Backpacking Gear for New Scouts
I’ve been asked, at least once or twice, about what sort of gear you need to have if you are a new scout. So, in this post, I’m going to talk about the essential backpacking gear for new scouts and which products I recommend. Note, however, that this list is by no means inclusive of everything that you will need. Also, it may contain affiliate links that, when you use to buy, may earn me... [More]
By: Scott Robertson On: 2021-09-30Your First Pack Meeting
Image from Tabitha Kaboni's Pack Meeting used by permission Chaos. Absolutely. Nothing seems to be organized. Kids in full or half uniforms, running around, chasing each other at times, and at other moments are trying to get to parts of the room whereby there are "things going on".You enter the room thinking "meeting? This looks like that Discovery Zone(TM) place you took Tom ("Tommy Gun" to his friends, even though they are not old enough... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2021-09-22“Was
Eagle Scout Badge (Walton family archives)Today’s “Bryan on Scouting” blog entry was all about the Eagle Scout Award — the senior editor of SCOUTING Magazine, Bryan Wendell, wrote in part: “That’s why you never say “I was an Eagle Scout.” You always say “I am an Eagle Scout.” The tense makes sense. Earning the BSA’s top honor makes you a marked man or woman for the rest of your life. The title doesn’t go... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2021-03-01Taking Along Twisted Sister...or...
Walton Family ArchivesSettummanque, the blackeagle writes: Yes, we *did* have the Twisted Sister band to "accompany" us during the trip and when things got really tough (a rainstorm on the third and fourth days almost forced us home...but to the strains of "We're not gonna take (make) it", (sung by eventually ALL of the Scouts (and yes, Scouters) participating), their spirits were uplifted enough to keep going. I don't think that seventeen choruses of "I'm... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2021-02-15An Appeal from one Eagle Scout
Image from Walton family archivesThis is a message to my fellow Eagle Scouts -- even those of you not a part of the Transatlantic Council, BSA. Challenging times demand a challenging appeal... ------------------- A Special Message to our Eagle Scouts. As an Eagle Scout, you know the impact of Scouting in your life. You have strong values based on the Scout Oath and Law. You do your best. You are prepared. You help other... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2021-01-11Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation
This BSA camp was one that was recommended to us by our readers. Some of the pictures in this article were provided by one of our readers. According to the Scouting website, the Scout reservation is located on the Lake of the Ozarks Osage Arm at mile marker 44 near Laurie, Missouri. In spectacular natural beauty and extremely rocky terrain, the Lake of the Ozarks Scout Reservation boasts 450 acres and a mile and... [More]
By: InsaneScouter On: 2021-01-11Patriots? Eagles? Why not BOTH?
Dec 6, 2015 - New England Patriots line up against the Philadelphia Eagles. Image provided by Stew Milne, USA TODAY SportsWhen I was growing up, the prevailing opinion was "either you're a winner or you're a loser". That was how the world was divided. Winners get the opportunity to be on the Wheaties(TM) box. My first "sports heroes" were all on that Big G cereal box. Never mind that Wheaties tasted like the cardboard it... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-12-28Be A Part of Someone's Personal Scouting History - BUT...
Shutterstock image purchased by Mike WaltonI became a Cub Scout, and therefore a member of the Boy Scouts of America, via a flyer stuffed in our postal mailbox in Germany in 1967. The flyer simply informed the holder that Cub Scouts -- Pack 63, sponsored by the American Legion Post 63 -- was available in Ludwigsburg, Germany -- and that I should join! Most importantly for ME, the Pack's meeting place was right across the... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-12-21Daydreaming
Admit it: you, like several million other Americans and me, are sometimes daydreaming about winning the lottery game of chance, with its potential first-place winnings of.... 1 BILLION DOLLARS! (you have to say...or think several million other Americans and me ONE (pause) BILLION (pause) DOLLARS! )That's an awful large amount of money. So let's put this into context. No, I am not going to tell you that your or my chances of winning this large... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-12-14Did we learn anything new?
MORNING JOE l Photo by Anthony J. Scutro My television set is NOT broke on the Cable News Network (CNN) 24/7. Other networks -- ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS -- all have fine public affairs and journalistic review shows (what I refer to collectively as "talking heads" shows), and I watch them as often as I do the "Network of Record," the "Best network in the Universe -- CNN." My Sundays are spent in... [More]
By: Mike Walton (blackeagle) On: 2020-12-07