BY JOE BRIGGS
If you have ever met me, you would know of my obsession with the odd and quirky artifacts of camp. My desk is often littered with rusty railroad spikes, broken parts to trip stoves and, of course, unnamed lost and found. (Please label your stuff!) A few years back, a bright green raincoat ended up on this pile…this is its story.
I caught my first glimpse of my old friend this summer hanging on the clothesline with all the tents and maps just after our trip staff returned from their annual training trip we call “Shakedown.” Although we have the BEST trip staff (I married one!), we find that there is no better way to learn how to spend time in the wilderness with kids than to go to the wilderness yourself. Somehow this coat must have spoken to one of these adventurous staff members and hitched a ride. Its time on the line must have meant that it was useful.
My next encounter was on a particularly rainy Wednesday at camp. It was Cruiser Day, and our campers were walking to our local Dairy Queen. One of our younger campers must have misplaced his own coat as he was wearing the bright green coat, a few sizes too big, as he enjoyed his DQ Blizzard. The drizzling rain dripping off the hood into his cup.
The coat disappeared for a few weeks. I was worried that it might have been misplaced for good. And then it returned with triumph! It was brought along on one of the 8th grade Isle Royale hiking trips. It was dirty, and the pockets were full of wrappers from root beer barrels and butterscotch disks. After the campers unpacked, they showed me pictures of the moose they saw. Personally, my closest encounter with a moose was at the Columbus Zoo, so now this coat (and the boys) had me beat!
On Sunday night I saw it again, as a costume for Pizza night. A camper was using the coat as part of a solid green ensemble. I asked the young man if he was dressed up as Gumby, but all I got was that stare of “what are you talking about old man?” or as if I had asked him if he liked anchovies and green olives on his pizza. I think I need to spend more time getting caught up on modern entertainment, but I would rather just go for a swim…
As I write this, I am unsure exactly where our old friend, the green raincoat is. It could be paddling in the Boundary Waters or possibly waiting for its next adventure in the basement of the Big House. We can all agree…it’s good to be at camp.
