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"There's no such thing as strong coffee...only weak people..."

About Me:Take your standard Oliver North. Add strong parts of Bill Cosby and Sir Robert Baden-Powell (the founder of Scouting). Throw in Johny Bravo without the "hurhhs!" and his pecks. Add a strong dose of parenting, the sexuality of a latin lover, and Mona Lisa's smile. And a 40 year old's body frame. That's me basically *grinning*

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Jac Shirt substitutes for cub leaders?

Hi Tony!!

You wrote and asked about something I care about a lot...even got a bounty on it:

"I'm interested in finding something I can wear to display random patches as
a cub leader. I know there are several official and unofficial rules with
the red jac shirt and patch placement, so I thought it might be best to
skip that one altogether..."

Why?  The BSA says that if you purchase a jac-shirt, while there are some "recommended guidance" as to what SHOUILD go or not go onto such an item; that the jac-shirt (or the lesser weight jackets) is YOURS and you can place ANYTHING ON IT you want, anywhere, in any style. 

Where is that in the Insignia (Control) Guide?  Nowhere.  But then, nowhere in that same guide are ABSOLUTES about what MUST go there.  The suggestions given (which, by the way are also found on my Badge and Uniform site in it's own section ... http://www.scoutinsignia.com/jac-shirt.htm ) are *recommendations and guidance for best uniforming*. 

I've talked with both of the prior Supply Group/Division directors about this very item, and both have confirmed to me in my face that "look, we can suggest all kinds of things -- but when it comes down to it, the jac-shirt is expensive enough for you to place whatever you like wherever you like on it.  We sell it because it is a popular item among Scouters but we don't consider it part of the official uniform anymore."

The jac-shirt, by the way, is the outer garment used by the National Eagle Scout Association members and by Order of the Arrow members.  It is also the "traveling jacket" used by World and National Jamboree participators and staffers. 

The jac-shirt USED TO COME IN A BLUE COLOR, Tony.  I am offering $400 currently for anyone who has such a jac-shirt in either large or extra large sizes.  The jac-shirt sold originally for $68.50 back in 1976; it was taken off the shelves due to low sales in 1980. 

"Any suggestions on a cheap alternative for a cub leader?"

ABSOLULTELY!!  Contact the Supply Group and have them to sell you one of their fleece Cub Scout vests (they have them I think still in large, extra large and 2X sizes left.)  It is the same color as the jac-shirt, and you can put whatever you like on this vest.  There's a Boy Scout version of this fleece vest which also was taken off the shelves about two years ago, and which is a lot better wear than the felt vest that the BSA sells to Scouts and Cub Scouts for $10. 

(BSA Supply Group is at http://www.scoutstuff.org )

OR go to Salvation Army (tm) or Goodwill (tm) and get a red vest in your size and place patches on it wherever you choose. I have a fleece one that I wear with all of the Transatlantic camp segments and long term camps I attended centered on the backside of it.  I have a separate red vest I bought from Goodwill(tm) with Jamboree patches and insignia from the 2010 Jamboree on the back side along with patches from the Pentagon and every Council office I visited enroute or returning from that Jamboree.

Hope that all of this helps out, Tony!!  And that bounty still applies until I have such a jac-shirt in my grubby hands!!

Settumanque!
--
Settummanque is writer, retired military officer, dad, friend,
traveler, public speaker, webmaster, Eagle Scout, and/or "sweetie"
(LTC) Mike Walton. South Lake Minnetonka area, Minnesota.
http://www.settummanque.com

Posted
 

Communication via SCOUTS-L

Rob Beam wrote and asked:

"I have been a subscriber to SCOUTS-L for almost two years. I find the topics
some what interesting. Enough to remain a subscriber. However, I find this
medium to be very cumbersome, user unfriendly. Can't we use some other
method to communicate? I believe that is why only a few 'regular' participants
comment. Isn't the idea to share information?
Secondly, I find reading the commentary very challenging. I lose interest
quickly trying to follow the format of some messages (all the crazy characters
dotted throughout the comment) and finding the topics scattered throughout
the email. Seems there's an opportunity for better structure.
I guess if you are more technically savvy then all this works for you. But not
for me.

Hi Rob!!

We go through asking ourselves "is this the right medium" question about once every four or five years, as technology and the entire Internet increases our personal abilities to "do things faster..."

The short answer is "sure, there's a LOT of other ways that Scouting information, resources, opinions and ideas can be shared and distributed...it's already being done; but this is the MOST COMMON METHOD of distributing that information to a large number of people without forcing people to "get/use X program" or "Y software" or "Z add-ins". "

Keep in mind that Scouts-L, despite it's name, is a *worldwide youth programs discussion group*.  The name "Scouts-L" was chosen a long time ago because "Youth-L" was already taken.  Eventually, Scouts-L has been the "home" to parents, volunteers and professionals working with or supporting the Girl Scouts of the USA and the Boy Scouts of America -- without their assistance, support or endorsment. Just happened that way.  The easiest, fastest and most reliable way that those "1s and 0s" can travel to thousands of subscribers is via a plain texted email.  This is why we don't allow "attachments" on Scouts-L -- some email programs don't know what to do with it, even today.  This is also why we take such a strong stance on "spammed mail".  It may look tame here in the USA, but in Belgium or Germany, it could wreck havoc on someone's email (and other) program, essentially "kicking them off the list."

We at the USSSP (the U.S. Scouting Service Project, Inc., the current "caretakers" of Scouts-L (it will become official later this year finally)) have been talking about a "better look" for Scouts-L, perhaps taking it to a blog-like interface.  I've been able to keep us from doing so simply because whatever blog-like interface we decide upon, we'll get a large segment out there who "can't use it", "can't access it from work", "can't access it on X platform or Y phone or Z protocol" -- and believe it or not, we STILL have people using good old fashioned 56K modems and paying by the kilobyte for messages. Email still works for them.

No matter what email program one uses, we are going to get some of those "stray characters" which come from using a slower means to send items via email. The last time someone suggested that we move to something "better" like a BBS (bulletin board system, the forerunners to today "web blog" or "blog"), I suggested that he simply check out what Scouts-L looks like for him with a different email program.  However, thanks to a pair of Scout-L veterans (Thanks Lloyd and Kyna!), you can actually access Scouts-L via your favorite web browswer by going to http://www.scouts-l.org.   

