General Scouting Thread - BSA + GSA

[ROFL BOX 6647]

As a Scout parent who is often out there with your cookie selling Daughter, it's difficult to restrain yourself from hogging the entire transaction.  I have whittled myself down to only the occasional contribution for content or nudged my daughter to properly count ca$h back (she refuses to do it that way & I fear she will be the kind of zit faced high school aged fast food clerk that relies solely upon the register to t ell her what the change is).

 

But I do see the validity of your wife's concern provided she isn't bitchy about it to the Scout.  Maybe she can coax the Scout into the transaction & engage the girl in some questions, whether it's about product or what the $$ is for, maybe ask about a patch on her vest / sash.  Remember, you're not really buying the cookies, you're buying Scouts.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Was I the only Shagger to attend today's GS-CTX Cookie Honors?

Roxette sold 1,784 boxes total (the program had her count off a minor amount).  Either way, she got a walk.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

Am I the only one doing BALOO training this weekend and waiting on the non-existent rain storm that will flood us all?

[ROFL BOX 6647]

On 5/18/2019 at 1:04 PM, atomheartbevo said:

Am I the only one doing BALOO training this weekend and waiting on the non-existent rain storm that will flood us all?

I trained the Whittling Chip portion of BALOO this past Dec. & let me tell you, it was coooold.  The Sacred Springs program was @ the tiny Kiwanis Park near 5 Mile Dam.  Wet out there as well...

Now that I'm up in the Troop level, I only assist here & there in the Cub stuff.

How was your experience?  Go to some RoundTable events & get your knot!

[Chad Fuck 17658]

Am I the only one doing BALOO training this weekend and waiting on the non-existent rain storm that will flood us all?

Dallas?

[Chad Fuck 17658]

Btw we had a PWD build night last week foe our second ever Pack meeting. Huge success. Fun was had by all.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

1 hour ago, Chad Fuck said:

Dallas?

Lost Pines/Bastrop.  

[atomheartbevo 89618]

2 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

I trained the Whittling Chip portion of BALOO this past Dec. & let me tell you, it was coooold.  The Sacred Springs program was @ the tiny Kiwanis Park near 5 Mile Dam.  Wet out there as well...

Now that I'm up in the Troop level, I only assist here & there in the Cub stuff.

How was your experience?  Go to some RoundTable events & get your knot!

Good experience,  not what was expected - I guess I was thinking it was something closer to what I now know is Wood Badge, which I now plan on doing   I didn’t really learn anything the online training and manuals didn’t have, but we learned about the facilities, and we basically networked with a lot of other parents.   Most of the stuff (whittling, cooking, etc.) I already knew.  Meeting a bunch of other parents who were a little more dedicated than many parents (more than just dropping off and picking up their kids at the den and pack meetings) was great   

Speaking of, during the whittling portion, I saw more than a few parents who had never whittled anything before.  No blood was shed though.  The first aid portion was next to us, and a couple of parents were paramedics/EMTs, so we were covered   

I was very impressed with the Lost Pines facilities and staff.  Glad we could get into scouting just as our oldest was finishing kindergaten and they are allowing girls - our youngest is three, so we are in this for the long haul.   She already wants to do everything big brother is.  

[atomheartbevo 89618]

One thing that stood out - a lot of really new packs in the Austin area - mostly from the newer subdivisions, chartered within the past 10-15 years.  That’s good that there’s a lot of parents moving into areas without packs/troops and putting in the effort to start them up.  

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Obv. BALOO is designed for everyone & that means it has to cover learning how to crawl with some touches on how to finish a marathon & lots in between.  The idea is to know what to do when things happen & also to give some folks basic access to camping.  You may (or may not) be surprised as to how many parents haven't ever put up even one tent.  When I went through BALOO 4 or 5 years ago, it wasn't a camping weekend, only a 1/2 day gathering that ran from 0800 to around 1400.

Get signed onto Woodbadge NOW (assuming there is room) for this Fall; you will be in there with our incoming Scoutmaster who is absolutely the right guy for the position.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Monster is @ summer camp out in Bastrop.  The Troop probably left here around 1030 on Sunday & yesterday evening, he started texting that he wants to come home.

