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Wednesday, September 14th, 2005

Subject: Conclave 2005 Time: 12:07 pm.

Last weekend was Conclave, the lodge event for the Order of the Arrow. Always a good party. I got to meet the National Chief of the OA and many other Arrowmen. As usual Conclave is scheduled for the first rainy weekend after summer. We got poured on. My favorite time was at the 22 range as I shot a Dime and was awarded a NRA National Rifle man patch. Pretty cool. Make me want to get back out to the range and practice. My 22 doesn't have the peep sights like the ones they were using, and I'm thinking about having that changed. I know I can get peep sights for my deer rifle as well. I should think about that. Wasn't as lucky at the auction as I thought. Lost a lot of bids in the last seconds that I thought I had won. Ah well, prehaps it's for the better. Did pick up a 1959 verion of the scoutmaster hand book. Should be a fun read. The pack list for a campout includes a straw tick (as a sleeping pad). Not much call for them any more. I also grabed an E. Urner Goodman 1997 Lodge Flap.

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Subject: Lockin time. Time: 2:59 pm. Mood: tired.

Our district's Cub scout lockin was last weekend. Lockin is a big event here and one of the only district events to actually pay for itself. We get over a thousand cubs and adults showing up to this. Takes a lot of planning and a lot of effort pre-event. We pull cubs in from two counties and it gives the troops a chance to come in and show off to guys who may be selecting troops to go to in the near future. The cubs look up to these guys naturally and for many Boy Scouts it's their first real taste of leadership by running a booth for these young guys. Our troop normally sets up a video taken on the last summer's 50-mile hike along side some theme related event designed to attract young boys. I stood over by the video and explained what sort of hiking our troop does to passing cubs and adults. Gives me a chance to talk to lots of them. This year's theme was the Wild West. We had a pop-can shoot with Dart guns. We set up the range like a regular gun range and executed the rules like a real range would. I have always treated this vent as an opportunity to train the troop scouts as well as the cubs. One year we were teaching knots and I had several tenderfeet that had no confidence with their own abilities. I taught each tenderfoot a knot to specialize in and set them to teaching that knot to the cubs. By the end of the night they could tie it blind folded. After a while I switched them around and they all learned a handful of knots that night. Very successful. After lockin I took them back to the troop meeting and set up some knot tieing relays with them against some of the older boys. It always excites the tenderfeet to know they can achieve these things, and it helps to motivate the older boys when they start getting challenged by the new scouts. The OA guys get to staff the event, for all the free pizza they can eat. Staff shirts and badges are included. :) It's a long event. About 5 hours to staff a booth, and all that time standing on concrete takes it out of you. But the cubs stay over night and watch movies as they sack out. The Movies are voted on by the cubs there at the lockin, with the highest vote getting running first.

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Subject: Klondike Campout Weekend Time: 2:17 pm. Mood: accomplished.

Our district held a winter camping event. Klondike Derby. We hold this event yearly, and it's the highest adventure outing sponsored by the District. One of the problems with this event is to prepare everyone for more than an afternoon in the snow. Teach the scouters the importance of the proper gear, no cotton clothing, cooking light and right, and traveling tips for the snow. We don't get a lot of the white stuff on the valley floor so passing along an education about cold weather camping and travel is important. The next problem is to get the kids to actively participate in the planned events. Most of the kids think playing in the snow is enough for them. This years Theme was Lewis and Clark's winter camp among the Mandan. We planned events like Boat Portage, story telling, fire starting, etc. Trying to pass along the feel of the times to the kids. I was mainly concerned with the OA contribution. The OA held a trading post as a fund raiser. The OA also handled the check-in of all the troops and collected the fees for the Event. We dug a snow cave in the side of a snow drift and set a tarp over us. With the addition of a small propane heater our shelter was probably one of the most comfortable ones on the mountain. The fund raiser went well and I had a donor volunteer to pay the OA matching funds for all the profits they made, even better! I hold this to be an extremely successful event from the OA's standpoint. Even better the DE wants to help sponsor an event for the OA guys alone. This year we got lucky and had snow. About 6 inches fell during the event. No injuries and no frozen scouts. Our troop survived the night easily and I haven't heard of any troubles for the others.

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Subject: Always watch the children closely Time: 11:36 am. Mood: amused.

SHEBOYGAN, Wis. -- A 7-year-old boy had to be rescued with the help of a locksmith Sunday after crawling into a Sheboygan, Wis., supermarket's stuffed animal game machine while his father talked on the telephone. (01/04/04 The Sheboygan Press Photo) You should always keep one eye on the kids. Otherwise you never know where they'll end up.

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Subject: Baby it's Cold Outside Time: 10:22 pm. Mood: chilled.

Multnomah freeze In warmer clime it's a tourist stop. A climb and a scenic falls. Now another pop cycle. When even Astoria on the coast gets 3 inches we know we're in for a bad time. I know it's not as bad as in some other states. But for Oregon it's the worst we've seen in a decade. The state isn't set up with the equipment it needs to clear the ice and snow away.

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Subject: Misadventures in the air Time: 12:24 am. Mood: accomplished.

