Adrianvs

Of course Rich counts. I'm sure that he will get a funeral when the time comes. Hey, perhaps you should volunteer to give the eulogy. "Rich isn't with God. He's f-cking dead. Thank you."

Merlyn, If the deceased is merely a corpse at this point, then why does it matter if they are disrespected? If it is just a corpse sitting there, then why does it matter what the family or friends do with it or say about it? You seem to care a lot. If Pat gone, then why do his wishes matter? Is it not an object in the custody of the living? Take your dogma to its logical conclusions. Sounds to me like little brother is pissed off at all the attention Pat is getting. If he truly wanted to respect his brother (atheist, agnostic, or otherwise), he would have dressed appropriately and prepared something. The fact that his entire speech was a 'rebuttal' of everyone else's sentiments indicates to me that he was acting in his own interests. I find it amusing that every other friend, acquaintence, and family member of Pat seems to disagree with this brother and yet Merlyn credits little Rich alone with knowledge of his brother's beliefs and sentiments. Interesting..

Thumper, Could you please tell us the number of "LEADERSHIP hours" which you estimate a wheelchair ramp to provide and the minimum number of such hours which you would accept for an Eagle Scout project?

Welcome to the forum, Razor. This is a good place to begin learning about outdoor skills. I say begin learning because the only way to complete the process is to practice the skills yourself. Scouting may also be something that you could look into at some point. Just remember that as an adult in Scouting, your primary function would be the education of youth. I use the term 'education' in the broad sense and it includes not only skills training, but moral training as well. You needn't be an expert in anything, but you must be prepared to offer your service. There is nothing wrong with learning skills while serving as an adult leader in a Boy Scout troop or Venture Crew advisor. In fact, it may give the youth a special opportunity to teach, something which aids in their education. Just remember that you are there to serve them (in some way) and not vice versa. When I bought my first (and only) backpack as a scout, a store employee fitted it for me. He also taught me how to adjust the straps et cetera while hiking. On my first day hike with the pack, it became quite painful after a few miles. As much as I tried adjusting the minor straps to shift the weight, I couldn't make the pack sit right. During a brief rest stop, I set the pack down and reset the main loadbearing strap to where I thought it should be. I haven't had to reset it yet. The point is that while the store employee may have been well trained, the only way to be sure that a piece of equipment is working properly or adjusted properly is to try it out. This also applies to packing styles and different methods for using equipment.

As an ecology instructor, I've had trouble identifying a spider with a regional field guide. The number of species inhabiting any area is huge and there are so many rare specimens that aren't common enough to document. The spider doesn't sound familiar, but then again I am bad at visualizing verbal descriptions..

I have a pair of Vasque hiking boots that I bought in late 1997. I still wear them and they are the most comfortable set of footwear that I have (with the possible exception of my knee-high moccasins).. The problem is that they are beginning to wear out. The heels have worn down past the tread in the back and the toes have worn down to the leather in some places. The inside of the heels have worn down to the leather as well. I don't know how they can still provide support and comfort, but they manage to. They don't look too bad with a fresh coat of Nature Seal on them, either. Otherwise, they look like an old pair of black work boots. I probably won't replace them until one of the heels comes off.

Txscoutdad, The Flag Code passage is metaphorical, of course. I don't expect the Flag Code to make accurate metaphysical statements regarding the nature of the flag. The US Flag Code provides a guide for consistent flag display and promotes respectful treatment of the flag. It is not a treatise on flag ontology or some form of Scripture. Any sane person who considers the flag to be "living" is doing so metaphorically. The authors of the Flag Code, in their attempt at poetic language, were doing this. Hops, I admire your patriotism. You should know that I place great importance on this particular symbol. Like you do, I respect the symbol very much. I respect it and place great importance in it because of what it represents, not because it has some innate substance in itself worthy of respect. Your love of the country has fostered a great desire to venerate the flag. Just remember that the flag gains its value from the things that it flies over and otherwise represents. Not the other way around... An object may be a symbol of the greatest thing in the world, but that alone doesn't make it more than a symbol.

The flag is only a symbol. I am not one who regularly engages in hyperbole. The flag was created by men and has no power apart from that which it symbolizes. Please explain to me what the flag is if not a symbol. Was it the word "symbol" or the word "only" that you objected to? The word "only" can be put in front of whatever word you choose to replace symbol. I suspect that you might refer to it as a "living embodiment" or some such phrase. Would you really mean that? Of course not. It may seem like harmless hyperbole, but some of us actually believe in living embodiments or other such phenomena and occasionally refer to them. When you use phrases like this to refer to symbols, it kills the effectiveness of language. Is the Union Jack a symbol? What about the tricouleur? Is the fleur-di-lis a symbol? Your patrol flag? They are all symbols. Get over it.(This message has been edited by Adrianvs)

I see nothing wrong with cutting the flag into pieces immediately prior to burning. In fact, I as asked to participate in such a ceremony last summer. I was the one doing the cutting. I had never heard of the ceremony before, but it was done most respectfully. The stripes were cut off and burned individually. The blue field was retired last while the final salute was given. Catholic practice has similar rules for the disposal of blessed items. Blessed items are to be reverently broken into pieces so that they do not resemble the original item blessed. They can then be buried or burned. Alternately, they could just be reverently burned whole. Given this, I am probably biased towards accepting the disassembly of flags as part of a retirement ceremony. Of course, I see nothing wrong with burning them whole, either. If you have more than one flag to retire, this is probably the best method. You don't want to find yourself rushing through the disassembly of several flags. Remember that the flag is only a symbol and that as long as your actions are respectful and understood to be respectful by those observing, then there shouldn't be a problem.