The reason why we get only a "few regulars" is one of the "cute features" of Scouts-L.  Most people over the years have joined us simply in the "receive mode".  They don't feel that need to "talk" about anything and everything -- most are new to Scouting and simply want to 'enjoy the freedom' of having someone else ask the questions or state information or provide reflection.  After our first five or seven years of being a "group of close to 4000", some people wanted to talk and share information specific to why they are "doing Scouts" and we literally exploded with new discussion groups:  ARROW-L, after a similiar type discussion to the one we've had here about the importance or not of the BSA's Order of the Arrow program and ways it can be better utilized in our local Councils; Patch-L, after several of us started swapping patches back and forth between ourselves and we needed a forum to do this without interference to the 'regular discussions'; LDS_SCOUTS-L, E-Scouts, Cub_Trainer_L, Woodbadge-L -- there were a lot of us subscribed to some 10 or 12 emailed discussion groups at one time or another!!

Scouts-L remained as the leader because of three elements, Rob.  The importance that it remained "outside the perview" of the national youth programs we are discussing.  This gives each participant -- no matter what role they play in whatever program they belong to -- the freedom to openly ask, critisize, examine, and most importantly provide solutions to our youth programs' many issues and problems. There's a LOT of passionate supporters and defenders of Scouting on here.  Being around here a couple of years, you've probably read some of their comments and either agreeed or disagreed with what they had to say.  And like me, you probably disagree with them on some things -- but right there beside them in other ways. While we do get -- and this is a RECENT THING, part of the "New BSA" that our professional counterparts have been saying that they are moving the program toward -- some professional advice... most of the most useful kibbles and bits come from those of us who truly have "been there, done that, got the teeshirt and had it cleaned, pressed and wanting to hand it to you." 

The idea that I can hop onto Scouts-L from just about anywhere, using anyone's email program, anyone's browser if my email supports using it through such an item -- and be able to post my message and get LOTS of suggestions and ideas in return -- is another powerful element.  I always refer to Scouts-L as that "international daily Roundtable meeting which NEVER ends!"(sm) and we at the USSSP has later servicemarked that line because we felt that above everything else, THAT is the value of Scouts-L to its subscribers.  For many people, this is the closest they are going to come to walking into a church or school or the "Council office" building to face other volunteers just as scared as they are. They are fearful that they're "gonna do something wrong" and come face to face with "all of those other people who've been doing it for years and will chide or tease me for something I'm doing to help my son or his friends".  This is why a lot of people, Rob, don't post here -- they are scared that their comment or idea or suggestion will be "pounced upon" by those who have been around here longer.  At the same time they stick around because THIS IS THE PLACE if we want to know the answer to something and their local folks raise their hands up and say "We don't know... but I bet if you posted it on Scouts-L, someone there *would*."

And the idea that despite fears that people are going to "pounce on you" if you say something contrary or out-of-synch with others here, that Scouts-L IS a nurturing place. We have developed Council Presidents, Council Scout Executives, Scoutmasters, Council and above committee and Team members, Regional and Area Commissioners, Cubmasters and other "senior level volunteers" from those parents, volunteers or entry-level professionals who have come here years back and told us the truth: "I'm new at this and came here to learn from all of you..."  That's the other element here.  Even those who have left us, saying basically "I don't need the hand-hold any more; I've kicked the training wheels off and I am doing this solo" view Scouts-L as a valuable tool and recommend us to other "newbies". 

Hope all of this helps you (and those others of you out here -- we see you sitting on your hands.  Come on...the water's fine and the sharks are friendly -- we just fed them! *hehehehehee*)

Settummanque!
--
Settummanque is writer, retired military officer, dad, friend,
traveler, public speaker, webmaster, Eagle Scout, and/or "sweetie"
(LTC) Mike Walton. South Lake Minnetonka area, Minnesota.
http://www.settummanque.com

Posted
 

More on Every Scout gets a Handbook (14 Mar 12)

I look at people's walls as I walk by their offices.  I take note of people like myself -- military people with a long history; Scouters, especially those who like me, have earned the Eagle Scout rank and are not ashamed to let God and country know about it.  People with families.

Bob came by my office asking for generic video of the base for a Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) project.  We ended up talking Scouting because he saw my white Commissioner shirt along with some other artifacts here in the office.  He used to be the Executive of the District surrounding the air base.

"Is your office the one with the National Eagle Scout Association certificate hanging in there?  I've walked by but haven't had the time to introduce myself to you."

"Yeah," Bob stated, "that and a lot of other Scouting things."  Then he told me about something which brought a broad smile to my face, a whipping by my mom, and a great idea.

You see, my folks were not rich in any sense of the word except where it mattered.  They cared about their children.  Each one of us was nurtured in the best way they knew how to, wanting their children to be "better off than they were." 

My dad was an enlisted man in the Army; my mom a budding hairdresser.  In the early days, my mom would set up her "shop" in a spare bedroom in our apartment in Germany.  Never mind that officially, it was not allowed.  But the base engineers turned a blind eye -- especially when their wives were getting reduced cut and curls from my mom.

In my book "Patches and Pins" I discuss my first nights as a new Cub Scout.  My mom thought it would be a good motivator for me to get a copy of the Boy Scout Handbook, seeing how she was intent on me "staying in the Scouts" until I received their highest award --"whatever that is.  You're not stopping Scouts until you get that highest award." 

Her feelings changed after we returned to the States and found that most Black kids and their families turned away from Scouting -- "too expensive, too rigid, too much patriotism, too white."

I got the Boy Scout Handbook -- circa 1965 -- over the summer.  She bought it from the Thrift Shop at Robinson Barracks, Stuttgart.  I read the entire book that summer from front to back cover.  I dogeared parts of the book that scared me  -- the color illustrations of various snakes, spiders and mice. I have never seen any of those things, and I sure was not going to remind myself that such animals exist now.

I have no idea why I chose to become a Conservation/Ecology Director at camp and at a high adventure base.

The book was my beaming light -- my guidepost toward Eagle.  But there were so many other things I wanted to do also. I wanted to learn about the land.  Germans took very good care of their land, and are almost Nazi-like in their defense of the outdoors.  I wanted to do something like that wherever we would end up at in the States.  I wanted to save a life -- in the grandest of models.  I have been reading Boys' Life and stopping in the color illustrations/cartoons of "Scouts in Action".  I dreamed some times of saving a child from a burning building. Of preventing someone from dying from poison by giving them syrup of Ipecac and charcoal bits.  I wanted to receive one of those medals too and perhaps have my story illustrated in those pages.  Every once in a while, they'll showcase a Black kid -- mostly Cub Scouts like me -- saving someone's life and getting a Merit Medal for it.

I wanted to become a member of the Order of the Arrow.  Never mind that I knew very little except for the paragraph in the book.  I thought the "medal" for it was simple and oh so cool.  I wanted to earn the God and Country religious medal.  And I wanted to earn a trail medal. 

