Grateful Dead groupies might appreciate this report title.  Truth be known, I have been listening to GD music all summer long in my ongoing quest to discover the meaning of life.  Grateful to be Alive and here at Kingswood is my take, but I don’t think that would have stuck as the name for a band.

For certain I have reached the point in this session where I am happiest just sitting there and watching the boys at play.  The weather being hot, I have found myself sitting in the shade down by the docks during general swim.  Simple observation reveals tons of impressions and I can tell these boys are happy.

Laura, our second-year gem of a counselor from Argentina, carries a mean camera like Sara does and I was impressed with her album today.  Kingswood’s name for that favorite haunt of a water hole is Big Eddy, one of several good swimming spots along the Baker River nearby.  The contentment in boys’ eyes is quite evident, eh?

We are pretty good at making participation predictions for A and B Block activities, but all of us were mightily surprised to see 25 boys sign up for the Black Mountain hike.  Normally we would have split into two groups but, this being near the end of the session, we decided to scramble, logistically, and send all of them together.  No question but that is a mighty compliment to this session’s group of boys, who have been enthusiastic regarding all activities.

My photos of today have the usual balance of good instruction and camp goofiness.  Mrs. Cain, mother of all three Cain counselors, sent 9 self-addressed envelops, hoping for three letters from each son.  Not so fast, Julie.

Klaus got wind of this and immediately seized the nine envelopes and turned them into several “bits” where one of the boys was “stuck” with the chore of writing to mom.  Charlie ended up with  6 of the 9  envelopes, much to the delight of the crowds.  Inside humor is one of the major blessings of camp.

As always, Sara’s photos show many close-ups of boys in action.  She is busy getting those final photos organized for her annual by-session Kingswood yearbooks.  I have a full bookcase of her past volumes.  For $95 you can order your copy of the 2022 First Session yearbook, which will entail 80 some pages of her best pix.  Production costs for small projects like this are enormous so you are getting a good deal.  Email her to make your order:  swipfler@gmail.com  Memories of a lifetime to be sure.