Kids in my neighborhood must have been slower than in yours.

I started in Tiger Cubs (the program for 1st graders), went through Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, got my Eagle award, spent some time in the Explorers and as an adult leader and finally ended my association with the BSA in 1996. Most of the time, it was a blast. I met some great people and learned a lot.

Of course, the St. Louis council had a bad molestation problem in the mid-80s...two of my friends were victims.

The BSA has the right to have whomever they want in their organization. After all, it's a private organization, and they shouldn't be forced to accept gays or atheists. But they should rely strictly on themselves or businesses for funding, not the UW. When the Philadelphia council threw out a gay Eagle Scout, the UW took their money away...not sure if that stood or not. And based on what I know about the Scouts now, I wouldn't allow any child of mine in the program...and I'll never rejoin. The Girl Scouts don't seem to have nearly as many problems as the BSA, but their schtick seems much the same.

Griff, you and Pete seem to have this parenting thing down to a science. I bet you and your family and friends could easily show your kids anything they could learn in Scouts.

I have experienced serious disruption in my worldview by learning that Sycamore is an Eagle Scout?!

I am forced to go into a period of meditative seclusion.

Don't you mean medicated seclusion?

And yes, I am an Eagle Scout...earned it in 1991.

Beer's a medication.

I have a prescription.

Yeah? Try waking up to that reality on a sunny Suday morning! I dunno, I worry that Fucking Idiot ™ will lose some of its impact when the recipient knows it's coming from an Eagle Scout.

The only Eagle Scout I knew personally, murdered his parents and brother. :eyebrow:

Thanks, Bruce, you've set me straight again.

Every man I ever dated was either an Eagle Scout or a son of clergy. (And there were only two sons of clergy in there!) And I swear to god I wasn't seeking them out. Usually I'd only find out after we were dating.

My husband, however, was the only one who was ever an Eagle Scout AND a son of clergy. :D

"The only one who could ever teach me...was the son of a preacher man..."

99, you could look at it like that. Or...you could look at it as the good little Eagle Scout throwing you off when he calls you a "Fucking Idiot™."

The den mother for the girl scout troop my wife used to belong to and her daughter got into some trouble involving (attempted?) murder and prostitution. I don't remember the whole story.

Prostitution and Girl Scouts...I guess it was only a matter of time. Yikes!

Did they play Son of a Preacher Man at your wedding? :band:

..or Fly like an Eagle?

They probably played the Electric Slide, just like at every body else's damn wedding.

How many of your elderly female relatives fell down trying to make the turn?

My parents did not allow me to be in scouts - they made me be in 4-H instead. You don't have to have livestock to belong to 4-H - I lived in a city. 4-H was probably the coolest thing I've ever belonged too - I learned how to cook and how to give presentations on the wonders of cooking lamb.