Camp is all about making meaningful friendships, that two-way street where one gives as well as takes.  More on this inestimable camp value tomorrow, when we will ask the boys to gather into groups and ponder the idea.

 

But, for now, you can see budding friendships at every turn.  I was at the chess clinic yesterday where one boy invited another to reconsider his move, as it would result in disaster.  Those four boys at the picnic table in my set of photos were busy saving humanity in some game or other and by their laughter, one had to figure they really believed in their powers.

 

I see Sara got out in the new Ski Nautique boat, which we have nicknamed “Ferrari Boat” due to all its bells and whistles.  The driver uses a computer, no joke, to create special waves which form a “pocket” that allows the person to drop the rope and surf the wave.  This is an incredibly popular activity and already several boys have anointed it as their favorite.  Said one lad, “I’ll never waterski again.”

 

Speaking of friendships, I see that Sara fell in with several brother combinations for her photo shots yesterday.  Siblings do indeed watch out for one another at camp even when we ask boys not to dwell too much on the other fellow’s camp issues.  Nevertheless, it is nice to observe those special relationships.

 

The highlight of the day for me was the second council fire meeting of the session held on a beautiful evening when the ambient colors of the sunset provided a neat backdrop to those who were staring into the fire or gazing at the hills or the lake, which was flat as a pancake.

 

We seized on the occasion to talk about why we choose to go on hikes.  The going can be rough, we concurred, and sometimes things don’t work out exactly to plan (great stories recounted) but Kingswood boys hike with a swagger nevertheless.

 

That attitude was demonstrated, spontaneously, by veteran hikers Michael Vincent and Jaden Uram, who tramped two loops around the crowd, the first one celebrating the joie de vivre associated with being on the trail and the second one a whiny grumble about wishing they could go inner tubing instead of hiking.  Very entertaining and, I might suggest, quite enlightening.

 

Mountains climbed is just about the only thing we keep records on, so we ended the conversation by urging boys to give hiking a tryout.  We won’t make them do it – not the Kingswood way – but we sure as heck will promote this activity at every turn.