OldGreyEagle

Actually, if the group that showed up all were first year scouts who earned first class in a year, and I would define a year as up to 18 months, yes a long year, and they got their camping in, thats the guys you want, real go getters, isnt that the truth ?

I have always thought this would be a Wood Badge reading The Bridge Builder An old man, going a lone highway, Came at the evening cold and gray, To a chasm, vast and deep and wide, Through which was flowing a sullen tide. The old man crossed in the twilight dim- That sullen stream had no fears for him; But he turned, when he reached the other side, And built a bridge to span the tide. "Old man," said a fellow pilgrim near, "You are wasting strength in building here. Your journey will end with the ending day; You never again must pass this way. You have crossed the chasm, deep and wide, Why build you this bridge at the eventide?" The builder lifted his old gray head. "Good friend, in the path I have come," he said, "There followeth after me today A youth whose feet must pass this way. This chasm that has been naught to me To that fair-haired youth may a pitfall be. He, too, must cross in the twilight dim; Good friend, I am building the bridge for him." Of course, it could be adapted to be gender appropriate

"And you don't want to get me started on why the Klingons in the later Star Trek series and movies look so different from the Klingons in the original series." What, they didnt have evolution on planet Kling? Talk about a political issue

We the willing, lead by the unknowing, are doing the impossible, We have done so much with so little for so long, we are now qualified to do anything with nothing. I have seen the above in many forms, from a huge slick glossy almost Peter Maxx-ish poster to hand written in pencil on a bare wood wall with many versions in between. Say this to a group of workers and invariably the comment comes back, thats good, can you write that down?. It seems to strike chord with all who hear it. Which is rather scary. I am going to talk about my experience in hospitals, because thats what I know, I am sure the core of what I speak is true in many areas of life. When I was an hourly worker, the above slogan seemed to sum up perfectly my lot. My Supervisor and Manager of the Dept. clearly did not understand what it took for me to do my job, I couldnt understand how those so clueless could possibly have the positions they did. When I became a Dept Manager the above slogan certainly fit the Senior Administration team, such as it was, of the hospital, with budget concerns and personnel issues, they clearly didnt understand what is took to keep the Departments going. After a few years I came to know the CFO of the hospital. When I showed him the above slogan he laughed and said it perfectly summed up the feelings of the Senior Administration group as the Administrator of the hospital clearly didnt understand the vital role the CFO, the Chief Nursing Officer, The COO, The Assistant Administrator of Ancillary Services, and the Assistant Administrator of Building Management all played. Once, in an unguarded moment, the Administrator made a comment that lead me to believe perhaps he too would have found connection to the slogan as clearly no one understood the pressures of running a hospital, juggling the demands and expectations of physicians, patients, employees, Medicare, Medicaid and Insurance Companies. It seems we want to believe that it is an us versus them world, and that no one else faces the same pressures, obstacles and frustrations than we do because if ever it was proven everybody faces pretty much the same challenges, then each group would cease to be special and we would have to admit commonality from those who we want to distance ourselves. And if we have just a little something in common, could there be anything else and what if we found we had more in common than different? The Horror, the Horror

Hey now, enough lawyer bashing, remember when you outlaw lawyers, only outlaws will have lawyers ............ wait, isnt that the way its supposed to be?

I dont know where in the country you are so you may have to wait for better weather but try this. Go to a large box pet store, like super pets or partsmart. Look for the huge cow femurs or whatever other bones they sell. If you have a contact with a butcher see if you can get cleaned up hips and ribs. If you have ceramic buddies maybe a full 3-d casting may be made Now you can either use the bones as is, or take them home, make a nice muddy patch and create a plaster of paris impression of the bones, you should be able to get different sizes. use the casted bones for frames to direction signs, to line walkways, you name it BTW if you need help cleaning off the ribs, my phone number is 610 555 1212

I would venture to say that Yoda's cane would have been roughtly the same length as Churchill's cigar BTW,why did Yoda walk with a cane when he could float with the carpet thingie?

