SM Minute—Parable of the Toothpaste

Have you ever squeezed too much toothpaste out of a tube of toothpaste and tried to put it back in the tube? It can’t be done, can it?  No matter how hard you try, the toothpaste is out of the tube forever.

When you think about toothpaste, think about the Scout Law: A Scout is Kind.  Like toothpaste from the tube, once unkind words come out of your mouth, you cannot take them back.  So when you are tempted to say something unkind, remember the parable of the toothpaste, and keep the unkind words to yourself.

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources, p.19)

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Yes, Scouters, JohnScout didn’t fall off a cliff without 2-deep leadership.  Just been a bit pre-occupied with Rechartering two units (Internet Recharter hates me!), helping my den of Webelos Cubs complete their Arrow of Light, and a bit of distraction that is Presidential politics.  What a year 2011 was, a great year for the Boy Scouts of America, our local BSA council & district, troop and pack, and all the volunteers that make Scouting happen.  The JohnScout WordPress numbers tell us:

• Busiest Month: 1,521 visitors for an average 49 per day in October, a new high on both counts.
• Busiest Day:  June 5, 2011, 131 views.  Don’t y’all have better things to do on a summer Sunday?
• Top Referral site:  Google found us, I guess…
• Top Search Terms:  ”Crazy Horse Monument” and “Scoutmaster minute court of honor”.  Last year’s frenzy of Bechtel Reserve searches subsided dramatically.
• Top (not-search-engine) Referral site:  Twitter
• Top (not-search-engine nor twitter) Referral site:  Scoutmaster CG narrowly edged out Minnesota’s own Melrose Troop 68.  Thanks, Scouters!
• Had twice as many hits this year as last year, which was twice the year before that. And again, it helps when I actually POST original content.

Top posts of the year:

• Once again, I suspect a lot of Bear Den leaders are looking for tips with Tall Tales, the most widely read post, by far.  Got to love Paul Bunyan, Casey Jones and all their pals.
• Scoutmaster Minutes continue to be a popular draw.  I appreciate your interest.  These year’s favorites were Scoutmaster Minute—Words Behind the Words from 2009 and Scoutmaster Minute—Court of Honor from 2010.  Both ranked top search terms above.
• The kick-off last year for my Centennial Year of Scouting series of SM Minutes, Scoutmaster Minute—What Does It Mean To Be “A Scout”, also continued to draw interest.

One thing I notice may have something to do with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  I started titling my “Scoutmaster Minute” posts shorter, as “SM Minute”, to save space in the title line.  Figured that would be handy, plus show more of the topic in search results.  However, the longer titles consistently score higher in search. Hmmm, seem to have out-thought myself on that one.

December

Merry Christmas!

November

SM Minute—The Strong Link

October

SM Minute—Three Uniforms

Dutch Oven Cooking—Swamped Pig Pork Chops

SM Minute—A Simple Cloth and a Common Thread

September

SM Minute—A Good Turn

SM Minute—When the World Stopped Turning

Dutch Oven Cooking: Fiesta Omelet

August

Boy Scouts Didn’t Hand Out Badges for Trying

The Marrow of Life

July

Camp Wilderness: Going Home Again

June

Ripley Rendezvous 2011

May

Privacy, Safety and Names of Scouts in a Public Forum

April

SM Minute—Losing Your Temper

March

SM Minute—Orion’s Belt

February

A Scouting Movement, not a Program

Erickson earns rank of Eagle Scout

January

SM Minute—Twelfth-Point

SM Minute—Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Prepared. For Life.

JohnScout 2010 Posts

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Scoutmaster Minute—The Strong Link

From the TransAtlantic Council, Resources for Scouters:

These pieces of rope are a lot like individual Scouts. You can use these ropes for knot tying practice or for tying a small package, but they’re not big enough for really big jobs. (Call up two or three Scouts and asked them to join the ropes together with square knots or sheet bends. ) Now we have a much more useful rope, one we could use for pioneering or other jobs where we need a good length of rope.

Your patrol and the whole troop work the same way. Scouts who work together like these ropes can achieve much bigger things. But remember that this rope is only as strong as its’ weakest link. The same idea applies to our patrols and troop. They can’t be strong unless everyone pulls together. Teamwork is just as important in Scouting as it is on a football team.

Strive to a strong link in your patrol. Do the best to live by the ideals we talk about in the Scout Oath and Law. Learn your Scouting skills to the best of your ability, and take part in everything the troop and your patrol do.

Don’t be a weak link.

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Scoutmaster Minute— 3 Uniforms

Hall of Famer Tommy Lasorda, retired manager of the Los Angles Dodgers, says that he has worn three uniforms in his lifetime, and that all three were very important to him.

The obvious one is that of Dodger blue, as he managed the Dodgers to many pennants and two World Series during his baseball career.

The second uniform was when he served his country and wore the uniform of the U.S. Army, and distinguished himself as a good soldier.

The third uniform, of which he is equally proud, was when he was a young boy, and he wore the uniform of the Boy Scouts of America.

