The Lasso

July 24, 2023

 

Alternate title to today’s blog:  “I never thought I was capable of that!”  So squealed a young boy in the lake who had just succeeded in treading water for five minutes. I loved it, as that is what camp is all about and this fellow had unwittingly discovered the formula for a positive experience in his very initial activity of the session.  Huzzahs.

 

We are fresh off a wonderful first session despite all the rain. It was warm and everyone dashed back to what they had been doing as soon as the drops let up, even for a short time.  Thus, as a collective group the staff is in terrific spirits due to the really good weather we have had in the past few days.  The forecast is for more of the same – oh, maybe some showers here and there –for the next stretch of time. But, the outlook is promising and we have fresh faces about the grounds.

 

I saw the lasso effect going on at breakfast and grabbed my phone camera to give you yet another “Right Now” peek into camp.  Both staff personnel and campers extending into second session are delighted to be here and their exuberance rubs off on the newcomers. The idea is simply to pull the fresh arrivals into our happy orbit.  This process is not automatic, of course, but we are making a very good effort at duplicating that marvelous sense of community we had before.

 

If you are reading this blog, which I will publish daily, you are in your Camp InTouch account and can find the current photo albums with a simple click or two.  Get in the habit of checking the pix at the same time you read my column as so many of my ideas are generated by the accompanying pictures.  My daughter, Sara, put up over 100 from yesterday afternoon alone.  Yeah, boys are all “arms and legs,” so all you have to do is toss a ball in their direction and the rest is gravy.

 

However, we do have to be both strict and thorough in these first moments of the session. We call it the “swim test,” but I prefer the name “proficiency measurement” as we must know the various capabilities of boys in the water.  Likewise, cabin meetings were conducted after dinner.  Not frivolous gatherings at all, the time was well spent going over all the Kingswood rules and regulations.  There are not that many restrictions, actually, but we are dead serious about those we do have and every single one of them is both fair and practical.  More on issues like this one in future posts.

 

It was such a beautiful morning that I snapped a whole bunch of photos at breakfast, for your immediate pleasure.  Sara says she got most but not all of the cabin group photos last evening and will post them soon. Time ran out on her so be patient.

 

The very first order of business at that 4 PM all-camp meeting yesterday was to get the boys signed up for their three morning clinics, which start right now, as I am writing this sentence (9:30)  Some good promotion by the counselors took place and boys will endorse activities well-spun. We talk all the time as a staff about this process and always end with the caveat – “but you have to deliver on the promise.”  I am off to check on those lassos right now.  See you tomorrow. — Bob