[originally written July 4th]
It’s a rainy independence day and I have little to report except that the Winchester Royals game was lovely, we got autographs, the fireworks were awesome, and that for most of breakfast this morning the dining hall was involved in a spontaneous medley of American classics such as the Star-Spangled Banner, Proud to Be an American, R.O.C.K. in the USA, Born in the USA, and other hits that the kids sang to the British counselors. Some people got especially expressive and put their arms around each other while they sang, and all of us stood up. Next we will be dumping tea into the lake and declaring ourselves duty-free.
Rainy days at camp are wonderful, lots of card playing, trusty rainy activities, and there was an 8-girl run on the knitting circle that included Courtney, Sydney, and Emily again, plus Molly, Grace, Jennifer, Katie, and Olivia. Casting on is not easy but the girls were really patient and they’re coming along. Counselor Myi helped out – thanks Myi! Just to paint a quick picture of the day, there’s tons of pitter patter outside, the grass is crazy green, the kids are doing board games, and tonight is Cheesy Skit Night.
The Tall Timbers Tribune came out today, with an amazing article about how the camp bell was carved by longtime counselor Billy Mathis out of his own kidney stone (more on Billy Mathis in upcoming blogs), and a cool story about Doc Sparks, a superhero who was blinded by electrical elevator sparks but who can now control things with his sightless eyes. Today at lunch, counselors James, Brownie, Jackie, Mike Conti, and Drew were involved in a lengthy, five-way fake fight. Weapons included a fruit bowl, a napkin dispenser, a cereal spoon, and tongs. As is often the case in a fake fight involving five people, there was no clear victor.
Since it’s a low key day, and since the rain has put me in a thoughtful mood, I started thinking, what can I do to make the blog EVEN greater than it already is. I know, I know, that’s sort of impossible to imagine. But I thought to myself, it’s 2008, and according to Rodrigo, the Spanish translator who’s here with some campers from Spain, iphones now have gps systems. Who knew? I guess 2008 is all about being interactive. So how do I make the blog more so?
To that end, I’ve set up an email account called [email protected]. Send me a question you want me to ask the campers. I will take the most fun or fascinating questions and do a survey. They can be questions about things you’ve heard or read about camp, like Who is Cropsy? Approximately how long was the longest loomster you’ve ever seen? Or they can be questions about the camp experience in general, like what is the best activity? Which counselor has the reddest hair? Or who tells better jokes, Glenn or his son Riley? No question is too big, too small, or too bizarre. The more ridiculous, the better.
Later skaters…
J