The Troop 1954
Wednesday Newsletter

Wednesday, April 14, 2004

Announcements

1) The Scout Hut Work Day set for this Saturday is postponed.

2) Our next camp-out will be April 24th at John Knox Camp. Because of our Court of Honor,  We'll have to do both planning and payment for this one at our next meeting.  This campout will include cross over for the Cubs.  The Cubs are camping both Friday night and Saturday night.  We can camp with them on Friday or by ourselves.  We'll need to work out the specifics at our next meeting.  Whatever the case, the cost will be $10 per person, scout or adult.  Please bring cash for camping to our meeting next week.  I'll remind you on Monday.

3) The next payment for summer camp was due last night.  It was $75, adult or child.  Please make your arrangements with Ms. Cece if you haven't done so already.

4) Adult leader indoor training is April 24th.  Outdoor training for adult and youth leaders is the weekend of May 15th.  It is really good for all parents to be trained so I urge you to avail yourself of these training opportunities.  The more people who know the more stuff the better we'll run.  For more information on training contact Molly Alexander at molly.alexander@aol.com 

5) May promises to be a big month for Scouting so hold on to your seats.

In my life, I’ve been lucky in more ways than I could possibly enumerate. I’ve a wonderful family and a wonderful job and I’ve been able to do things that many people only dream of. But last year, when I became Scoutmaster, it wasn’t apparent to me that this too was a matter of good fortune. Now I realize how very lucky I was in this too. When I became Scoutmaster, it was as if someone gave me a couple dozen bright, energetic kids. And that’s a cosmically wonderful gift. I’ve come to know most of you fairly well and I can say without qualification that you are among the best of your generation. You are the kids who do things, the kids who care about things, the kids who will become the movers and shakers of the future. I feel extraordinarily lucky to be able to work with you and I grateful for your support, generosity, friendship and cooperation. I am very proud of your accomplishments and I know that, for all of you, this is just the beginning. We’re going to go on to bigger and better things. I’m confident that you’ll all achieve greater advancement in Scouting and in other parts of your life as well.

Guys, we’re Scouts. That’s not necessarily an easy thing to be in an age when kids are told half a dozen times a day by the TV that it’s much more fun to eat really nasty sugary cereal than it is to go camping. But, we’re Scouts. We wear our uniforms and go on our camp-outs, and work on our achievements, and get our rank advancements, and do all of these things. And do you know what? None of it really matters that much. I am very proud of your achievements, but advancements, awards, and the policies of the BSA aren’t really very important.

Ultimately, in scouting, only two things really do matter, and they are the oath and the law. How good a Scout you are is not really determined by how many merit badges you have or your rank, but rather by how well you live by the Oath and Law. Truly, the newest Scout or Tenderfoot can be a better Scout than the Eagle with palms if the one lives the oath and law and the other does not. We are only scouts, adults and kids both, to the extent that we try to live the oath and law.

Living the oath and law isn’t easy and it isn’t clear. It’s not like brushing after meals...something you’re just supposed to do without thinking. Make no mistake, we are on a quest. We are pursuing a vision, all of us who stand up every Tuesday and say those words. I can’t tell you what your duty to god or your country is, what reverence should mean in your life, what bravery or loyalty will mean to you. I struggle with these all the time. I don’t have the answers. And sometimes I fail. For example I’m not too proud of an email exchange I had last week. But that’s OK, because each of us is on a quest to discover what these words mean for ourselves and to put them into action. They represent a vision of thoughtfulness, decency, and caring; a model of the way we wish to make the world.

Folks, we’re not going to succeed. The world is too vast, confusing, and complex for any utopian dream. But that does not excuse us from trying. In fact, it makes it all the more urgent that we do so.

I close by paraphrasing the great 19th century German American statesman, Carl Schurz. Of his understanding of the meaning of America, Schurz said: You may tell me that these views are visionary, that our destiny is less great than I think it is or ought to be. I answer, ideals are like stars, you will not succeed in touching them with your hands but you choose them as your guides and following them reach your destiny.

next week, that financial aid form.

April Scout Hut Work Day, Saturday April 17

Postponed.

April Camping, April 24-25

We'll be once again at John Knox for our April Campout.  This will be a backpacking campout.  We'll be at a site that is not accessible by car.  The main event in this campout will be to assist at the Webelos Cross Over.  We will be receiving the new scouts on Saturday Night.  They'll be spending that night at our camp site and hopefully, we'll have some cool stuff for them.

Saturday April 24th, Indoor Training for Scout Leaders and Parents

8:30 to 4:00 at the San Marcos Methodist Church.  This is the essential course for understanding how Scout Troops and meetings are supposed to work. The more parents who have this the better.  I really urge anyone who hasn't taken this course to do so.

May Youth Leadership Retreat, Tentatively May 8

SPL, ASPL, PLs gather to set the program and schedule for May, June, and July.  More details in future letters.

May Scout Hut Work Day, Date TBA

We're hoping to paint the main meeting room of the Scout Hut.

Saturday and Sunday May 15 and 16, Outdoor Training

This is the second half of the complete scout leader training course.  It will be held at Kiwanis Camp outside San Marcos.

Camping at Wolf Mountain/Enchanted Rock May 21-23

Details forthcoming.

We will be doing summer camp at Camp Dale Resler in the mountains of New Mexico.  This trip will also include visits to White Sands National Monument and Carlsbad Caverns National Park.  It should be a great chance to get away from the summer heat of San Marcos and into the cool mountains of New Mexico.  It is also a fantastic chance for the scouts to make progress on advancement, have a great time, and bond more tightly as a group.  If you can possibly send your scout to summer camp, please do so.  The estimated cost for this program (including travel, all visits, and spending money), about $330 for youth and $220 for adults.