More than anything, however, I wanted to become an Eagle Scout.  I read about Eagle Scouts -- never met one until later that summer -- but I knew that it was something quite special for the book in many parts explained that being an Eagle Scout is the highest thing that a boy can achieve on his own.  It took a special boy to become an Eagle Scout.  Illustrations would highlight that aspect and reinforce that goal in ones brain as well as heart.

So I found a pair of scissors.  Some Scotch brand tape. A piece of cardboard previously used to bind a packaged pair of my mom's long stockings.  And my Boy Scout Handbook.  And I started cutting, carefully cutting out and pasting the various things I wanted to earn onto the cardstock.

The Eagle. Hornaday. Merit Medal (I never seen or read a Black kid's account of earning the higher Honor Medals, so I bypassed it). The Order of the Arrow "medal".  One of the trail medals.  The God and Country medal -- with some parts of it not shown because some other religious medal was placed on top of it. 

I lined them up as straight as I could and then I pasted it with the tape to the backside of my door, high enough that my brother could not take it down.

Psychologists call such displays "visualizations."  They say that one can place objects -- a goal, a reminder, artifacts -- in a certain place within a room and the individual can "see themselves" doing it, going there, achieving it.  And over time, because the "image of what you perceive as a goal" is stuck in your brain, you'll overcome and achieve it.  Do it. 
A little bit of "personal brainwashing", if you will.

Like I said, my mom whipped me for defacing a book she spent good long work on buying me.  I took the punishment -- had no choice-- but she hugged me afterward and told me that "you have to learn how to take care of things people give you, Micheal.  You can't just show disrespect for things just because you wanted to do something else with them. That's not how life works.  Treasure the things that people give you -- for you know, they didn't have to give it to you."

(This is the reason, Your Honor, why my office today looks like a cross between Fred Sanford's living room, a Supply Group backroom, and somebody's work space,  There are boxes of things which over time, people have given me which I have kept simply because "you know, they didn't have to give it to" me.  There's entire television series devoted to people like me -- "packrats.")

Including a fresher, uncut version of that 1965 Boy Scout Handbook.  I bought it off of eBay for $5.  It gave me a lot of pleasure just flipping though those pages again. 

"You know Mike," Bob brought me back to the present, "if the BSA just gave *every boy* a Handbook, everything else would fall right into place.  Boys around here couldn't afford the uniform, don't really care about the uniform.  But the book -- that's where the excitement lies. The dreams are in there, and so would everything else about being a Scout come from."

Before I could share my daydream, he continued, "We tried to get the mucky-mucks up in Nashville to give us some money to do just that -- or allow us to get someone to donate enough money so that every Scout wanting a book could get one. Free."  He shook his head from left to right. "Didn't happen.  So many great things can come from giving a new Scout his first book.

I silently agreed.  If Bob was not in a rush I would have embraced him.  Like spirits, we Eagle Scouts are. 

So, I've added another item to my "desire list" when I win the Powerball lottery.  Or after I make the first million dollars as a -- whatever:  Enough money to give to the Transatlantic Council in Europe; the Lincoln Heritage and Bluegrass Councils in Kentucky; the Shawnee Trails and Buffalo Trace Councils. And the Northern Star Council in Minnesota -- enough money so that for ten years, they may be able to give EVERY new Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Venturer -- a FREE handbook.  They don't have to jump through any hoops.  All they have to do is show their registration card at their local Scout Shop(tm) and request a handbook. 

Then, they took can take it back to their room, read it from cover to cover, and if they wanted to visualize them earning all of those things in the back 20 pages of the book, they too can cut those paper representatations -- or just use their phone and take an image of each -- and use it as a daily reminder of why they -- and their parents -- want them to acheive "the high awards -- whatever they may be."

Thanks Bob!!

(And to complete the record:  In 1974, I saved the life of the younger brother of a girl I was sweet on at that time.  I received a Certificate of Heroism for that deed, which the BSA felt that it deserved a medal.  The medal looks just like the Merit Medal except that it has red and white stripes instead of blue and gold.  I also received the Hornaday Medal and the God and Country religious emblem too.  In 1975, I became an Eagle Scout.  In 1976, I became a member of the Order of the Arrow; and in 1977, three weeks after I graduated from high school, I earned the last of eleven trail medals. Visualization -- even though I had no idea what that word meant or what I was doing at the time -- works.)

 

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Posted
 

More About SGM Paul V. Boals (Mr. Boals) (5 Mar 12)

 
So Mr. Boals passed away. What a loss.  I expected him to become the Old Kentucky Home Council's third or fourth Silver Buffalo receipient.  He had everything else... including my overwhelming respect and admiration.  Forever.

See, Paul Boals (it was "Mr. Boals" when I was growing up; he allowed me to call him "Paul" after I attended the 1980 Council Annual Dinner in which I kept referring to him as "Mr. Boals") was one of those men who saw a need, filled it and if anyone asked why, he'd tell them what for in their face and won't think anything of it. 

I first met Mr. Boals and his sons Frank and Jacob (Jake) when they attended an Eagle Court of Honor for Troop 801's third Eagle Scout. I can't remember his name, and he left the Troop and Scouting soon afterward.  When Paul Boals entered a room in a Scout uniform, you can TELL that he's all Scouting business.  A lot of Sergeants Major -- the highest enlisted rank in the Army while not commanding anything (that's what Command Sergeants Major and the Command Sergeant Major of the Army is for) -- will come into a room and one can immediately TELL that they are a Sergeant Major.  Nobody had to yell "At Ease!", nobody had to introduce them.  We knew. 

Like I said, when Paul Boals came into a room wearing a Scouting field uniform, you can tell that he's all business and that he would not take any crap from anyone -- youth, adult, professional.  His experience showed in his teaching of Scoutcraft.  Somewhere there's a old photo of the old man teaching the young man Scouting.  Paul Boals was the old man.  He and both of his sons showed up in uniform.  Both boys I believe became members of Troop 128 where Paul became a member of the Troop's Committee...and then more... 

He was a man with a heart of gold but you'd never know it right off.  He expected Scouts to know the "basics" and if they didn't know the basics -- knot tying, cardinal directions, pacing, civic knowledge, camp craft and cooking -- he would spend time with you to teach you.  More time that you really want because he's constantly in your stuff, in true Sergeant Major fashion.

We boys LOVED IT.  I always wondered what my life would have been like if my Dad prodded me like Mr. Boals probably did his two sons.  My dad never "pushed me" toward Eagle.  He threatened one semester to "take me out of Scouts" if my grades didn't improve but that was the extent to his prodding.  But then, I wasn't in the band, in JROTC, and involved in church stuff.

