Who here is/was a Boy Scout, or Girl Scout

[realisticphish]

I'm an Eagle Scout, and was curious about who else here was a scouter

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
I JUST want to know who was in it. I don't want this turning into a bloodbath concerning the BSA's position on a lot of stuff. I had an overall positive trip through scouting, and am working to make it better,and more open, as much as i can

edit: as a side note, anyone interested in working for a more open BSA should click on the multi-colored badge in my sig; its a GREAT site for info about working towards a better BSA

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[coloradodem2005]

1. I was a Boy Scout and am also an Eagle Scout.

And proud of it too.

[bobthedrummer]

2. First Class BSA.

:hi:

[NYC Liberal]

3. I am.

And our troop doesn't obey the no-gays policy.

[pres2032]

4. second class

started off good, but stalled my last few years due to HS and band.

i remember my senior year of HS my troop had a trip scheduled to work at a heritage festival and i signed up to go. That same weekend the band had a football game against our rival and then a parade the next day. The day before the game there was a pep rally the same time my troop had a mandatory planning meeting for the trip. I went to the meeting and was furious. there was no order, so we sat around doing nothing for a good 30 minutes. I sat there fuming knowing i was missing a pep rally for THIS! :mad:
That meeting i decided not only was i not going to go on the trip (it was more important that i be in the parade) but that i was done with scouting.


other than that, i loved it, especially summer camp!

[realisticphish]

6. we had a pretty easy-going troop

nothing was ever mandatory.

and i LOVED summer camp, especially the last year; i had earned all the badges they offered, so i spent all day every day just hiking around...it was great


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[Allenberg]

5. I was when I was a kid

but I lacked the patience or the motivation to earn badges. Kind like now how I lack patience or the motivation to earn more strips, which is why I'm getting out.

[NYC Liberal]

7. Anyone ever go to Philmont?

[Kire]

14. yeah

I got knocked down by a racing burro in the middle of the trip - the spot with the canteen. They thought they might need to send a helicopter, but I was fine. I'm not sure I was unconscious even, just really freaked out.

As usual, I am the drama queen and the best stories to tell are about me.

[proud2BlibKansan]

26. We drove through

on vacation one year. It is beautiful.

[HuskiesHowls]

30. Spent a week there in 1986 as a family

had a great time!!! I was there taking adult leader classes, wound up camping at about 10,000 feet. Not a light in sight, other than what we had, and the stars were beautiful!!!

[greendog]

46. I spent a week there when I was 13...

...I've been in love with the west ever since.

[mitchum]

64. Yep! I was a demon of a patch trader

[grace0418]

8. I was a girl scout all the way through grade school

I thought it was pretty fun. I loved the camping trips.

[RadicalMom]

9. Campfire Girl here. It was the main organization in my town. Just

weren't many Girl Scouts. This is non-judgemental. We all had a thing for camping themes.

[outraged2]

11. Campfire Girl here too

I didn't stick with it very long, two years I think. My son started Cub Scouts this year and loves it.

[bobbieinok]

16. Camp Fire Girl all the way from 3rd grade to senior in HS

in the 40s and 50s....first a Blue Bird, then 'flew up' to CFG...in Camp Fire earned the beads and did the levels: Trail Seeker, Wood Gatherer, Fire Maker, and Torch Bearer....still remember my CFG Indian name and what it meant....odd how the goals in that name still resonate today -- 'to be a cook, to be a teacher, to be merry-hearted, and to be understanding': Ta-Ki-Na-Tan

[Phentex]

36. Bluebird and then a Campfire Girl here...

I mostly remember all of the outdoor stuff we did.

[Piperay]

10. I was a Girl Scout

and I earned a lot of badges too.:D I can't believe that I ever joined because I am not the kind that is a joiner ordinarily, guess it was peer pressure. :shrug:

[prof_science]

12. I was in the gay Boy Scouts.

I mean, I know I know, there are no gay Boy Scouts. But I swear to god my troop was a training ground for young gay men. Hear me out: so there were two troops in my town. The other troop did regular boy scout stuff, you know, camping, building sheds, repairing small engines. My troop almost NEVER left the community center-- our activities usually involved hand painting china or darning clothing with needle and thread. We'd ask to go out and play with fire and stuff, but no deal-- we were too busy baking croissants for our mothers.

I don't mean to draw flames. This is the honest to god truth. I apologize if I offend anyone with my flippant tone, sort of :)

[Kire]

15. that's pretty funny

I was ready to kill you when I clicked on that post, but "hand painting china" at a Boy Scout meeting? Shit. Compared to my troop, that's gay.