 

1st Time he has gone for more than a 2 night Troop campout without  having me around.  I wasn't a fan of sending a phone with him, but my wife insisted.  Additionally, my wife has been a problem with the very idea of camp; "Summer camp is where you send your kids when you don't want to be bothered with them over the summer".

The first text he sent was asking me if he could come back with me us when we go out to visit the camp for dinner on Friday & I ignored it because I wanted to discuss it with my wife once I got home from climbing on roofs yesterday.

Before we had an opportunity to dig into it, he started sending messages to her.  She asked why & his response was "I don't like the accommodations / I hate the activities / it's really boring / I wanna leave ASAP."
That was followed up with ":( I absolutely hate it here!  The deal was that if I didn't like it here I would quit.  I want to quit."

My wife responded with "$375 bucks for one day?  I didn't raise a quitter!" & then "You made that deal with Dad, not me.  Talk to him."

Monster:  "I know, but I hate it mom, I hate it so much, I wanna come home.  I tried him and he's not responding."

Wife:  "What are you supposed to be doing right now?"

Monster:  "I just want to come home."

Wife:  "I know.  Just make the best of it."

 - - - - - -

& Like his lack of motivation to get any rank or merit badges (still doesn't have any after over 1 year in Scouts BSA), I feel like I've done something wrong.  YES, I realize this is the common separation / homesick anxieties & has zero to do with Scouts, however most kids don't go to summer camp with 19 kids & 6 adults they already know.

I haven't heard from any of the Scout leaders from our Troop (the incoming SM is out there & Monster has spent the night with his family in the past) & no contact from anyone or reports from the wife today.  Hopefully she can wait this out, because I can... but @ the same time, I hope that if we DO simply refuse to come get him that he won't resent  us for it.

<sigh>

[Soldierhorn 206]

15 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

but @ the same time, I hope that if we DO simply refuse to come get him that he won't resent  us for it.

I guess you have to go get the monster at some point - right?  

Have you read the old book, Ransom of Red Chief?  Some crooks kidnapped a kid and held him for ransom. In the end, the crooks ended up paying the parents to come get the kid. Good book

[Native Horn 3498]

ROFL BOX, I was in your shoes in the Summer of 2011 with my son.  His first summer camp after crossing over a couple of months before.  Down at Bear Creek BSA camp, near Hunt, TX I think.  As you'll recall, 2011 was a hot sumbitch, and it was over 100 every day, so not the best conditions. He didn't have a phone (thank goodness), but we got a heads up from some of the leaders that he was homesick.  They said they would work him through it, so I had to trust them.  Would it have been easier in the short term to just go pick him up?  Sure.  Did I?  Nah.  

By the time I went down there on Friday night for parents' night, he was way excited to see me, but he also said he was having a great time.  Earned four merit badges (which as you know, is easily doable at summer camp).  Stayed in Scouts and earned his Eagle last year, and now in NYC for college.  

tl;dr - This too shall pass, and he will be just fine.  

Sending positive thoughts to Monster and his folks!

[ROFL BOX 6647]

@Soldierhorn, the Troop is handling "there & back" duties.  Seems kinda silly, but we will go out on Friday evening for the "dinner with  your camper" end of it & come back that night, where the next day they return & I will collect him from the Troop shed.

@Native Horn, that's my thing - hopefully in another day he won't be in a bad spot & YES, I am 100% hoping he has a few MB's to come home with.

[Soldierhorn 206]

2 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

@Soldierhorn, the Troop is handling "there & back" duties.  Seems kinda silly, but we will go out on Friday evening for the "dinner with  your camper" end of it & come back that night, where the next day they return & I will collect him from the Troop shed.

That does seem silly and unnecessary.  But then again, I'm not a boy scout guy so I probably dont get it.  I lasted all of two weeks and got kicked out for fighting at the old church near Buda elementary

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Quote

 

It gives him a chance to show us some of the stuff they have been doing / working on, the "accommodations" (it's the Troop yurts, for Scouts only; adults bring our own tents), etc.  If I had the time, I would have gone on the camp, however 1 week away from roofing is kinda difficult for me because I am down some labor for daily repair calls.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

No text / calls from Monster yesterday or today.

