Go Mississippi Day 8

We Should Pack Up And Leave, Dear

Saturday morning was a blur. My alarm went off at 6:15 and the boys were already awake. Most of them were sitting up in bed, dressed and ready. I don't know if it was because they went to bed earlier or maybe they were excited to be going home but they used my alarm as the green light. I was getting up at 6:15 with the plan of getting them up around 6:45. We were going to the pavilion at 7:30 for pick up. The Fordham group had to be on the road by 8 am.

With the boys being ready early, we were on the move by 7. I loaded my stuff in the van and headed over to the pavilion. I had to make 2 or 3 trips back for different boys who forgot certain things in the dorms. It felt like the first day, running from the center of camp and back several times.

The kids all had autograph books where they could sign names, get addresses, etc. Some of the kids asked for mine and I was glad to give it. I don't expect any letters but it would be pretty awesome to get even one in the mail.

Before we knew it we were on the road. We left and headed to Sonic, where we got food on the way in (second thing on the last day reminding me of the beginning). Sonic took forever and we all spent the rest of the drive worried about making the flight.

We got to the airport and had 40 minutes to check in, check luggage, go through security and get to the area of the airport we needed to be in. All things ran smoothly and we got there with about 10 minutes to spare. We loaded the plane, took off without a problem, and landed in Chicago. Our flight in Chicago was delayed about 20 minutes or so. This gave us enough time to get some lunch.

Back on the plane and on the way to NY. The sky and the view of Chicago were really awesome. We made it to NY and grabbed our luggage. Only one parent was willing to pick us up and so the rest of us piled into two taxis. We made it back to the Bronx around 7:30. Even though I just wanted to get home, I spent some time with my group in the Bronx. We went out and bought some food, made a big dinner, and hung out in the backyard. It was a nice resolution to the trip. I finally got to my car around midnight and drove home. It was a scary drive and several times I thought about just pulling over and going to sleep. I won't start a drive like that so late on my own ever again. Lesson learned.

I got home and passed out. Sunday was ok because I talked to my parents and friends about the trip and was excited to show them things like my pillow and t-shirt. Monday and Tuesday were really hard and I missed camp a whole lot. This trip was amazing and it was one of the best weeks of my life. I know that may not be as apparent in these entries. They show a fun time but not an amazing time. It's hard to explain the heart of the trip, the feeling of it and what it all meant. Those are things I cannot write down. It is a trip you have to experience, like most things, to fully appreciate. Still, thank you for reading about it. It's hard to find someone who will listen to you talk as long as I have over these many posts. There is so much to reflect on and so much to list that I would need hours and hours to explain it to one person.

This, then, concludes my Go! trip posts. Back to regular blogging tomorrow.

GO Mississippi Day 7, Part 2

**Continuing from yesterday's post.

The last day at the waterway was similar to the prior day. There was a lot of tossing the ball and a lot of boys making diving catches, continuously mesmerized at their own incredible skill. I again wore a t-shirt (the same one, so as to not ruin another) while I was in the water. One thing to note about the waterway is the temperature of the water. It was in the upper 90s all week, and with the humidity, it was always "feeling" over 100. The water, then, was at it's coolest like a heated pool and at times just down right hot. It was very strange, and with pockets all over the place, a person could shift between the two extremes in seconds.

The trip back from the waterway was incredibly entertaining. A lot of the boys were Hispanic and Tim had taken 4 years of Spanish and is able to keep up about half of the time. The back and forth banter between him and the boys was hilarious. He would teach them phrases that he liked in English, having them explain how to say it properly in Spanish. And they would do the reverse. It was actually really nice to see him engaging them in another language and they really seemed to appreciate it as well.

Back at the camp we met a man who looked to be in his 30s. Father Tim told us, as we exited the bus with the man standing there, that he was a Fordham grad and has been helping at Glenmary for awhile. I thought it was cool to see someone still actively involved and was happy to have him there. We headed back to the dorms for showers and prepping for dinner. After dinner was the dance, and so the boys had a field say with some Axe spray, and it didn't take long before the place smelled like the inside of Hollister.

