Wiffs’ Day Off

July 28, 2024

For our (very rare) day off, Alice and I left our nice airy cottage on the water and went over to Squam Lake to visit old camp friends, who just happen also to inhabit a nice airy cottage on the water.  “Different lake,” I kept insisting and especially, “not mine,” when I saw kids swimming while being not quite as well supervised as our boys are.

It was reinvigorating to be away, just for a tad of a time, but I can not get over the feeling of getting back home:  No traffic, either on the roadways or on the lake, here at Kingswood and I swear the temperatures here are five degrees cooler, maybe more, and there is a fresh breeze coming from the north which makes it seem even more comfortable.

A few boys even noticed our absence, which probably stemmed from not being hollered at for those constant “Photo Op” commands from yours truly.  However, within seconds after getting back, I was at it anew, having committed myself to the “Right Now” photo album which indeed has been posted already.

All four of our old friends from our Squam Lake days at a camp there were delighted to know that Kingswood stands for the identical set of values that we all held dear all those 50 plus years ago.

We took a boat cruise (naturally) about Squam, which is an enormous lake with loads of backwater coves, where we anchored for cheese and beverage out of sight of the many many moving craft.  “Squam can take the traffic,” said Alice.

We made a pilgrimage to Church Island, where two weddings had been conducted on the chapel setting that is remarkably similar to the views we get from the Kingswood shoreline, which is a chapel of sorts when you think about it. “Boys at camp can be preached to,” I contended, “without their even realizing it.”

Church Island originally was named Chocorua Island and indeed is the sight of the very first boys’ summer camp in America, starting in 1881.  It was a very touching moment for all of us as we had the entire island to ourselves by some quirk of coincidence.

As you can see, boys are cleaning up trunks and cabin areas, brushing out water bottles, clipping fingernails and even reporting to the nurses for a quick “check up,” as our protocols require.

I just learned that some lads are off to Mt. Washington, the highest summit in the northeast, and I had just told my old buddies to sink their money into hiking gear stocks, as kids seem drawn to the mountains anew these days.