I will accept that as a win & I absolutely, 100% hope he is having an amazing time vs. simply toughing it out because we said "no".  No regerts for not picking him up, but it is really an important thing for me that he remain in Scouts up to age 18.  If he doesn't, that's obv. got to be his decision & I have had trouble on occasion with his motivation to put down the  Xbox or tablet & attend a Troop meeting.

He's 12.  Maybe I shouldn't talk to him like he's 22 or 32 or 42.

[Native Horn 3498]

That's good news.  He's home free now, and probably has some merit badges to show for it. Nice job Monster!

[Your Mom 4805]

Good luck with that Rolfbox. No sarcasm, seriously good luck. Kids like what they like. I’m headed to Philmont with my 14 year old and I’m pretty certain it’ll be our last Scout activity. I’d love to see him make Eagle but he just isn’t interested in the day-to-day Scouting stuff at all. He plays sports and they interfere with meetings so we hardly ever attend the meetings. Can’t remember the last one we went to. He loves the long camps. We’ve done Kia Kima in Arkansas for a week and Sea Base for a week in the Keys. He hates the local weekend campouts and hasn’t been on one in well over a year. At 14 he’s still a Tinderfoot... lol. He loved the older kids that mentored him when he joined scouts  but he hates being around the younger ones now.  He’s not interested in any leadership positions and having to deal with the younger ones.  That’s kind of a dick move but then again I’ve seen these kids and they are obnoxious  

My deal with him is that he has to be involved in something extra curricular... anything. Band, sports, theater, scouts, a regular volunteer gig, or anything else. Sports wins all that by a mile. If not for sports he’d be more into band than scouts. 

[Soldierhorn 206]

9 hours ago, ROFL BOX said:

No text / calls from Monster yesterday or today.
I will accept that as a win...

or... he's duct tapped to a cot, tree or canoe  LOL 

 

just kidding of course

[Sbbruin 21825]

The Boy is ready to move to Life Scout at the next Court of Honor, and is doing his "Trail to Eagle" week at the local scout camp (they do 3 hours a night for 5 nights) to get 2 more eagle required merit badges.  These camps really help them knock those out.  He is on track, but turning 16 in a couple of months so I told him he really needs to map out his path to eagle so his 18th bday doesn't sneak up on him.

[Native Horn 3498]

Sbbruin, your son sounds like he is in great shape to finish Eagle. Most of the merit badges are easy to knock out (except for those few that actually have weeks-long documentation requirements).  It's that damn Eagle Project that REALLY will sneak up on you.  He needs to get some ideas for that together now, if he hasn't already.  

[ROFL BOX 6647]

FYI, by the way, I've told a buddy of mine that if I was killed in an auto crash / fall off a roof / get a rebound nail through the skull, etc., it's paramount that he stay in Scouts & get his Eagle.  I've put the weight on my friend to make certain it happens in the event something untoward goes down.

I'll also request that the Shag Scouting hive mind also put in some effort to support this action... again, if I have something accidental happen to me.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

You ok, buddy?

[ROFL BOX 6647]

2 hours ago, Chad Fuck said:

You ok, buddy?

Nope.  It's 100+ degrees out & I'm a roofing contractor.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

6 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

Nope.  It's 100+ degrees out & I'm a roofing contractor.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

So, we had our Pine Wood Derby on June 8.  Borrowed the track from a neighbor Pack.  I think we wound up with north of 40 boys entered and 10 adults ($20/car, all proceeds helped pay for trophies, etc.).  

A very kind soul (who's happens to run a trophy shop and has a grandson in the Pack) donated trophies for all the kids.  I was ambivalent about that at first, but not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, we went along.  In the end, I think it was a good deal.  Chad Jr., who had fun building his car but placed in exactly nothing, told the Grand Fucks, that he'd "won."  Which was a hoot.  In PWD, just showing is winning.  It was a ton of fun.  