[prof_science]

17. Oh yes.

At the time, it just seemed unfair. But when I first told the story of my boy scout troop to friends in college, they sort of looked at me funny and explained to me exactly how, erm, un-manly the things we did were. So it went from being unfair to being a bit weird, too. I'm making no accusations of any sort to the leaders of my troop, but man, I'll just say that I would have rather camped out and built bombs and stuff like that...

[Bobbie47]

13. I am

with my daughter..we are in our 7th year.

[Kire]

18. My father stayed on as a merit badge counselor for years...

...after my brother and I had quit. He would still be, too, but he got really sick and died of Supra Nuclear Palsy.

He was a beloved figure in that troop. He was actually their second Scoutmaster ever. I was one of the five founding members of the troop. I remember leading the whole troop to a 100% inspection score one night. I was the only one there (the other side of the gym as the troop we sprung off from -- strange, isn't it?)

Anyway, instead of flowers, my Mom and Brother and I decided we should have people send donations to the troop.

[realisticphish]

71. my mother was my pack and troop leader

she actually had to deal with a LOT of sexism from the other leaders; i had some heated words with them after i got out when i turned 18. mom quit when i did


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[no_hypocrisy]

19. I was asked to leave the Girl Scouts when I was 11.

My leader was a tight ass suburban mom. I was a spirited young gal. There was an inevitable clash in personalities.

The leader one day told me to go outside and not return to the troop meeting "until you can act like a lady". I obeyed (remember the obedience thing in Girl Scouts) and took a coat in case it would take a while.

In the near freezing temperature outside, I considered:
1. I didn't remember seeing an "act like a lady" badge in the handbook.
2. I didn't think being a "lady" was relevant to being a girl scout.
3. I wasn't about to start on that day.

So, I walked home, and announced that I was done with Girl Scouts, without revealing my motivation. I never looked back with regret. The activities were getting lame, like arts and crafts instead of survival training that the Boy Scouts were getting.

[Berserker]

20. Cub Scout, Boy Scout and United States Navy

and i'm still fucked up.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

22. Wow! And this was your 666 post! n/t

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

21. I was a Brownie and then a Girl Scout. I was never told to leave, but

left when they started to discuss how to wear make-up. It was no longer fun.

[China_cat]

38. I'm really sorry I didn't have you in my troop

I was a Cadette leader/Senior advisor for 15 years. Did outdoor training, backpacking and camping skills, was advisor to Wider Ops applicants (and saw MANY girls go off to Europe and Mexico and just about every state in the US), vice chair of the Wider Op we held here and general troublemaker in this council.

My main thought for being a leader was to teach girls that there was more to life than 'being a lady', having kids and selling (or baking) cookies. You'd have been a welcome addition.

[no_hypocrisy]

39. Thanks. Is this a retroactive invitation?

P.S. I was in the same situation when I attended a private all-women's college in the 70s. But at least I wasn't uninvited because of my "unladylike" ways. I embraced being an independent and intrepid person, gender be damned.


Remember that well-behaved women don't make history.

[China_cat]

60. It's an invitation to become a leader

and make sure other girls like yourself don't suffer the same things you did.

[trof]

23. Yep, and I still remember

"A Scout is trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent."

Possibly coincidently that's the way I've lived, except for a couple.
You can guess which two went mostly unobserved.
Hey, 10 out of 12 ain't bad.

And "Be Prepared!" sure was a good guideline for my career as a pilot.
Cub Scout, Boy Scout, and Explorer.
Honestly don't remember my highest rank.

[B Calm]

24. I was a Cub Scout and Boy Scout in the late 50s early 60s.

Had a lot of fun.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. I was a Girl Scout

as long as you could be one when I was a kid. I absolutely loved it. I still have my badge sash.

[Patiod]

47. Me too

My family didn't camp, so it was my only opportunity.

One year, a girlfriend signed us both us for a one-week scout camp out in W.PA - my parents almost had a heart attack when they picked me up and found out it that it had involved rock climbing, rappelling, caving, and white-water rafting. One of the best things that ever happened to me - a great thing to make adolescent girls do, just when they're starting to turn away from physical challenges.

[proud2BlibKansan]

49. Same here

I have always loved the outdoors and credit the Girl Scouts for this. My parents would never have gone camping. And to this day one of my favorite things is to sleep outside in the summer.

[China_cat]

61. Camp Redwing, by any chance?

[Patiod]

73. If it involved whitewatering down the Youghaghenny (sp?)

It was in SE PA - don't remember the name

[catbert836]

27. Boy Scout here

n/t

[rockedthevoteinMA]

28. I was a girl scout til high school. n/t

[Joe Power]

29. I was a scout for a cpl of years

Altar boy, too. I have no idea why that information causes so much mirth among those who know me now.:evilgrin:

[Bertha Venation]

31. Brownie!

:hi:

[AwakeAtLast]

32. I was a Girl Scout until about age 12

Then the group just kinda fizzled. I enjoyed it while I was in. Day Camps were always fun. We never were able to go on overnights where I grew up, but I always thought it would be fun.

