OldGreyEagle

You want real fun? When a scout asks what time it is, answer with "it's quarter past 5" or "A quarter to noon" (if indeed the time is, a scout is trustworthy)or even "half past 4". I did that a few times and I was stopped from being asked the time, sadly the scouts thought I didnt know how to tell time and was making things up

But if you wanted purple arches and to serve hot dogs, why would you franchise with mickey Ds in the first place?

I am gonna have to ask a few questions here, dont any of the parents of cross-over scouts talk to the troop they are joining BEFORE they cross over? What is the point of having the Webelos visiting troops if the schedule of the troops activities is not discussed? Where is the communication between Pack and Troop? WHy are unprepared ill equiped scouts allowed to go on outings? Couldnt most if not all of the problems so far identified be alleviated with communications? Boys leaving Cubs are going into an organization that may (we hope) be part of their life for the next 7 years or more potentially, shouldnt the parents know whats up with that organization?

I am usually against troop rules but the story on profanity and the thread on cursing jogged my memory a bit. Awhile back when my son and I first joined the troop I thought the entire troop could use with a good mouth washing with soap. I asked the adult leaders if they noticed it, and they initially said no. Then a few camp outs later a few said they had been paying attention to the language the scouts used and said that indeed it was reprehensible. I then challenged the scouts that they could express themselves with any word they heard me utter, and that since I had a pretty wide ranging vocabulary with a veritable plethora of words, they shouldnt have a problem. It worked, the language was cleaned up quite nicely, but it also had the unintended consequence of having the scouts hang on every word I uttered. Especially after hitting thumb with hammer during an Eagle project and other such mishaps. Gosh oh Golly Oh Gee Whiz it is!

I have an idea thats not a skit, but will accomplish your goals. You want to introduce the new scouts? Ok, have your son INTRODUCE the new scouts, just like pro basketball teams introduce the team. If you can get a PA system so much the better, but even if not you start with your son saying AND NOW, TROOP XXX WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOUR NEW SCOUT PATROOOOOLLLLLLL!!!! (music plays... are you ready for this...) HE STANDS 48 MIGHTY INCHES HIGH, HE WAS BORN IN CHICAGO BUT LOVES IT HERE, AARON ROGERS HE HAS LIVED IN TOWN ALL HIS LIFE AND LOVES HIS DOG, BOBBY JONES IF ITS A SPORTS STAT YOU NEED, HE IS YOUR MAN, DANNY SMITH ETC You could get as campy and extravagant as you want, lights, music, etc. Just make sure the scouts are in full field uniform when they come out and high five the scouts already there

Someone with Girl Scout experience help me out, at what age do girls first go to overnight week long camp? And dont they typically do it alone?

I guess since we are all immigrants the national anthem should be sung in either totally in English as its the traditional language or if we want to value diversity it should be sung in languages, is there a clever enough linguist to cobble together Chippewa, Iraquois, Lakota, Sioux, German, Italian Polish, Gaelic, Russian, Portugese, Spainish, Armenian, Czech, Hungarian, Greek, Turk, French (yes, even French)Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Mandarin Chinese, Cantonese Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indian (as from India)Pakistani and all the rest into in one song. Then again, maybe only in English is the best approach

well, maybe we were a little further upstream than I lead you to beleive

I am proud to say at my son's Eagle Court of Honor, we served Moxie... And I have bathed in the pools just above Moxie Falls... This year the Troop plans on doing some WhiteWater along the Dead to the Kennebec at The Forks, you could say we are adventure bound PS my father is from the Caratunk/Forks area

VLSC is designed for Venturing Crews, our Council puts one on twice a year, I see no reason to mix in Crews and Troops

