M O T H E R

D is for the Delight you show us,
for the popsicle art we made for you.
E is for the extra smile you shared.
N is for the Nestles in our milk.
M is for the money that you gave me
O is for the Oreos you fed us,
when the den needed a snack.
T is for Tylenol we made you take
when we stapled the curtin to the chair.
H is for the hair that we made gray.
E is for the energy you had.
R is for the raise Dad gave you
double the pay for a volunteer.
Put it all together it spells Den Mother the Mother all cub scouts held so dear.

Happy Mother's Day to all past, present, and future scout leaders and Moms!

Finding Out That You Make a Difference

Today I was able to help a fellow scouter by answering some questions he had on international scouting and I was, fortunately, able to help answer the questions he posed and was also able to direct him to 2 other contacts that are very willing to assit him in his quest to create a scouting unit in another country.
As soon as, that phone conversation ended, I received another call from overseas, after sending an email, that their scouting program headquarters are at the ready to assist in doing whatever they can in this endeavor.
It is certainly nice to know that one can make a difference especially when I consider myself to be a lower level of the scouting program.

When Scout Leaders Lose Their Compass

This post is about how some scout leaders lose their compass or sense of scouting direction and hopefully this article will help re-focus what is suppose to be the ultimate goal in scouting: to make sure that the scouting program is both fun and safe.
Take this fictitious letter for example:

Dear Mom and Dad,



Our Scoutmaster told us to write to our parents in case you saw the flood on TV and were worried. We are OK. Only one of our tents and two sleeping bags got washed away. Luckily, none of us got drowned because we were all up the mountain looking for Chad when it happened. Oh yes, please call Chad's mother and tell her he is OK. He can't write because of the cast. I got to ride in one of the search and rescue jeeps. It was neat. We never would have found him in the dark if it wasn't for the lightning. Scoutmaster Walt got mad at Chad for going on a hike alone without telling anyone. Chad said he did tell him, but it was during the fire so he probably didn't hear him.
Did you know that if you put gas on a fire, the gas can will blowup? The wet wood didn't burn, but one of the tents did. Also some of our clothes. John is going to look weird until his hair grows back.
We will be home on Saturday if Scoutmaster Walt gets the car fixed. It wasn't his fault about the wreck. The brakes worked OK when we left. Scoutmaster Walt said that with a car that old, you have to expect something to break down; that's probably why he can't get insurance. We think it's a neat car.
He doesn't care if we get it dirty, and if it's hot, sometimes he lets us ride on the fenders. It gets pretty hot with 10 people in a car. He let us take turns riding in the trailer until the highway patrolman stopped and talked to us.
Scoutmaster Walt is a neat guy. Don't worry, he is a good driver. In fact, he is teaching Terry how to drive on the mountain roads where there isn't any traffic. All we ever see up here is logging trucks.
This morning, all of the guys were diving off the rocks and swimming out in the lake. Scoutmaster Walt wouldn't let me because I can't swim, and Chad was afraid he would sink because of his cast, so he let us take the canoe across the lake. It was great. You can still see some of the trees under the water from the flood. Scoutmaster Walt isn't crabby like some scoutmasters. He didn't even get mad about the life jackets. He has to spend a lot of the time working on the car so we are trying not to cause him any trouble.
Guess what? We have all passed our first aid merit badges. When Dave dove in the lake and cut his arm, we got to see how a tourniquet works. Wade and I threw up, but Scoutmaster Walt said it probably was just food poisoning from the leftover chicken.
I have to go now. We are going to town to mail our letters and buy bullets. Don't worry about anything. We are fine.
Love,
Tommy

We all are familiar with leaders like this in varying degrees and most of the problems our leaders face can be overcome with the proper training.
I have seen some leaders comment,"I don't need the training; I am an Eagle Scout," to "We take our scouts paint balling but we do it as a family get together and not as a scout unit so we do not need to comply with the BSA rules on safety," or "We want to tie a scout event in with the Young Eagles program but we are not going to comply with the 2 deep leadership rule and assume that the Young Eagles program will take on those issues with child safety." And my favorite, "...for our crossover, we are going to have a live fire inside the church because the fake fires aren't good enough....it will be a small fire so it will be OK."
Scary thoughts.
I wouldn't allow my son or daughter take part in any scout activity with leaders that allow things like that to happen.
So what's the solution?
Simple.

1. Make certain that you are up to date on any and all training available.
2. Keep the Guide to Safe Scouting close at hand. Better yet. Make the Guide to Safe Scouting your Bible for any and all scouting activities.
3. Keep at least 2 adults, child protection certified, on hand at all times.
4. Ask questions. If the answer is no then find out why and then learn why or why not.

