A Scoutmaster's Blog

I think it is time for a little humor. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I am not the one writing it. As I was looking about the world wide net I came across a site that had the “Top 10 Pick-Up Lines You Can Use While Wearing Your Scout Uniform”. They brought a smile to my face. A couple push the envelope, just a bit. Read them and see what you think of them.

By the way, these were found at http://members.tripod.com/~BFarns/index-lines.html

10. I was going on a hike and my compass led me straight to you.
9. The khaki in my shirt brings out the color in your eyes.
8. Baden Powell really was my uncle, honest.
7. It’s true; this arrow is a sign for virility.
6. Let’s go identify wild plants in the forest.
5. Can I practice giving you CPR?
4. Yes, in fact I do have the Rabbit Raising Merit Badge.
3. Come on, I’ll give you a tour of my tent.
2. I know how to tie 27 different knots. Can I tie you…I mean show you?
1. These pants really are made of polyester, go ahead, you can feel them if you want to.

Sometimes I think we Americans can get so caught up in our own Scouting program that we may forget that Scouting is active in many countries around the world. The Boy Scouts of my troop and myself have yet to experience Scouting in another country, but thanks to the world wide web we can see what other Scouts are doing. For example, check out these blog posts about Scouting outside of the USA:

Saudi Scouts Team Set to Participate in Centenary Celebrations
Waterloo Scouts heading to jamboree in England
Dr Sidhu sings praise of Scout movement in India

These articles and many more like them covering Scouting from all over the world can be found at the Scouting Vine. It is a great site to check out.

I hate cell phones!

Well, maybe hate is too strong a word. I really, really, really dislike cell phones. I dislike people talking on them while they are driving their vehicles. I dislike people talking on them while they are shopping. I dislike it when I am visiting with someone and they put me “on hold” to check who is calling on their cell phone. Don’t even get me started on text messaging or the bluetooth ear piece accessories.

Even though I do not like this bit of current technology, I do understand the need for the things. I work in a lumber yard and the phones do come in handy to stay in contact with the contractors. Unfortunately, I see too many people, including kids, become a slave to the things and cannot seem to survive without them. I always thought people where supposed to rule technology, not the other way around.

All that being said, in Boy Scout Troop 68 I treat cell phones the same as any other electronic device, such as handheld video games and mp3 players. Boy Scouts are not allowed to bring them on any troop outing or camping trip. Electronic gadgets are left behind so we can enjoy nature. I tell the boys that if they want to play video games then they should stay home. I do not want to hear AC DC, Nickelback, or some rap song blaring through the campsite. I certainly do not want the ringing of a cell phone interrupting the peaceful nature of being in the forest, and I do not want the Scouts calling home for every little thing, or talking to their friends all the time.

I once made a vow to never own a cell phone, which surprised a lot of people I know. I am a bit of a tech and computer geek, probably a 6 on a scale of 1-10. My computer system at home is the envy of some people. (It is a Mac Pro, for those of you who need to know.)

I surprised myself, and others, when I bought one of those inexpensive pay-as-you-go-type cell phones last February before leaving on a trip to Florida. After getting separated from the family at Disney last year, I thought it might be nice to be able to stay in touch with people this year. I also was thinking that a phone could come in handy at Scout functions if there was an emergency. I did use the phone quite a bit at the state-wide Ripley Rendezvous in June to stay in touch with other staff members. I do let the Scouts use it to call their parents as we arrive home from activities. It somewhat embarrasses me knowing that they know how to use it better then I do.

I still dislike cell phones. Mine spends most of its time on my bedroom dresser. Now and then though, it does have its uses. I do take it along on trips and on Scout functions. I still refuse to take mine with me wherever I go. At least for now…

Boy Scout Troop 68’s Laughs For Lunch Show has become a yearly tradition in Melrose. The Scouts, parents, and community have a great time during every performance. I have had every show video taped and played on our community access television station. Now, with current technology, I can post the best of the these shows on the internet for people outside of our community to watch and enjoy. The troop’s website and the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast (MSPP), in addition to YouTube, has been a great way to get these videos out to the public.

This week’s post to the MSPP is one of my favorite skits, Ice Fishing. When it is done well. And the guys did this skit well during the 2005 show. Nathan and Josh had a great time and made up the “Fisherman 2000” while on stage. They knew each other very well through their years of school and Scouting, and could play off each with ease. Jeff did a good job playing the young fisherman.

The skit features two older gentlemen who go ice fishing but do not have any luck catching the fish. A young boy arrives on the scene, starts fishing nearby, and begins catches a lot of fish. Of course, this drives the older guys crazy and they begin to hassle the young boy. Watch it, I am sure you will enjoy it.

Download Podcast
Watch Video on the troop’s website.
Subscribe through iTunes.

For eleven years the Boy Scouts of Troop 68 have done a community stage show they have named “Laughs For Lunch”. This nearly two hour campfire-style show features the Scouts performing skits and songs for the audience. The public is invited and asked to bring an item of food as their admission to the show. All the food donated goes to the local food shelf. We provide the laughs, the audience provides the food, thus the name of the show. Clever, huh?

