maleficent

I was a brownie and a girl scout ... and could sell cookies like nobody's business-- this was before the day where mom and dad would taked the cookie sheets to the office and sell them to all their colleagues... I actually had to pound the pavement to sell those damn things.

I got bunches of badges, but no the cool badges like boyscouts - I got a sewing badge, and a knitthing badge, and a cooking badge,and took babysitting lessons ( that seemed to work well because I was a certified babysitter at about age 11)

The camping trips were another story... these days, my idea of roughing it is black and white television and no room service after midnight... then I was a little more open.. but - camping in the mountains of NYS, in September when you have shorts packed, but it decides to snow... not my idea of a good time.. .eating beans and weenies cooked in a big pot wasn't my idea of fun... 4 holer outhouses with splinters - not my idea of fun...

We used to do arts and crafts things, never learned how to do anything cool... except bake bread...

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StanT

I'm another overachieving Eagle scout. I attended a couple of jamborees in Idaho and Japan. Boy Scouts really started my interest in hiking and camping, but by the age of 16 I wanted to do more. Getting a driver's license and developing an interest in girls led me to drop out.

I'm the father of 2 girls, the local Girl Scout troops were more interested in knitting and selling cookies than camping or hiking. My daughters had already been backpacking in Alaska, when the local Girl Scouts were camping in backyards. I never pressed the issue. It may have been different if I'd had boys, but I doubt it.

saut

Another Eagle Scout here. Had some of the best times of my life in Boy Scouts... did some really cool stuff that I wouldn't have otherwise, and taught me that you don't need modern luxuries to have lots of fun...

flat5

I had a little experience with Cub Scouts & Boy Scouts. It was fun and perhaps a little useful.

What would have helped me a great deal more - a co-ed activity such as dancing or acting.

cellophanedeity

I currently volunteer with Beavers, Scout Canada's five to seven year age group.

I don't particularly enjoy volunteering. I like the kids and they seem to enjoy it, but I find it tedious. I only really stay for resume padding and because I'd feel guilty if I quit.

Oh, and for anyone who wants to enter their girls into something like this, Scouts Canada welcomes females into all of their groups. (we had five or six little girls in my group last year)

FngKestrel

I was a boy scout. I didn't make it to Eagle. I was missing a few merit badges and my Eagle project.

Nowadays, when I mention that I was a boy scout, the follow-up question is always, "Were you an Eagle scout?" For many people, it's Eagle or nothing. I enjoyed what I did in Scouts and learned what I wanted, but I didn't need to become an Eagle Scout to experience it.

viejo gringo

I was never a boy scout--but I was an assistant scoutmaster
for 15 years and a scout master for 3 years.....

Great times and even greater memories with my 3 sons..

meembo

I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout, and both of my boys have gone through Cub Scouts. One is now in Webelos (between Boy Scouts and Cub Scouts) and one is in a Boy Scout troop.

I like having my kids in broad-based programs like Scouts. They dabble in lots of things, but they aren't roped into tight schedules and performance pressures as in organized sports. We love to camp.

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less I say, smarter I am

raeanna74

I always envied the girls in Girl Scouts. They had lots of fun after school. They met at our school regularly and I was often made to stay late for getting into trouble. Several times they allowed me to join in the games they played while I waited for Mom to come get me. I had a friend in Girl Scouts who invited me to go with when the went to the Circus once. It was the only time I've been to a circus and I loved every minute of it.

My OUTSIDE experience of it is that it's a great group and I've been considering lately getting my daughter involved.

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"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

oberon

Yet another Eagle Scout here. I finished three days before my 18th birthday. I had many distractions like most others.

I started out as Quartermaster for a year, then was Troop Guide for three years. I joined one of the first Venture Crews (a co-ed troop), and served as a senior advisor to the leadership. I went to two international camporees (Michigan International Camporee '97, '00). I met people from about 20 countries around the world. I spent many summers at Camp Tapico in Michigan. I got the Mile Swim badge there (swam 1 mile in 55 minutes across the lake at 6am). I went to Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (where they have the National High Adventure Base) and got the 50-miler award for canoeing/portaging/camping 65 miles in 4 days in the wilderness. I was the first Eagle in my crew. I joined the Order of the Arrow and went to NOAC '98 at Iowa State University. And of course, there were countless camping, fun, and service trips.

Would I give any of that up? Hell no. It gave me a great appreciation for teamwork, the outdoors, survival, and such. And I met many smart and ambitious people.

I must say, one of the biggest turnoffs of the whole experience was getting proselytized by the staunch Christians who dominated our council. They were good people and I liked them quite a bit, but I didn't appreciate being told that homosexuality was wrong, having to say things like "I will do my best to do my duty to God", and the 12th Scout Law. It was about that time that I realized I was a liberal and a weak atheist.

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"There are finer fish in the sea than have ever been caught." -- Irish proverb