I am a Vigil Honor member of the Mitigwa Lodge. Yes, our lodge is hosting NOAC this summer. No, I will not be going. Our council has two camps. At the larger one, ceremonialists wear Hollywood Sioux outfitting (lots of felt and ribbons) and touch the candidates with feathers. At the "other" camp, ceremonialists wear Sauk and Fox outfitting and give the candidates a significant "tap." One can even see a little bit of facepaint from time to time. (gasp..) Klamachpin Elitehat

"Decent, Dissent, Descent. Play on another thread where some poor guy was being ridiculed for not using spell check. (another example of IN MY OPINION a lack of Scout Spirit on display there)." No one was being ridiculed in that thread (Scouters VS. Non-Scouters). It was simply being noted in a whimsical way that two people successively misspelled the same word in different ways. There was no "poor guy" and there was no ridicule. Is it Scout Spirit to assume a malevolent nature or intent whenever possible? Is it Scout Spirit to author petitions against individuals with whom you may disagree on an issue? Where do you think that negative dispositions start, if not with personal grudges against individuals? Take care that in your quest to eradicate the rude and unscoutlike from this forum that you do not become one yourself.

Welcome newbies! I'm not sure what class I fall into, but I am a 22 year old scouter who has been involved in the movement since I was a first year Webelos Scout. I was active in the Order of the Arrow for some time as a youth member. I served as a ceremonialist (the venerable shaman), performed elections and camp promotions, and was a chapter chief for two years. I am now assisting unofficially as a ceremony adviser. I have been a camp staffer for some time and will be serving as program director this summer for the first time. I'm really looking forward to that. One thing to keep in mind about staffing is that while it is a seasonal job, it is a year-round identity. All the units in the area know you in your staff roll and capacity. I am currently registered as an assistant scoutmaster in the same unit that I was in as a youth. Lately, I have been acting as an assistant den leader for a Webelos den. I should probably register for this position, but I know that by the time the pack gets the paperwork through, the boys will be crossing over the troop. haha.. There is also a good chance that I will be the advisor for a new Venture crew that is being formed. We will see how that goes.. I am graduating from college this spring and am negotiating how much longer I can spend as a staffer during the summer and active scouter in this area during the rest of the year. Physical relocation is the primary issue, but time constraints will eventually play a role as well.

Welcome to the forum! A short walkway was part of my Eagle project. It is a lot harder work than one would think. If you have any specific questions as to what we did, don't hesitate to ask. What kind of dimensions are you working with?

"I know you did not find as much of either as you would have liked." Ed, The "either" refers to "help and scouting spirit" in the previous sentence. I'm not sure where else you would get the impression of plurality in the sentence..

Descent? Desent? Decent. Ahh... ;-)

As Merlyn seems to indicate, not all religions profess belief in a deity. This is true; there are purely ethical religions. What he does not realize is that according to his broad definition of religion, any ethical statement may be considered religious. Ethical statements like the Scout Law are no more or less religious than the mention of God in the Oath. If you define religion as a systematic worship system, then neither are religious. If you define religion as a metaphysical or value-based belief system, then they both are. The point is that you have to reject both or neither. If Merlyn and his kin want to reject the mention of God so that atheists may join, he must also reject the Scout Law so that nihilists or any others who value dishonesty, treachery, apathy, rudeness, malice, subordination, uncleanliness, etc. The organization is designed for those who believe in God and the values of the Scout Law. Remove any one of them and you have no basis to keep the rest. You are better off starting a new organization that professes the values (or lack thereof) that you hold.

I routinely fold neckerchiefs instead of rolling them. It makes them look fuller and more impressive (in my opinion) than having the two tightly rolled 'funnels' sticking down. Of course, using a slide in such a case is more difficult. Instead, I simply use a reasonably decorative tie to hold the neckerchief in place. I'm sure that the woggle started out as a similar phenomenon until someone tied such an impressive and/or difficult knot that they didn't want to untie and redo it each time they got dressed. Instead, they simply began to slide it off and on. My tie isn't as complicated or difficult as a woggle, so I simply remake it each time. Given the size of most neckerchiefs, I usually put them under the collar. With larger ones, however, I think that they fit best over the collar like FOG suggests. The Eagle Scout neckerchief is large enough to do this with. Smaller scouts, of course, can do it with the "standard size" neckerchiefs.

