Admittedly, the first few nights of camp this session have been a bit chilly. Still, the fact that a second four week camper had donned his bright orange goose down jacket this morning and refused to take it off seemed to be signaling something deeper than his seeking protection against climatological challenges. If you have been doing this job for any amount of time, you know that, believe it or not, dressing inappropriately for the weather is a telltale sign of homesickness.
Upon approaching this boy, our Logger village director confirmed these suspicions as the boy relayed that he was feeling really homesick and just didn’t think he could make it at camp. In fact, he declared that he intended to engage in a hunger strike until we agreed to free him from this cruel captivity. (You know the kind of cruel captivity I am talking about…the kind with water skiing, sailing, arts and crafts, archery, tennis, a climbing wall, and S’mores.)
So the bulk of yesterday morning was spent with various administrators and counselors stopping by the table where the boy had set up his boycott of all things campy. We have an amazing crew of folks that all were able to distract him a bit and even bring the occasional smile to his face. Nevertheless, the boy remained resolute in his position that he would neither move nor partake in any sustenance until he was promised he would be sprung from this modern day Alcatraz. And the winter jacket remained tightly zipped…his cocoon of safety.
About 90 minutes before lunch, a first year camper from another town, with absolutely no connection to our hunger striker, noticed him sitting at a picnic table and quickly realized that this was someone that could use some support.
To be clear, the reason that he recognized that our winter coat wearer was in need of a shoulder to lean on, is that he is also a guy that things had been tough for in the past. After trying another summer camp, and struggling there, he decided not to go to camp at all last summer as his confidence had been significantly damaged by the experience at the other camp. After talking to me for two years, the boy decided to give this camp thing another try. Within days of his arrival, he pulled me aside to say “thank you for encouraging me to come to Nebagamon…I really love it.” (I know…amazing that this boy speaks in ellipses just like I write!!) Since then, he has been a total camp devotee and even extended his stay at camp beyond the four weeks for which he had initially signed up.
For the next hour and a half, the two boys sat together and just talked. To be honest, I do not really know what they discussed during that time. I just observed from a distance. I saw looks of concern, looks of empathy, looks of camaraderie, and looks of amusement. When the lunch bell rang, much to my dismay, the boys didn’t budge. The older boy asked for some food to be brought up to them, (And realizing that he was now officially in charge of the situation, we quickly obliged!) I cannot be totally sure, but I think it was the perfectly crispy french fries that did it or maybe it was a wonderfully kind boy that took the time to really care about him, but, within minutes, the two boys were laughing and chowing down on lunch. A few minutes later, the older boy cajoled the anoraked boy down to the Rec Hall where the rest of camp was enjoying their lunch. The two of them found a table with some space at it just in time for the ice cream sundaes to be served. Needless to say, the hunger strike was officially over!
After lunch as I headed out of the Rec Hall, I was admittedly quite annoyed to see the volume of lost and found clothing that was already littering the grounds. It is just stunning how in less than a single day, so many articles of clothing could already have been so carelessly left strewn about. I started picking up the various articles of clothing as I headed up the hill to the younger boys’ play area (called The Hill)…and I am betting you can guess what I saw laying on a chair by the box hockey courts…a bright orange down jacket. (I want you to know, dear readers, that I WOULD be willing to stretch the truth in this story to make for a good update…BUT IT REALLY DID HAPPEN!!!) And right next to the coat, a short sleeved former hunger striker was engaged in an intense game of box hockey with a first year camper, and hero, with a challenging summer camp history.
Scenes like this (ok…not quite as poetically beautiful) will be repeated tonight at our Big Brother/Little Brother Soiree. For those of you that are brand new to camp, whenever a 3rd-5th grader is brand new to camp, we connect him with a camp Big Brother. The hope is that the Big Brother will connect with the new boy before his arrival to camp and put the new boy at ease, telling him about some of the fun things at camp and assuring him that not only will his counselors be looking out for him at camp, but an older “cool guy” has his back too. The Big Brother-Little Brother Soiree is the perfect activity for this. Our older boys will engage with their camp little brothers and connect. The little brothers will be reminded once again that they have arrived in a place where people care about each other. There will be great icebreaker games, the always hilarious telling of the story of the genesis of the S’more, and then…of course…eating that very first S’more of the summer…an indication that a summer at camp has officially begun.
Sure, winter is coming…but not for a while.
All is well in the North Woods…
