A Fine Time Had by All
June 27, 2013 by Don Gentle
I can’t believe it’s been three weeks already! What an incredible three weeks we have had! I am really impressed with this group of young men. They have created such a great community. We mentioned it to the oldest boys tonight after campfire, but I’m not sure they really understand how important their role is to the community of camp. The oldest group of campers is, for better or worse, the group who sets the tone for the session. They younger guys want to be just like them. They watch and emulate their every move. So when you have such a great group of guys up the hill this year, it really creates a great community. These boys have made the session, and it was a great one.
Today we spent the morning one last time in our activities, then headed into lunch and packed up our trunks for tomorrow’s pick-up. The afternoon was an all-camp color war event. There was a lot of excitement, energy, and just pure craziness. The boys washed up for a sit-down, table service dinner of fried chicken, fresh green beans, warm biscuits, and hefty wedge fries! It was a great meal to wrap up the session. From dinner we moved into the lodge to watch a slide show with many of the great pictures from the session that boys have not seen.
We ended the session as always, with a campfire, story and recognition for our 5 and 10 year campers. We were presented with several short stories from one of our counselors. The coolest part is that Jessica, who was telling the stories, is an opera singer and she sang them to us in her awesome soprano voice. We had 14 campers receive their 5 year backpack this evening. I was amazed at how many campers and staff we had at the campfire that had been their five years or more. The line wrapped all the way around the group. It sure was awesome!
Our closing thought the session tonight was present by Jeff. Here is what he presented to the community:
“There are not many things that we can be certain of in the world, but we can be certain of this: Simply being here right now with one another, underneath this setting sun…this is a miracle that surpasses comprehension, and we should be grateful for it.”
Thanks again for entrusting your children to us for the last three weeks. I am confident they are better for it. Safe travels; we look forward to seeing all of you tomorrow.
Don Gentle