No wait.  I WAS in JROTC, Red Cross, Exploring and involved in church stuff.  Never mind.

Paul extended himself to Mr. Fantastic proportions.  He was a Commissioner, duh. He was also on the District's Training committee (later the Council's training committee).  The Council's advancement committee.  Was a Vigil Honor member of the Zit-Kala-Sha Lodge of the Order of the Arrow and served on the Sectional Committee.  Was a committeemember with two different Troops.  Was active in the Masons. Active in his church. Active in the Association of the United States Army and the Non-Commissioned Officers Association.  When an Army regulation pushed military support of Scouting off the base, it was Paul Boals who found new partner organizations for each of Fort Knox's military Scouting units -- Boy AND Girl Scouting. 

Paul Boals was the man who asked me to serve as Senior Patrol Leader for two Troops at the same time. He didn't want the Troop meeting in the old NCO Club (Troop 666) to go away.  It was too historic a Troop and besides the Post had already lost three other Troops. I took him up on the idea and took Troop 666 to their last Camporee, helping them to win first place among the troops of their size.  The Troop merged with the other Troop I was leading at the time, Troop 801, and after the merger, Paul called and thanked me for the effort. 

His son Jake and I palled around, doing Exploring things here and there.  We both were a part of the Southeast Region's Communications committee -- something unusual for youth members to be a part of an adult committee.  While at Eastern Kentucky Univerity, we both were also members of the ROTC and it was Jake who kept me in the know while I was out around the eastern part of the state working as a Paraprofessional.  He never signed up, opting to learn how to be a paramedic instead.  And a damned fine one at that -- he hit my vein every single time in our practices. I hit his vein about 80 percent of the time. We both got our licenses from the Commonweath in the same ceremony.  Later that summer, we would both earn the Expert Field Medical Badge from the Army.

And during both ceremonies, there was Paul. Proud of his son -- and of his son's friend. In high school, he made it a point to tell my mom how proud he was of me.  He was never one of my Scoutmasters, but as my mom listened to Paul Boals tell it, I was one of his own.

I was saddened to hear of Paul's passing.  Like I said, I expected the man to live on, receiving the BSA's highest volunteer service award. He would deserve it.  He had the drive, the leadership skills, the "let's get it done" mentality. He would argue with the professionals but they knew -- and we knew, watching from the sidelines with big grins on our faces -- that Mr. Boals is right, and you just might as well get over it. He would research and call people and find the right answers and shove it right into the faces of his professional counterpart.  And they would listen to Paul.

Volunteers were fair game with him, and everyone wanted to work on whatever Paul Boals was into then.

We disagreed about my uniforming. My uniform never met up to his demanding standard -- but as he put his arm around me, he would tell me "look, I'm just pinning you about the uniform. As long as you've got Scouting in your heart and you use your head (he would point to his heart and his balding head), nobody can take that away from you." 
He was absolutely correct.  But then, he was always correct when it came to Scouting.

Rest, Sergeant Major. Rest. You've clearly done your best, and shown so many of us how also to do our best, even when things were tumbling around your life personally.

--
Settummanque!

Posted
 

Scouting Question - International Representatives

Hi Mike!!

Thanks for your kind words and encouragement.  I do my best to answer those "off the main stream" questions, using the resources and reference items I have access to.

You wrote and asked a great question:

"A question to you if you will. You appear to almost always have an answer for the "obscure" scouting questions :-)

...How many "International Representatives" can a Council have? I hear only 1 but I did see several different council websites that list 2 or mention more.

What's the real answer? (I'm not sure what I would get from National...Sometimes I don't like asking without already knowing the answer)."

The OFFICIAL answer is that the on the charter of all except "Metro" councils (the largest 25 local Councils in the BSA by registered youth members), there's only ONE "slot" for the position labeled "International Representative".  In those "Metro" Councils, two or three individuals may be placed on the charter in that volunteer position, depending on size of the Council.

The International Representative has a dual purpose (maybe a third):  he or she serves as the Council's representative to the BSA's International Committee and to the Direct Service Committee. When Direct Service was a Council, the International Representatives served as "members at large of the Council" and some were appointed as Council Executive Board members of that Council. Direct Service ceased to exist as a BSA local Council back in the middle 90s, but the charters still had the position and work description to local Councils. Direct Service still exists to support BSA Scouting around the world as well as within the USA. 

The other purpose of the International Representative is of course, to promote international programs and efforts which the BSA supports as well as encouraging units and individuals to participate in international activities and activities approved by the BSA's International workgroup (formerly Division).

The UNOFFICIAL ANSWER, is "as many as the Council's Executive Board authorizes", noting that in both the St. Louis, Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City Councils there are as many as six (the "Metro" New York City Councils have one per "sub Council" in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Manhatten and the Bronx; and one for the 'central Council' in New York City).

Thanks for asking me, Mike...that's a great question!!  Yes, so far the military retirement is going well; but I'm still working my craft as an Air Force civilian here in central Tennessee.

Settummanque!

Posted
 

Eagle Card question

Hey Red Dog!!  You wrote and asked a great question:

"I have a question that I can't find a source that has the answer. Perhaps you know.

On the Eagle Scout card there is a number (724 on mine) which is just left of the signature of the honorary president. What does that number represent?"

Yours has a 724; mine has a 205.  That is the local Council number in which the Eagle was approved from.  It appears on the pocket card, the wall certificate, and most importantly on the records maintained at the Eagle Scout Service and the Region in which your Council was a part of. 

Great question!!

Settummanque!

Posted
 

Question: Scout Sunday's coming up and I want to wear my uniform...

A LOT of former Scouters have been writing me this past week.  Many of them are like Jeff, who wrote to me a year ago and asked:

"I was an active, registered Scout and Scouter through my early 20’s:  Arrow of Light, Eagle Scout, Order of the Arrow (Brotherhood), summer camp staff, ’81 National Jamboree participant, Wood Badge (NE-III-108, Bear), Assistant Scoutmaster.  I have not been an active, registered Scouter for some time.  My three daughters, now 8, 6, and 4, keep me very busy, as I am heavily involved in their activities.

I attended church this Sunday, Scout Sunday.  As my church charters a Scout troop and pack, boys from the troop and pack attended and participated in the service.  I was considering wearing my old Scout uniform (I did wear my Eagle Scout necktie).  However, I am not currently a registered Scouter.  Is it ever appropriate (or explicitly inappropriate) for a formerly registered Scouter (who is no longer a registered Scouter) to wear his Scout uniform?  I have been unable to obtain any information on this specific issue."

