OldGreyEagle

When I was naught but a lad, the troop of my youth went to the Grand Canyon, and we were just west of O'Hare field in Chicago. It was a great experience, I will be putting up a picture on the Facebook page. We went by rail and camped overnight in the Bright Angel Campground, which is next to Phantom Ranch on the Canyon Floor. Sat in Bright Angel Creek and let the water soak us good. We did the mules, rode horses and generally had a great time

I am sure you already realize that this is just one of the troops peccadilloes, they will have others. I am not sure how they expect to police the not teaching your son anything. From whatever religious principles and values you hold dear, to driving a car to use of vocabulary, your son has learned quite a bit from you already. They may mean you cant teach your son scout skills, but again, thats hard to enforce. It may be the troop is trying to reinforce the Adult Association method of scouting and they want your son to be exposed to different adult teaching him various skills and there is a lot of merit in doing that. Watch and see how its done, its possible the dad you talked to doesnt have all the facts. BSA wise there is no rule that you can't teach your son or counsel him in merit badges that the district/council has approved you for but you may wish to see how the troop culture operates for awhile to see how things are done

Well, BSA has had a religious overtone ever since "reverent" crept into the Law, I am sure Kudu can tell us when that occured, it was not in there in the beginning next, just because some units have absentee Charter Organizations, wait, let me alter that a tad, just because "a lot" of CO's are absentee does not mean the model is flawed. In a highly participating CO arrangement it works great. Rather than change the way the BSA does business, perhaps the units with absentee CO's should seek to strengthen its ties with the CO. How to do that will vary with each organization...

It was a Tuesday, 2 days after Super Bowl XX, Bears beating the Patriots 46-10. I was talking in the work hallway to a few guys I hadn't seen since the game. We were quite lively reliving the game. A transcriptionist told us the news and all of a sudden, a stupid game did not seem near as important or impressive as it did 10 seconds ago...

Make sure your boys know that Genos and Pats are ruse to everyone, its said the Seinfeld "Soup Nazi" was modeled on the people at Geno's window, then again, people in Philly do tend to think the world revolves around them

Know a friend who just had a second tattoo applied after her husband got a second tattoo. The family was watching Ink Masters the Life Scout/Eagle Candidate mentioned he might like to get a tattoo himself. Both parents told him to finish his Eagle first Used to be the line was get Eagle before you can get a drivers license, now its Eagle before Ink, Life is in a continual state of change, is it not?

On the 155th birthday of Lord Baden-Powell, let's think of all the good and noble that the movement has done And also, A Happy Birthday wish for his dear wife Olave, born also on February 22 but in 1889

What medical condition does 17 have? Gotta be something

One lives to serve...

there is this http://usscouts.org/aboutbsa/bsa-map.asp the last choice on the page says its a directory, its in Excel and it has snail mail, accuracy, of course, follows the Pierre Salinger Syndrome experience

were the skills signed off on ever demonstrated to anyone? If this were to happen again, I would be sure the boy who were signed off were tasked to teach one one the skills signed off on at the next campout. Not all of them, but one skills each at the next successive campouts, meetings even.

So, I was going to start with Bear Down Chicago Bears... But then with it being spring I was thinking Hey Hey Holy Mackerel, No DOubt about it the Cubs are on their way... But decided to end with the classic If you ain't a Bear, you're just a Meal...

For a group who has members who do not want to be judged by the group they are in but rather as individuals, we sure are quick to pass judgement on others who are differrent, such as those who choose to get tattoos or get into the Lone scout program or other things are not considered "Normal". Perhaps we should give them the same amount of tolerance we want for ourseleves, or is that just spitting in the wind?

Don't think of it as begging, think of it as soliciting, think of it, you could be known as a great Solicitor, that would make your mother proud woulf it not?

