A Scoutmaster's Blog

It is time to get back into the podcast thing and post another video to the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. This video is once again taken from the 2007 Laughs For Lunch Show done by the Boy Scouts of Troop 68.

The members of Troop 68 love taking well known skits and songs and changing them up just a bit to bring something new to them. That is the case with this song and skit which the Scouts tied together in a unique manner. It begins with the younger boys singing the old favorite, I Wish I Was A Boy Scout. But at the end of the song one person is still onstage as the next skit, Crazy Newscasters, begins. And there is a reason for that, but I am not going to tell you here. You have to watch the video to find out.

You are invited to leave a comment here using the link below, at the iTunes Music Store, or at the PTC Media forums. Or drop me an email at webmaster@melrosetroop68.org. It really is great to hear what you think about the podcast videos.

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When you participate in a ten day trek at Philmont Scout Ranch chances are pretty good that you will see a lot of wildlife. I have seen wild turkeys, goats (or rams), deer, a bear, and plenty of chipmunks. In fact, seeing the larger wild animals can easily be one of the highlights of a trip to Philmont. The following is from my journal of the 1992 trip to Philmont made by the crew from Troop 68. The animals helped to make it a very memorable day.

Webster Park is an unstaffed camp with an excellent view of Tooth Ridge. Those who stay here have to entertain themselves. Or do like our crew did and get the animals to provide the entertainment. Jason and a couple other guys try to catch a couple of bold chipmunks who have been trying to get at our food. They have taken one of the ropes, tied it to a stick, and set a pot on it. When a chipmunk tries to take the bait placed under the pot they would pull the rope and have themselves a mini-bear. What they plan on doing with one I have no idea.

My body is letting me know that it does not appreciate what I have been putting it through these last few days. I have a blister on the big toe of my right foot and another one on the second toe of the left. The right side of my head, from the top, past the ear, to the neck, has been painful the last three days. I have no idea what the problem is but I hope it is not the start of something permanent.

It started drizzling around 2:30. Time to catch up on some shut eye. It is rather amazing. I am getting more sleep out here on the trail then I do at home but I still feel like taking a nap in the afternoon if the opportunity arises. Maybe it’s the fresh air. Maybe it’s the hard work of hiking. Whatever it is it is rather weird.

Shortly before 4:30 p.m. there is a bit of a commotion in the camp. I get up just in time to see a seven point mule deer buck walk by the camp. Nathan quickly grabbed his camera and began to stalk it. He was able to get with twenty-five feet of it before it moved on. The pictures he took should be pretty good ones.

A half hour later it started to rain again. The temperature is down to 57 degrees. Josh and Tim are in their tent. Tim is having fun irritating Josh by passing gas…constantly. At this particular moment I would not mind if this trip was over with. I am getting bored. I am tired of backpacking. I am not looking forward to tomorrow. When I look over tomorrow’s hike I begin to wander if we did not make a mistake when we planned our itinerary to include a trip to Harlan Camp.

A buck, two does, and a yearling are grazing in the meadow that borders the east side of our site. Tom is trying to in get close for a good shot with his camera. Corey has grabbed mine and moves in on the yearling. The fawn avoids him but the nine point buck moves closer. Tom sneaks around behind the buck and tries to steer him closer to Corey. We are going to have many pictures of deer when we get home.

The excitement never ends. Jason’s water bottle has been attacked by a chipmunk. Greg and Paul keep pushing the blame on each other for the sticks being thrown at each other. I wish they would shut up and drop the subject.

It is shortly after 5:30 when the crew gathers around the campfire ring. For the last two days Al has been working on his version of how Santa Claus Camp got its name. It has developed into a full fledged story. The group grows quiet as he begins to tell his tale.

Suddenly, Peter yells. A chipmunk screams. Everyone turns to see Pete standing half way up the hill holding a rope in his right hand. Hanging, and I do mean hanging, from the rope by its neck is a chipmunk. Peter has finally caught one after patiently waiting with the noose lying over the burrow hole for the last fifteen minutes. The poor little creature is squirming around like crazy, trying to get get out of its predicament. Finally, after a few seconds, the noose loosens enough for the critter to fall to the ground. In a flash it vanishes. We are not bothered by mini-bears any more that night.

The entire journal can be read on the Troop 68 website at http://melrosetroop68.org/highadventure.html

Nearly two years ago I wrote a blog post that reprinted a list by Michael Conkey about the rules for a young man to follow if he wished to date his daughter. The list included that the young man must be an Eagle Scout, follow the Scout Law, and follow the two deep leadership rule, among other things. (You can read the blog post HERE.)