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources, p.19)

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Dutch Oven Swamped Pig

I volunteered to cook for the Man Scout Patrol at our District Fall Camporee a couple of weeks ago.  Since we were camping on campus in the “big city” (i.e. a town with a WalMart) I snuck away during the merit badge sessions and purchased fresh meat for dinner.  Six pork chops and the fixings were soon simmering in our troop’s Dutch Oven and the Spartan Patrol was drooling as they suffered thru their stove-top stew.  If I had been thinking (paying more attention) I would have entered our meal in the Camporee’s Dutch Oven desert contest, it was so good!

This is another recipe from Christine & Tim Conners’ The Scout’s Outdoor Cookbook.  ”Swamped Pig” they call it, contributed by Helen Greymorning (Troop Committee, Troop 1911, Montana Council BSA) in the easy dinner category.

Ingredients:

1 (10-¼ oz) can condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup
1 can whole milk (use empty soup can to measure)
1 cup long-grain rice
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or minced
½ teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper to taste
6 pork chops, trimmed of fat and bone left in

Prep:

1. Mix soup, milk, rice, onion, celery,garlic,salt, and black pepper to taste in Dutch Oven.
2.  Add pork chops, thoroughly coating them in the mixture.
3. In a 12″ dutchie, use 18 charcoal up / 9 under, bake for 1 hour or until pork chops are at 160*F

As always, if you have new Scouts or guests, make sure they can eat stuff with milk.  After trying this on a couple of outings, I upsize the soup to a family-sized can and add some mushrooms.  I don’t bother chopping celery or garlic, but I’m just lazy that way.  I do have some trouble getting all the rice to firm up, but if you’re hungry enough in camp you don’t really notice.

At home, I do notice, but there is plenty here for 6 Scouts so for the 4 of us I just don’t scrape too close to the sides.  You might want to line your Dutch Oven with tinfoil to ease clean up.  The cookbook translates the charcoal to 375*, which I like, but I’m leaving it in the oven about 90 minutes to satisfy the meat thermometer.

A well-fed Scout is a happy Scout.

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Related articles

• Pot Roast in the Dutch Oven (squirrelacorns.wordpress.com)
• 5 Great Dutch Ovens: And 10 Recipes to Put Them to Work (thekitchn.com)

Fish & Wildlife Management Merit Badge

Scoutmaster Minute—A Simple Cloth and a Common Thread

They are woven of simple cloth and common thread.

They are no more than an inch and a half in diameter, and weigh no more than a couple of ounces.

They are priceless, yet cost little more than two dollars [adjusted for inflation].

They have the power to turn struggle into courage.

Self-doubt into self-esteem

Indecision into leadership

The unknown into knowledge

And the most magical metamorphosis of all,

the transforming of a boy into a man.

What are these mysterious things?

Merit Badges.

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(adapted for Court of Honor from Troop Program Resources, p.19)

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Image via Wikipedia

Scoutmaster Minute—A Good Turn

As you know, the Boy Scouts of America was started in 1910.  Now for a tougher question: Who started the BSA?  Not Baden-Powell.  He started Scouting in England.  It was an American businessman, William D. Boyce.

In 1909, William Boyce was wandering around London and got lost in the dense fog.  He met a young boy who led him to his destination.  The boy refused to accept a tip from Boyce, saying that he was a Boy Scout.  That intrigued Boyce, and he asked the Unknown Scout to take him to meet Lord Baden Powell later.

Because of that meeting, Boy Scouts of America was officially organized in 1910, and there have been more than 93 million Americans involved in the BSA since then.

The Scout slogan is “Do a Good Turn Daily.”  That is what that Boy Scout in 1909 did for William Boyce, and that is what you should always try to do, every day–a Good Turn. You never know what it may give return.

You can read more about the Unknown Scout on page 27 of your Centennial Boy Scout Handbook.

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(adapted from Troop Program Resources, p.18)

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Image via Wikipedia

Scoutmaster Minute—When the World Stopped Turning

Today is September 11^th. Some of you remember the events of ten years ago today. Most of you have learned of them in history books and television. There are few days in the history of the nation when, as they say, “the world stopped turning” and everything changed direction. Pearl Harbor. Gettysburg. 9/11.

The events of the day speak for themselves. I would like to speak to how this days speaks to the Scout Oath.

On by honor I will do my best

Your honor is something that cannot be taken, but only given—it is what you do when nobody else is looking. The same with ‘doing your best’. Only you know what your best is, and you may not even know that until you are called to duty.

To do my duty to God and my country

Many people are paralyzed in an emergency. When the time for service comes, a Scout stands up—for his God and his country, for friends and family.

and to obey the Scout Law

A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent, in good times and in bad.

To help other people at all times;

Times of crisis are a true test of character.

To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

It is much easier to do what must be done with stamina, smarts, and good common sense.

However, the best lesson of the day may actually lie in the Scout Motto: Be Prepared.

Be prepared, Scouts. Be prepared.