The Spruce Goose is in an Aircraft Museum in McMinnville Oregon. An excellent opportunity for a scout outing. Saturday we got 8 kids and 9 adults together for an outing to see it. 8AM- gather at the church 8:30AM-reach Suver and pick up the last boy 8:31AM- Van number 1 breaks down. We determine that the Van has an alternator problem. One of the dads is a truck mechanic and says he'll change the alternator out. It will only take a few minutes. I change cars. 9:00 AM -We load all the boys in the suburban and send them on. Most of the adults wait behind for the van to be fixed. The van owner and scoutmaster get a ride back to town to get another vehicle and tools along with the new Alternator. It's 35 degrees with a good breeze and storms passing through. I guess we'll just wait then. Suver, it's like a major wide spot with 2 local shops. Neither is open. 11:00 AM- Our truck mechanic starts to tear apart the engine and finds the serpentine belt tensioner in two pieces. Gee maybe we didn't need the new $270 dollar alternator. This calls for another trip to the parts store. 12:00 AM- Back from the nearest parts store our mechanic starts to install the tensioner. 7 chiefs and one indian. We feel like a state road work crew, but we don't have the shovels to lean on. 12:35 AM- The Tensioner is back in, we pile in the Van and get rolling. One and a half miles later we loose power again. Damn, maybe the Alternator was bad. I jump out of the van while it's rolling and start pushing it down highway 99 until we reach a place to pull off the road. About a quarter of a mile. I'm puffin pretty good for the next 15-20 minutes. Staying warm starts to be a priority. 12:45 AM- Our mechanic starts to again tear apart the engine. As typical with the modern van you can barely reach in the engine. He pulls the old bad Alternator and starts to install the good one, but due to cold weather, and mis-sized tools he manages to break the crimped connector off the wire to the engine. We need a special crimping tool. To the parts store! Our mechanic stays behind in order to warm his fingers. 1:15 PM- Back from the parts store with the large size crimper he starts in again. I change cars again, looking for a vehicle with a working heater. The question comes up on wether the fact that this is a scout outing makes all the repair costs deductible. 1:45 PM- we get it all slammed back together and roll. We reach the Air museum a little late. Most of the day wasted. But there is some aviation history waiting for us. World War 2 era aircraft, Howard Hughs' most famous creation, cold war era aircraft an SR-71 black bird, a USSR proton space capsule. The boys love it, the adults love it, and at least I get a story to tell.

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Subject: Back to Normal Time: 10:29 pm. Mood: relieved.

All the holiday visitors are back to their own environments. I enjoy visitors, I just need some space on my own at times. I like to be able to walk away when I need too. To lock a door and heave a sigh of relief. I don't get that when people are staying with us. They find it rude that I need time to myself. That I can't spend every minute with them. They are offended when I have plans of my own. Sigh. Having all the people invited for New years snowed in for an extra day was fun up to a point. I'm glad Christmas and New Years only come once a year.

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Subject: The Advent Walk Time: 11:10 am. Mood: satisfied.

Our church put together a little experience Sunday night. An old German Christmas custom called an Advent walk. The intent is to help people understand the meaning of Christmas by symbolicly recreating the travel of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. We started at the entry to a local park. A long walk in the dark through the country side. The weather was perfect for December, clear and cloudless, not too cold and just a touch of fog for the end. Lights were set at trail intersections and speakers were waiting at points to quote scripture for us. The words of Angels sounded to us along the way. Fear not, for behold, I bring good tidings of great Joy Our destination was a barn on a hill in the distance. A light mist was coming up and made everything a little more mysterious. A flute was playing Christmas tunes in the distance as we approached and the whole scene revealed in the cadlelight of a couple around a manger. A live manger scene with their little girl in a donkey costume, and the mom and dad dressed as Mary and Joseph. We all sang Christmas caroles around the manger and the minister related some of the struggle Mary and Joseph had just to end up in Bethlehem. A 70 mile walk from their home with Mary 9 months pregnant. Something we would never consider now days. We finished off the evening back at the parking lot with a little cider and cookies. People chatted and socialized, relating what the experience evoked in them. A very pleasurable evening.

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Subject: Lost Scouts Time: 2:22 pm. Mood: grateful.

I was at a wrestling meet last night. {My son got a pin, JV Heavy weight}. When I saw on the other team a guy who had been in my troop a few years back. He's always been a troubled kid. No parents, being cared for by relatives. Problems with depression and ADD. He acted out a lot and was hard to control. He had a lot of mood swings as a youth in the troop and could go from "this is all meaningless, why are we here" to "this is the greatest outing ever" in seconds. A real challenge, but he could also be a real joy. He was in the troop for a couple years and then left. I saw him at a few sporting events afterwards but this was a different school and a couple years later. So I went over to say hi and do a little catch up. He is in foster care now. Not living with his relatives. His grades are good, he was involved in sports still, active and some what successful. He had a positive outlook and was pleased to see me and find out my son was there as well. Seems like a success story all around. I had always worried about him till now. It looks like he's gotten what he needed and it looks like he's turned out all right. That was a good surprise. I see these troubled kids go through the troop and you hope they stick with it and learn and grow, but sometimes they leave. You always wonder how they turned out in the end. It's good to talk to them later and see they remember you fondly and they are doing well.

