OldGreyEagle

I am not sure many people come to Summer Camp to enjoy the unique cuisine, but having said that, the food still has to be edible and the kids have to want to eat it. The hamburgers that subsequently doubled as floor hockey pucks were not a real hit as you may imagine. I had my son on staff a few years back and gained a completely different perspective. Staff run their butts off and its easy for us to say the answer is hire more staff, then there would be those who complain about the cost of camp. So the council does a juggling routine, charge enough for a competent staff, but not so much as to drive away customers. Having staff who care about the campers experience is the the number one priority and not viewing the campers as chattel. Brings to mind a story from the first year I went to camp ::shudders:: Enthusiastic staff and decent food is what I would look for.

The problem is of course that the interview was for a job, and wasn't the Eagle Board of Review. As the Eagle charge goes, "you are a marked man". I remember I was new to a job and within the first months on the job came the company pic-nic. Well the main recreation was a volleyball tournament. The problem was the net wasn't set up very well and when people would fall in the net, over the poles would go and then there was great whining and gnashing of teeth until it got set-up, only to have the whole experience repeated within the next five minutes or so. After the 5th time or so, I went over to the poles, tied a taut line hitch on the guy lines that previously only had been wrapped around the anchoring stake and tightened it up. As I was tieing the knot, one big lug says rather loudly, "I've never see one of those knots hold". Well, the knots held. People still fell into the net, but set up was much easier, just tighten up the knots and we were ready. When the day was through the big lug says as we were taking down the net, "Like I said, I've never seen one of those knots hold, until today", I answered "maybe because until today you never saw an Eagle Scout tie one". The place got quiet, the big lug laughed, "I guess so" and I was relegated knot tieing duties from then on. But, they always held.

I am a member of the NE-IV-139, "Da Minsi Bears" we had as our song: Bear down, Da Minsi Bears Make every day a step to victory Bear down, Da Minsi Bears We will never forget Gilwell Park and its history We will never forget our fascination With coping with all the information Bear down, Da Minsi Bears Let them know you are wearing the crown Our pride and joy though others we annoy Da Minsi Bears, Bear Down!!! (which is even better if you know the tune of the fight song of a certain midwestern NFL team from a certain city on the shores of a certain great lake) our cheer is done as follows: Standing at attention the patrol member says in a loud voice "OH", then turns head to the right and facing down mumbles "bother"

There is always going to be trouble when adults set artificial standards for doing anything in scouting. But I understand sometimes the restraints of time and space require an age limit for the more "popular" merit badges. (I wonder if saying you had to be 15 to do the Environmental Science merit badge at camp would drive 13-14 year olds to want to do it and see what they were being barred from?) The obvious question is how is the rule enforced? It has to be 100% or the kids will know and once its known a scout "too young" for the badge got to do it, respect for Camp Rules quickly erodes. If it has to be done, it has to be 100%

When I first saw this thread I was sure ol' FB had quacked up. I had never heard such a fowl idea and frankly I was caught flat footed in a web of indecision. But now that I have contemplated it I can truly say I am down with the idea of ducks in scouts.

I guess it all goes back to how you define a prank. To be a prank is something that does not merit scoutmaster intervention as it was harmless and no scouting principles were violated. I am not so sure that mooning falls in this category. First a story: Way back when I was in management, I had amounf my 40+ employees a man and woman who had known each other since first grade. They would flirt with each other constantly and make at times almost outrageously suggestive comments. When I first started I questioned the behavior and was told "oh thats just them, they always do that". Time goes on and the company has a manditory "sexual harrassment" class for all employees. Within two weeks I am in the Personnel Office, seems there was a complaint about the two's behavior. I was incredulous as this had been long standing behavior and I couldnt beleive either one would have complained. Well, they didn't. A third person complained that the couples behavior made them feel "uncomfortable" and that fulfilled the definition of sexual harrassment. I had to tell the two to stop their behavior because if they didn't it would mean their jobs and possibly mine because if I couldnt control the employees then I was complicit in the harrassment. Of course the two demanded to know who complained, and I never was told. I am sure it was someone testing the policy to see what we would do and to stir the pot a little. ( can you beleive there are people who do stuff just to cause trouble?) With some difficulty they toned back their behavior quite a bit and the matter was never mentioned again. So now we have the case of the so called mooner, is it a YPI, I don't think so, but what did the moonee say? Doing nothing except laughing it off denotes implied acceptance of this behavior and could warrant repeat behavior and I am not sure anyone wants to be known as the mooning troop, then again I could be wrong.

If the scout has 21 merit badges and at least 12 are from the Eagle required list, then he has enough merit badges to be Eagle

