Oh God, the Giver all good things, grant that we may be good Cub Scouts this day; not only to be good, but also to do good by helping other people. Help us to do our best to live up to the Cub Scout Promise. Help us to get along with each other. Keep us cheerful when things go wrong and our plans are upset. We pray that we will remember what is right and what is wrong at all times. And we promise that we will do our best and keep our Cub Scout Promise and Law.

I walked through a county courthouse square,
On a park bench an old man was sitting there.
I said, "Your old courthouse is kinda run down."
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."

I said, "Your flagpole has leaned a little bit,
And that's a Ragged Old Flag you got hanging on it.
He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down.
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town?"

I said, "I think it is." He said, "I don't like to brag,
But we're kinda proud of that Ragged Old Flag."
"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there
When Washington took it across the Delaware.

And it got powder-burned the night Francis Scott Key
Sat watching it writing _Oh Say Can You See_.
And it got a bad rip in New Orleans
With Packingham and Jackson tuggin' at its seams."

"And it almost fell at the Alamo
Beside the Texas flag, but she waved on through.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.

There was Robert E. Lee, Beauregard, and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on that Ragged Old Flag."
"On Flanders Field in World War I
She got a big hole from a Bertha gun.

She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp and low by the time it was through.
She was in Korea and Vietnam.
She went where she was sent by her Uncle Sam."

"She waved from our ships upon the briny foam,
And now they've about quit waving her back here at home.
In her own good land she's been abused --
She's been burned, dishonored, denied and refused."

"And the government for which she stands
Is scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting threadbare and wearing thin,
But she's in good shape for the shape she's in.

'Cause she's been through the fire before
And I believe she can take a whole lot more."
"So we raise her up every morning,
Take her down every night.

We don't let her touch the ground
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I DO like to brag,
'Cause I'm mighty proud of that Ragged Old Flag."

Written by Johnny Cash

In 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day in the eleventh month, the world rejoiced and celebrated. After four years of bitter war, an armistice was signed. The "war to end all wars" was over. November 11, 1919 was set aside as Armistice Day in the United States, to remember the sacrifices that men and women made during World War I in order to ensure a lasting peace. In 1953 townspeople in Emporia, Kansas called the holiday Veterans' Day in gratitude to the veterans in their town. Soon after, Congress passed a bill introduced by a Kansas congressman renaming the federal holiday to Veterans' Day. 1971 President Nixon declared it a federal holiday on the second Monday in November.

Americans still give thanks for peace on Veterans' Day. There are ceremonies and speeches and at 11:00 in the morning, most Americans observe a moment of silence, remembering those who fought for peace.

Roger Claff, one of my all time favorite scouters, wrote this.

Some Say It's Just a Piece of Cloth
By Roger Claff

Some say it's just a piece of cloth,
And to them I guess that's true,
And the colors are just fabric dye
Of red and white and blue.

But let's take a look another way,
Bear with me just for now,
'Cuz a few of us see more than that,
And I'd like to tell you how.

See the set of crimson stripes,
Which flow from left to right?
I see in them the blood that's spilled
In freedom's awful fight.

And what about the field of blue,
Is there something there to see?
'Tis the oceans touching distant shores,
Where they fought to keep us free.

But what about those other stripes
Of brilliant milk-white hue?
I see in them the spirit-glow
Of those who died for me 'n' you.

And what about those fifty stars?
Can I give you just a clue?
I see in them the peace of heaven
As the serviceman's eternal due.

Now you may not agree with me,
And that really is OK,
That's a freedom and a right
We wouldn't take away.

But give a moment, if you please,
On this our Veteran's Day,
To thank our nation's servicemen
For your freedoms here to stay.

For without their matchless sacrifice,
We'd none of us be free
To talk of God, and flags, and truth
And what they are to you and me.

A Tribute to Den Leaders
York Adams Council

At the end of the rainbow a prize awaits you,

Though you don't pass achievements as all your Cubs do.

Your prize is enshrined in the hearts of your boys,

Who'll always remember that you gave them joys.

Don't wait to be thanked now for the things that you do,

Don't even expect that they'll always follow through.

But when that young Cub Scout becomes a good Scout,

He'll look back on the ways that you helped him out.

And someday in the future when his son is eight,

That's when you will rate!

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"All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind are convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.

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