I'll share with you the OFFICIAL answer and the answer which MAKES SENSE AND IS MOST APPROPRIATE:

The official answer is that "only those with a current registration certificate of membership shall be entitled to own and or wear the official Boy Scouts of America uniforms, insignia and other items..."  This comes from the BSA's Charter and Bylaws and has never been updated (we don't issue "registration certificates" and most local Councils don't even issue the small business-card sized registration cards any more; and local BSA merchants, to include our own Scout Shops(tm) don't even ask for "proof of registration").  There has been cases whereby the more unhonest of men and women have used BSA uniforms as "fronts" for a variety of criminal and civil activity and depending on where you live, the BSA's professional and volunteer leadership has cast evil eyes over anyone who's not recently or even currently associated with the movement in some way. 

The common ("Scouter") sense answer is that if you have your old Eagle Scout card, and maybe your old OA card in your wallet (if you're like me, you always have it -- mine is old and greyed out but it's still sitting in my wallet next to my NESA life membership card), you can and should wear (if you can still fit into it) your Scout uniform with those items applying to your former membership in the movement.  When those belonging to the "Patch Police" contact you, you can pull out your Eagle Scout card along with your OA card...and demostrate "association with the BSA" to them -- which is what they're looking for.

Here's a way that you can wear your uniform officially while maintaining your distance. Actually two ways:

- become a "Sustaining member" of your local Council.  This catagory of membership is more than just giving the local Council some money to sustain their programming on a yearly basis.  This also allows you to get mailings from the local Council and invites to some of the local Council activities -- in which you are perfectly welcome to wear your old field uniform because in essence, you ARE a member of the local council (just not registered as a volunteer).  Thi catagory is not a registration catagory but a supporting catagory.

- become a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association (NESA).  This entitles you to a special version of the Eagle Scout square knot insignia to wear on your uniform -- and keeps that association with Scouting active with you.  You also get some mailings and other information from the BSA -- and you are certainly invited to attend Scouting events (in which you may wear your old field uniform if you desire). 

The BSA wants you to establish some sort of registration status because the uniform serves as a visual cue to that registration and support.  However, the rules -- the official policy -- says that only those who are registered in some manner with the BSA through a local Council (you can't register with "national" any more) are the only ones who are supposed to wear the field uniform.  But like those thousands of veterans who are no longer in our armed services, very few people will question your support and association with the BSA as long as you use that support and association in positive manners consistant with what the BSA stands for and works toward.

Thank you again for asking me and I do encourage you to continue to serve as a registered Scouter as much as you active gals and your life will allow. 

----------------
Since that question was posed and I answered it, the BSA has developed an Alumni Connection program which allows you and others to continue your association with the BSA even with such busy lives as many of you have. It doesn't require your registration with the BSA but it DOES require you to provide them with some baseline information about your Scouting experiences -- no matter how long ago it was.  The website has been up and down over the past six months, because one of the components -- a special Alumni Search square knot emblem -- is being handed over to local Councils to administer.  But if you do a search for "BSA Alumni", you'll get to some of the resources still there to assist you. 

And if nobody else says it to your face -- thank you very much for your Scouting service.  I hope that Scout Sunday will spur you onward to becoming a volunteer (again) in some sort with the Boy Scouts of America!!

Settummanque!

Posted
 

More about Political Events and Scouting (6 Jan 12)

So we're now officially within a "national political campaigning year".  Assuming that the Mayans were wiped out before they could finish their virtual calendar; and also assuming that this year isn't the one in which hostile and hungry aliens arrive on our planet for a "mid-galatic snack"; we Americans have to contend with a series of gatherings, elections and debates.

I don't know what's worse -- the end of the world as we know it, some hungry-hungry hippos coming to eat us all -- starting with the more "plump" among us, or listening to (because Lord knows I love CNN, the "best network in the Universe", but I'm NOT in love with the endless debating, sniping and "you said this" -- "no, you said that") stuff we call the "political process".

A couple of days ago, one of my fellow Army Reserve Soldiers -- an enlisted dude living in Iowa and a part of an Army Reserve unit in that state -- decided to express his personal opinion about one of the many candidates (did you know that there's something like several HUNDRED candidates all running for President under the Republican party in 2012? It's a good thing we only hear, read and see seven or eight of them!!).  He's allowed to do this. There's nothing that says that he cannot express his own political ideas. He just can't do it during the military's "duty day", on a base somewhere, or...

...IN UNIFORM.   The wearing of the uniform implies that somehow the Army, the Army Reserve, or his unit "supports" the candidate, his or her views, or the political party that the candidate or Soldier is a part of.  It's such a big "no-no", that the Army goes out of its way every year to remind Soldiers of that fact -- and that it's a "bustable offense" under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  Put a bumper sticker on your car, van, truck or cycle, sure. Display a lawn item, yeah as long as you're not living in base housing.  Bring a coffeemug with that candidate's face or stuff about them running for whatever office, nope.  You can't wear campaign or support/against tee-shirts or display pins to work either.  That includes the gym, running around the block, and whether they stay in your office or cube or are out there where God and country can see it.  Pretty clear, right?  Well, that Soldier didn't "get the memo" and he's now in a LOT of trouble. 

Don't be spending your Sergeant's pay any time soon, Corporal. As a matter of fact, there's a great chance that instead of you saying "Hooah!" you may be saying "Want fries with that?" pretty soon.  It's THAT SERIOUS a MATTER.

Why?  Our nation's military is supposed to be non-partisan in its application and appearance.  Those of us in the military know the deal, however:  we know that every time a Democrat is in office, our military's going to shrink.  We know that every time a Republican is in office, our military's going to grow.   We have no idea what will happen if we get an Independent in office as our President.  The bottom line is regardless of who's in office or who we would LIKE to have in office, we serve the person in the office NOW. Either way.  We know that we can talk about politics with our friends after duty hours; we know that we can send money to a political campaign or issue group without someone forcing or keeping us from doing so.  But when we're wearing that uniform and working on the SERVICE'S TIME, that time needs to be spent doing things to help further the NATION'S CONCERNS...not our own.

What that Soldier did was to basically tell the nation -- or anyone who cared -- that he's stupid, has no loyality, and should not be saying anything he said in uniform.  The campaign he supported should have also coached him and provided him a teeshirt to wear instead of his battle dress uniform -- and he could say anything he felt he wanted to -- but they didn't. It's a "much better visual" for him to be there in uniform, saying whatever he said. It was the UNIFORM.