[realisticphish]

72. you see that happen a lot

my sister's GS troop fell apart at about middle-school age. so she joined venture crew, whichh is for both sexes.


:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[HuskiesHowls]

33. Cub Scout, Boy Scout, Adult Leader, Leader Training Staff

And I found out that volunteers CAN be fired:)

Had some personalilty clashes in the district about who was going to win more brownie points and to me it wasn't the end-all and be-all of life, so I lost. Things kind of went downhill for a while after I left, as all the other good people left around the same time.

[UrbScotty]

34. For one year

I didn't like it.

Apparently, a couple people in my den became Eagle Scouts.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

35. I was a Girl Scout

Brownies + Junior Girl Scout for awhile.

I rejoined as a Senior Girl Scout to start on my Gold Award (equivalent of the Eagle Scout), but I didn't have enough time to devote to it.

My brother got his Eagle award two or three years ago.

[CRK7376]

37. Got my

Eagle in 1973, Vigil in 1976. My eldest son is now completing his Eagle Project, it should be done by the end of the month, then his Eagle Board and presentation. My youngest son just joined our troop last week and is ready to go....Scouting is a great program, but also has it's fair share of wackos.

[coloradodem2005]

66. You were in OA?

I finished my Eagle in September 1997 so I technically became an Eagle then. I also got into OA in 1997 and attained Brotherhood in 1998. I got so busy with college. I would have liked to rejoin so I could participate in the organization and would eventually make Vigil but alas. It does not seem like it was to be.

[realisticphish]

67. well, you know

you can rejoin OA at any time as a leader. i know quite a few adults who have gotten their vigil

:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[crispini]

40. I was a girl scout all the way through junior high...

then I moved and never found a new troop. I loved it, though, camping was great and the source of many fond memories. I still like to camp. Maybe I should get back involved with some local troop, that'd be fun.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

41. I was a Brownie and a Girl Scout

One of the dumbest things I have ever done is throw out my Girl Scout sash with all of my badges. WHAT WAS I THINKING???

[rug]

42. I was drafted into it

by the nuns at my grammar school but was thrown out after three weeks.

[scarlet_owl]

43. I was a brownie for about a week.

It really wasn't my thing.

[Beer Snob-50]

44. I am a scoutmaster and both of my sons are scouts

the oldest is a life scout right now.

[greendog]

45. Eagle Scout '76

n/t

[EstimatedProphet]

48. I was a boy scout

Never advanced though

[annonymous]

50. I was a girl scout until age 14.

My husband was in boy scouts and made Eagle. My son is a cub scout.

[HEyHEY]

51. I was... we WERE not very good scouts though

Throwing snowball's and rocks at passing cars, pissing on other patrol's snowcaves... swearing at leaders... the boy scouts were the roughest crowd I ever ran with.

[tjdee]

52. I wish wish wished I could be a Brownie, but no dice. Was a Junior.

I think I'd just missed the Brownies...I think, because I try to block out that disappointment! Who wants to wear cheesy green when you can be a Brownie like the dessert??

:cry:

[Left Is Write]

53. My husband is an Eagle Scout.

I, however, was a Camp Fire Girl. That was back in the days when Camp Fire was only for girls.

[Bonhomme Richard]

54. My youngest son is an Eagle................

I was a scout as a kid but never went past tenderfoot, LOL. I just wanted to camp and play capture the flag. I was a leader when the kids were in but now I am not involved.

[curse10]

55. I was a girlscout- my brothers boyscouts and my parents were leaders

we were a very scouting family.

[fluffernutter]

56. here i am in my brownie uniform, i was also a GS for 1 year.

[alarimer]

57. I was in Brownies

But I used to play hooky from it (it was after school and my parents both worked- I did get caught once). I just remember it being really stupid, all kinds of stupid arts and crafts shit. I hated it. So obviously I quit after than one year.

[msgadget]

58. I was a Brownie

(still am, I guess! :P) and made it to Girl Scout. And, it was an extremely positive experience where I bonded with a diverse mix of girls led by great leaders. I grew up in a very liberal area and our troop deliberately included every socioeconomic group so one meeting might be in the old moneyed part of town and another might be in rickety old church. We set goals, performed community service, did projects and all that good stuff.

