The Bugler

Richardson, Texas

Troop 81

August 1997

Welcome Back Troop 81
A New Year Begins

Philmont Scout Ranch

Well, we all made it back in one piece, albeit with a few pounds around the middle and more blisters than when we left! All in all, it was another great experience, but turned out to be more physically demanding than our last trek in 1994. The plus side was that we saw more spectacular scenery than last time, and that is going some ways to be able to say that. We were higher up in the mountains, between 9,000 and 11,700 feet, and consequently got to see more view of valleys and surrounding mountains. There were also several campsites that were set in Mountain Meadows with streams running through them. It looked like something out of a Western Movie.

Some of the highlights: shooting our caps and T-shirts with black powder rifles, climbing to the top of a 30' spar pole with gaffs and a leather belt, getting our boots branded, rock climbing, hiking to the top of Mt. Phillips (11,700' with snow still on the ground'.) and seeing the neighboring mountains with ski trails cut in them, sitting on the side of a mountain at dusk and watching the town of Eagle's Nest, N.M. light up in the valley below us as darkness fell, touring a silver mine, and last but certainly not least, Squeeze Cheese and Tuna Spreadables.

The members of our crew were Ian Jaeger (crew leader), Alan Jaeger, Nick Benoit, Barrett Benoit, Matt Brock, John Zugelder, Chris Haydel, Aaron Whitaker, and James Hocker. Dennis Benoit, Paul Zugelder, Lou Hocker, Paul Haydel (the four crew advisors) Any of them would be willing to share their experiences and memories. You'll never know how good a hot shower can feel or how good a hamburger and fries taste until you've come off the trail after 11 days! Oh, yeah - ask Aaron about Shoe Goo II.

-Paul Haydel

Lots of Activities planned as 97-98 School Year gets underway.

The first event is the Troop swim party which will be held tonight, August 11 beginning at 6:30pm. Richland Bible Fellowship Church's Pool is the location.

The First Year Patrols will provide Ice Cream for the event. After Swimming the scouts will take time to elect new Patrol leaders.

Semi Annual dues of $35.00 will be collected at the Swim Party.

The next scheduled Troop Meeting will be August 18th in the Classroom Building. There will be many opportunities to camp, work on Merit Badges and just plain have fun. Make the Troop meetings a must on your calendar.

In the Meantime, Start the year out right with a refreshing Splash.

PARENTS NEEDED

Involved Parents are what make for a successful Troop. Over the years, Troop 81 has been blessed with parents that have made a great difference.

We have several Patrol positions and troop positions open with time commitments ranging from weekly to just once during the year. Moms & Dads are both needed

POPCORN SALES

Good Way to build your Scout Account

Coming in October, Start planning now!!!

September's Court of Honor Assignments
Set Up	Tiger Patrol	Cobra Patrol
Opening & Flag	3rd Year	Viking
Master of Ceremony	Jason Harris
Closing	4th Year	Cobra Patrol
Refreshments	Venture	Viking
Clean-up	Blackhawk's Patrol	Flaming Arrow Patrol

Troop T-Shirts Available

Last year members of Troop 81 designed a Troop 81 Shirt. They are printed on both sides and are in Full Color. The purpose of the Troop shirts is to offer the boys a way to look sharp when they are not wearing their Class A Uniforms. The cost of these shirts is $7.50 and Mr. Carter is the Contact to see.

Call for Help---

For the September Camp-out, the planners are attempting to put together a Weekend full of Water Activities. To Accomplish this the Troop is looking for Ski Boats that could be made available to the Troop.

If you own such a boat, we would be interested in talking with you. Please call Jason or Jerry Kizzia @ 972-644-7656.

The Troop would Appreciate your Help!

Five small words that mean so much Don't ever be satisfied with less than your best effort even though less is often required. Everyday you learn, grow and develop your own standards that you will use for the rest of you life. Establish high but reachable goals for yourself and measure yourself against those goals and not against the accomplishment of others. So as we all move from a relaxed summer schedule back to a daily routine that includes school, it will probably be especially difficult to stay focused on the your school assignments during the first few weeks. So as you're getting prepared for school, remember that by not completing all of your homework and preparing for tests, you are not only affecting your grades but that you are also not living up to one of the most important principles of Scouting (I WILL DO MY BEST).

Sea Base - A High Adventure Success.....

On July 21^st Troop 81 sailors departed DFW for Ft. Lauderdale Sea Base. Despite a medical flight delay (not ours), we arrived intact and were bused through the upper Keys to Sea Base. Sea Base is located 76 miles from Key West, on the Gulf side. Upon arrival we were escorted to our dorm and proceeded to get our equipment, take our swim test and group photo, and were introduced to our boats and captains. We comprised two boats both 41 ft., twin mast sail boats - the Blackhawk - under Captain Mike and Nobility under Captain Rick. The third boat of our "armada" was the Sharalee and its crew, coincidentally, was from Troop 1077 in Richardson.