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I’ve been working (eating) my way thru The Scout’s Outdoor Cookbook, put together by Christine & Tim Conners. It was a gift from a friend, who I think was simply tired of my complaining about eating the same old thing all the time. It’s been a great tool to expand on the trusty old recipes in the Scout Handbook.

This week I flipped back to the beginning of the book to page 2, Fiesta Omelet, contributed to the collection by Scoutmaster Ed Newell of Troop 25, TwinRiver Council NY. In full disclosure I’m not really an omelet-kinda guy. I like my eggs scrambled, please and thank you. But this recipe is rated “easy” and serves 6-8, perfect to suggest to the New Scout patrol.

Ingredients:
5 slices of bread slightly dry
8oz pack precooked sausage links
1 doz eggs
16 oz jar “Newman’s Own Peach or Mango salsa,
16 oz shredded taco cheese
1/2 stick butter
Hot sauce to taste

Prep:
1. Tear dried bread into pieces, line bottom of 12″ greased Dutch oven
2. Break sausage links into small chunks & sprinkle over bread
3. Whisk eggs in medium-size bowl then spread evenly over sausage
4. Pour salsa evenly over eggs
5. Top mixture with shredded cheese
6. Slice butter into thin pats, laying slices evenly across cheese
7. Use 12 coals under, 12 coals on the lid, bake about 20 minutes or until eggs congeal and cheese melts
8. Serve, adding hot sauce to taste.

My meal turned out OK. I live in a small town and our market doesn’t carry anything exotic like “Newman’s Own” (Sorry, Ed) so I substituted chunky Pace salsa—it turned out a bit watery. I’m going to wrap my leftovers in tortillas for breakfast burritos. And also I did my test run indoors, which changes the look and feel. Everything tastes better in camp!  Adjust how spicy your salsa & hot sauce are to your own scouts’ palates (my guys are Scandinavian bland).  Overall it’s an easy meal for your Scouts to try if they’re stuck in the “same old thing” rut.

p.s If you have new Scouts coming in or are entertaining Webelos, be sure to ask about food allergies (milk/cheese in this one).
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It may be one of the worst kept secrets in modern politics, but before Texas Gov. Rick Perry throws his hat in the Presidential ring and this topic gets all political on us, I wanted to say a few words about a book he wrote.

In 2008, Perry published a semi-autobiographical commentary titled On My Honor: Why the American Values of the Boy Scouts Are Worth Fighting for.  I bought this book as soon as it came out and read it, then read it again…. and held onto it trying to decide how to say what I’m going to say without getting all political on my Scouting blog.  Three years later current events force my hand.  So here goes…

On My Honor is the sort of book I would want to write, should I happen to become successful in public service.  First off, this book is not fine literature.  I’m sure you can pick it apart, and plenty of critics will.  Second, this book is nonpartisan, but not a-political.  In fact, all profits were dedicated to the Boy Scouts of America Legal Defense Fund.  The twelve chapters, like the 12 points of the Scout Law, lay out a lifetime, warts and all.

The book opens with personal recollections of Perry’s time growing up in rural West Texas in Troop 48, and the influence of his Scoutmaster, being elected to the Order of the Arrow and serving as Scribe for the 1964 National Jamboree at Valley Forge, and on earning the rank of Eagle Scout.  ”I can’t say that Scouting planted the idea of public service in my head, but I can say it prepared me for it,” he writes.  The rest, as they say, is history:  Perry moved from the Texas legislature as a Blue Dog Democrat to State Commissioner of Agriculture as a Republican, then Liet. Governor and Governor when G.W. Bush was elected president.

As he explains the values of Scouting to a general audience, Perry also takes on all comers in the “War on the Scouts”, which he links to the larger “culture war” pitting traditional values of service against new doctrines of selfishness and moral relativity.  He takes on feel-good sports leagues and parents looking for Baby-Sitters of America; the 30 lawsuits in 30 years against the BSA’s membership standards; the ACLU and Mitt Romney‘s exclusion of Scout volunteers from the 2002 Winter Olympics at Salt Lake City (that should make for an interesting campaign debate).

It would be easy to think this book is a partisan hack—it prominently features blurbs from David Keene, Sean Hannity, Ken Blackwell, and Newt Gingrich (again with the campaign debates and they shared a book last year).  Yet Rick Perry, like Ronald Reagan, grew up a Democrat.  He talked to former Defense Secretary Robert Gates and FBI Director William Sessions, Ohio State University president Gordon Gee and one-time Democratic presidential candidate Gov. Michael Dukakis.  He talked to J.W. Marriott Jr, CEO of the largest hotel chain in the world, and he talked to his old friend Riley Couch, who remenised, “We completed things, and we received merit badges that proved it.”  As Perry notes:

The Boy Scouts didn’t hand out badges for trying.  They handed out badges for getting the job done.

That’s the thing I see in this book.  Yes, I get excited about defending the BSA, but the thing of this book is that it defends the Values of Scouting.  Its not about defending institutions, although it does that.  On My Honor is about defending the values that make America great.  I can get excited about that.

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