The Catholic (Latin Rite) award for Cubs is "Light of Christ." The one for Webelos age boys is "Parvuli Dei." For younger Boy Scouts, the award is "Ad Altare Dei." For older scouts as well as Venturers, the award is "Pope Pius XII." Eastern Rite Catholics earn "Parvuli Dei" as Cub Scouts and "Light is Life" as younger Boy Scouts. The older Scouts and Venturers earn the same award as the Latin Rite Catholics, "Pope Pius XII." I am not familiar with the God and Church program, but I would wager that it requires more than simple understanding of the teachings involved. The youth awards are designed to recognize knowledge of and devotion to the religous teachings of the particular faith group. The boy should be encouraged to earn the award of the Church or ecclesial community in which he is being raised and educated. It is great that he wants to learn about other faiths, but he should first seek out the program and award for his own faith. He should at least be given the opportunity to do so and not simply thrown in with the other boys because most of the troop is Protestant. These emblems are awarded by faith communities to members of those faith communities. You should respect that. Find out from the parents the faith in which the child is being raised and find an appropriate director for him. "I couldn't prevent it but I'd explain that for him to legimately wear the knot, he needs to earn the Roman Catholic award (I think that it is called 'Seige of the Holy Land')." FOG, you must be thinking of the new pan-Protestant award, "Razing Of The Monasteries."

I would not be surprised if this were the case in many situations where the CO does not realize that the troop is THEIR program and that they are responsible to support it as they would any of their other programs. Unfortunately, troops must often face the unfortunate effects of being 'owned' by the CO (restrictions on fundraising and property ownership) and being treated like a separate entity by the CO. The BSA policy regarding troop ownership only works effectively when the CO's are aware of their responsibility to the troop as its owner. When the BSA treats the troop like a CO program and the CO treats the troop like a BSA program borrowing their space, then the troop suffers needlessly.

If the boy doesn't remember the event in the morning, then it is unlikely that he "woke up" from the night terror at all. It is often difficult to tell the difference between a frightened (or claustrophobic) child and one who is in the midst of a night terror. An individual in the midst of a night terror will appear to have woken up, but they have not. Crying, screaming or responding to questions does not mean that the child is truly awake. Those with night terrors will also manipulate objects like tent zippers or door handles. I've seen a kid in walk all through an entire house, respond to direct questions, and then proceed to sit and watch television for several minutes before going back to bed. In a sense, they were asleep the whole time. As the father indicates, the only real "treatment" for a night terror is to get the child back into bed. Most kids in the midst of a night terror will eventually respond and go back to sleep peacefully. This can take some time, on occasion. You will want to do this gently, of course. If the child is waking up and claustrophobic, you will want to comfort them as needed. There is a difference between waking up from a nightmare and succumbing to claustrophobia and having night terrors (many of which are accompanied by claustrophobic feelings). A child usually doesn't wake up from a night terror; they eventually go back to sleep and don't recall the event. Does the boy have claustrophobic symptoms apart from episodes in the middle of the night where he apparently wakes up? I don't want to second guess the father, who obviously has more information than any of us, but I suspect that there may have been a mistake in communication here. In any case, it is fortunate that night terrors rarely continue into adulthood. I don't think that this should be any reason to pull the boy from scouting, of course.

Night terrors have nothing to do with claustrophobia. Of course, an individual might have both conditions at the same time, but they are no etiologically related. If the child only has these symptoms during the night, then I would wager that he doesn't have claustrophobia at all. Claustrophobia is not going to cause the child to suddenly begin screaming in the night. Night terrors are relatively common, but surprisingly few people know about them. Does the child have night terrors at home as well? What, exactly, happens when the boy 'wakes up' in the night? Is he responsive? Does he remember the events in the morning? I'm not going to pretend to do a clinical assessment here, but if you gave me more information I might be able to steer you towards some possibilities. If the child does have night terrors, it is possible that those around him have begun using the word "claustrophobia" incorrectly. If this is the case, the problem may have been attributed to the closed spaces of a tent or bedroom withoug due cause. This is also likely to cause the child to perceive these locations differently. Indeed, it may even cause the phobia itself by conditioning a fear response in the child. As it stands, however, I cannot be sure about what is going on. What, exactly, is happening? Where and when is it happening and not happening?

That certainly is an odd situation. Are those responsible for building the staff the same individuals who hired you the past two years? I would offer to hire you if we had any river treks. Unfortunately, the best we can do are man-made lakes. ;-) Our small camp's budget would not be attractive, either.

Last year, our ecology director (complete with PhD in biology) "demoted" himself to the position of archery instructor. Given his skills and the skills of others, it was the best thing to do. He seemed to enjoy himself in the position much more as well. Don't be afraid to give the "lowly" positions a chance. You may find them much more rewarding than the prestigious or powerful ones.

What positions would you be willing to take? Are you only interested in some sort of high adventure and/or aquatics position?

I find the stars to be inaccurate and irrelevant. I vote 'NO' on Proposition S1.