On Tuesday morning, after snorkel check/training and provisioning the boat, we set sail and immediately ran into a squall which redefined "rock and roll" for us land lubbers Bonine Rules !!). After escaping from the storm, we continued on, traveling along the Keys, having finally established our sea legs. We had our first snorkeling stop and anchored the first night near Marathon, Fla. The second day proved much better, with our first sailing, much improved snorkeling, and beautiful weather. We anchored just off Key West. Thursday morning we cruised into Key West harbor and docked about 10 AM at our marina port. After cleaning the boat, a long awaited shower (that's right parents), a trip to regular toilets, cold soft drinks, and a change into land clothes, we hit the streets of Key West! Everyone did their own thing, but the highlights included visits to Ripley's Believe It or Not!, Mel Fisher's Museum, and various T-shirt shops along the Duvall drag. The day concluded with sit down dinners and a fresh water swim in the pool.

We returned to sea Friday, moving further out into the water to the Gulfstream and opened all sails for a full day of sailing. By far the best weather of the trip, this led to some outstanding snorkeling at a reef called Sombrero. The day ended with anchor in New Found Harbor. Saturday included more good snorkeling and the catch of a 41" Stingray by the Blackhawk crew. We again anchored off of Marathon, anticipating our upcoming last day at sea and return to Sea Base. On Sunday morning, we returned to home port. After a complete cleaning of the boat and getting Tucker out of the water, all returned to the dorm to enjoy cold drinks, showers, and air conditioning. Sunday concluded with a Luau for returning crews hosted by Sea Base staff It included songs, skits, and assorted foolishness (negatives are available)! The highlight was Mr. Kelly finishing second in a marshmallow mouth stuffing contest (he had 38...and lost) It was an evening to top-off a fun week.

Monday, on our return day, we had arranged for a side trip through Everglades National Park. We stopped at the Miccosukee Indian Village for a glimpse of traditional Florida Indian culture still being lived. We also handled live alligators as part of an interesting demonstration, and concluded with an air boat ride through the Everglades/Indian territory. The airplane ride home was uneventful but awaiting parents were glad to see us home and to hear the many stories and lies about the trip.

There are far too many events/experiences to detail here but only one of the following was not had:

• Plenty of good food
• Lots of card playing
• Lots of nap time
• Good and bad singing
• Scouts learning that steering a larger boat with a compass is not simple
• Sleeping under the "rolling" stars
• Fishing catches including shark, stingray, and Spanish mackerel
• Snorkeling with a variety of fish and coral and going eye to eye with barracuda
• Mr. Thompson's bag dropped in the water before we ever left port!
• Injury/sunburn free trip
• Items lost overboard - hat, camera, bathing suit, pillow
• Seeing creatures we had never seen before
• Plenty of Scout spirit and camaraderie
• A badtime!!

Patrol Leaders Council Meeting
August 4,1997
Minutes

Attendees: Pat Kelly, Bonnie Branch, Larry Herrin, Richard Carter, Chris Kelly, Craig Kelly, Scott Kelly, CJ Carter, Jay Herrin, Doug Rielly, Jason Kizzia, Miles Juett, Aaron Whittaker, Daniel Pippenger, Michael Braunstein, Matt Myers, Travis Thompson, Tucker Livingston, Carl Etheridge

Scheduled Items

Patrol Realignment/Restructuring - The patrol realignment committee presented three options. The options for realignment are as follows:

Option I - Three 1^st year patrols, two 2^nd year patrols, one or two 3^rd year patrols, and a large patrol for 4^th year - 7^th year Scouts. The large 4^th year - 7^th year patrol will have to work patrol without a chuck box.

Option 2 - Three 1^st year patrols and four patrols of that are comprised of Scouts of varying ages. The four patrols of older Scouts will have varying number of each age group.

Option 3- Three 1^st year patrols, two 2^nd year patrols, one 3^rd year patrols, a 4^th year patrol comprised of Scouts that have not attained the rank of Life and a Troop Guide patrol comprised of 4^th year and older Life Scouts and the Sr. Patrol Leader. The Troop Guide patrol will have to work patrol without a chuck box.

The PLC accepted and approved Option 3. The Patrol Realignment Committee Chairmen is scheduled to present the PLC approved plan to the Troop Committee on August 6, 1997.

Swim Party - The next issue was plans for the swim party on August 11. The swim party will be sponsored by the Flaming Arrow Patrol and will last from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The troop will hold patrol leader elections based on the new patrols) and have ice cream for the last thirty minutes. The Scouts will bring their own drinks to the party.

Campout Patrol responsibility Assignments - The patrols responsible for coordinating the troop campouts are as follows. The assignments are based on the new patrols.

Month-Activity	Responsible Patrol	Assistant Patrol
September-Sailing	Troop Guides
October-Rock Climbing	Troop Guides	Viking
November-Ropes Course	4th year	Flaming Arrow
December-Winter Camp	Baloooo Bear
January-Family Camp	Baloooo Bear
February Camp-o-ree	Blackhawk	Flaming Arrow

A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.

Either you are or you aren't, this isn't a grey area with sometimes you are when it is convenient or easy to be.

If for example, you are at Summer Camp and you find a ten dollar bill, chances are it belongs to someone else who probably lost it.

Your find can buy you lots of ice cream or other treats, but what about the boy who lost it, if he doesn't have it then he doesn't get to buy some-thing he was counting on.

Outside of Scouting, it is easy to 'go with the flow' but the flow isn't always right. Values you learn in Scouting can help you become a man who stands tall knowing you have done the Right thing, and feel good about doing it!

It's a law because it is an always thing.