Hi Folks,
ANNOUNCEMENTS: If your son is a 1st Session, four-week camper, we have emailed you with information about the trip home (gasp!). If your son is an 8-week camper, and we know you are planning to be here for Visiting Weekend, we’ve emailed you information about the weekend plans, and our policies and protocols for the weekend. And, if your son is a 2nd Session, four-week camper, we mailed you travel-to-camp and baggage tags a while ago. That should cover everyone, right?
Ever have a big outdoor party planned with lots of food and activities for your guests? Sure you have. Ever have one of those events underway when unexpected weather rolls in and you get soaking wet? It’s not a rhetorical question. It happened. Last night. We spent the afternoon planning and prepping for a big carnival night and invited the girls from a nearby camp to come and join us. Each cabin put together a carnival booth, and the plan was to have the girls go around to the different booths, maybe do the activity at the booth, maybe talk with the boys at the booth, that kind of stuff. The boys would spend part of their night tending to their cabin’s booth, and the rest of the night being social (or not) with our guests. And we had so many cool booths, including a dunk tank, a fortune telling tent, inflatable bowling, and multiple food-related events. Of course, we had music as well for those who might like to dance.
The girls arrived fashionably late, as a darkness began to build in the northern sky. We believe those two events were unrelated. The carnival started on a tentative note, and then the thunder started on a pronounced note, and we got everyone indoors. Quickly realizing that we could not comfortably fit both camps into the Rec Hall together, we directed the younger kids into the Lodge, and the older kids into the Rec Hall. We had music playing in both locations, but more importantly, we were able to serve brownies and bug juice in both locations. One of the girls’ buses had issues, so they arrived about 30 minutes after the others….right at the apex of the downpour. Sheets of “heavy dew” were falling, and into camp rolls the big yellow bus. No problem, we had it pull right up to the Rec Hall, and the girls were able to disembark and take about 3 steps before getting under roof. That was just enough space for them all to scream at the top of their lungs as they made the short dash indoors. Just reinforces my decision 30+ years ago to run a camp for boys 
We made the most of the situation for about 30 minutes or so, and then something very special happened. The moisture stopped, the sun shined through the clouds, and we released the kids to go outside. For anyone who looked up, they saw an amazing show Mother Nature put on for us. There were cloud formations I have never seen before. We could see the tail end of the thunder heads off in the distance to the south. And there were big puffy clouds overhead, as well as clouds that resembled the bottom side of dozens of eggs standing next to each other. There were also puddles to take advantage of, and we were proud to see our boys and several of the girls jumping right in. The music continued, and we extended the evening about 30 minutes because there was so much laughing and good times going on. Even though we weren’t able to put on the carnival as planned, it turned into a fun and very memorable night. We took the lemons and we made lemonade!
Anytime a wrench like that is thrown into the system, it requires extra effort. We just want to mention how well our staff kicked things into high gear to make sure the kids were well cared for and continued to have fun. The girls’ counselors also played an integral role in that. And….we created a monumental mess in both buildings with so many kids in there eating brownies and popcorn, and drinking bug juice. As the night was winding down, several of our staff members picked up brooms and dustpans and went to work without anyone asking them. They recognized the situation and took action. And our kitchen crew worked twice as hard getting the food divvied up for both locations. Those are incredible young people working hard for the benefit of others. Sorta makes you optimistic about the future, doesn’t it?
The day was actually beautiful all morning and afternoon, though it was on the warm side. We participated in a sailing regatta at a nearby boys’ camp, and had a great day of activities here at home. For about the first time of the summer, we crested 80 degrees, and some of the kids felt like they were melting. C’mon….it really wasn’t so hot. But with the cool start we had this year, by comparison it felt warmer than it really was. It was also on the humid side, and we gave the boys lots of reminders about using sunscreen and staying hydrated. The upside of the storm last night is the cooling it brought along and a break in the humidity.
The day before was Cruiser Day and it was super nice. We had a threat of rain early in the day, but it barely materialized at all. It turned into a spectacular day, and the kids had fun. I was able to sneak out for a bit and join the Juniors at the waterslide park. The slides are fun, but I have to admit being partial to the hot tub!
Today has been very nice. The temperature stayed in the 70s, which was so comfy. We had a great morning of activities, and this afternoon we had clinics and games with a nearby boys’ camp. Our older guys went there and their younger kids joined us here. We played softball, ultimate frisbee, tennis, basketball, soccer, and archery. Once again when company arrived so did some wet weather, but it was pretty minimal. We had to cancel the basketball games when the courts got too wet, but everything else was able to carry on, and the wetness was only with us for about 30 minutes.
Tonight was our 3rd campfire of the summer, and it was just a normal, run of the mill campfire. Which is to say, it was really sweet. We sang songs, and one of our Assistant Directors, RICK JONES, is a gifted story teller, and he shared an old traditional story that he hadn’t told in several summers, so it was new to most of the kids. We had some really nice music played by campers and counselors, and then one of our CITs spoke to us about being passionate and open minded. He was well spoken, and when the boys hear messages like that from someone who is older, but only a little, it can reach them maybe a little more than when they hear the same message from the grown ups in their lives. And often times this particular campfire, the 3rd of the session, has an extra nice Keylog Ceremony. We were not disappointed. We have come together as a community, on a camp-wide scale and in the cabins, and that was very evident through the expressions of friendship and love we heard tonight. It’s what makes a guy leap out of bed in the morning to start the day.
Looking ahead, United Nations Day is on Monday, so we’re slowly getting geared up for that. The day after UN Day, we’ll have 4 trips depart camp, and those will be the last trips of the session. We currently have 33 campers out of camp on trips, which is awesome! We’ll do our Journal in several steps on UN Day so we can keep you apprised of how the day is developing. Be sure to tune in for that.
We’ll write again on Monday!
Benches up,
Mike & Leslie