I was extremely disappointed when I tried to get my daughter involved with the girl scouts because, I guess, a lot depends on how open minded and inclusive the local leaders are. It was a complete bust and totally different from my positive experience. Neither Msgadget nor her beautiful girl fit in and no one went out of their way to make us comfortable. It was so....so conservative and tight-lipped and the whole badge and selling cookies thing was blown way out of proportion. They didn't even care if the girls hadn't bonded into a unit. Even though it's a bad precedent to allow a kid to quit something they start, we were OUTA there!

[DinahMoeHum]

59. I was a Girl Scout.

My brother was a Boy Scout (reached rank of Life Scout).
His son (my nephew did him better - he made Eagle)

I don't know about most of you, but it seemed the Scouts trained a whole lot of budding environmentalists.

:bounce:

[CatholicEdHead]

62. Boy Scout, Life Rank

was where I got to before High School kicked in.

Yes, I am also irritated about the ultra-conservatism being pushed by members of BSA.

This rally of BSA with Ollie North and Ann Coutler went way over the line back in 2003.

http://www.commondreams.org/scriptfiles/views03/1002-14.htm

[mitchum]

63. Boy Scout here...

one of the best experiences of my childhood. Highly recommended.
I am in favor of a more open BSA. Thanks for the link.

[madison2000]

65. I was a Girl Scout through High School

Until HS it was a really organized group. In HS it was just 6 of us who liked to go camping and somebody's mother, but it was still good.

[Cooper]

68. i was. n/t

n/t

[sandnsea]

69. Girl Scout and Scout leader

Just realized my Girl Scout sash and badges burned in my house fire. I was always sad about losing my daughter's stuff, just realized I lost my own too. :cry: Oh well.

[Cuban_Liberal]

70. I was a Boy Scout. n/t

[really-looney]

74. Eagle-Scout

The only down side is that Ronald Regan signed my card, which I still carry in my wallet

[realisticphish]

77. mine doesnt have a pres sig

thank god, since i got my ES under shrub.



:hippie: The Incorrigible Democrat

[politicat]

75. Girl Scout through High school.

AZ Cactus-Pine Council.

In late high school, I had to go independent to stay a senior scout, because as far as we can tell, the Mormon girls in the town I lived in aren't allowed to be anywhere near anything that might help them learn to be independent, self-actualized women, like the Girl Scouts teaches. They had their Little Suzie Homemaker classes with the church, but when we tried to drum up support for a mixed age Girl scout troupe (Mom had had all three of us in GS, and at the time, I would have been a Senior, with one sister a Junior and the other a Brownie) everyone looked at us like we'd grown horns and tails and were eating babies. Why we moved there, I'll never, ever know....

Maybe it was just the town.... :eyes: This is not a slam at Mormons in general, just the ones that live in a certain town in Northeastern Arizona that has not made it out of the 17th century yet.

I got my damn gold award, though. A couple of years ago, I approached the Colorado Springs council about being an assistant troop leader or volunteer, and got told off because I'm atheist. .... Sigh.

Pcat

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

76. I was a boy scout

My dad was the scoutmaster. Kinda took the fun out of it, for some reason. (Don't ask.)

[Withywindle]

78. "On my honor, I will try..."

Brownie and Girl Scout here (up through Junior), in the late 70s. It was kinda lame sometimes, kinda fun sometimes and a lot of the kids were serious little bitches, but I was a badge machine!

[Skittles]

79. girl scout, TOFS (troop on foreign soil), England

not for long though - too hard to do with a mom who did not drive

[AngryOldDem]

80. Scouting family here

...My husband was an Eagle Scout (as were his three brothers)
...I was a Girl Scout, and am now an adult volunteer (mainly cookies)
...My son is a second-year Webelos member
...My daughter is a Cadette Girl Scout.


Scouting has been a positive influence in the lives of our kids. No flames about either group from this corner...

[GreenPartyVoter]

81. Girl Scout troop 411

[shesemsmom]

82. 4th Gerneration Girl Scout

My Grandmogther, Mother Myself and my Daughter.

When I sold cookies they were 50 cents a box...this year they are $3:50 jjjeeeeezzzzzzz

[Jacksonb57]

83. I was a Cub Scout

and a Boy Scout in Long Island, NY. Our troop had it's own campground in upstate NY so I got to learn and do many camping activities...going out in search of kindling for the campfire:nuke:, urinating in the great outdoors:evilgrin:, got my first .22 cal rifle and learned to shoot at the shooting range they had....:wow:

[Worst Username Ever]

84. I was a "Health Officer" (medic) at Tomahawk Scout Reservation (WI)

Lived in a tent for 10 weeks. Other than that, I was just a cub scout years ago.

[Famine]

85. Eagle Scout

Made Eagle. Back in the 70's. I'm not sure I even knew there was a no gays policy. I always wondered what that morally straight part meant. A couple of the guys were definitely gay. Guess my troop wasn't real strict.