Look Out! A Wasp!

Bookmark and Share

[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 17, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Everyone has their weakness. Achilles had his heel. Cleopatra had her asp. Winston Smith possessed the mortal fear of rats. Jim Stafford, well, he didn’t like spiders and snakes.

I, for one, despise wasps. It’s not that I hate them, I’m just totally afraid of the loathsome creatures. And I’m not talking about human WASPs. No. I refer solely to the insect – that silently buzzing summer pest.

I don’t recall when I first feared wasps. Certainly, I had some concern by my fourth year. During that summer, as my brother and I helped my father work on the flower garden in the backyard, we saw with horror an ugly wasp land on my father’s exposed Continue Reading “Look Out! A Wasp!”

Let’s Go Golfing!

Bookmark and Share

[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 10, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259

“Oh the weather outside is delightful!
and there’s nothing such as frightful!
as my tee shot…”

Let’s get one thing straight from the beginning – I am not a golfer. Sure, I play the links, but no more than four or five times a year. And don’t even ask me about my score. I stop counting after ten strokes – per hole. Heck, my aim in the game is what I call the low ball count – lose as few balls as possible.

As a kid, golf never fascinated me. The only club I swung had Willie Mays’ autograph and weighed 34 ounces. Golf seemed a remote game available only to people who lived Continue Reading “Let’s Go Golfing!”

What Boys Shouldn’t Be Eagle Scouts?

Bookmark and Share

1212772_65845378_flag_eagle_stock_xchang_royalty_free_300(The following represents our discussion at the Towpath District Boy Scout Roundtable on the evening of May 5, 2011. I want to thank Kip Webster for keeping the notes of the discussion and sharing them with me to use as a basis for this post.)

In the April meeting we talked about religious emblems. As a part of that discussion, a few of the more experienced Scouters mentioned how Scouts had to be deferred at their Eagle Board of Review because they failed to properly answer how they showed reverence and a duty to God. This prompted a broader question: Under what circumstances would boys be Continue Reading “What Boys Shouldn’t Be Eagle Scouts?”

The Heroes of the Hyatt

Bookmark and Share

[This Commentary originally appeared in the May 3, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Not since the go-go days of the hot summer of 1987 has the city of Rochester buzzed with constructive excitement. In those hazy days of innocence and youth, we glorified the exotic developer who dared erect a high-rise hotel where once existed nothing more than a Burger King and Don’s Arcade.

Yet within that maelstrom of enthusiasm lay the seeds of greed, ego and gross mismanagement. Turner took off and Pull pulled Continue Reading “The Heroes of the Hyatt”

To Till The Land

Bookmark and Share

[This Commentary originally appeared in the April 26, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259A few months ago, while having dinner with my grandparents, I informed them of my plans to have a garden this year. My grandfather seemed pleased. He explained this year would be the first year he didn’t have a garden, so he felt as though he was passing the torch to me.

My grandfather’s gardens tended to be quite large. I remember watching him work in them all day under the summer sun, his white hat reflecting the bright rays. I could never figure out why my grandfather needed to work in his garden all day. I guess as a child, I thought tomatoes grew all by themselves.

When we reached a certain age, my father introduced my brother and me to gardening. He carefully taught us the intricacies of planting and watering. I recall most vividly the Continue Reading “To Till The Land”

Boy Scout Religious Emblems – An Underappreciated Gem?

Bookmark and Share

BoyScoutReligiousKnot166This April we celebrated both Easter and Passover. What better topic for an April Boy Scout Roundtable than a review of Boy Scout Religious Emblems? The Towpath District of Seneca Waterways Council hosted Annaliese Parker of the Seneca District. Annaliese completed her Wood Badge in 2007 and one of her ticket items involved the promotion of religious emblems for both the Boy Scout and the Cub Scout programs. She came prepared with a display, a PowerPoint and handouts. For those who missed – and those you didn’t take notes – here’s a recap of the highlights and some interesting tidbits outside the presentation we learned along the way.Continue Reading “Boy Scout Religious Emblems – An Underappreciated Gem?”

