Director’s Reports

Heat Wave, Nobody Cares

August 7, 2026

Heat Wave, Nobody Cares

August 7, 2026

No one was particularly put off by the rising temperatures of yesterday that are surely sticking around at least through today. After that the forecast calls for typical August weather, pleasant during the daytime but cooling off into the low 50’s at night. To me August is “Lost & Found” month and I will leave it to your imaginations to guess why I would make that contention.

Sure enough we went ahead with California Beach Day during the heat of the day and Sara followed the action on and near the water. Some boys wake surfed, others snorkeled the lakeshore for junk that really does not belong and yet more played Tarleton Tennis, a favorite dive-off-the-tower challenge.

The slip and slide was open to all takers during B Block. Down the hill they flew nearing the speed of light and then, presumably, back to the swim docks to wash off the grass and dirt.

To boot, last evening’s repast was dubbed a fancy dress dinner. Many boys showered and put on their best and cleanest clothing. Alice and I were the guests of some rich tycoon who tossed 500-dollar bills around like they were chump change.

The Guides were the waiters and, more importantly, bodyguards for the head table entourage – Alice, Musk and me. I alternated between commands to keep the urchins away to allowing them to come forward for a closer look at, well, not that much!

Smartest of all, those cleansings and sartorial displays played very well towards the impending dances with the ladies from Camp Merriwood.

That left about a third of the camp who gathered at the council fire for some stories by yours truly and a few musical renditions audible against the cacophony wafting our way from the Main Lodge dance floor.

I think I got some pretty good pictures of the fire gathering and, as always, I edit only marginally in the hopes that you, magnifying glass in hand, might find yours somewhere in the mix of things.