OldGreyEagle

While I didnt think of it as a tradition at first, the comments about the scouts looking at the book of honor did remind me that we have an advancement chart, bought at our scout store which is updates monthly. The scouts and see how they are progressing versus friends and "E Gads" younger scouts. Nothing gives them more pride than a solid stripe of color meaning they earned that ranck

scoutmom, Please notice the difference between OldGreyEagle and Old Gray Eagle One is me, the other an impostor (This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

I guess I didnt look at it that way Dan, good point. By the way, you bring up a point I have been wondering about. Does the BSA ban on homosexuals extend to scouts or to just leaders? I have never seen a straight answer on that subject

I have seen this before, actually our troop normally reads this or soemthing like it before it awards the Scout rank at a Court of Honor I think the number is 3 percent because BSA takes into account every member who ever signs up. Think of all the boys who bridge and you never see them again. Think of the boys who attend one outing and are never heard of again. 3 percent is about right for all troops. Then again, as I have heard this for a few years, I wonder if it has changed recently?

and not in any sense of the phrase ... 'Morally straight" on that I beleive Dad and I agree

anyway, the mudcat cafe has 3 versions of this song, and as it mentions it is also known as sweet violets. If you search for sweet violets you will see this version http://www.mudcat.org/threads.cfm the mudcat is great for old songs that are in the public domain so no royalties are needed when you download the lyrics

manners that suited a girl of her charms, A girl that he wanted to take in his -

FScouter just about every song is on a website somewhere so, complete this verse, There once was a farmer who took a young miss In back of the barn where he gave her a -

there is a melody, but i dont know how to explain it give it to you short of singing it

http://shorty.mudcat.org/!!-song99.cfm?stuff=fall99+D+11751350 try this link

Fscouter my man, you have come to the right place, I learned that as the Boy Scout Sunday School song,the chorus goes Young folks, old folks everyboody come to the Boy Scout Sunday School and have a lot of fun, place your backpack sleeping bags and canteens at the door, and you'll hear some bible stories like you've never heard before... besides your verse, here are some others I have God made good and Satan made sin, God made a hot place to put Satan in. Satan didn't like it so he said he wouldn't stay, And hes been acting like the devil ever since that day. The earth was made in ten days and finished on the eleventh; According to the contract it should have been the seventh. But the carpenter got lazy, and the plumber wouldn't work, So the only thing that they could do was fill it full of dirt. Adam was the first man that ever was invented, He lived all his life and never was contented; He was made out of mud in the days gone by, And hung on the fence in the sun to dry. Adam was the first man, Miss Eve was his spouse; They lived in the garden in a pretty little house. Everything was cozy 'till the first son came; They moved into the suburbs and they started raising Cain. Noah was a carpenter, went walking in the dark, Tripped on a matchstick and built himself an ark, Called in the animals, two by two, He thought he had an Ark, but he really had a zoo. Joseph had a coat of many colors which he wore; His brothers hadn't any and it made them awful sore, So they took him out walking and they threw him in the sewer, Then they sent him down to Egypt to take a little tour. Daniel was a little boy who dis-obeyed the king; The king said he wouldn't stand for any such a thing. He threw him in a pit with lions beneath, But Daniel was a dentist and he pulled the lions teeth Jonah was an immigrant, so goes the Bible tale; He took a steerage passage on a trans-Atlantic whale. But Jonah didn't like it, though the service was the best. So he pressed a little button and the whale did the rest Shadrak, Meshak, and Abednego Wouldn't obey the king, so they had to go, King put 'em in a furnace, to burn 'em up like chaff, But they had asbestos b.v.d.'s and gave the king a laugh. Samson was a husky guy as everyone should know, He used to lift five hundred pounds as strongman for the show. One week the bill was rotten and the actors meek as a mouse, But the strong man act of Samson's, it just brought down the house. final chorus: Now, good folks, we've told you all the dope; We're sure we've done you lots of good, at least, that's what we hope. Methuselah wrote these very words when he was but a youth, And we have it from the old boy that every word's the truth! I learned this song from an assisitant scoutmaster in the 60's in the western suburbs of chicago. He tols me the chorus was changed and he didnt know the actual one. I have always wondered if another troop knew this song. It is one of my favorites in the WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!! and dont get me started on the shaving cream song (This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

and by the way Paul, I see you are in Lander, Wyoming. I was there last year on a business trip. It is very wild, while jogging in the morning around the childrens home I found myself in the midst of an Antelope herd. Then the folks I was working with told me about the disappearing river. It goes in a cave and never comes out. A quarter mile later is starts up again as a spring. That and the bronze statues everywhere makes Lander a memorable place

Tiny/Paul In AOL chat rooms there is a term that is used, its called a SNERT ALERT, SNERT stands for Snot Nosed Egotisical Rude Teen-ager Then we all put the offender on the ignore button. I suggest we all put this SNERT on ignore. And I will ask the forum moderators to remove his unscoutlike postings.

so what would be the call if you were a bobwhite? We may be small but we're flighty?

