I’ve been listening to parents say they are sending their kids to summer camp. Some kids are excited and others reminded me of myself (WHY do I have to go???).
Here’s a funny story from one camp I went to.
Upon arrival, we were greeted and toured the camp. That night after dinner we were told how FUN our experience would be. We sang some “rah, rah” songs to build team spirit and then the Camp Counselor explained that every day we needed to check the board to see what our camp duties were. Taking care of the “camp site” was part of team building.
Inevitably, we all got KP Duty (Kitchen Patrol). That meant we were responsible for serving campers their food, cleaning the tables, taking the dishes/glasses to be cleaned, stacking chairs on top of tables, sweeping, etc. Anything to do with preparing and cleaning the dining hall, so it was left in “pristine” condition for the next meal.
I think we KNOW that when counselors say camp is going to be FUN, that is a code word for “be prepared” for “anything and everything” to possibly happen – good or bad!
My first night there I was on KP Duty. Everything was going fine when loud thunder struck. I heard banging on the tables, loud singing and a camper looking embarrassed and running around one of the tables. This was horrible, WHAT was going on?!
An older camper explained. The camp leaders had a song they would sing if they caught you eating with your ELBOWS on the table. BAD NEWS if that happened. A camper would be “innocently” eating their hot dog when suddenly at the top of their lungs, the camp leaders would point to the camper who had their elbows on the table and start singing this song:
“Elbows, elbows on the table, this is not a horses stable, but a first class dining table!”
(ROUND the table you must go, you must go, you must go, round the table you must go, YOU WERE NAUGHTY!)
As the poor camper was running around the table and being humiliated, the ENTIRE group of campers would be clapping, singing and poking at the camper.
This was considered, “FUN.”
Did I put my elbows on the table… by accident, YES! Did I suffer humiliation, YES! Did I enjoy going to the cafeteria, NO! But admittedly, it sure did cure all of us from putting our elbows on the table, because we were too busy trying to catch some else at it.
AND to this day, I still remember the words to that song!
Summer camp — NOT FOR ME!
Come on… I KNOW you’ve got a story to share… the COMMENT section is waiting for you!
Let’s all have a laugh!
I grew up swimming in Lake Michigan. Swimming in a Lake is carefree. You might run into some minnows, or step on a big brick – YES, there are bricks at the bottom of the Lake, but you would never run into a shark.
We also did a lot of boating on Lake Michigan, but I was not prepared for the boating they do in Wilmington. Wow – we went out on Saturday and there were boats everywhere. It’s “the” thing to do on the weekend. I felt like we were on a busy water freeway. The boats were very orderly, just like on a normal road, staying in their lane. Of course, there are always the “hot rods” even on the water.
There were the party looking boats with a lot of young people. They were doing water skiing and water tubing. There was a little island with a palm tree. As the day went on and the water started rising it covered the little island. We drove by a red Tow Boat, and later in the day hurried to dock the boat as we could see a storm coming in.
There have been a lot of thunder storms this summer. That day we could see the dark clouds coming in over the Atlantic Ocean. The lightning looked like fireworks in the sky, similar to this photo. Every few minutes behind the clouds we would see a flash of pink and silver. The thunder was incredible, so loud too. When I lived in California we had rain storms, but no thunder or lightening.
While exploring Dublin, I came across “Powerscourt Centre,” off of Grafton Street, which was a very charming looking house that had been converted into a shopping center.
We’ve all read or seen a pirate movie, YES? In the pirate stories they usually hide their loot in a hidden cave. When I heard there was a beautiful cave in Alghero called, “
The second photo is what we saw once we got off the boat. This is the entry way into the grotto. To the left are stairs that you start to climb, which bring you inside the grotto. Very beautiful you can see.
The tourist books say, “This is a place you want to see once in your lifetime.” There are many wonders to see throughout this world. For me, I have always wanted to see “inside a cave,” so I am happy to have checked this off my “bucket list.”
This is quite a race. Think about it… for each nightly stop they make, ALL the drivers/co-pilots, mechanics, race organizers, etc. must be fed and put up in different hotels for the three different nights. Also, there must be a big enough space for all of the cars, so that the mechanics can do their tweaking, testing, etc. of their cars at night, so car is ready to leave next morning.
America is full of amazing places to see. We don’t realize this until we decide to take a “road trip.” I was planning a drive from Seattle to Chicago. My daughter told me about a website called, “
Did you know that it is a tradition in Chicago to turn the river GREEN for St. Patrick’s Day? There are two Irish families, the Butler and Rowan clans, that have had this honor since 1962. They sprinkle their special “Leprechaun Dust” and PRESTO the river becomes this spectacular green color.
Life is full of surprises. When we need a dose of inspiration somehow the Universe sends it to us in different ways. Yesterday, I was having a tough day. Job searching is NO FUN! We apply, apply, apply with “no response.”
creating illustrations in black/white that capture Sing’s adventures.