Now on to planning for next year...

[Chad Fuck 17658]

BTW, I won out of all the adults.  No trophies, just pride of place.  

[Soldierhorn 206]

49 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

Nope.  It's 100+ degrees out & I'm a roofing contractor.

I'll tell you what, it's not as bad now as it was 30-40 yrs ago but guys that do roofing work have my respect. I did it in the summertime as a teenager to have some spending money; some of the hardest work I've ever done. it was just a 2-3 man team and they amazed me as a kid.  We didnt have air tools or a front end loader to lift things up to the roof, much less a conveyor belt. It was my job to put the 90 pound (?) shingle pack on my shoulder go up a ladder and lay it on the roof ahead of the roofers. What a workout for football! esp for the legs going up ladders with that weight. Most of the time, I couldnt wait to get down off the roof. It was so hot, the tar on the shingles would bubble and it felt like fire burning through my tenny-shoes. Flat roofs and working with wet tar wasnt much better.  The guy I worked for was an American Indian and his partner was a Texican. How they were able to do the kimshi squat (what it was called in Korea) in long pants and long sleeve shirt all day on that roof amazed me.  They were tough guys... and I like it. Between that and hauling hay bails was a good summer of making money and getting a workout at the same time. Life was good

[Soldierhorn 206]

53 minutes ago, Chad Fuck said:

BTW, I won out of all the adults.  No trophies, just pride of place.  

so... fess up!  how did you sneak in the extra weight?  did you drill a hole, pour in liquid lead and cover it with bondo and paint?  

[ROFL BOX 6647]

That's pretty late in the Scouting year for PWD... the Pack I was CM for & most Packs I know of have theirs in March @ the latest.

 

That said, in looking up info on the big championship, it's coming up next weekend in NYC.

https://www.bsa-gnyc.org/championshippinewood

[Chad Fuck 17658]

47 minutes ago, Soldierhorn said:

so... fess up!  how did you sneak in the extra weight?  did you drill a hole, pour in liquid lead and cover it with bondo and paint?  

I have a very good friend who has a Ph.D in physics.  He had a lot of good suggestions.  

[Sbbruin 21825]

23 hours ago, Native Horn said:

Sbbruin, your son sounds like he is in great shape to finish Eagle. Most of the merit badges are easy to knock out (except for those few that actually have weeks-long documentation requirements).  It's that damn Eagle Project that REALLY will sneak up on you.  He needs to get some ideas for that together now, if he hasn't already.  

I've told him that.  This summer I'll get him focusing on it.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

31 minutes ago, ROFL BOX said:

That's pretty late in the Scouting year for PWD... the Pack I was CM for & most Packs I know of have theirs in March @ the latest.

 

That said, in looking up info on the big championship, it's coming up next weekend in NYC.

https://www.bsa-gnyc.org/championshippinewood

We are based out of a brand new school that just started in August 2018.  We had no PTA, no Scouts, no nothing.  PTA got going in the fall, and they are our charter org.  They didn't have their stuff together for us to get the Scouts going until Spring.  

Consequently, our first ever recruitment night was April 4 of this year.  We (me and two other guys) organized a Pack, but realized it was going to be hard to get any serious traction on advancement/activities before school ended.  So we planned a PWD for June, thinking we could do something relatively big to give the kids a positive impression before they all split for the summer.  We had a couple Pack and Den meetings focused around basic Bobcat stuff and building cars.  

Of course, we will be looking to coordinate events with the district/council going forward into the new year.  But considering that we went from zero to PWD with 40+ kids in two months, dodging and weaving all the other end of year activities at school, I think we did ok.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Yeah, I had forgotten that y'all were a very new Pack.

That said, have y'all gotten these patches for all the new Scouts & Scouters?

[Chad Fuck 17658]

Yeah, I had forgotten that y'all were a very new Pack.

That said, have y'all gotten these patches for all the new Scouts & Scouters?

Not yet. It’s on the agenda though.