Each year there are songs or skits that stand out as being audience favorites. During the 2006 show the troop performed the “Furniture Store” skit for the first time. Sergio and Josh, the Scouts chosen to perform the skit, only had time during the meetings to practice it twice. I was not very worried about how they would do though. Both of them had done several shows by this time and they were comfortable at improvising during skits. Little did I or the rest of the troop know how well they would do during the show.

The skit is about a person opening a new furniture store. He choses people from the audience to act as furniture. Each “piece of furniture” has its own characteristics. The person choosing as the “oak table” becomes the punch line of the skit. Before Sergio went out on stage to begin the skit I asked him to choose our district executive, who happened to be in the audience, to be the oak table.

You could not have asked for the skit to go any better then it did. Sergio seemed to choose all the right people to play the pieces of furniture, and the furniture volunteers did a great job living up to their roles. The audience really enjoyed themselves.

This is the first of several videos from the yearly Laughs For Lunch Shows that will be a part of the Melrose Scouting Productions Podcast (MSPP). I hope you enjoy them as well as the audiences did when they watched the Scouts do them live.

Download Podcast
Watch Video on the troop’s website.
Subscribe through iTunes.

I just have to share this quote with you… “A scout troop consists of twelve little kids dressed like schmucks following a big schmuck dressed like a kid.”

Jack Benny, a famous American comedian from radio and early television, said this. I came across this quote the other day when I was browsing the internet. I bet I laughed for the next five minutes after reading this. It is amazing that even though he died in 1974 he can still make me laugh.

So the question is, are Boy Scouts schmucks? I would say that would depend on your definition of the word. It is a word you do not hear used very often anymore. Are adult leaders schmucks? I cannot speak for everyone but I know there are times when I have certainly felt like one. (See “Lessons in Stupidity”.)

I think the thing about this quote that really struck my funny bone was the reference to adults dressing like kids. That may be true, in a way. Or is it the kids dressing like adults? Either way, I know that being a Scout leader helps to keep the kid in me alive and well. And yes, maybe the schmuck also.

It is hard to believe but a small milestone has been reached. This entry to “A Scoutmaster’s Blog” is the 100th time I have sat down at the computer to post something for my thirteen loyal readers to read. (Actually, I do not have a good idea how many people read this, but I know it is not in the thousands.)

While I do not know how many people read these ramblings that I post online, I do know of a few statistics that I am willing to share with you. First, and I find this interesting, is that the blog now receives more hits per month than the home page of the troop’s website. For example, last month, May, the site’s home page received 1515 hits while the blog received 1999 hits. This month the blog is also ahead in the number of hits. Is this impressive? I have no idea. I do not know what other troop sites received in number of hits.

I understand that this site is very much a niche site. The only people who visit the site are probably involved in Scouting as an adult leader, or are a Scout them self. This site does not include controversial issues of the day so people are not brought to the site looking for those type of articles. But that is okay. This site is about Scouting, and more importantly, about my Scouting experiences.

During the last year and a half that I have been writing this blog there have been a few changes. The first is the layout of the page. I have experimented with a couple looks and finally deceided on this one. I think it is easy to read and easy on the eyes. I also started hosting this site within our troop’s site, instead of leaving it hosted by Blogger. I did this to keep people on the troop’s site as long as possible. I did have to give up some features that are found in a blog that Blogger hosts, but that is a price I was willing to pay.

One of the biggest “changes” to the blog was the inclusion of video podcasts. I have had several people write me about how they could get some of the videos I have posted on our troop’s site and YouTube. I thought a video podcast would be a great way to make these videos readily available. I have to thank Mr. Bob of Akela’s Adventure podcast for giving me a hand getting things up and running, and helping to get Melrose Scouting Productions listed on iTunes.

I have no immediate plans to change anything about the way I write this blog during the next hundred entries. I will continue to write about my Scouting experiences, add more podcasts as they become available, and let you know about interesting Scouting-related articles I find on the web. If you have a suggestion or two about subjects you would like to see covered here then leave a comment or drop me a email. It would be great to hear from you.

I found an interesting blog post by Gene Kinsey called Living the Grand Life. A recent entry was about a book titled, The Dangerous Book for Boys. I have seen this book in the stores, even picked it up and looked at it. It was quite interesting.

Gene writes in his blog, “I think our experiment in changing the nature of boys hasn’t worked too well. Boys need a little danger. They need to learn to build a fire even if they sustain a little burn. They need to learn how to use a knife and an ax, even if they cut themselves.” and “they need to learn it in a context of responsibility.”

How true that is. I have seen how our current society in this country has been trying to change boys into (shall I dare say it?) a bunch of sissy girls. Boys are not allowed to be boys any more. Boys need to have a little danger in their lives.

Scouting provides an outlet for boys to try building fires, play with a pocket knife, and climb cliffs in a fairly safe environment. Yes, Scouts get nicked, get bruised, and sometimes even get hurt. But in Scouting we try to teach boys how to take risks responsibly, and we try to teach them to be safe, honorable, and dutiful.

Oh yeah, we also teach them basic first aid skills.