Oh, sorry, in the Words of Emily Litella " Never mind" And a thousand apologies to Acco40 for my leaping of contusions

I did Powder Horn Sept of 2003. It was great, two three day weekends of non-stop fun, we did mountain biking, went rock-climbing, had a great presentation of Caving, had great food, canoed, I got a chance to sit on the bottom of a swimming pool using SCUBA equipment, had a great presentation on Orienteering and did a great course and met a lot of very nice, gung ho adult Venture leaders. I must say I had fun. As far as furthering my knowledge of the Venturing Program, I would say it lacked a whole lot. I was told I "HAD" to take Powderhorn as it was the height of Venturing training, and as I will repeat all through this post, I had fun. Now, the leaders of the model train crew and the WWII re-enactment Crew were not as wild as I was. They didnt see much of a connection between having adults get a taste of the Ranger electives and running their crews. Will there be a secondary level of training for Venturing adults ? Will it be applicable to all? The Arts and Hobbies Bronze has little to do with Hobbies, (that was from the model train crew). Why is Sea Scouts lumped in Venturing when they have their own totally different program and I may add quite a distinct history and tradition all there own ? Our District is on the smallish side and it appears we run the AAA minor league team for the rest of the Council. We seeam to be always breaking in new DE's, then they either quite in two years OR get promoted. We have had quite a flood of them. They come in, get introduced and a few months later are trundled off to Dallas for training. WHen they return they know less about Venturing than they did before. WHy is that ? I think the core of Venturing is for youth to plan and scdedule and just plain "Make it so" activities that they want to do. That I understand (I hope) What I don't understand is how BSA can have a slick brochure packet aimed at churches on how to start a Venturing Crew whose focus is religious life. How do you tell those Crew members that Venturing Crew members design their own program while their Chartering Organization tells them they will be a religious life crew? Is that a mixed message? How do you sell a program that is supposed to be youth directed towards its interests and then say it WILL have a religious nature? So many questions and no answers that I can find PS I loved Powderhorn, There are so many questions and very few answers(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

I know the man of steele, I have talked to the man of steele, beleive me, ASM1 is not the man of steele. (This message has been edited by a staff member.)

A Crew memeber who joins the crew as a first class scout may earn Eagle by only being a member of the Crew. All requirements are the same except positions of respnsibility, he has to be a president, vice President, Secretary or Treasurer for those.

I spun this off a comment that was made that there is no confusion about what Venturing is at the national level and I feel compelled to give a few observations... Every once in awhile as things as wont to do, especially in a boy lead troop, things dont work out. Food isnt bought and a hastily put together team must hustle off and get it, or the correct supplies are not brough in sufficient quantity, that kind of stuff, nothing major, just the stuff that happens. This will be brought to the attention of the SPL and the response at times is "its not my fault, I told XXX to do it". My unfailling response is to ask, When Wellington beat Napolean at Waterloo, did either load a cannon or fire a musket? When Eisenhower lead the European Invasion, was he in the first boat that hit the beach? When its said that Bill Cowher of the Steelers cant win the "big" game, does that mean he drops passes or fumbles at the goal line? Like it or not, the head of an organization is reponsible for the overall perception of that organization and if a national program is struggling with its identity, I do not think it correct to absolve the national leadership and lay the blame locally. The Venturing Program was introduced shortly after the concept of a Venture Patrol was initiated, who couldnt see that there would be confusion about differences between a Venture Patrol and Venturing Crew? If there is a national vision of what Venturing is, and its not supposed to be Boy Scouts with girls, why can boys in the Venturing program earn Eagle (if they join as at least a first class scout). Its real hard to tell someone that Venturing is not Boy Scouts and by the way 2 of our guys just made Eagle (an icon distinctly associated with Boy scouts) When any group gets together there are predictable behaviors, Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. The Venturing Program is in the Storming phase, its going to take national leadership to move it to the perfroming phase and I await its prescence.

Amen to One Hour

You know, after all this, Call them Class A, B, or Z. Call them field, activity or whatever uniforms you want as long as you don't call me late for dinner.

