Alas it is dreary again today.  We measured two inches of rain in our gauge and a another huge blob is headed our way.  That’s the bad news.  The good news is that it has been warm.  Hot/Dry summers are the worst; Cold/Wet are second worst.  That makes this summer, so far a Hot/Wet one, the second best pattern.

I am fighting a bit of a cold, rare for me but undeniable at present, and have been on the outside listening in for the most part of the past couple of days. There are good camp vibes in the air and most folks have sustained their positive outlooks on the summer. Counselors Gabe and Des, for example, used their day off to hike Mt. Washington and they persisted in tramping upwards as storm clouds gathered.  They summited in a downpour and then took the most logical way down, hiking along the Cog Railway where a makeshift trail exists.  “That was one of the highlights of my life,” Gabe acknowledged to me.

The point of this counselor generated report is to associate it to what I call the “Kingswood Buy-in.”  This occurs when a person decides they are here for the long haul, come what may.  I am certain that Gabe and Des have shared their story with the campers, who inquired about what it is like to hike into the thunder. Can it be done safely? Absolutely, for those experienced hands who know their way in the mountains. This does not rub off on every boy equally, but many are mesmerized by such tales and dream of the day when it is their turn at the wheel.

Yes, my job is to paint the rosiest picture possible each and every day, but a person does not oversee a 39 year, second generation business without taking in subtle observations involving the challenging and rugged end of things.  By sitting back and simply endeavoring to overhear boys carrying on with positive energy no matter the conditions is to witness some of the properties of the camp buy-in.

On Saturday, we said farewell to 5 or 6 boys who had settled on a two-week tenure and then yesterday greeted 14 newcomers, almost all to be here for the last five weeks of the summer.  Practically to a man, these are “buy-in guys,” too, and they were all smiles while waiting for the breakfast bell to ring while standing in a light misty rain.

The program guys want to accomplish two things today:  One is to keep the grounds from being chewed up while they are vulnerable to it due to the rainy conditions.  The other is to keep the boys dry for as long as we can program around the rain drops. Of course we are willing to take chances with the conditions but are not going to be reckless about it.

Yesterday’s photo set by Sara did a nice job of capturing all the points I have been trying to make it this report.  Those are not fake smiles!

The worst of the weather should be out of here by this afternoon, whereupon all of this precautionary scheduling will be forgotten and off a running into the great out of doors we shall go.