Reading your thoughts Beavah and I conclude you are correct, lets dump the uniform altogether and be done with it

Hey Kudu, you might want to sit down for this next part, take your time, settled in ok? I took 21rst Century Wood Badge, as you well know, and I recently did not recharter with the Troop my son has aged out of because they do not follow the patrol method. The Scoutmaster has no clue as to how to do the Patrol Method and I got tired of trying to make suggesitions on how things should be done. The worst part of the whole story is he is the Training Chair for the Council and he is a joke. One of my WoodBadge ticket items was builfing storage shelves in the church basment and painting them 4 different colors and having 4 sets of patrol equipment on those shelves and it lasted until the first campout then the stuff never did get back to the correct spots. THe requipment was all color coded, but that didnt seem to be a priority with the Quartermasters or the scoutmaster. I got tired of telling him the Quartermasters were supposed to be responsible for the condition of the basement and I would not have signed off any of them because they didnt do their jobs. He had some comment about them just being kids and what did I expect. So, I left the troop, can't be associated with a bastardization of the Patrol Method and yes, I am a Wood Badge graduate.

"Do boys actually pay attention to what brand of jeans people wear? That strikes me more as a girl type thing." So, Beavah, you sexist person you, you have never seen boys bully based on appearance? The uniform is supposed to be the blank canvas that the scout/scouter fills with his experiences. If that is not to be, lets just ditch it and be done with it

So, maybe to get more excitement, and better more up to date pictures we should have Glee do "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", I think the Lonesome Polecat scene would put a new twist on axe handling skills. All we need is a basso profundo to open with: I'm a lonesome Polecat, lonesome, sad, and blue...

Eamonn. I think in the trade that's known as leaving a legacy, at least you know you will have one

I know I am just spitting in the wind here, but you guys know EDGE is'nt the reason the kid couldnt start a fire, if someone had told the kid what you need to build the fire and the reasons and what tinder, kindling and fuel was and then showed him how to build a fire and them helped him build one and then let him build a fire of his own the kid would probably be a fully certified pyromaniac by now. Its because EDGE was not used that the youth couldnt get a fire started. Yeah. I know, I missed the humor of the original comment

The BSA, like it or not is a uniformed organization, meaning that wearing the uniform is a right and honor and privilige of membership. The shirt, pants, hat, socks, et al all are parts of the uniform. When worn correctly the uniform is a walking resume of what that scout has done, as in rank and possible Arrow of Light and Cub Scout religious award Knot on a scouts uniform. Saying that the pants are not required allows the member to wear any type of pant they want. So, if we say jeans are ok, those who wear Wal-mart jeans get showned up by those who wear Cabelas, Lands End or LL Bean Jeans. The whole idea of the uniform is that it it starts off with every one the same (uniform as it were) and then the patches show what the member has done, where they are from, what they have gone. If that is an issue that cannot be abided, lets ditch the whole concept and go with a necker and be done with the excuses

Just curious Eagle92, the CO's that wanted to drop their units, did they also run a Youth Group or any kind and what sort of training was provided and who picked the adults who ran the program?

With the Sturm und Drang shown over the semi-uniformed ASM and this thread, perhaps its best to ask, why a uniform? WHy not just the necker and be done with it? if we wish, District and COuncil volunteers get a uniform and unit leaders do not except for the necker. Would that calm the maddened seas? So much chest beating on why wearing/not wearing the uniform is the "best" way to go makes one wonder what we fight about if the uniform was optional?

"SO Im curious how many other people out there have heard of it or dealt with it and what your thoughts on it are. Or if any of you had any information on it that might be useful...like the said workbook. " This is where Shakespeae is so cool There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy except Horation=Moose Check out http://www.scouting.org/about/factsheets/lonescout.aspx

Would you guys quit talking about the number that comes after three? I have found as I get older I move my lips when I read to myself and everytime I see the number that comes before five I duck. Must be from being a Caddy for all those years. BTW, I would determine which of the Troops are Catholic and throw their detestable butts right out of the environs altogether