Right now we’re trying to get our schedule for next year ironed out. PTA is our charter org and we have a lot of leadership crossover there. We don’t want to conflict with their events if we can avoid it.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Get your JSN in shape now - speak with your D.E. & have them attend.  I don't know if it is exclusive to our Council, but we do a "Join tonight [gimme that check!] & your new Cub gets an Estes rocket to use @ our Rocket Derby event that happens on ______ " (& that gives you one big planned event for an upcoming month).

Also, the option for a Spring JSN is always a good one as well; you can often catch kids that are coming in as Kinder provided you can leverage social media, posters, etc. & get the word out for your community (sorry, not digging around to see where you are).  Also, if you have local newspapers then you should try to get them out for photos, maybe an article YOU write for an advance promo & goes in their paper - those small town rags are always looking for filler so they don't have to write a piece.  @ A minimum, get it into the community calendar for every resource available AND you should leverage the PTA resources to get them to promote your Pack.

I have some sample press releases that I have used as templates & if you are interested in a copy of them (+ some others that I have sent out), shoot me an email & I will send those back.

Marshal.Scouting@gmail.com

PS:  Don't forget that popcorn sales is coming up & this is often an EASY way to confuse the hell out of the new parents, so you will need a well organized Kernel (I suggest a pair of people; one who is awesome with spreadsheets & Powerpoint type products, maybe another who is the "rah-rah" hype person).

[Chad Fuck 17658]

1 hour ago, ROFL BOX said:

Get your JSN in shape now - speak with your D.E. & have them attend.  I don't know if it is exclusive to our Council, but we do a "Join tonight [gimme that check!] & your new Cub gets an Estes rocket to use @ our Rocket Derby event that happens on ______ " (& that gives you one big planned event for an upcoming month).

Also, the option for a Spring JSN is always a good one as well; you can often catch kids that are coming in as Kinder provided you can leverage social media, posters, etc. & get the word out for your community (sorry, not digging around to see where you are).  Also, if you have local newspapers then you should try to get them out for photos, maybe an article YOU write for an advance promo & goes in their paper - those small town rags are always looking for filler so they don't have to write a piece.  @ A minimum, get it into the community calendar for every resource available AND you should leverage the PTA resources to get them to promote your Pack.

I have some sample press releases that I have used as templates & if you are interested in a copy of them (+ some others that I have sent out), shoot me an email & I will send those back.

Marshal.Scouting@gmail.com

PS:  Don't forget that popcorn sales is coming up & this is often an EASY way to confuse the hell out of the new parents, so you will need a well organized Kernel (I suggest a pair of people; one who is awesome with spreadsheets & Powerpoint type products, maybe another who is the "rah-rah" hype person).

JSN?

[Chad Fuck 17658]

Never mind, I got it.  They call that a Recruitment Night down here.  In any case, we're working on it now for mid-Sept.

 

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Yeah, Join Scouting Night.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

So it's that time of year where they are trying to get volunteers in order.  Plenty of packs/troops are probably looking for volunteers, at least in the lower levels (Tigers for Cubs, etc.).  There really isn't enough for the Lions to do from September - May/June, so I think we are looking at getting something together by December (find the right parents, etc.).  Of course, if we had some super-motivated parents of potential Lions, then anything can happen and we could start earlier.

And get your policies setup in regards to girls joining up, since hopefully there will be more this year.

Also, if you normally camp on either the Texas or Lexington in the fall, well you better get your Lexington reservations/whatever in, since they are a little busy with the Texas.

Oh, and apparently either the CAC or the national org want to have a lot more adults doing YPT, both as a common-sense thing, but also to educate parents who have two or more Scouts about what is allowed.  YPT is easy and well-organized and shouldn't be an issue.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Our Pack usually books the Lex trip for Easter weekend.

Very empty, damn near have the whole boat to yourselves.  We did the Lex 3x; 1x with the wife & Roxette... my wife bitched about the sleeping accommodations the whole time but overall I didn't find the racks to be too bad.