My attention has recently been drawn to a website by a note I read on Twitter from LatterDay_Scout. The website, Scouter Stuff, has a series of shirts for sale that go along with “the rules for dating” very well. The shirts state, “I only date Eagle Scouts”, and are available in several styles and sizes. They can be seen at http://www.cafepress.com/ScouterStuff

Fellow Twitterer krisleeb asked the question, “What about those of us who married Eagle Scouts?” It sounds to me like the Scouter Stuff needs to add another series of shirts to their store.

It has been a long time in the making, but the first Melrose Scouting Audio Podcast (MSAP) is done and ready to be heard. This new podcast will be hosted by me, Scoutmaster Steve, and Buttons, the radical Boy Scout. Current plan are to have four parts to the podcast: the opening monologue, “Around the Campfire”, Buttons’ Corner, and the scout leader minute.

The opening monologue will be a quick discussion between Buttons and myself about what will be coming up in the show. Nothing too fancy here because Buttons can be a handful when trying to carry one a conversation.

The second portion, “Around the Campfire”, will feature a campfire-style song from one of the Melrose Scouting Productions video podcasts. If I run out of videos to take songs from I guess I may have to start singing them myself. Or maybe I could even feature other troops performing their favorite songs if they send me a mp3 file. This first episode contains the Hole In The Ground song.

“Buttons Corner” is the part of the podcast where Buttons gets to do his thing. Maybe he will talk about something Scouting, or have a couple jokes to tell, or audio portions of his videos will be played. In this episode, Buttons talks about the Outdoor Code and what it means to him.

As the podcast comes to an end it will be time for the scout leader minute. This is my time to share a story, or viewpoint, or a couple of stray thoughts about Scouting. In this episode I read John Wayne’s explanation of the Scout Law.

As more episodes are created I may add more parts to the podcast. One thing I would like to add is “Buttons’ Shout Out!” during which Buttons would recognize those packs and troops that write to him through this site. This could even turn into a feedback forum in which Buttons tries to answer some questions sent to him by the listeners.

I am also looking for a title for this podcast. At the moment I am simply calling it the Melrose Scouting Audio Podcast. I have also been tossing around the idea of calling it the “Around The Scouting Campfire” podcast. Do you like either of those titles, or do yoou have a suggestion of your own? Drop me an email with your thoughts at stevejb68@yahoo.com .

Anyway (as Buttons would say), it is time for you to download and listen to this first audio podcast. The normal feed will contain an mp3 file, but through this blog you can download either the mp3 or a AAC file, at least for now. The feed can be found at
http://feeds2.feedburner.com/MelroseScoutingAudioPodcast

Thanks for listening. I hope to hear (read) from you soon.
Download the:
mp3 file – http://www.melrosetroop68.org/podcastaudio/MSAPE1.mp3
AAC file – http://www.melrosetroop68.org/podcastaudio/MSAPE1.m4a

Wow. I did not realize this until today, but there are twenty videos that feature Buttons, the radical Boy Scout, so far. That is almost enough for a television season. Does that mean it is time to consider a season #2?

When I first starting creating videos with Buttons I did it as an experiment. Could I make him interesting enough, and life-like enough, to where people would watch him? Over the last two years I think I have my answer. In 2008, the videos featuring Buttons and friends received over 36,000 hits through the podcast and website. (That does NOT include the hits on Youtube.) He seems to have a small fan base out there in internet land. And my mother gets a real kick out of watching his videos also.

Here is a current list of the video of Buttons, the radical Boy Scout:
Buttons in “The Scout Oath”
Buttons in “The Scout Oath (almost)
Buttons in “The Scout Law”
Buttons and the Scout Motto
Buttons in “The Cub Scout Promise” (giggles)
Buttons in Physically Strong (This one happens to be my favorite.)
Buttons interviews Eymard, the assistant scoutmaster.
Buttons in “The Cub Scout Promise” (Law of the Pack)
Buttons in “You Know You Are A Boy Scout When… Part 1”
Buttons’ Cub Scout Visit and Big Announcement
Buttons in “You Know You Are A Boy Scout When… Part 2”
Buttons in “Rec Room Tour”
Buttons and the Outdoor Code
Buttons in “Playing Broomball”
Buttons’ Announcement About MSPP
The Buttons and Randall Show, Part 1
The Buttons and Randall Show, Part 2
Buttons reads the Farewell Message of Baden-Powell
Buttons Learns About Girl Scouting
The Buttons and Randall Show, Part 3

All these videos can be found through the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast. Many of them can also be found on the Troop 68 website and on Youtube. A few can be found on the Yahoo video site.

Buttons will be branching out a little in the future. In addition to a new video that is in production, Buttons and Scoutmaster Steve (yeah, me) will be experimenting with creating an audio podcast about Scouting. Stay tuned and keep watching this blog for further announcements.

By the way, which ones have been your favorite videos featuring that radical Boy Scout?

