Hi Folks,
ANNOUNCEMENTS: No announcements today!
“Hummmmmmmmmmmmm” is the sound a well tuned car or machine makes. Well, at least a non-hybrid or electric car. Those don’t make a sound at all. There are many sounds at camp, and that humming noise is one of them. We are firing smoothly on all cylinders these days as we’re into a nice routine of activities, trips, friends, and fun! It might be interesting one of these days to just plant a microphone somewhere in camp and leave it on for a whole day. If we started it first thing in the morning, as the sun is coming up, we’d hear birds just starting to chirp, eventually reaching a crescendo right about the time the wake up bell rings. And then there would be the sound of happy and excited voices, which would run most of the day. There would be times when the voice would taper off here and there at rest period and such, but it doesn’t really lull until the evening. And as the voices would relax and slow down, the bull frogs on the lake would pick it up from there, and sometimes they croak all night long. And when they’re in the mood, the loons would join in with some of their distinct calls. And that takes us right back to morning. But all along, we’d be feeling the HUMMMMMMMMM.
Today was simply beautiful. It was sunny and warm, edging right up to that line of being hot, but not staying there too long. The air was soft and sweet all morning, and the blue sky was cloudless. Y’know, when you get weather like that, this whole camp directing thing is pretty easy! As I was writing this, I was sure not to speak it out loud…don’t want to jinx anything. We did have a perfect day, though. We had a full day of activities, with some nice free periods, including an ideal afternoon for a free swim. Tonight we had the Counselor Hunt where the counselors go hide and the kids try to find them. To make it a little more interesting, we added a twist. Every 15 minutes that went by, the point value of the counselors still not caught went up by 5. That kept going until the last 15 minutes when we rang a bell. At that bell we had arranged for any remaining counselors in hiding to come out of their spots and make a run for it. And when they were caught after the bell, their point value went back down to it’s original value. I thought it was a great idea. I had my awesome hiding spot, and sat there swatting mosquitos as I plotted my triumphant dash onto the athletic field after the bell. Feeling confident I ultimately left my hiding spot about 5 minutes before the bell and slinked out towards the field. Evidently, my slinking needs work, as I was spotted and quickly tagged by a coupla youngin’s. And wouldn’t you know it…..3 minutes before the bell. So I was a pretty valuable, if also somewhat embarrassed, find.
Yesterday was another winner of a day. Also sunny and beautiful, highs in the low 80s. How can you beat that? It was the first full day of activities for the 2nd session, so we began the day with a music and dance party at breakfast. Hectic? Yes. Loud? Uh huh. Still delicious and nutritious? You betcha. We sent the boys off to cabin cleanup in a great mood, and that carried forward throughout the day. At lunch we held our first meeting of the illustrious Camp Council, which consists of elected representatives from each cabin. They consider lofty ideas about improving camp, and this time around they approved our plan to have Community Day again, which is coming up in a week or so. On that day we’ll serve a less expensive menu than usual, and with the savings we’ll purchase food from our bulk purveyor to donate to the Lakeland Area Food Pantry. The camp council also considered and approved the point variation scheme for the Counselor Hunt. So they did some good work. And last night was the first Capture the Flag program of the session. It was awesome and very enthusiastic. And just to keep things exciting, we’re actually hatching some new schemes to make our next Cap Flag game even crazier. Stay tuned….
Looking ahead, we have some big stuff in the works. Tomorrow some of our sailing guys will head to a nearby girls’ camp to join in a regatta. And tomorrow night we’ll have our first campfire of the new session. In the next few days we’ll have Casino Night, and then our first Cruiser Day of the session is on Tuesday (yep, they’re on Tuesdays 2nd session). Other upcoming events include Karaoke Night and Legacy Night. Fun, fun, fun!
We’ll write you again very soon.
Benches up,
Mike & Leslie