We also did around a 20 minute beach cleanup somewhere between the Aquarium & the Lex so Monster could get one of his Belt Loops (now called "Adventure Loops").  I  assisted, but most of it was to get him moving along & not cut corners.
The  Pack is doing their JSN on 29 Aug., my birthday, & I intend to come out & assist where needed + bring some of Monster's old Cub uniforms to allow kids to try them on for size & ordering.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

So, I just finished my online training in time to figure out that there's probably a lot of stuff that I missed doing this summer that could've helped us along.  Water under the bridge now but at least I know to already start getting things on the agenda for next year. 

Through the Texas Naturalist program (our Cubmaster is a member) we arranged a hike/lecture at a local wilderness preserve.  The kids seemed to enjoy it, even though it was hot as hell. They found a giant banana spider and were enthralled by its' web, so that was good.  

@ROFL BOX, I reached out to you on that JSN material you said you suggested.  So check your junk mail if you don't see anything. 

Edited September 3, 2019 by Chad Fuck

[ROFL BOX 6647]

I'll look.

@Chad Fuck , Was it to my gmail acct?
 

[ROFL BOX 6647]

Got it.

Reading.

[Chad Fuck 17658]

On 8/13/2019 at 10:34 PM, ROFL BOX said:

Our Pack usually books the Lex trip for Easter weekend.

Very empty, damn near have the whole boat to yourselves.  We did the Lex 3x; 1x with the wife & Roxette... my wife bitched about the sleeping accommodations the whole time but overall I didn't find the racks to be too bad.

We also did around a 20 minute beach cleanup somewhere between the Aquarium & the Lex so Monster could get one of his Belt Loops (now called "Adventure Loops").  I  assisted, but most of it was to get him moving along & not cut corners.
The  Pack is doing their JSN on 29 Aug., my birthday, & I intend to come out & assist where needed + bring some of Monster's old Cub uniforms to allow kids to try them on for size & ordering.

We have a leader in our Pack who really wants to do the Lex.  But the idea of schlepping 60 kids (we gained 21 new kids at our recruitment night last night) to Corpus from Dallas seems pretty daunting to me.

It seems to me when you're dealing with K-3rd graders, which is what our Pack is now, traveling more than an hour or so is probably asking a lot.

Any of you guys have experience with traveling with Cub Scouts?

[ROFL BOX 6647]

While we're not in the MetroPlex, we travel the 2.5ish hours to Corpus as a Pack (obv. each parental group in charge of their own transportation).

Considering most kids zone out on a tablet or screen time, it's not that big a hassle, IMO.

[atomheartbevo 89618]

On 9/3/2019 at 10:45 AM, Chad Fuck said:

So, I just finished my online training in time to figure out that there's probably a lot of stuff that I missed doing this summer that could've helped us along.  Water under the bridge now but at least I know to already start getting things on the agenda for next year. 

Yeah, that came up with us improving our website and a few other things - we had a tough time recruiting right off the bat because of the timing of school starting, Labor Day, high temps, etc.  We've got a good plan for next year.

I think I want us to have a lot more volunteers lined up in June for the fall, and I'm thinking we need to do an event (outside of July 4) during the summer (nothing on the level of the Boy Scouts though).

Wife and I have plans to do Wood Badge next year, and we are kicking around Philmont for our family "vacation", assuming we can work it out with my mom watching our daughter for that time.

Also, we went to the Cub Scout leader expo at the Fickett Center this weekend, and was impressed with both Scoutbook and the Den Leader Experience.  Scoutbook should simplify several things for den/pack management for us, and help us keep the parents better in the loop.

Edited September 9, 2019 by atomheartbevo

[atomheartbevo 89618]

On 9/6/2019 at 9:37 AM, Chad Fuck said:

Any of you guys have experience with traveling with Cub Scouts?

Our pack treats extended trips like our normal camping trips - give everybody a target date/time when they need to be there, and leave it up to them.  Some families travel together.  Just avoid scheduling it opposite a UT game.

Everybody I know that did the Lexington loved it.

[ROFL BOX 6647]

On 9/8/2019 at 8:46 PM, atomheartbevo said:

Wife and I have plans to do Wood Badge next year, and we are kicking around Philmont for our family "vacation", assuming we can work it out with my mom watching our daughter for that time.

How old is she (daughter, not Mike's Mom)?