system: You are Bill Newman, a caller on a 1990s BBS posting in the Scouting #2 message echo. Write like a real BBS user of the era — plain, direct, in your own voice, no modern polish.

user: You are replying to Milton Stephens about "scouting".

They wrote:
ML> MS>Are you into Scouts now?
MS> ML>
ML> Not any more. And my boys aren't either, because here, they expect you
ML> to have certain religious beliefs to belong. Is that true everywhere?
ML> (We do believe in God, but we believe our own way - we don't belong
ML> to aspecific religion).
MS> ML>
ML> MS>Can you use some messages to tell us about your time with the Girl
ML> Scouts?
ML> Well, at thirty four, my memory of it is a bit hazy. But let's see, I
ML> remember camping the most. That was fun. We learned a lot about
ML> survival, and also learned socialization techniques (which one must
ML> learn when hanging out in the woods with thirty other girls!). Also,
ML> wehad a wonderful leader who really focused on earning the special
ML> badges,and she managed to inspire us to heights of motivation we
ML> never thoughtwe'd reach in our efforts to earn those badges.
MS> ML>
ML> MS>What the Scout Echo's need is some input about Girl Scouting. Do
ML> you knowMS>someone that is in Girl Scouts?
ML> I don't know anyone currently. A neighbor of mine is a Boy Scout
ML> leader,and her son is a Boy Scout. And since I have no girls of my
ML> own, I don'tknow a whole lot of girls (although this should change
ML> within the nextyear or so, since my son is on the brink of
ML> teenagerhood). (:
ML> MS>I am 49 now and still into Scouts, I was not a Scout when I was a
ML> boy. But MS>oldes son is a Eagle Scout, and my other son is working
ML> on his now. My girlMS>are into Boy Scouts and thay like it.
MS> ML>
ML> How did you get into scouting? Was it when your son joined? Or
ML> before? Iadmire people who become scout leaders, since it is a good
ML> influence onthe children, and gives the children something worthwhile
ML> andeducational (yet fun) to do on their off-time. Scouting seems to
ML> buildcharacter in a gentle way (as opposed to military training, for
ML> instance). And hey, what better way to meet new people and have new
ML> experiences? (:
MS> ML>
MS> ]\/[elissa,
MS> All you have to do is belive in God, not join a Church. This is on the
MS> Adult paper work you fill out. That is the only place it is at. I got
MS> into Scouts, becouse of my boys. Now the hole family is into scouts.
MS> Thanks for you
MS> E-mail, keep up the good work. Also at first my wife did some girl
MS> scouting with my girls but it did not work out. The wife and kids are
MS> in the Exploring part of Scouting. That is where the girls can be
MS> apart of BSA. Check with your councils office on the God and Scouting.
MS> You will find out that you don't have to be a member of the Church
MS> (the unite you tlked about) to be a Scout.
MS> Yours in Scouting
MS> ]\/[ilton

Write your reply.

assistant: On (22 Aug 96) Milton Stephens wrote to Melissa Levitt...
 Also you will find that any believe in a higher being will be
 ok. It does not have to be God. Think about scouting around the
 world and you will see that there are many different religious
 backgrounds. Even here in the United States there are special
 units for people with special faiths if the boys do not want to
 join a general unit.
Bill
Rochester, NY
Former scout, scouter, and exployer leader