Have you heard about the Scouting Heritage Merit Badge yet? No? Well, that is probably because there is no such merit badge… yet. On the BSA Innovation Engine (found at http://ideas.scouting.org/ ) there are a lot of ideas thrown around for new merit badges. This one happened to catch the eye of Cubmaster Chris and I as we recorded a new episode of the Leader’s Campfire podcast last night. During this episode we discuss some of the ideas found on the BSA Innovation Engine, along with Jerry from The Scoutmaster Minute podcast.

The idea for a Scouting Heritage Merit Badge was posted by alobdell. He, or she, gave this merit badge some serious thought before submitting it to the engine. Here is what he/she wrote:

Include Scouting Heritage as a Merit Badge. Many of our Scouts do not know about the movement of Scouting. Requirements could include some of the following.
1. Write an essay about one of the Founders of Scouting. Make a presentation about the origin of Scouting to a non-Scout group such as a Church or civic organization.
2. Learn about Careers in Scouting.
3. Exchange letters with a Scout in another Scout Council.
4. Learn about the World Scouting Organization
5. Conduct an interview with a Veteran Scouter
6. Meet a Scouting Professional
7. Visit your Scout Council Headquarters
8. Learn about the BSA’s Adventure Bases
9. Attend a District Rountable or District Meeting
10. Make a display of Scouting information and material for your community to be open to the public for at least one week.

Chris and I agreed that this would be an excellent merit badge idea and a great idea for some sort of Cub Scout level award. To tell the truth, I thought this was one of the best ideas for a new merit badge listed on the idea engine. Chris thought this was a good idea with the 100th anniversary of Scouting coming up in 2010. Jerry had to leave us for a family function before we discussed this during the podcast, but knowing Jerry, he would give his thumbs up to this merit badge also.

Unfortunately, the BSA Innovation Engine is only open to professional Scouters to vote on the various ideas, so Chris, Jerry, and I could not leave a vote for this merit badge. However, Chris has installed a simular engine on the PTC Media site that is open for all of us non-professional Scouters to use.

I visited Philmont Scout Ranch for the first time in 1984 when I attended the Training Center for a scoutmaster fundamentals course. I quickly became familiar with a prayer known as the Philmont Grace, and have used it during the following five backpacking treks to Philmont and many troop outings.

“For food, for raiment, for life, for opportunity, for friendship and fellowship, we thank Thee, Oh Lord. Amen.”

For Food – We thank the Lord for every meal; breakfast, lunch, and supper, and even snacks. We thank Him for nourishment and substanence.

For Raiment – We thank the Lord for the clothing that keeps us warm when it is cold, dry when it is raining, and for providing protection from insects and scrapes while camping.

For Life – We thank the Lord for giving us life. We pray that we live our lives well and according to His will. When I think about the statistics of someone other then ME being conceived and born, it just blows my mind.

For Opportunity – We thank the Lord for the opportunities given to us each and every day. We pray for the wisdom to make the most of those opportunities presented to us.

For Friendship and Fellowship – We thank the Lord each day for our friends and family. Do not take them for granted. After a good friend of mine committed suicide last summer I value my friendships a lot more then before.

We Thank Thee, Oh Lord. Amen – We thank the Lord for everything we have. Without His goodness and love we would have nothing and be next to worthless.

It is that time once again. A new month begins so it is time for another ten questions from the Scout Mania trivia book. The theme this month is “General Trivia”. Keep in mind, these questions are based on the 1984 Boy Scouts of America Scout Handbook, not the current handbook. Are you ready to begin?

(Question answers will be written at the bottom of this post, and are from the Scout Mania book. No cheating is allowed, after all, you are a Boy Scout or Scout leader, correct?)

1) What symbol was used on the quartermaster patch before the backpack?

2) What branch of Scouting for older boys became an official part of the Scouting movement in 1912?

3) What is the official magazine for Boy Scouts?

4) What is the proper way to prepare a neckerchief for wearing?

5) What animal is the Boy’s Life mascot?

6) What is the minimum age requirement for Explorers?

7) What is the name of the Boy’s Life mascot?

8) What three functions of the body are served by drinking water?

9) When cooking over coals, how can you tell what the temperature is?

10) You can check off all your needs for camping on one hand. They are?

Okay, do you have you answers chosen?
Are you ready for the correct answers according to the 1984 Scout Mania Trivia book?
Here they are….

1) The wagon wheel and key.
2) The Sea Scouts.
3) Boy’s Life
4) Roll the long edge of the neckerchief to about 6 inches from the tip.
5) A Burro (donkey)
6) Fourteen, and completion of the 8th grade.
7) Pedro.
8) Digests food, Carries away waste from the kidneys, Regulates the heat of the body when you sweat.
9) By placing your hand over the coals and counting the number of seconds you can hold it there.
10) Sleeping, eating, being clean, being prepared, extras.

Did you do well? Stay tuned for more trivia in future postings.