Dad I want to take you through a progression and you let me know where you disagree, as if I could stop you... In our country's past we had a time when Americans were able to own other human beings and trade them like sticks of furniture. It was legal. Some of our foremost early statesman owned slaves. Ministers preached from the pulpit that white dominance was supported by the bible, it was not considered a perversion then, yet today our country views slavery as the highest perversion of human/civil rights. Times change It was not until the 1920's that women were allowed to vote. Every one just knew that women's brains were just constructed in a way that made life choice decisions impossible for them to deal with. My grandfather sent his son, my uncle, to college but not my mother because, .... well because she was a woman. Today to take away a persons right to vote based on sex would be considered a perversion. Times change During the Second World War some American Citizens had their property seized and were herded into interment camps based purely on ethnic background. This was done with the best intentions. Since the Sept 11th attacks the President and the government reiterates constantly that Muslims, especially American Muslims are not the enemy. Times change As you pointed out, perversion, usually sexual, is a deviation from the norm. But who gets to establish the norm? The majority? There was a time when women were seen as perverted if they had a hint of a libido, today it is acknowledged that desire in both husband and wife is an asset to their relationship. Times change I have seen postings that say its simple to tell homosexuality is a perversion because its against nature. As I view nature I only see one creature that disrupts nature as much as man. We change the course of rivers, we build machines to help us fly, navigate water ways, bring the light of day into the night and visit the moon. We destroy the terrain of other species and at times cause them to be wiped off the face of the earth. Because no other creature has this ability then can humans in total be considered a perversion? I hope not because I intend to keep using the goods and products of mans genius. God gives us the ability t change our environment and I would think it wrong not to use our talents. During the Industrial Revolution environmental concerns were minimal at best. Today companies tout their concern for the environment.(though tree huggers are way out there) Times change What I object most to is the use of the word perversion to label an activity that we dont comprehend. We in the BSA have chosen to not allow homosexual leaders and as a private organization we have the right to set membership requirements, we know this because the Supreme Court says so. In a country where personal freedom is sacred I dont see any other choice. Homosexuals are free to their pursuit of happiness and the BSA is free to pursue its path without the company of homosexual leaders. I do think this may be accomplished without using terms like perversion, amoral, ect. We made this decision and as Eiseley lets us know, it has challenged us in many areas of the country. But then again, charactor is forged in difficult times, not easy times. We took a stand and must weather the storm Will times ever change so homosexual leaders are not barred from boy scouts? I dont have that answer, but I do know that sometimes what seems right at the time, when viewed by history is completely wrong. I would like to be the side that takes the high moral road, stands up for our decisions and their consequences and does not name call or label.(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

I find this difficult to admit, but as old and as grey as I am, I am not sure exactly what Woodbadge is, and what the benefits are. I know it is advanced scout leader training and it requires about a 2 year committment working on a "ticket". Every time I ask around my district/council about it, they send me brochures for the next course. I would like to find out what it is before I commit to it. I have seen plenty of beads on scouters I admire, but when I ask them about it, they say it was great, you should do it, but never quite say what it is you do, could you guys educate me?

well, I assumed Martha is from australia since in another posting she has melbourne mentioned. Then when I saw she didnt know what PETA was I assumed she was from Melbourne Australia. I could be wrong.

Then again, how many seriously overweight scouters have you seen?

thank you for clarifying that, I was sure thats what you mean

Oh Most Vigilant Male Parental Unit I want to be sure I understand you. If the BSA is indirectly linked to the God of Abraham, what is the effect on Bha'i, Hindu and Buddist scout here in the United States?(This message has been edited by OldGreyEagle)

Hello Again Martha, PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is an active organization in the United States that seeks the elimination of meat in humanities diet. They want everybody to become a vegetarian. They hold every life to be sacred and see it as morally wrong (!) to kill another living creature. PETA has/is trying to get the BSA to declassify both the Fishing and Fish&Wildlife meritbadges as PETA beleives this teaches scout to kill. If I am off base on PETA fellow posters let me know, And Marhta, it will be interesting to get your views on scouting from down under, the broader expanse of experience can only enrich us all as the Irish Troop's website (WHO ARE THESE GUYS) proves

G'day Martha, Nice to have you aboard. The best we can figure out, you become a member then senior member based on number of postings you make. How many that is, I am not sure anyone knows. However, whether you are new, a member or a senior member, your opinion is always welcomed. BTW, could you let me know where to get vegemite? I just ran out...

My boyhood troop had a wondeful tradition it did at the close of every campfire. Actually, always having some type of a campfire is a great tradition to have as well. When the campfire was over, we always sang scout vespers and immediately went into singing Taps. after every line of taps, we hesitated while ONE SCOUT recited lines of the Scout Oath. Taps has 8 lines and the Scout Oath may be split into 7 phrases. The combination of the singing of Scout Vespers and then Taps along with the spoken scout law always sent chills down my spine. To be the person selected to speak the Scout Oath was a tremoundous honor usually reserved to the older scouts (best vocal volume) and was a sought after privilege. I think this would be a great tradition to start. The script would be as follows: (SUNG) Softly falls the light of day As our campfire fades away Silently each scout should ask Have I done my daily task Have I kept my honor bright Can I guiltless sleep tonight Have I done or have I dared To do everything to be prepared (Taps is sung, the SCOUT OATH is spoken) Day is done ON MY HONOR Gone the sun I WILL DO MY BEST From the Lakes TO DO MY DUTY TO GOD AND MY COUNTRY From the hills AND TO OBEY THE SCOUT LAW From the sky TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE AT ALL TIMES All is well TO KEEP MYSELF PHYSICALY STRONG, MENTALLY AWAKE Safely rest AND MORALLY STRAIGHT God is nigh.

Our troop is fortunate in that many older boys keep comming to the meetings, what we havent done a good job of is providing activities for these veteran scouts. Most are either Eagle or just a few badges and the Project away. We have tried many approaches, but they seem to just want to visit and socialize. What have other troops done when this problem arises. As the father of a younger scout, I always thought it was a shame once a scout made Eagle they disappeared, now I realize we didnt make much of an effort to keep them around

While the Scout Law is definitive, I find the term "morally straight" to not be so. I can describe examples of what trustworthy is, and is not, of what loyalty is and is not. What I dont understand is the use of the word "perversion".