it is really hard for any of us, thinking locally and our own limited experience, to know how a policy change would help or hurt Scouts as a whole. IMPO I think given the folks that make it a priority it would probably hurt more than help.

Green on tan but I think Black or Brown OK. I want to do this as well...at least the last name.