Ok, I can see it now, Scene Dissolve: : Any Middle/High School, Sammy the Scout is putting his coat away in his locker when 2 friends walk up. The following exchange occurs: Friend 1: Hey Sammy, how was your weekend? Nothing happening around here man, its dead. Friend 2: Yeah, all we did was hang at each others houses playing X-box, just like every other weekend, it gets so boring, where were you? Sammy: Oh, I went skiing with the troop, we stayed at a cabin near the slopes, we watched a movie Friday night, cooked breakfast and skied all day and Saturday night we made pizza in a dutch oven and learned about how to give first aid. Next Month we are doing a backpacking trip for two nights and the month after that canoeing. Friend 1: What? Are you still in the scouting stuff, thats for Nerds! Sammy: Well, if skiing and or snowboarding all-day and walking 20 miles with a back pack and canoeing 30 miles is being a nerd. I am in Friend 2; Sam, didnt you go whitewater rafting for 5 days this summer with those guys and you said you and Bobby planned a survival weekend where all you could bring was stuff packed in a shoebox? Sammy: Thats right Friend 2: And didnt you say that this troop is lead by boys who are elected by the troop and they put together the activities and the adults help make it happen Sammy: Yeppers Friend 1: Ok Ok, so maybe I was wrong, where can we sign up? Perhaps with hollywood talent the script could get punched up a bit but you should get the point. Then all we have to do is buy airtime at local stations and make sure the right demographics are exposed to the medium. (The right people see it) OR We could, as volunteers on a local level, make sure the above scene is played out at least once a month in every school you have a scout. What do you think would have a bigger impact?

If its jocularity you want The BSA Uniform- its the cheesiest

See, now, isn't this nice, just a couple of Anglophiles swapping Churchill stories, my favorite Chuchill quote is "Sometimes it is not enough to do our best; we must do what is required." Lets see, was that Yoda or Mr.Miyagi that was based on old Winnie?

OA --The best a man can get Wild plant identification --- This Buds for you BSA - I am stuck on Boy Scouts, and Boy Scouts stuck on me High Adventure --- Head for the Mountains. its only one hour a week --- It keeps going, and going and going NYLT --- When you care enough to send the very best Charles Sommer Canoe Base --- From the Land of Sky Blue Waters The national jamboree weather forecast ---When it rains, it pours.

I always thought an interesting part of a PWD would be after its all over and the awards are about to be given that the cub whose car won at each level would give a brief explanation on how it was built, what he did, what dad did and how it was designed to go fast. Even if all it did was cause the dad to coach the son what to say, at least some father-son interaction would have taken place.

Is this what you mean ? BROWNSEA ISLAND -- LORD BADEN-POWELL OPENING On the 29th of July in 1907, Lord Baden-Powell took 22 boys with him to Brownsea Island, off England's southern coast. This was the world's first Scout camp. That little camp was the foundation of the tremendous world-wide Scouting movement. The Boy Scouts of America was organized along with Scouting associations in many countries, Today there are more that 15 million Scouts and leaders in over 150 countries. Time changes many things, but the Scout Promise and Law are as important today as they were in the beginning. PLEASE STAND-- give the Scout sign and repeat the Scout Promise with me, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance.

A scout may join a Venture Crew and be members of both a troop and a Crew. if the scout joins the Crew while a first class scout, he may continue earning the ranks of Star, Life and Eagle in either Troop or Crew. A Crew member may become Eagle without being registered in a Troop if he joins the Crew as a First Class Scout As far as counting numbers, in the council where i live, dual registered youth are only counted once. A new Crew of 12 Boy Scouts does not increase the numbers of the COuncil, adding young ladies or males who are not scouts will increase the numbers

Vicki, I beleive FScouter is trying to inject humor in a rather sticky situation. I think the point is only those who have a campaign hat would require others to buy them. There is no national requirement about head gear, but if thats what the course director says and you want to be on staff, then thats the price you have to pay. I find it interesting to say the least that people are often offered training posts, committee positions and the like and then almost immediately slammed with FOS requests, ( now that you are on the Executive Committee, you should support...) Its to the point if you hear, "hey you are doing a good job" hold onto your wallet

Work done while a Venture/Boy Scout may be applied to each program. For example, the backpacking merit badge requires three 15 mile 2 night treks and the backpacking elective also requires 3 15 miles 2 night treks. But just because you earn the Backpacking mert badge doesnt mean you completed the the Backpacking elective for the bronze, then again you wouldnt need 6 trips either.

I am not sure where talk of banning anyone came from. Awhile back another poster made a disparaging comments about watching a football game with Rooster and I called him on it. The poster apologized and the discussion moved on. I am not sure where the concept that I was threatening banishment came from.

I guess you can put me down as one who will writhe a tad and twitch a bit at the terms "Class A" and "Class B" and while I may use slang, I wonder how we assure ourselves all who read our purported wisdom realize that indeed "Class A and B" is only slang and not official?