is quickly passing. Although everyday at camp seems like 4 or 5 days I am realizing that the end of camp is about as close as the beginning. So far it has been a great combination of long hours of work that is much harder than I imagined and an environment of wonderful people, love and caring and sharing and almost enough alone time.
The camp is truly a magical place that reminds me everyday of what Hogwarts must be like. Kids are allowed to escape and be themselves no matter if that means wearing your shorts pulled up almost to your boobies or breaking your arm because you jumped out of a swing that was going just a touch too high. Counselors are encouraged to make fools of themselves which makes fitting in for me quite easy. The other night I got to go on an after-dinner treasure hunt with the Brookside Unit which is the set of tents and cabins filled with 9 and 10 year olds. The boys were explained to that the point of the hunt was to get the unit to work as a unit and that we were going to walk as a team not run as a bunch of individuals after each clue was read and figured out. It took about 3 clues for the counselors to figure out that while the ears of 9 and 10 year old boys hear walk, and their brains understand walk, and they know they are supposed to walk it is just impossible for the legs to not run as fast as possible (team? what team?) to the next clue. Because, well there is no because, that's just the way it is. Has been since 1922 when the camp started and will be in 2022 when the camp will be 100 but the boys of Brookside will still be 9 and 10.
We served 750 grilled cheese sandwiches yesterday with 25 gallons of homemade tomato soup.
Wednesday night is the final game of the summer baseball tournament and the kitchen is responsible for a hot dog and hamburger bbq. It should be great fun and very tiring and we'll get up the next day and do it all over again.
4 Things I won't miss hearing.
1. What's for lunch today? (What do you care kid you're not going anywhere.)
2. Do you have any apples? Not the green ones, I like red. (No kid, today's fruit are bananas.)
3. The upper dining room milk machine is empty. (Try the one in the lower dining room kid.)
4. What's for lunch today? (You're the 217th person to ask me that today. You win a set of hands around your wind pipe. Just kidding, now get out of here kid.)
The music at camp is great and at times borders on divine. The piano in the upper dining room is often used by campers who just feel like playing and makes great accompaniment for kitchen prep work. You can walk around a corner and run into a bunch of counselors playing guitars and singing. One of our counselors is the top recorder player in the country.
On Sunday the choir was heading out to sing at the Bradford Congregational Church. (Parishioners 20 / Boys Choir 60) Before they left they were in the barn just off the kitchen warming up so I went and sat on the steps just outside the door and listened while I drank a cup of coffee. As beautiful as their music was the sound that their 8 counselors who were working on an a cappella hymn produced, was about as close to heaven on earth as I've been.
Well I best go. I've got to figure out what to serve for lunch tomorrow. And suggest that Jackson wear his shorts just a little lower. A 10 year old boy's boobies need to breathe.
Love you all. Peace. Peter
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