Knowing when the time comes.

[Eamonn]

As a group I think that people in Scouting are a very kind group.

I know a lot of "Old Timer's" and know that they still can teach a young whippersnapper like me a thing or two.

I also know that as I age, my view on what is old changes or has changed. I used to think that 40 was old!!

Two good additions to the new WB course are: Dealing with Change and Leaving a Legacy.

Change happens and while at time we might not like the idea, we can either try and deal with it or go the way of the Dodo bird.

We each have a big say in what our legacy will be.

We will be remembered by different groups for different reasons and by what role we played in different lives. Due to change the roles will change.

One of the most enjoyable things I really like is just hanging out with a bunch of old Scouting friends retelling "War Stories". There are times when we laugh so hard that tears run down my face and I think I'm going to have a heart attack!!

Accepting that change happens and being aware of the changes can be tough. I still think that little Tiger Tiger Cubs are cute, but I know that I no longer have the patience to deal with them for any extended time period. I know that I feel the cold more and get tired more easily than I used to.

The time is coming when I will no longer be able to keep with the Scouts. Hopefully when that time comes I will know it and move on to serve in some other way. It could be that there will be lots of moves!! Each move should make way for someone who will do better that I have done, maybe if I'm lucky because I have helped train them for the job.

Already I have a drawer full of plaques, certificates and more beads and knots then I need. While I admit to being conceited enough to having enjoyed the limelight at the time I received this stuff, I hope I have never done anything just for this stuff.

I sure as heck don't need a Emeritus patch to remind me what I have done and confuse others.

When the time comes to move I hope that I'll know it and others will accept it.

Eamonn.

 

[SueM]

As always E...another very thoughtful and thought provoking post! It is funny how your priorities and interests change over time. I never thought I'd enjoy working with the adult training more than the boys, but am finding it much it much more rewarding than I had expected.

 

OT..but great Steelers game!!!

 

Sue M.

[Eamonn]

Strange how a Primanti Brothers sandwich tastes better along with a Steelers winning game. Kinda sad that soon all the local brews that we had will be history.

I really enjoyed my 3 years as Council Training Chairman.

My stint was when all the Training's changed. I had the best-est time.

But after a while I thought I was starting to lose what Scouting is all about to me. That being the kids.

Having spent a lot of time sleeping on the recliner yesterday, trying to get over all night bowling on Friday night (Got home at 0500!!) I couldn't help thinking how when Her Who Must Be Obeyed and myself were first married we got home at that time a lot at the weekends and it wasn't so long back that when we had bands play in the restaurant, by the time we got everyone out and cleaned up it was about that time and I thought nothing of it!!

My big fear is that one day people will start working around me, because they will see me as an old codger who they no longer can work with me and are worried if they tell me I'll get upset.

Right now I still care about the Scouts I serve, they come first. I'm still open minded enough to be interested in the things that they are into and curious enough to ask. I really enjoy spending time with them.

Still I'm sure the day will come when they start to get on my nerves and I no longer will be interested in what they are doing or I'll be

un-willing to take the time to try and understand.

Eamonn.

[CNYScouter]

I was thinking along the same lines myself over the weekend.

 

Last week I had the opportunity to attend Roundtable in the District the Ship is in.

 

Last month the District where my sons troop is held NLE training and I stopped in after Ship meeting as a couple of the Ships new leaders were taking this.

 

I grew up in the Ships District and recognized many of the Old-timers as they were the young guys back when my Father was a UC and ADC (and I was a Scout).

One difference I noticed right away was that the District level people in the Ships District were just that.

Once their sons had aged-out or dropped from Scouting they moved from Unit positions to District positions.

 

Not so in the other District.

Almost all of the District level people were still very involved at the Unit level as SMs or CCs.

It seems to me that these are the types that cant let go or unwilling to give up control as they want to run everything.

 

Perhaps this is one of the reasons that the Ships District Roundtable had twice as many people at it even though this District has over twice as many units (110 to 50).

 

 

[CA_Scouter]

E,

 

You can always contribute. We went to a summer camp run by the Santa Clara County council, and the senior statesman for that camp had been in BSA for something like 60 years! He was in his mid to late eighties, and still spent most of his summers at the camp.

 

He actually handled most of the adult training sessions, and was especially proficient at demonstrating and explaining the Troopmaster software. The last thing we expected from this guy was to pull out a state of the art laptop, popup Excel spreadsheets and skillfully maneuver through the software.

 

The Staff held him in extremely high regard, and that sentiment trickled down to the camp attendees.

 

Keep on keepin' on!!!

 

 

 

[OldGreyEagle]

One of my most memorable scouting moments occurred at the 2001 National Jamborree. The scheduled closing show was rained out so we had to make do with what the attendees could come up with. Many "good" acts were quickly put together but the one I remember most was the older scouter who played "somewhere over the rainbow on his "saw"". I has scouts asking me what was he doing and I was taken back to B&W TV and Ted Macks original Amateur hour. To see him on stage, mesmerizing the attendees while filling the air with his music is something I will never forget, never give up, never surrender.

[packsaddle]

Looking at it from approximately the same place, I can tell you....40 is old. I am a lot older. It's ugly but it had to be told.