Earth Day and Kodak Bashing

Bookmark and Share

This Commentary originally appeared in the April 19, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

 

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Miss Powell possessed an unusual amount of progressiveness for a fourth grade teacher planning to retire in two years. One of three sisters, she had the kind of rugged individualism we, as Americans, have come to admire. She taught at Woodlawn Intermediate, located in the Bethlehem Steel industrial complex.

Teaching blue collar children, most of whom had been brought up in households full of ethnic ritual, must have been quite a Continue Reading “Earth Day and Kodak Bashing”

5 Ways to Promote Scout Religious Emblems

Bookmark and Share

By Annaliese Parker

(Editor’s Note: Annaliese Parker identified these five methods to promote Scout religious emblems at the Towpath District Boy Scout Roundtable on April 7, 2011. This material is based on 2006 training materials and is an expanded explanation of information from PRAY (Programs for Religious Activities with Youth) training publications from 2006. PRAY gave Annaliese permission to duplicate this information as part of any promotional script. Annaliese originally expanded on this previously published information for her 2007 Wood Badge ticket. She has since updated some of the material as part of the presentation at the April 2011 Towpath District Boy Scout Roundtable. She has graciously allowed us to reprint them here.)

All youth members of the Boy Scouts of America should have the opportunity to earn the religious emblem of their faith. The biggest roadblock is the lack of 1339477_29611971_roman_numeral_V_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300information about these programs at the unit level and area faith communities. That is why we are sharing this information with you.

First, make the Interfaith Quick Reference Chart available to youth members in your unit and their families. The brochure includes a chart of all the different religious emblems, lists the addresses, phone numbers and Web pages for the religious organizations, and explains how to get started on these programs. Council usually can offer assistance to provide what help you need in order Continue Reading “5 Ways to Promote Scout Religious Emblems”

Some Silly Thoughts…

Bookmark and Share

[This Commentary originally appeared in the April 12, 1990 issue of The Mendon-Honeoye Falls-Lima Sentinel.]

 

CarosaCommentaryNewLogo_259Yes, I’ve lived in Western New York all my life, but the crazy April snowstorms we get still strike me as silly. “April showers bring May flowers.” I can’t recall any lyrics dealing with April snowstorms.

Once silliness infiltrates my mind, it doesn’t require a whole lot of effort for other absurdities to encroach upon the various unemployed synapses and neurons. For material, one merely needs to review current events…  Continue Reading “Some Silly Thoughts…”

4 Easy Steps to Begin a Scout Religious Emblem Program

Bookmark and Share

By Annaliese Parker

(Editor’s Note: Annaliese Parker provided this four step program at the Towpath District Boy Scout Roundtable on April 7, 2011. This material is based on 2006 training materials and is an expanded explanation of information from PRAY (Programs for Religious Activities with Youth) training publications from 2006. PRAY gave Annaliese permission to duplicate this information as part of any promotional script. Annaliese originally expanded on this previously published information for her 2007 Wood Badge ticket. She has since updated some of the material as part of the presentation at the April 2011 Towpath District Boy Scout Roundtable. She has graciously allowed us to reprint them here.)

111926_6268_stained_glass_stock_xchng_royalty_free_300

  1. Youth members must obtain the specific booklet for their religion. This booklet contains information on all the lessons and service projects they will need to complete. Each youth member needs a personal booklet to document progress. Some religious emblems programs also offer adult manuals for counselors or mentors. Some of these booklets are available in your local Scout service center. If they are not available in the service center, parents will need to purchase booklets directly from the sponsoring religious organization. The Interfaith Quick Reference Chart lists the addresses and phone numbers for the various religious organizations.
  2. Parents must review the specific guidelines for their particular program. Some Continue Reading “4 Easy Steps to Begin a Scout Religious Emblem Program”

You cannot copy content of this page

Skip to content