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Subject: Students subdue teacher's attacker Time: 1:46 pm. Mood: happy.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports some good news. A high school Spanish teacher is attacked by her estranged husband. But some of her students come to her aid and disarm the man. "Those kids are my heroes. I believe God used them to save my life," Shultz, 46, said Wednesday evening, recuperating at home with stitches in her hand and leg where her assailant slashed her with the knife." I wonder if any of these kids were Scouts. I wouldn't be surprised. I doubt we'll ever know. Even if this sort of background info came to light it's seldom reported on in the mainstream press. I see the son of a county sheriff was one of the first to react. If he wasn't involved in Scouting/Explorers/Venture I'd be very surprised. Scouting routinely has officers involved. The police understand Scouts, know the difference a program like scouting can make in a community and support it whole heartedly. This isn't the first crisis at this school. In the spring 1999 a student with a gun shot several classmates. Shultz was there then too. She remembers running across T.J. Solomon's line of fire to warn members of the Fellowship of Christian Youth, meeting nearby, not to leave their classroom. Hmmm, risk your life for your students, and later have your life saved by your students. I guess there is some fairness to the world.

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Subject: Well, Well Time: 10:39 pm. Mood: happy.

Saddam was captured. The failure of Tyranny, the failure of facism, the failure of toltalitarianism. Other despots should take note. You aren't as safe as you think you are. Many dictators are rethinking their contingency plans at this juncture. Running out on their people with a trunk full of cash seemed like a safe option when you could depend on the US being unable to withstand causualties, without the will to complete the mission. When the US wasn't trustworthy, loyal, honest, brave... Oh what a difference real leadership makes.

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Subject: I have Zero Tolerance for Fools in Schools Time: 12:33 pm. Mood: cynical.

I would laugh at the zero tolerance policies of the public schools if the results weren't so sad. I tell my scouts that I don't belive in zero tolerance, but they need to follow the rules established by the schools administration even if they make little sense. I relate my experiences from high school where instead of banning popular interests we actually had clubs that supported the proper education and safety involved in an activity. Explorers actually taught shooting and gun safety to kids with an interest in them. The Explorer post in my school was focused on learning about law enforcement. Zero-tolerance policies give administrators an excuse to avoid using common sense. When a bottle of aspirin, or a nail clipper can get a kid expelled then common sense has fled. We've stopped teaching at this point. We are enforcing totalitarian ideals. But the zero-tolerance meme is growing. Now we are seeing zero-tolerance in and out of schools applied to guns, drugs, sharp implements {except pencils}, boy scouts and now Christians. Beth Pinto, 38, was suspended with pay from Concord High School in Cabarrus County pending an investigation into whether she gave the student religious advice. ... Critics of this increasingly prevalent zero-tolerance stance on the part of public schools across the country argue the Constitution is being misconstrued and that officials, attorneys ? even judges ? fail to note the Establishment Clause in the First Amendment of the Constitution, which provides that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion" also reads "or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." A specific plea from a student to help them understand a forbidden subject has gotten a counselor in trouble. Kids always seek understanding of the parts of life that they don't understand. They look to adults for example and modeling. If they still don't understand and they ask for clarification then you have an opportunity to have a deep and meaningful discussion with a youth that may help them. A person that really cares about kids is not going to turn them away in situations like this. To do so is to fail the kid when they need adults most. They need adults to frame issues in life. They want to see how adults do it so that they can understand these things themselves.

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Subject: Should a Christian be allowed to teach basketball? Time: 4:09 pm. Mood: sad.

Why would anyone want to prevent school kids from knowing about a basketball camp? Well the Bakersfield California school district has refused to allow YMCA flyers home with the kids because it mentions the mission of the Young Men's Christian Association. To put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. That's all. The flyer Mentions that the reason for the existence of the Young Men's Christian Organization is to implement the founders Christian values by providing access to physical fitness to all. For this they want the organization censored. I assume that they would prefer that the Young Men's Christian Association self censor all their flyers from now on. It would avoid all these messy public battles when anti-Christian zealots use the government to segregate Christians away from the "Normal" folk. For some reason when these messy public relations battles happen, the anti-Christian zealots who attempt to limit choice and information to parents and children are seen as unreasonable. They are nearly irrational in their bigotry. Why do Christians need to hide who they are in order to "pass"? A public library can not run a filter system to shut off access to pornography on their computer systems, but a Christian organization should be forced to deny their values and faith if they want to teach Basketball to kids. This race by local governments to not offend anyone is offensive. This tyranny by a minority that seeks to censor religious beliefs in a country that promises Religious Freedom in unbearable. No wonder public schools are loosing kids to home schooling.

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LiveJournal for Applegate. View: User Info. View: Friends. View: Calendar. View: Website (BSA). View: Memories. You're looking at the latest 20 entries. Missed some entries? Then simply jump back 20 entries.