Okay. Enough of the Army Reserve dude -- let's talk about you and your youth in Scouting and how does all of this relate to them and you.  No, you're not in the military and Scouting isn't "junior Junior ROTC".  On the other hand, like the military, the BSA is non-partisan in it's organization and execution.  The BSA has a policy -- here it is in case you didn't "get *that* memo":

Participation in Political Events and Activities (from the BSA's Rules and Regulations):

"Uniformed unit members and leaders may participate in flag ceremonies at political events and may lead the Pledge of Allegiance; however, they should retire after the ceremony and not remain on the speakers’ platform or in a conspicuous location where television viewers nor photographers could construe their presence as an endorsement or symbol of support. In addition, photos of candidates with Scouts in uniform or which contain BSA marks and logos are not allowed in political campaign materials of any kind. Candidates for any office may not wear the official BSA field or dress uniform while photographed or videotaped for political campaign materials or while actively campaigning and should refrain from activily campaigning while in attendance at any BSA national, regional or local Council (to include District and unit) activity, event or rally.

This same policy extends to local or regional issues or causes, even those which may seem to be one in which the BSA would "tend to" support or oppose (for instance a new city or state park or the destruction or construction of a landmark or building)."  

If you're attending a political rally or event, you have a Constitutionally-granted right to be there.  You should avoid being there in a Scouting uniform (field or dress); and should avoid wearing Scouting-related garb (jac-shirt, hat, etc.) during the event.  "But nobody took a photo and I avoided the cameras", you may say...it doesn't always work out that way.  Today, ANYONE can take an image with one of those "eye-phones" or their competitors...and ANYONE can post/upload/provide images to any number of social media, social awareness, or partisan political sites or resources.  Just because you're a Scout or Scouter, doesn't mean that you're "automatically" a part of one or the other's political party or supports/opposes candidates or points of view within a particular party or affiliation.  So as long as you're there representing YOURSELF and your own PERSONAL VIEWS, go for it -- just *not* in any way representing Scouting!

If you're there as part of the color/honor guard, you should perform your duties to the best of your abilities...and then silently MOVE AWAY FROM THE STAGE AREA and be *completely away* from the rally or event.  Not just standing behind a speaker (even if that speaker is a minister or mayor or medicine man -- by YOU AND YOUR UNIT standing there gives a quiet but powerful "impression" that somehow the BSA or your local Council "backs" or "are behind" the cause or event). You've done your civic responsibilties by presenting the Flag of our nation or by standing with the national and/or state flag while others pay homage to our nation and state.  Now it's time for you to go home.

Scouting is designed to be non-political and non-partisan in its operation.  We have to be careful not to have Scouting -- the movement and individual Scouters and Scouts -- "sucked into" being a part of anyone's political campaign or promotion. Most national and regional campaign directors KNOW the rule about NOT using Scouts and Scouters.  The local directors and promoters, trying to get "a good crowd" for their candidate, don't always think of anything else other than "getting a good crowd".  In the past, Scoutmasters in a town would be contacted by politicial campaigns and asked to "bring all of their Scouts in uniform, and we'll help you get them to summer camp" or "get you some camping equipment" or something else.  All of that is WRONG under BSA policies.  Our units are NOT "rent a crowds" or "political backdrops".

"But I see military people, police and fire personnel behind the President... why can't we do that too?  I think it'll be really cool to have a sea of Scouts and Scouters sitting or standing behind our President (or behind his or her political opponent)." True, you do see quite a bit of law enforcement, protection or educators (or all of the above) serving as "human backdrops" for candidates and for the President.  Yes, even members of our military are seen in the background as the President speaks.  One has to remember this:  those individuals (except for the miltary folk) are *members of that particular political party who either PAID TO or WAS PAID BY the party to be there*.  As far as military members, they are more or less "directed" to be there (and because the President is, after all, the Commander-in-Chief of our land, air and sea forces, very few will say "nah...it's not my thing...")

Again, Scouts and Scouters are NOT "political backdrops" for the current or the "last" guy or gal.

No matter if the issue or campaign leans to the left, right, center, forward, backward, down or up -- or if something clearly "supports" or "helps Scouting" some way.

Part of being a citizen of this nation is the WILLING ABILITY to attend ceremonies to welcome or say "so long" to the leader of the United States. We're lucky to live in a nation whereby some jackbooted dude (or duddette) doesn't hammer on your door and tells you or or your family "you WILL appear in the town square tomorrow at 4pm and warmly welcome our nation's head of state -- or else!!  And you WILL smile and you WILL wave the things we give you -- or else!!"

If you and your Pack, Troop or Crew is invited to come out to the airfield and wave flags as the President arrives -- DO IT -- just NOT in Scouting uniforms or teeshirts or carrying Scouting banners, or while making it a Scouting event!  Invite those who want to attend, make sure that everyone understands that they are there to see the President (or former President) (or Vice President) (or a cabinet secretary) (or a military general or admiral) (etc.).  And have fun at doing it... take photos, shake the President's hand if you get close enough and desire to, and wave those small American flags proudly.

Volunteers and professionals must be alert to situations that would imply that the BSA favors one candidate over another. Strict observance of our long-standing policy against the active participation of uniformed Scouts and leaders in political events is mandatory.  Volunteers with questions concerning their participation in a political event, rally, or dinner should address them to their Council's Scout Executive for recommendation and resolution.

A timely reminder at a point whereby we are just starting the politics in either retaining the guy or gal we elected or hiring someone new in their place.  Good luck, don't get too big, round and fat, and keep the faith! *smiling*

Posted
 

Wow (13 Dec 11)

Jon:

I have an entire book which will finally hit shelves after the first of next year which talks about "injustices" and how at least in my own experiences, I overcame them.

You wrote in part:

"For quite some time now, I have been aware that, in its earlier days, the BSA permitted practices that were nowhere objectively justified by the Scout Oath or Law, such as racially-segregated Scout troops. Last night, I was shocked to find an example of just how un-Scoutlike some people were, back then."

And you haven't been looking around and noting the lack of faces with any other "coloring" than shades of pale eggwhite?  Glad you woke up. Welcome to my world.

While the BSA has tried (since 1922) with limited successes to make our programs more "colorblind", the fact is that we live in a nation which for the most part is still not so. Even in 2011, several decades after the civil rights marches, "Freedom Rides" and the reduction of the Klan and its brother Aryan Nation organizations, things haven't changed too much. In my beloved home state -- 17 miles from where I used to work as a Paraprofessional while going to college, a biracial couple (white woman who was born and raised in the county; black man who immigrated to the States) could sing together but was denied to be married at the same church.  Media pressure forced a slight majority of church members to change their minds and allow them to "live out their lives".  Most refused to even vote one way or another -- for fear of being labeled "bigots" or that "lover word" which starts with a racial slur.  Even where they have to pump sunlight into the hills, people have caught onto the "blazing hot spotlight" called the press and react "appropriately". 

