A Scoutmaster's Blog

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, returns to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast with a couple of new friends. Randall is a cousin of Buttons who is a bit more, shall we say, intellectual. Randall is more of a quiet bookworm and a bit of a geek, while Buttons is a bit more outgoing and seems to be hyped up on sugar most of the time. And then there is Bones, the dog who has always carries a bone with himself to gnaw on.

This is the first video to feature these three characters together, and probably will not be the last. During this film Buttons interrupts Randall’s reading time to tell a few jokes, and begins to get on Randall’s nerves just a bit. Bones pops in a couple of times to explain just how bad he thinks the jokes really are.

This is the first time I have created a video with three puppets. It was quite a challenge to create voices and characterizations for the two new puppets. All three puppets are operated and voiced by me. This is one of the few videos featuring Buttons that has actually requied a script for filming and editing.

I hope you enjoy this video. Please leave a comment here at the link below, or at the PTC Media forums, or at iTunes if you do enjoy it. Or drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org

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I could not pass up sharing this comic with you. It is a Family Circus comic and asks a very important question about the Boy Scout Slogan, Do A Good Turn Daily. I actually saw it in a newspaper over a year ago, but only recently found an online version of it, and it is in color!

Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts seem to really enjoy a good campfire program. But so do adult Scout leaders. Sometimes, the adults even enjoy performing for the campfire audience. Really. I am not kidding.

This entry to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast demonstrates that adults can have fun during a campfire program too. This video clip was taken from Troop 68’s annual Laughs For Lunch Show of 2002. It features the troop’s scoutmaster bringing some of his adult Scouting friends on stage to perform the song Vista! One of the friends does very well. One cheats. And a couple have a hard time keeping up when things get going fast.

I challenge you to try this song at your next campfire program. It may take a little practice but the audience will love it. By the way, you can find the words (at least the way I learned it) on our troop’s website by clicking HERE. ” Yip bap biddildee bang!”

I like to read your comments about this podcast. You can leave one here, or at the PTC media forums. If you leave a comment at the iTunes Music Store you will help the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast climb higher in the ratings.

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You need to check out Buffalo Eagle’s latest post to the Lone Star Scout Blog. It lists over eighteen great humorous tips for camping. One of my favorites from this list is, “Lint from your navel makes a handy fire starter. Warning: Remove lint from navel before applying the match.” You can find the posting here:
http://buffaloeagle.wordpress.com/2008/01/11/some-camping-tips/

The Boy Scouts of Troop 68 in Melrose have been doing an annual show called Laughs For Lunch for over ten years. The show follows a campfire program format and features songs and skits you may see while you enjoy a program at summer camp or a camporee. The Laughs for Lunch Shows usually last for ninety minutes or so. Both the Boy Scouts and the audience have a good time.

This entry to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast features five Scouts from the 1998 show performing an old favorite, “Singing In The Rain”. I am sure you are very familiar with the song, but are you familiar with the actions that go with it during a Boy Scout campfire program? It is great fun to have the audience stand up and perform this song with the leaders. Try it yourself. It could be quite interesting to do this song at your next pack meeting or troop weekend camping trip.

Just for your information, it has been ten years since this skit was filmed with a vhs camera. These boys are now close to finishing college. One has even served his country over in Iraq. Gosh, where does the time go?

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When do you know you are a Boy Scout? Is it when you attain the Tenderfoot rank? Is it when you have spent your first night in a tent, away from home, in the middle of the forest? Is it when you lash your first 80′ high signal tower?

Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, returns with a second video for the Melrose Scouting Production Podcast to explain “You Know You Are A Boy Scout When…” In this video he talks about internet chat rooms, packing for the camping trip, setting up your tent, and poison ivy.

Enjoy the video. Leave a comment and let me know what you think about it. If you have an answer to “You know you are a Boy Scout when…” then add it to the comments. If I receive enough good ones then maybe Buttons will appear in a third video on this subject.

Do not forget to go to the iTunes music store and leave a comment for this podcast and the other podcasts of PTC Media. When you leave a comment for each of the shows you will be entered in a drawing for some great Scouting stuff. PTC media plans to hold four drawings during the next couple months and the only way to register is to post comments on iTunes. Good luck!

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The Boy Scouts of Melrose Troop 68 enjoy performing in front of an audience. That is why they have done the annual Laughs For Lunch Show for eleven years. The Scouts also enjoy watching and being a part of campfire programs during camporees and summer camp. That is where they get many of the ideas, skits, and songs that they perform.

During the 2002 Laughs For Lunch Show two of our older Scouts did the Candy Store skit. This skit has been a popular one for the Scouts of Troop 68 since they first saw it performed at a summer camp campfire in the 1980’s. During this version of the skit, Jacob and Enrico, the two Scouts, decided to have a little extra fun with it. They knew this was probably the last time they would perform the Candy Store as Boy Scouts.

I think the two guys had planned a surprise before they went out on the stage. I believe they already had the “volunteers” in mind they would choose to be in the skit. The horsie ride was a new addition to the skit that we had never done before. Enrico chose his father to play that part. Jacob’s mother became the cash register. The part of the bench/counter that “broke down” was a buddy of theirs who had earned the rank of Eagle Scout. All the volunteers except one had already seen the skit and knew the punchline, but they were great sports about it and went along with the fun.

Have fun watching this podcast. It is a longer one, over eleven minutes, but I think you will enjoy it. Have your Scouts watch and practice it for their next campfire program.

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It is amazing what you can find on the internet where you are bored and have nothing to do. This morning I found an article that brings together two things I really like – Scouting and Star Wars. Anthony Daniels, the actor who brought the droid C-3PO to life in the Star Wars movies, was a Cub Scout for a brief time. Unfortunately, he did not stay a Cub Scout for very long. It looks like he really did not quite understand what Scouting was all about.

You can read about it at the Official Star Wars Blog.
http://starwarsblog.wordpress.com/2007/08/08/c-3po-was-a-cub-scout/

I always like it when I find out well known people were in Scouting.