as I recall... The OA is a Boy Scout organization, as such a Crew cannot hold elections, now, if a Venturer is also in a Troop, there is no problem if he qualifies, for him to be elected in the Troop as an OA member and even wear the Lodge flap on his Venturing uniform (A move I disagree with but whatever) I don't think allowing female members (read Venturers, I am not talking about adults) in the OA would be a good idea and before I get stoned as a knuckle dragging neanderthral, let me s'plain. Lets say that Venturers were allowed in the OA, and that the nights camping requirement was the same, but that the Venturer had to earn the Bronze OutDoor award instead of first class. Sounds good so far? Ok, now to the crux of the issue. You have to be 14 to join a Crew, if it takes 18 months to 24 months for a Venturer to get the required camping nights in and earn the Bronze Out Door award (no mean feat I will tell you), the earliest a Venturing youth could qualify for the OA is roughly 15 1/2 - 16. What is the average age in your area of Boy Scout ordeal candidates? Would this be a workable situation? On a completely sexist note, if they let Venturing Girls be OA members, I predict 6 years from that date the National Chief with be a Cheiftess and just about every Lodge Chief will be female. Its got to do with Ages and Stages(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

I am not sure what you say to that mother, or any parent that is hesitiant about their prodigy camping in thunderstorms. You could show them the requirement that states the scout must secure a proper campsite, you could assure that the troop takes all proper safeguards against lightning strikes, but stuff happens. You can't guarantee that no one will be injured in a thunderstorm anymore than you can assure a parent no one will be struck by a meteorite or struck by a wayward bus on the way home from school. I think when you consider the amount of scouts out every week and the myriad of activities as that done the BSA has a pretty good safety record. If the parent wants guarantees nothing will ever happen to injure their child in scouts, ask where else such a thing is possible

Guy Rodgers was not a girl...

from the Guide to Safe Scouting: check out number 7 Leadership Requirements for Trips and Outings Two-deep leadership:Two registered adult leaders, or one registered adult and a parent of a participating Scout, one of whom must be at least 21 years of age or older, are required for all trips or outings. There are a few instances, such as patrol activities, when no adult leadership is required. Coed overnight activities require male and female adult leaders, both of whom must be 21 years of age or older, and one of whom must be a registered member of the BSA. During transportation to and from planned Scout outings, Meet for departure at a designated area. Prearrange a schedule for periodic checkpoint stops as a group. Plan a daily destination point.A common departure site and a daily destination point are a must. If you cannot provide two adults for each vehicle, the minimum required is one adult and two or more youth membersnever one on one. Safety rule of four: No fewer than four individuals (always with the minimum of two adults) go on any backcountry expedition or campout. If an accident occurs, one person stays with the injured, and two go for help. Additional adult leadership requirements must reflect an awareness of such factors as size and skill level of the group, anticipated environmental conditions, and overall degree of challenge. Male and female leaders must have separate sleeping facilities. Married couples may share the same quarters if appropriate facilities are available. Male and female youth participants will not share the same sleeping facility. Single-room or dormitory-type accommodations for Scouting units: Adults and youth of the same gender may occupy dormitory or single-room accommodations, provided there is a minimum of two adults and four youth. A minimum of one of the adults is required to be youth-protection trained. Adults must establish separation barriers or privacy zones such as a temporary blanket or sheet walls in order to keep their sleeping area and dressing area separated from the youth area. When staying in tents, no youth will stay in the tent of an adult other than his or her parent or guardian. If separate shower and latrine facilities are not available, separate times for male and female use should be scheduled and posted for showers. The buddy system should be used for latrines by having one person wait outside the entrance, or provide Occupied and Unoccupied signs and/or inside door latches.Adult leaders need to respect the privacy of youth members in situations where the youth are changing clothes or taking showers, and intrude only to the extent that health and safety require. Adults also need to protect their own privacy in similar situations. Two-deep adult leadership is required for flying activities. For basic orientation flights, the adult licensed pilot in control of the aircraft is sufficient for the flight, while two-deep leadership is maintained on the ground.

You guys know, there is at least one scout forum on the web that would never allow a paintball discussion get this far. The moderator would say Paintball is against the rules, there is no discussion about this topic and the thread is closed. Here, the discussion continues and before we start slapping people upside the head with anything, lets remember tolerance about someones beliefs and not resort to even theoretic violence. We all have our opinions and we have to be allowed to express those opinions without being told those beliefs are dumb, whacked or otherwise not right. We can disagree, but please, evenn the suggestion of comical violence lends itself the wrong message to the youth who read this board and I am sure this thread.