The next time you go to a Council -- no, a District -- event, do this:  Count to yourself the number of Black, Brown and warm Yellow faces you see around the room.  Count the folks serving the food or assisting with the set up along with the participants, to be fair about it. A good 8 out of ten times, you'll be able to count those "other faces" on both hands, and perhaps using the toes of one of your feet.  It's not the BSA's fault... well, they're trying but not enough in *my opinion*.

It was the way that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers were raised, Jon.  It was a part of American history -- then as well as now.  The BSA was one of the few organizations in the forefront which didn't discriminate against Catholics.  Later Jews.  Then there were constant battles between the majority of the nation and eight Southern states which wanted to "align their Scouting membership with state law".  Later when the state law was changed, to "align their membership and leadership with social morals and conduct." The BSA threatened to yank Council charters, bar leaders from receiving the Silver Beaver, and attempted to reassign Black and in two cases Hispanic men to serve as Scout Executives in those Councils.  Didn't matter... Council Executive Boards thumbed their noses at the national organization; and their coffers increased as those "supporters" poured monies into their Council operation and summer camps to "keep them pure and separate."

Since one of the four "pillars" of Scouting has been the level of financial management; and another one the level of youth membership and units they are a part of -- the BSA shugged their shoulders and said "oh well..."

In my book, I relate an experience going to a summer camp operation in the Deep South to visit a fellow Jamboree staffer in 1978.  He invited me to come and see their wonderful camp and I drove the 400 or so miles southward to the entrance to the camp.  There, the Camp's Ranger -- wielding a shotgun -- told me in total clarity to "take my black ass back home where I belong" and that "none of your kind will EVER find their way inside this camp as long as I'm the Ranger."

I was a regional employee at the time. I had the Ranger fired. My friend and fellow Jamboree staffer never talked with me since then -- I've still got his number and when I decided to put the event into my book, I tried several times to reach him for his side of the story.  Either shame, regret, or support set in.  The Ranger was well-liked, was being paid good money (back then), and to this day, I have not been invited to attend or participate in anything in that particular local Council.  The Council has been subsequently merged into a larger metro Council, but I try my best to move forward and not dwell on it any more than I had to.

Truth be known, Jon, my mother would have yanked a knot in my tail if she'd known the number of Councils I've been to whereby I was literally "all alone".  A Scout is Brave, I wrote in the book, but I don't believe that Colin Livingstone and Daniel Carter Beard had me or some of my peers in mind when they were writing the American version of the Scout Law, adding points concerning valor, purity and tolerance.

You also wrote in part:

"I have a Civics merit badge pamphlet which dates from the 1920s, and which bears, on its inside front cover, a list of the 1928 requirements for the badge. Since I am currently counseling Scouts for the Citizenship in the Nation merit badge, I decided to look through the Civics pamphlet, since I like to use older Scouting resources for today's Scouts."

Scouts (kids) today for the most part, "don't care" about the "race thing". They pal up with White, Black, Asian and Hispanic kids of both gender as if they've been doing it all of their lives -- proudly tossing the middle finger at anyone who complains. Its a result of societial attempts at integrating our schools, churches and civic activities.  For the most part, it's a result of the media. From bit parts on the small and big screen toward starring or co-starring roles on television shows and in our movies, to leading actor and actress roles in blockbuster movies and television shows -- not because of the topic, but simply because we became used to seeing those "other faces" and then thrilled when they provided the performances of their lifetimes (it was "now or never", for many of them -- they knew it and many of us knew it too).  And when Bill Cosby said what many of us parents would say when our sons decided not to go to college; or when Halle Berry almost kicked James Bond's butt... we really stood up and cheered for the chocolate brown face.

We adults have a bit of a rough time "adjusting", going back to the recent example near Pikeville, Kentucky. Many of us are still stuck in neutral -- or if not actually, in our minds we want to be in reverse. Back then it was so easy: everything had its "place" and we placed people, actions and experiences in those "places" and be done with it.  Everyone knew their "place" and nobody wanted to "move" or "take" anyone else's "place" -- for fear of failure, embarrassment, shame, or worse. 

"People were lynched for doing what you did.  Just driving down in the wrong side of a town can put your life at risk. Leave the Wood Badge presentation to someone of their own kind". Despite the constant "recommendation" in the early days of my travels (and her prayers before I left), even my sweetie (later to become my wife) could not keep me from upholding the Order of the Arrow's Obligation ("...will seek to preserve a cheerful spirit, even in the midst of irksome tasks and weighty responsibilities...") and the Tenth Scout Law.  No cell phones back then.  No way to summon assistance.  Just blind faith -- and the promise of a meal and someplace to rest my head in relative comfort; and a coffee mug, patch and/or a piece of printed cardboard with some signatures and thank you -- and perhaps a bit of change to help me "get back to where I belong".

Many Scouters replaced racial tensions with fears that like so many other things, the BSA will "cow down" to the black organizations and the black ministers and the black media and dilute the program.  When the BSA started placing black and brown faces prominently on the covers of their publications, my comment to a friend of mine was "this isn't good -- a knee jerk reaction to "we need more black faces". Let's just print entire books with *only* black faces -- you know, like they do dolls..." After the recent release of the Guide to Advancement a couple months back, I read a LOT of email basically saying the same thing: "the BSA is watering down the program, trying to make every kid an Eagle Scout!"

The BSA is too ashamed to admit it, but folks like me know factual information like this.  Black and Brown kids being refused membership -- it's legal and BSA approved (the chartered organization sets the youth membership standards, not the BSA). Adults being able to serve as unit level leaders but not as Commissioners or committee members in several local Councils.  Council Executive Boards telling the Scout Executive that "you can hire them, but you have to limit them to the "black" or "brown" parts of the Council's territories. Don't make them a District Exec of a suburban District -- we'll have your head." 

I thought we were over and done with this...

I am currently working with a biracial family in a northern state to help them appeal their son's Eagle board of review. The chair of the board wrote on one of the documents the group was reviewing "this zebra kid has a big mouth. Not eagle material." They denied his Eagle because he did not have "enough Scout spirit" for them.

In a nation with its first African-American president, the BSA still haven't cracked the code (or have the courage yet...they're getting there, but...) to simply say "There's only one standard -- that of the Scout Oath or Promise and the Scout Law (the "three and 12") " and enforce it across all local Councils, all volunteers, and anyone who deals with the BSA.  We ask our youth to embrace those ideals.  We "measure them" against those ideas, and that of fair play, equality and true brotherhood. But that's as far as it goes.  

