Last night was a great night at camp. Our evening program was something called Wannado. The idea behind Wannado is that kids get a chance to do something out of the ordinary…a break from the routine…something unique. So, we cancel all of our normal projects and offer totally new things. The kids do what they “wanna-do.” Get it?
There were a wealth of great offerings. We offered a clinic on Rubik’s Cube solving. An introduction to Speedball (a GREAT athletic game that combines football, basketball and soccer into one game) for our younger boys, a head to head Quiz Bowl contest, a 3v3 Basketball tournament, Hide and Seek in the woods, cooperative two person sawing races, a tour of the Big House from our resident camp historian (and creative story teller) Joe Briggs. Waterfront rodeo (you get on a paddle board and try to stay on it while your counselors shake it to knock you off….Yee Haw!), and an opportunity to learn some songs from Camp Kamaji from some of our current staff members that used to go there as little girls (sorry Kamaji friends…..nobody showed up to that one, I guess the boys figured that nothing could top a song led by their rhythmically challenged camp director!). There was something for everyone last night…the athletic, the cerebral, and the artistic all had something to indulge in and enjoy.
As much fun as all the activities are, perhaps the most fun thing about any Wannado night is its announcement. Announcements start out as they normally do after dinner, with me getting up and charmingly and wittily speaking to the group about the day’s activities. Within minutes the entire Rec Hall is asleep (perhaps the charm and wit are a bit overrated?!). Then we start to talk about the evening’s activity. After much feigned hemming and hawing in which I pretend not to be able to decide what we should be doing that night and chastising my program director for not coming up with a reasonable plan for the boys, some music over the loudspeakers interrupts me and The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing” drowns me out. Instantly, virtually the entire camp family leaps out of their seats and begins to dance. Some dance their own individual dances, and some join a 100-person conga line. It is an amazing sight but certainly not for the faint of heart. You have to be willing to embrace a certain amount of chaos to truly enjoy it. I myself, being a fan of and a believer in the value of occasional moments of kid chaos, find this to be, absolutely, one of my favorite times during the week.
An additional bonus of Wannado is getting to watch the first-year Swampers when the song begins. Last night, it was particularly amusing as I watched one third-grade camper. The moment the music began and people leapt to their feet, he looked appalled. His look was one that said, “Oh man, these guys are all going to get into big trouble…” Soon enough, after realizing that no one was getting into trouble and that even the administrators and camp directors were dancing, his jaw simply dropped. He sat there staring at all that was going on without moving a muscle…mouth wide open. And then the smile came…and then he jumped into the conga line…and laughed…and danced.
I also really enjoyed our Lumberjacks when the music came on. I often feel badly for our Lumberjacks. You see, when they were younger, when that song started, they would totally unselfconsciously get up and boogie down without even the slightest hesitation. Everyone was doing it, it looked like a lot of fun, so of course they were in. But, sadly for our boys, by the time they become Lumberjacks, something else has set in for many of them….that cool thing. And dancing with a bunch of little kids in a conga line…..definitely low on the preconceived coolness continuum! And so it was that the music began last night and 3/4ths of the Rec Hall jumped right up to dance….and the Lumberjacks….just looked at each other. You could tell that they were struggling with what to do. It was clear that many of them wanted to get up and reconnect to that song and that dance that had been so much fun for so long, but, would it be ok with the others? Was doing something that was decidedly uncool ok? So they sat and looked at each other. Remember that great climactic scene in The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly? (https://youtu.be/5PgAKzmWmuk) (Unless you want to see someone shot, you need to stop watching at about the 1:34 mark, but you should have the idea by then anyways!) Each Lumberjack itching to pull the trigger and start dancing with the rest of camp. But….unable to make their move until the time was just right and they could be assured someone else was making their move. The tension built….tense eyes darted from one Lumberjack to another…..and back again. Mouths dry, senses heightened, hearts racing. And then it happened. Some brave guy reached for his friend’s shoulders…..and the game was on. The entire Lumberjack porch jumped up and got after it….conga style!
So….I just want to be clear here…EVERYONE in the Rec Hall gets up when that song starts to play. Everyone from the kid that seemingly dances at all times to the kid that is so consumed with avoiding looking bad that normally he would never be caught dead dancing. Whatever geniuses created this phenomenon somehow were able to transmit the idea to the boys that it is way more uncool to sit sullenly during the dancing than it is to get up and play along. So they get up, looking a little self-conscious at first, but then giving in to the moment….letting go….playing along.
Great idea….Great sight…Great evening program.
All is well in the North Woods….
