The Ridiculous & The Sublime

August 10, 2023

 

I don’t just think, but I know that at most camps right now, the directorship is begging staff to hang in there just a few more days. Being a camp counselor is both fun and fulfilling, but also very tiring for those who are real pros.

 

This said, I was delighted by the fabulous attitude and performance of a huge number of staff last evening at the Egg Drop extravaganza. Borne via the creative genius of many minds, this rendition was one for the ages.  Quite a few of these folks missed the Oldtimers celebration at dinner as they were busy setting up for the gig.

 

Sara wants you to know that her final photo albums of the session might be delayed or composites of the last days, but she was there, too, for the “money shots” that Egg Drop offers.

 

Those kids were riveted to their seats as the variable on Egg Drop this time around was Egg Smash.  The very first contraption brought before the ancient cave people was unceremoniously destroyed while Professor Sandy Diggs was attempting to deliver a lecture on Paleolithic man. “Ugga Mooga,” or something like that, was the extent of the vocabulary of these early human beasts. That’s enough for you to know in order to enjoy my photo set for the day.

 

The underlying point, however, is that a main tenant of Kingswood’s philosophy was on full display for those, like me, who were looking for it. “Have a blast at camp and include the campers in your fun.”  Staff pleasure, however, has to incorporate what we call “Clean Mirth,” a term capitalized due to its deep significance.

 

These lines appear in an essay(Clean Mirth:  see the camp website) I wrote a long time ago and still apply. “A dictionary consultation found ‘mirth’ defined as ‘amusement, especially as in expressed with laughter.’  But, we looked up the word ‘clean’ as well, and we found this simple word to mean ‘morally uncontaminated, pure, innocent, and not sexually offensive or obscene.’ ”

So, now you understand why this grizzled veteran camp observer wandered over to the lost and found box and borrowed a misplaced sweat shirt; it got chilly and I knew I would stay to the bitter end, just like the staff would be professional to the end, not only of Egg Drop, but until the final moment of the summer – “and then a wee bit longer” as we tell them.