A little dated, but it just needs to be updated Whats the Name of this CD? Scout 1: Hey Walter (or other name), how are you doing? Scout 2: Fine, You know I really like the outdoors, but I miss being in touch with music Scout 1: Yeah, I know what you mean, but the guys in my troop try to find things related to music all around us Scout 2: How do you do that? Scout 1: Well, its like at the trading post, whatever the total I always give them 5 cents more than the total so I can get a NICKELBACK Scout 2: Whoa NELLY, thats pretty good ! Scout 1: And if your in a hurry Whats that? Scout 2: Oh easy, RUSH, Scout 1: I heard a kid in one of the troops is really homesick, he woke up last night screaming Scout 2: Yeah, he doesnt think anybody likes him and feels like an OUTKAST Scout 1: You know what we call the glow of the fire after the flames die down? Scout 2: EVANESCENCE? Scout 1: When the sun rises they say day breaks Scout 2: And when the sun sets, THE DARKNESS falls Scout 1: Sure are a lot of bugs around here, do you have any repellent? Scout 2: Sure I do, its 12 percent deet, they call it D-12, repells anything Scout 1: Hey you kids in the front row, quit talking and behave like scouts Scout 2: Yeah, do we have to call for an USHER to throw you out? Scout 1: Can you believe the menu? BLACK EYED PEAS three days in a row Scout 2: Yeah, thats not right, thats stupid, its outrageous, its LUDICRIS! Did you see those dumplings they made? They looked more like a LIMP BIZKIT than anything else Scout 1: Did you hear the Miami Heat starters all went sailing this month? They got in some bad weather though and went through a series of storms Scout 2: Ok, that explains the Head line, Hurricaines MAROON 5 Scout 1: By the way, what happened to your shirt? Its awful dirty, did you get in a mud fight? Scout 2: Oh,no it got STAIND in a PUDDLE OF MUD while I as running through LINKIN PARK it was feeding time at the zoo and I wanted to see the GORRILLAZ eat Scout 1: I am not sure about my scoutmaster Scout 2: Hows That Scout 1: I got a bug in my eye and it hurt, he said I should just flush it out with my own tears Scout 2: You mean he wanted you to cry? Scout 1: No, not cry, but open and close my eyes real fast Scout 2: Oh I see, he wanted you to BLINK 182 times a minutes Scout 1: What do you call your neighbor next to the guy two houses from you, Scout 2: Thats, easy, he is THREE DOORS DOWN Scout 3: Hey what are you guys talking about? Scout 2: Walter here is telling me how to keep music in mind by using musical group names in general conversation Scout 3: Oh no, not U-2 !!!

Thank you for your response Will, it would have been nice to have had that explanation and have been educated rather than shamed for not knowing what goes on at a Noac

Maybe, just maybe, troops should be encouraged to write new fresh material and not redo skits that might have been funny the first 100 times they were presented

Never been very active in the OA, I have no idea what goes on at NOAC other than its the OA's national convention, and I must say that the reason I steered clear of the OA is because it's dominated by haughty arrogant people

You mean the Boy Scout Honor Society, the organization that has as one of its goal the promotion of camping is housing its staff in Dorms?

I thought they were round because the opening they fill is round

Jeffrey H the ceremony you described was halted due to the number of dislocated shoulders that occurred. I wish it wasnt so, but without prohibiting it, the BSA was in line for trouble.

WOW, I didnt realize NOAC was being held at a major university, Where will they be camping?

Aquila calva Indeed what would we get, stories of humor in camps past or enummerations of wanton disregard for safety or the personal property of others

"but are all pranks played by older boys on the younger ones hazing?" Interesting question and I guess the answer is dependent on the term "prank", I wonder if its just another term for hazing. If you are looking for the newer scouts to feel included, why not have the older scouts asy things like "welcome to the troop" and during summer camp help the new guys out with directions and strategies on which merit badges to take plus the one thing that meams quite a bit, time. Time to talk to the younger scout and get to know him, let him know he is part of the team. I think those things are more conducive to a strong bond than humiliation and embarassment

And when the scouts had fallen off the roof, your comment would have been?

120 pounds of Lime (3 40lbs bags)

I decided to spin this off as the thread on camp counselors duties and expectations is going to good to mess with. Our Council has two camps and both will be getting swimming pools. The reason is simply encroaching civilization. The first Camp to get a pool "used to be" out in the middle of nowhere. but that isn't the case anymore and is now almost completely encircled by sub-division with each house having its own septic system. In the drier months the e.coli count of the lake rises to unacceptable levels, much higher than was ever recorded at the camp. Last year during the last week of Camp, the waterfront was shut down because of e.coli counts. The other reason is the boys wont swim in the lakes. Now, we can launch into a long discussion of the wimplification of America and how sissy boys are, but if they dont come to Camp because they wont swim in the facilities, then what? I hated to see the Council budget THAT much money on swimming pools, but if its not spent, Camp attendance goes down.

Good point Semper, but why start a troop when the church across the street already has one and the elks down the street as well, thats what I am talking about. When the market seems full, one is always seemingly crammed in

I have often wondered about this and since we seem to have a number of Scouting professionals and/or former pros active right now, I have this question: What is the reasoning for increasing both membership AND Units? I understand the membership part. I know if you are not increasing, you are shrinking and that's never good. I just don't understand the logic of having DE's have a goal of starting new units annually. Wouldnt it be better to have a goal of adding so many more members to the District whether in exisitng units or new ones? As discussed in many places, one bigger unit that can do more things based on size and resources and can provide a much better experience for the youth than multiple smaller units that struggle to get much participation.

Ed, I give up, you are of course correct

Ed you posted "Show me one society where homosexuality is considered moral and normal." and I gave you a term that describes a Native American homosexual. I reviewed quite a few sites and saw where the native American's held no contempt for members of their tribe that were attracted to the same sex and in some cultures were held in high regard. Now, I admit most of the sites I visited were Gay Rights sites or leaned towards gay Rights so I am open to seeing any material presenting an alternative view such as homosexual native americans were shunned by their tribes.

I love a challenge, Google the word "Berdache"