Oh the places we'll go

Well it’s here. Banquet Day!

All camps do them, all are designed to be special. Most don’t put as much effort into production as we do… the setting and entertainment are fairly extravagant.

The Greystone Banquet is always centered around a theme. The dining hall tables are all moved to make giant banquet style tables and elaborate centerpieces and paintings are placed and hung to set the mood. Each place is lovingly arranged with a bunch of hand crafted banquet gifts; cute scripted names clearly marking out where each camper should sit. The counselors have been working for three weeks these details, writing and learning lines for a short play, dances, and songs. It will all begin at Flag… then a feast… then camper awards… a few parting words… a song… tears… goodnight.

Last nights Council Fire/ Closing Vespers was pretty special. A big storm blew in JUST as we blew the bugle for the program. Rather than go to the council fire ring, we quickly “punted” and had the girls do a “church seating” at the Pavilion. The wind was pretty gusty and the rain was pretty heavy (so heavy little drops were making their way through the air vents at the peak of the roof). Thunder and Lightening… and not a whisper from the girls. Honestly, it was amazing. Memories of camp will be accentuated by the quiet moments. I am glad the girls got to enjoy it. I had prepared the girls with a suggestion of what to expect (God bless weather radar) and what the reward would be if we did not “cheapen” the moment with “chatter”. It was very special to have my mother tell the story of “Georgia” while a storm raged and the girls leaned in to hear every word. The candle went out over and over, but nobody giggled… and this is a room of 500 girls! In a way, this was a defining moment of what camp does. We have fun and are controlled. We know when a moment is happening and don’t miss it. We are walking in unison, it is very sweet.

Awards took a long time. Maybe we are too loose with our class standards at the shorter sessions… but the girls dearly love getting those little patches of felt that show the world “I did that”. Felt patches will always bring back memories. Tomorrow, when you come upon them in the trunk, put them in a safe place… one day, maybe when she is heading off for college or even getting married… get them all framed in an artistic way. Some of you will pop them into scrapbooks (or the girls will have already done it— scrapbooking is a huge class at Greystone), some will sew them onto a camp sweatshirt. Many good uses… just don’t loose them! They worked hard for those things!

The closing vespers candle ceremony had to be held inside the pavilion, rain was still falling at 9:00… and it was beautiful. Due to the length of the days, usually this ceremony takes place in the soft light of dusk with fireflies beginning to rise from the grass around us. We gather in a circle around the flag pole… lovely (but it is not dark). Last night it was pitch black! Candles in pitch black darkness are much more dramatic. It was a very special ending to a very special session.

I really do miss these girls already.

Breakfast Club and Morning Assembly are both in my court today and I will give the same message I always give (The Frog and Scorpion at Breakfast Club and the Parable of the ten lepers at Assembly). The Frog and Scorpion is a simple story about good and evil and always chokes me up. It reminds me so much of my father who told it so well. It chokes me up because I know that many of the girls won’t believe it… we like to think that the scorpion isn’t that bad and consequently make bad choices in life. I love the fact that these girls are just beginning the path of life. To see their faces looking up at me—- it is moving. This sets the stage for morning assembly and the “Ten Lepers”, a message on being thankful. This is the theme of every session every year (no matter what the summer theme is, this is the main point behind it all). It is a transforming attitude, one that I hope you notice in your girls tomorrow.

Tomorrow you will want to arrive on the early side of things (not crazy early… 8:00 to 9:00 is good). Most of the girls are gone by 10… and the silence is depressing to us all. We will bring down the trunks and other big luggage to the track and stack it by cabin groups. Pick out the stuff, we carry it to your car. Each bag is marked with a tag indicating the name of the camper and how many items we brought to the track. Make sure you get everything (hint: laundry bags are often forgotten).

We are all tired now, camp is hard work and closing week is especially hard; but we are addicted to the camp experience. Your girls have given life to this place for three weeks, when they leave so quickly it will seem wrong in some ways. Monday will see us come to life again with our Main Camp session, and Main Camp is hard to explain. Words aren’t coming to me now; but I would encourage you to follow the news if you are considering it for next year.

Early Bird enrollments have already started. You will have about 3 weeks to go online and choose a session. You get to go right into any session you like for 2012, the catch: do it within the 3 week deadline. We send you a letter and a couple email reminders… then the boat sails. All sessions have wait lists for 2012, so keep a seat reserved if you have any interest at all. Full refund till December, you know.

Thank you for reading. Thank you for the comments. Thank you for supporting camp. Thank you for being involved parents. A special “shout out” to you dads out there. Good job.

Jimboy