Not in the book, Jon (the book was completed in 1989) but lots of Scouters have asked me "why hasn't the President come out and publically support the BSA?  I mean, look, he's black -- he could give a big boost toward making Scouting less white and a whole lot more blacks would see that it's not the "white kids outdoor adventure club". 

I look at them in the eye and answer them, "because the BSA can't even be brave enough to enforce one standard, one set of rules.  We talk a great game but don't expect the refs to follow the rule book.  The day when they do, you'll see not only the President embracing the Boy Scouts of America -- you'll see America embrace it once again."

Wow.  Wow indeed - or in the word of my "catch phrase" I'm going to use during 2012 (you can too!).... EXCEPTIONAL!

Settummanque!
--
Settummanque is writer, retired military officer, dad, friend,
traveler, public speaker, webmaster, Eagle Scout, and/or "sweetie"
(LTC) Mike Walton. South Lake Minnetonka area, Minnesota.
http://www.settummanque.com

Posted
 

About Being a First Class Scout (8 Dec 11)

(We're talking over on Scouts-L, the "international daily Roundtable meeting which NEVER ends!"(tm) about the value of Eagle in today's Scouting environment.  Someone suggested that we somehow "tighten" the tasks required to become an Eagle Scout.  I disagreed and stated that instead of tightening the Eagle requirements, that perhaps we need to insure that those who earn the First Class Scout rank really *know their stuff*, stating in part that before the "improved Scouting program" in the early 70s, that's the way it was.

Dave wrote: "oh Mike.

Now - we all know that in Webelos 3 (a.k.a. new scout patrol) that all the kiddies "earn" First Class in their First Year.

We could NEVER make 1st class a true test of scout skills, because we would "lose" all those scouts we allegedly keep in scouting because they make first class in their first year"

Here's my response to him, posted on Scouts-L (for subscription information, go to http://www.scouts-l.net ) and also posted to my Facebook page )

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Hey Dave!

I was more proud of myself for attaining First Class than I was when I received the Eagle.  Sounds really nutzoid, right? 

It took me almost two years before I earned First Class.  My memory says that there were six months' tenure between Second and First Class.  I couldn't swim back then -- that was the delay.  I learned how to -- it was the last "requirement" I met before I talked with my Scoutmaster, went before my peers, showed them that I knew my stuff, and they approved my advancement.  

I wrote in my book "Patches and Pins" that when I earned First Class, it was as if all of those stories I read about in _Boys'_Life_ and _Scouting_ was a possibility for me.  I could DO those things because I had confidence, knowledge and learned the skills to do them.  I was everything that Baden Powell and Colin Livingstone and James West and Dan Beard envisioned the "first class Boy Scout" to be.

More because I'm an American -- and a Black one at that.

I learned about my nation, my community and my place in it -- and how I could make all of them better.  I learned about famous Americans and famous American places -- some which as an adult, I have a NEW appreciation for because up until that point in my life, I just read about them. 

I learned how to get myself around any town, around any sets of woods, around any other people.  I learned the value of cardinal directions and magnetic directions. I can shoot an azmuth, follow it and be at my destination -- and I didn't have to use anything based on a computer chip or "birds in the air".  I can walk into any "quicky mart" today, look at a map, orient where I am at in relationship to the destination, and leave with confidence knowing that either I "should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque" or that "I'm right on the right trail".

I learned the most essential tool in my pocket was my Scout knife. Okay, it was the Swiss Army version of the Scout knife. As I watched my "television hero" Angus MacGyver use -- and kept a close hold -- onto his pocket knife weekly, it was revealed that the knife and all of its shiny tools are secondary to the knowledge in ones brain as to how to use "your resources".

I learned how to camp -- in a tent or with a poncho suspended from tree branches or just camping in my car.  I learned which materials will "light up" quickly and won't leave much heat and I learned how to make a fire which will burn just about all night long -- as long as I feed and watch it.  I learned how to cook on that fire -- I'm still learning this mind you, some 40 years later -- and how to make foods edible and consumable (still learning there).  I learned how to make coffee -- outdoors, indoors and again, in my car. I learned how to protect foods from being eaten by various bugs and animals -- and how to keep myself from becoming some other animal's "good eatin's".   

I learned how to hike...not just walk, but walking with a purpose.  I know that my body can take me 15 miles before I have to rest up; it used to be able to take me twice as long but you know I'm not a young man anymore...  I learned how to care for my body and others' bodies in prevention and care/healing.  I learned about the night sky (when I can see it), know what it's supposed to look like at different points in the year, and I learned how to depend upon others as well as myself in the outdoors as well as indoors. I know what deer, raccoon, bear and Big Foot prints look like and I learned how to follow most of those tracks and avoid or stay away from others.

I learned the value of the land I walked upon, how various things will sustain me and others if it came down to it.  I also learned the value of sticking up and defending the land and water because literally it is all we have.  We can't manufacture land and water (I did learn how to distill water from the air and how to make land "more ready for plants" however).

And because I was fortunate to be in Troops which did outdoor events frequently, it gave me plenty of time to practice those skills -- over and over and over -- until they became second nature to me.  When a girlfriend asked "to go camping" with me, I perked up and said "sure -- as long as you do most of the cooking while I get and keep the fire going!"

In short, as I wrote, I was prepared as a First Class Scout.  I was ready for the return of Jesus.  I was ready for the spacecraft which will carry off those deemed "delicious" first.  I was ready for those "Viper people".  My fellow Scouts, my Scoutmasters, my family and my faith all prepared me. At the tender age of 13, I was not stupid -- nor was I fearless. 

Just prepared.

Yep, as I stood there in front of my fellow Scouts to receive the First Class Scout badge set -- the large metallic First Class badge; the small First Class badge which I still wear (and which other members of the Scouting club at Eastern Kentucky wore as our "club pin"),  the cloth ovalled First Class patch, and the pocket card (an old one because our Council was still transitioning to the new cards) -- I was a rock star. Too bad my parents weren't there at that Court of Honor for they would have seen a pumped up little kid with a big heart and a grin to match.  

I didn't take that First Class patch off my uniform until I was a Life Scout.  And if one looks closely at some of the images of me out there, they can see that small gold First Class Scout pin on a lapel or sweater decades after I had attained that rank as a Boy Scout. 

Today, because I'm a First Class Boy Scout who just happened to make his way toward Eagle, I'm prepared for those zombies.  Bring 'em! 

Settummanque!

Posted