Compiled by Louis Levin
This winter, I watched a handful of episodes of an old Japanese show that popped up on Netflix called Old Enough! It was fairly popular, but if you haven’t seen it the show’s premise is both simple and charming: Japanese toddlers embark on their first solo errand, walking and riding public transit to pick up groceries for their family, with a film crew following behind. Most of the trips are pretty formulaic, and include a bit of preparation, followed by embarking on the journey, and some sort of hiccup (the toddler gets turned around, or they miss home, or they forget something they were supposed to do). The toddler works out the trouble, completes their task, and returns home triumphant. It’s very consumable, feel-good TV, and is as cute as can be.
I’ve been working with our new parents for a few years now, helping them prepare their campers for their first summer at camp. And while four or eight weeks away from home for the first time can be more daunting than an afternoon stroll to the corner store for an extra gallon of milk, I delighted in some of the similarities between our campers and parents, and the journeys on Old Enough! A classic shot on Old Enough! is the nervous parent hoping the journey goes ok, juxtaposed with the confident toddler leaving the house alone for the first time. Similarly, a refrain I’ve often heard from some of our new families is that the person who will have trouble this summer isn’t the camper, rather, it’s the nervous parent back at home. Perhaps on the show, a toddler gets lost and turned around, and luckily, there’s a helpful shopkeeper ready to assist in helping the child find their way. Just as at camp, when a new camper is having trouble picking projects on the first day of camp, the helpful cabin counselor is looking out to help them design their day. And every so often, a toddler fails on their mission – they return home empty handed, or with the incorrect grocery, or not having even found the correct store. But the toddler picks themselves up, gives it another go, and after another try, reaches success. A lot of new campers and parents are nervous about failure as well – failure to make friends, or to make camp feel like home, or to succeed at a new activities. Luckily, I know of no better place to practice failure than Camp Nebagamon, where the support of our community encourages campers to pick themselves up and give it another go.
It seems to me like growing up, striking it out on your own, and taking that big risk has a familiar shape to it, whether you’re a camper embarking on your first trip to summer camp, a parent sending your camper away for the first time, a staff member taking on a new summer job, a camp administrator trying to write a monthly column for the first time, or a Japanese toddler, uh, picking up a bouquet of flowers because Grandma is coming over tonight. I’m excited that in just a couple weeks, a few hundred firsts are about to happen, and I’ve been waiting all winter, watching these mini dramas play out on TV, looking forward to the adventures that are about to begin.
As for Arrowhead news, we’re on hiatus until October, but I’m sure you’ll have plenty news to share over the summer. Keep the news coming to [email protected], and have an incredible summer — for you lucky folks coming up to camp this year, I’ll see you soon!
Go Kyle! Think he’s going to make pop-can chicken?
Wedding congratulations go to… Spence Myer (St. Louis, 2002-’07, ’09-’12, ’14) and Kristen Herbst, and to Sam Muzik (St. Louis, 2004-’08), and Sammy Schlessel.
Engagement congratulations go to… Michael Tolan (St. Louis/Cambridge, MA, 2003-’07, ’11-’12) and Nikki Haddad.
In the bibs and diapers department… It’s a boy, Eugene Baldwin-Yates, for Sam Baldwin (Chicago/Oakland, CA, 1996-2001, ’03-’05) and Lisha Yates. It’s a girl, Eloise Judith Scharff, for Adam Scharff (2000-’04) and Kayleigh Scharff. It’s a girl, Lainey Mae Scharff, for Jimmy Scharff (2002-’08, ’11-’12) and Brianna Moreland.
In the where are they now department… Ben Edmunds (Portland, 1993-’97, ’99-2004, ’07-’08) was honored with the 2023 Russell Shcerer Award at the Craft Brewers Conference, the industry’s highest honor in brewing and innovation. Kyle Hopkins (Kansas City, 2002-’06, ’08-’09, ’12) is appearing on this season of Fox’s MasterChef, a reality cooking competition airing Wednesday nights at 8/7c. Luke Herzog (Pacific Grove, CA/Amherst, MA, 2011-’16, ’19) won the John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play at the Kennedy Center Amercian College Theater Festival for his original play, Pulling the Switch.
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