Use common sense and keep your compass pointing in the right direction.
Your scouts depend upon it.

Scouting Comes Full Circle

Recently, I volunteered to help with the Voyageur District's Derby event which included the pinewood derby cars, the rain gutter regatta boats, and the rocket racers and after the event was over; a young scout came up to me and asked i he could help with the breakdown of the regatta equipment that was used.
I smiled and told this scout, Sure, you can help."
With a smile this 1st year scout grabbed the heaviest of objects and preceded to carry the sandbags out to the awaiting truck and then came back to take out the gutters and other equipment and he did so with a smile on his face.
 When everything was packed away, I offered to buy this scout a soda and slice of pizza from the concession stand and his reply was, "No thanks, I'm a scout and no payment was needed for the help," and then he disappeared with his awaiting family.

FLASHBACK TO 100 YRS. AGO IN LONDON, ENGLAND:
 William D. Boyce,an American newspaper man, entrepreneur, magazine publisher, and explorer who became lost in the dense London fog, but was guided back to his destination by a young boy. Boyce offered payment to the young boy who refused payment and told him that he was merely doing his duty as a Boy Scout.

The only difference between this story and the one from 100 yrs. ago is that I know this scout as Nick and Wm. Boyce never knew the scout that helped him.
It is nice to see scouting does indeed come full circle.
Thanks, Nick.

Happy Easter

I would like to start out by wishing you all a very Happy Easter and hope that the the bunny is good to you.
I for one love the Easter Bunny and although I have never seen the bunny, I have been the recipient of some wonderful gifts which have included colored eggs, chocolates, and even my first compass (which still accompanies me to my scout campouts).
Speaking of campouts: Now is the time for you to inventory your camping gear and equipment to make sure everything is in tip top condition and if it is not, get it repaired or replaced as you don't not want to discover that the gear you have taken to camp is no longer useable.
I know of one scout that had an issue of mice and brought his sleeping bag to his first camp of the season to discover that the bag was ruined by the new mouse condominium built in the lining of the bag.
It was a very long, cold weekend.
I usually take the time to discover new and exciting recipes that I can introduce to the camp so that the meals are just as exciting as the camping experience.
So now that the weather is warming up...Get out there and get camping!

How to Make a Souvenir Camp T-shirt

Recently, I had a discussion with a couple of scouting moms that were complaining about the economy and how they could afford to send their sons to camp and still be able to allow them to have a souvenir keepsake from that camp without spending more funds than they could afford.
Here is an interesting idea to create a keepsake souvenir of your camp experience and is very thrifty:

Take a white t-shirt and insert a cardboard sheet inside the shirt and then gather up some green leaves and ferns to make a printable design on the t-shirt.
Be careful that you do not use poisonous leaves from the poison ivy plant or poison sumac or poison oak trees!
 
Once you find the suitable leaves, lay the leaves on the t-shirt by making a suitable design.
Lay a couple of layers of paper towels over the leaves.
Pound the leaves flat with a hammer or wooden mallet so that the leaves stain the clothing.
Carefully peel the toweling and leaves off the shirt and then place the t-shirt into a dryer for 10 minute to fix the stained leaf prints onto the shirt.
There you have it. Your very own souvenir camp shirt.

Remember the old saying: "Leaflets three, let it be!  Berries white, poisonous sight!"

Scouting:Where We have Been and Where We are Going

100 years ago, William Boyce, brought scouting from England, via several discussions with Lord Baden Powell.
Scouting, then, was about teaching young men to become self sufficient through games featuring campcraft and scoutcraft skills which was to make them become outstanding citizens within their respective community.
Through these games, scouts were able to learn and grow to become some of the best leaders we have ever seen (Sam Walton, Steven Spielburg, Bruce Jenner, and President Gerald Ford-just to name a few).

Flash forward to 2010:

Scouting still teaches and will continue to teach scouts to make sound ethical choices within their daily lives, become model citizens through community service and give the scouts a well grounded education and make them very self reliant through the use of campcraft and scoutcraft skills.

Flash forward to 2110:

100 yrs. from now, I would expect to see scouting continue to create young men into strong leaders within their community and still give them the moral fiber to set themselves apart as outstanding citizens and future leaders.
Thanks for the "Game of Scouting,"  Lord Baden Powell gave the world for that game really is the "game of life."

Scouting will still teach the scouts to "Be Prepared and "Do a Good Turn Daily," for that is what the game of life is all about.