And the beat goes on...

Another day… the birds awaken as the eastern horizon exchanges it’s necklace of stars for the first hint of daylight. The kitchen lights go on and Gervais grinds the freshly roasted coffee (our coffee is roasted on a weekly basis, it makes a huge difference). Sam arrives and makes a quick survey of the infrastructure (drives his utility vehicle to the well, checks the pump, the water log, the reservoir). Early bird counselors are seen on the track or by the lake. Then the bugle blows and the sounds of camp once again overwhelm the sounds of the mountains.

Camp is a glorious place of intricate details… each one is important, all in support of the sounds of camp. The squeals of laughter, murmur of talk, thuds of feet on cabin floors, rumble of chairs, music from everywhere (so many classes work music into the daily routine): these are the sounds that bring delight to the soul of a Greystone Girl. The sounds are joined with smells that trigger a happy place in our hearts (kitchen food, mulch underfoot, freshly mown grass, lake water, fireflies… they are all part of the magic). These details are all part of the good feelings that we now have, that we will remember keenly when we are very old and have grown to truly appreciate memories. Most don’t pay attention, I am getting to the place in my life where they hit me very strongly.

This is such a good place to be. The quality of this community is profoundly poignant, a fact that is made clear during such seemingly insignificant moments as movie night. It is just a fun night for everyone… and the slow paced evening really celebrates our friendships in an interesting way. Movie night at Main Camp is just different than any other session. Movies at other sessions are still a big deal, but Main Campers just have more fun with it. The reason is no doubt tied to the friendships that by this point in camp have become the foundation on which we stand. The slower pace gives more time to talk, to play, to BE WITH. It is just what we want!

The main camp watched “Tangled”, the 9th graders (rising 10th) watched “Ever After”, and I took the Seniors to “Monte Carlo”. The actual movie matters little (I can guarantee that there is no way you would ever drag me to watch “Monte Carlo” in another setting…) but put us together and even the silliest movie in the world becomes a delight. In the case of that masterpiece “Monte Carlo”… I have to admit that it was a ton of fun, Gervais, Laura, and I laughed and cheered as the predictable plot unfolded… FUN, FUN, FUN. It was a great night for all.

We slept late this morning and regular class schedule will now commence. It is overcast, humid, warm… a repeat of the daily weather pattern that you can count on this time of year.
I hope to get out and get some pictures today, Margaret and I hosted Bungalows 1 and 2 at our house yesterday afternoon, then we took the trip out of camp with the Castle girls… it was impossible to get out for photographs. I will grab the camera and hit riflery, ceramics, metal jewelry, crafts, the Health Hut, and whatever else is in that quadrant of camp in the morning. I hope to get to High Ropes late this afternoon… haven’t gone there yet and am keen to see how it is going.

My friend John John will be flying in this afternoon to make an important announcement. 2012 will be an Olympics summer, thus we will enjoy another “JIMBOLYMPIAD” next year. John John is a college friend who makes surprise visits to camp for big events that he plans and executes for us… the “Jimbolympiad” is always a BIG one (he has years to plan them out). He has planned an advertizing campaign that he will unveil to the girls tonight at dinner… it should be very funny.

EP will be the Decade Dance, basically a costume dance on the tennis courts. We will not dance with boys this year (we have cancelled the dance for two years in a row due to health concerns with the boys camp, a stomach bug can really ruin a camp session if you aren’t careful… turns out, we didn’t really need the dance to make the session perfect). Boys are not the focus at Greystone… not at all… Let me digress.

We like to focus on “distinctives” when at camp. Provide what is Different from what is offered at home (the classes we offer, this community we build, the setting, the technology we withhold, the retreat from materialism, the attention on God). Frankly… Boys are not “distinctives” of camp. I have nothing really negative to say about the dances, but they certainly are not as good of an EP as we are acustomed to providing; an easy “flash” of excitement, but not that big of a deal. We might feel differently one day, but for now we are very happy to not have the dance taking up space in our busy summer calendar. It is Jam Packed as it is.

Lunch is BLT, Dinner is Chinese Night… I LOVE BLT’s (the secret is in the bread, the bacon, and the tomato… we got all aspects nailed), and Chinese will be accentuated with accessories to decorate the dining room. Let the costume night start off with style!

Thanks for reading. Thanks for the kind comments.

Blessings on you,

Jimboy