such a complicated issue. I was for the war at the outset and we may never know if we prevented a large scale terrorist attack on American soil, thats the problem with pre-emptive strikes, by definition you never know if they worked. Although in 10 years time it could be found the WMD was taken to Syria during the troop buildup phase, or perhaps nothing will be found. I thought the idea was to take out the Iraqi army, restore the country, install democracy and go home. The restoring and governmental installing isnt as smooth as I thought, then that is what I get for placing mid-western American thought processes and expecting middle eastern cultures to understand them. The war went great, the follow-up did not. In the period immediately after the war there wasnt near the build up of infrastructure as there had been military equipment. The Iraqi war was going to work only one way, we win, we fix what we broke and we leave. It took us far to long to fix what we broke. The post war plan was not nearly as well developed as the war plan and that I blame on the administraton and I voted for W twice. Had we tackled the rebuilding with the same energy we showed in the war, we wouldnt have these issues now. I thought we were better at rebuilding, I was wrong. I look back over my voting record since I was first eligible to vote. I voted for Richard M Nixon, that didnt work out as well as I hoped. I voted for Jimmy Carter, who proved you cant send an honest man to Washington because they will eat him up and spit out his bones, and then Jimmy turned on me, well at least why I thought he was good. I never did like Reagan, talk about arragant but some people loved him and I voted for Clinton, I beleived him when he said I didnt have sex with her and now I see maybe I shouldnt have beleived W. Who do I turn to? Which party do I accept? We are the best country going, but holy cow guys, that sure dosnt say much for the rest of the globe, does it?

Actually not having food or soda in a tent isnt a silly rule, its a safety rule. Google Goose Pond and boy scout and bear. And while the prospect of a bear rummaging through your tent may seem remote, skunks, posums and raccoons along with chipmunks can be mighty devastating equipment wise. We tell the campers, its their home, we are just here for the week

How silly of me, white doves are for Olympic Champions, rose petals are for Scoutmasters and assorted other royalties... I can just see our new scouts walking along and under their breath counting "...2, 3, 4 and grande jete, jete, grande jete, 2, 3, 4, and grande jete, jete, grande jete..." At last years council event the big friday night to do was a movie shown outdoors. While the massess were being seated, old (and I mean old) music videos were being shown. The Crew got there just in time to dance done the aisle to Cindy Lauper's "Girls just wanna have fun" with yours truly interpeting the Capt Lou Albanno character with aplomb. I should remark that since we had 3 19-20 yr old young lady members with it, it certainly rang true. (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

GWD, in your haste to post, I am sure you left out the requisite releasing of white doves and first year scouts who march before you echoing a chorus of Huzzahs in your honor

What with they can do with spandex, lycra, etc. its amazing what can be shown with a one piece, so I am not sure the two piecer ban is of any relevance... Have a scouter in the troop who was quite the swimmer in college so I have been told and still fancies himself quite the man. He always wears speedos, although at this point his belly drops over the top and obscures whatever bunchiness there might be... Then again, in the Pocono Mountains where the camp is located, shrinkage tends to be more of an issue than bunchiness...

What is your association with this unit?

"... With a boulder on my shoulder I was feeling kinda older when I tripped over a merry go round, and with a mighty unpleasent wheezin' and sneeezin the calliope crashed to the ground..." They just dont write them like that any more

gwd's story is typical of the lady scoutmaster's I know. They end up with the job because no man will take the job and the ladies want their sons to have scouting in their life. gwd mentioned she had three scouts transfer out, I wonder if the boy's father's ever considered being scoutmaster. Maybe I am wrong, but when I see a woman scoutmaster, I see a person willing to do what it takes to bring the best youth program to their sons and also I see a bunch of men barely qualifying to be called a man

So, my father told me his medical plan that he gets with his pension was great. It even covers drugs, but he has to do it mail order, which he says is OK because of the money it saves. The only problem he has is its name. He hates being a member of the geriatric drug plan, I explained the word was generic and he felt a whole lot better.

I almost forgot, Spoonerisms always confuse me a bit as I thought this thread was going to be about my favorite superhero of all time whose rallying battle cry is "SPOON!" but again I digress... I have two lovely nieces, Erin and Kelly, unless of course there is a lot if excitement and stuff going on to which they become known as Karen and Elly...