Frequently Asked Questions

I don't like you. You've got the "big head"; you think you know everything there is about Scouts! You've got all of those things which just tells me that you want to show off, I bet you've NEVER been a Scoutmaster or a Den Leader with kids running around yelling at you to do stuff... and you're black. Is there anyone else who's NOT on the 'net that I can send my questions and comments to so that I don't have to see your signature nor anything else? Besides, my Council says that I shouldn't trust you or anyone else on the Internet because none of you speak for the BSA or have enough experience with the BSA and none of you are professionals. Where do I send my letter to?

I'm really sorry you feel that I am boastful or egotistical. I try my best NOT to be either, in the way I write, the way I talk and the way in which I present myself. My wife Jessi says that sometimes it DOES come through in my writings and I have to constantly be on the lookout when it does and correct myself when it does. No, I do NOT know EVERYTHING there is about Scouting. It may seem that way, because I'll answer just about any issue dealing with the program and sometimes people will just take it for granted that if I wrote it, it's got to be right. In all fairness, I get things correct about 80 percent of the time. Those other 20 percent I get corrected by other Scouters. I have been a Den Leader, a WEBELOS Den Leader, a Den Leader Coach, an Assistant Scoutmaster, Scoutmaster of four different Troops in three different locations, an Advisor of five Exploring units and a Mate and later Skipper of a Sea Exploring (land) Ship. I have also been a Varsity Team Coach. I DO know how Scouters in those positions feel because I've been there. I've had kids running amuck and I had to deal with lots of parents in my 20 or so years as a volunteer. I bring to every posting I write some idea of just what people are going through, because I've been there several times over the years, and I've probably done some of the things you and others have done.

So, I'm black. Big hairy deal. So, I've got those badges and things on my shirt. Again, big deal. You judge a person's ability to help you not by what color he or she is, nor by the number or kinds of badges, pins, or other items on a shirt. You judge a person's ability by their willingness to be of service to you.

I NEVER get "bent out of shape" when someone wants a "second, third or seventeenth" opinion about something I've said. I do the same things. If you feel that what others or I have said to you is a "pack of lies" or worse, then you can contact YOUR Council's Scout Executive and ask him or her the same question. You can find the address for your Council's Scout Executive in the phone book under "Boy Scouts of America" or online at the BSA's website. If you don't want to write to YOUR Council Scout Executive, then write to Boy Scouts of America, 1325 West Walnut Hill Lane, Irving, Texas 75015.

Your Council is correct: You should first and foremost talk with YOUR COUNCIL'S VOLUNTEERS and PROFESSIONALS to get whatever it you want to ask answered. I'm in Minnesota; I have absolutely NO CLUE about your Council's policies in New York, Texas, nor Alabama. I can quote you what the BSA's policies are as they are written from the National side of things...but each and every local Council applies those policies and procedures differently and not all consistently. You asking me a question is like you asking a friend to listen and give you some advice. Don't take what I or anyone else "online" says as the "gospel truth!" We can only tell you what the "books, manuals and our personal experiences and observations are"...we CAN NOT tell you what YOUR COUNCIL WILL SAY (or even "should say"). If you don't like what I write or say, please DELETE what I say and move on...nobody makes you read anything I write or explain, and you will NOT hurt my feelings if you choose NOT to read anything I write.

I write to explain things from the BSA's point of view and based on my own experiences both inside and outside the Irving Center. I don't write to get people upset, or to cause controversy, nor to even "get even" with people. Some days, I don't even write or post anything. I don't have this "ego trip" that says that everyone MUST listen to what I have to say and they MUST read everything I've got to write. Instead, I spend a great deal of my time READING what OTHERS have wrote and explained, because it helps me to understand what Scouters TODAY are going through (remember, I did the vast majority of my Scouting from 1976-93...that's a long time ago to some people)!!

I'm NOT that big of a deal, friend.


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