The boy who had had a few melt downs in the past 24 hours came up to me while everyone was showering and such and told me that another boy was crying. One of the staff members had her son at the camp. She would come every day to help and leave. This was his first year at the camp and so he was one of the younger boys. She had left for the day and, even though this happened every day, he was incredibly upset. He was lying in the corner of his bed, as far from everyone as he could be, with his face down in the pillow crying. I sat on the bed and asked him what was wrong. He told me he was ready to go home and wanted his mom to come back and pick him up. I hadn't seen him look anything but enthusiastic all week and was really surprised. Then, after some talking I found out the real reason for this sudden change. The. Dance.

The boy was on the younger side, as I said, and was incredibly pressured and upset over the whole asking someone to the dance, dancing with girls, etc. This was bothering him so much that with the dance only hours away, he couldn't take it and wanted to just skip the end of camp and head home. I can totally sympathize. As someone who is not terribly out going and someone who does not like to dance, I can remember how terrified I was of school dances as a kid. I told him that I hate dances too, that I did not have a date to the dance, and that I was not going to dance. I promised him that I had my camera and wanted to take pictures at the dance and that was all. If he could help me out, he could come to the dance and take the pictures with me and he wouldn't have to worry about dancing with anyone or having a date. It was a deal.

I got my camera together, gave the boys a 10 minute warning and walked out front. Next thing you know it, Fordham-Alum-Guy is taking over. He walks in and tells the boys they have 2 minutes to be out front. Further, anyone who is already done should be outside. We do this, too. It gets really hot in the dorm with the showers running, the heat outside, and then everyone running around. We usually get the boys to come outside and toss the ball around or play frisbee. I was still a bit thrown off that he would disregard what I had just said, without even saying a word to me, and take over in the dorm. We got the boys outside and I started taking some pictures, watching the current chess battle, etc. Next thing you know, I see a commotion. It turns out, some of the boys were off to the side and were throwing stones into the woods. Nearby is the line where the boys hang their bathing suits and towels. Someone, unfortunately, threw a stone and it hit a camper in the head. It was bad enough that he started bleeding and had to be brought into the nurse. Father Tim came over and yelled at the boys saying that they should know better. He had the ones who admitted to throwing the rocks (no one fessed up to being the one who hit the other boy) stand there outside the nurse's office and apologize to the injured camper.

It was time for dinner and I was upset. Things had been going so well, but ultimately, it is the counselors job to watch the kids. One of us should have noticed the rock throwing and in our lapse, someone got hurt. The boy was fine afterwards, and needed no real bandaging to stop the bleeding. It was still a black mark on the week, one that Patti made sure I knew. As we walked into the dining hall, I casually asked her how she was doing. She responded in a noticeable tone with "I was doing a lot better before this all happened." As if I didn't already feel guilty.

Dinner was pretty normal, the boy returned to his table, and we had our awards ceremony. As Patti began explaining the ceremony she mentioned that our counselors would be making remarks about each kid. So apparently we were not only awarding the kids with awards we made up but we also needed to comment on them. This is not hard but a little heads up (like the skit night) would have been nice. We got through the award ceremony and headed back to the dorms to pack. All of the kids were given time to make sure everything, after coming back from the waterway and showering, was away. All they were to have out was the sheets on their beds, and something to wear home tomorrow.

Fordham-Alum-Guy decided he wanted to really show me why I should not like him. He walked into the dorm and told the kids that they had 5 minutes to be ready. Now, he has no right to be going over us like this and giving them orders. He is there a day early so that, on our last night, he can take dorm duty while the counselors can hang out without the responsibility of having people stationed at the dorm. He has decided to run things his way from the moment he gets there and undermines all of the counselors there, including Zach, the local guy who has been at this camp since he was old enough to go there.

He tells the boys that once they are done to go outside, stand in a line shoulder to shoulder, and not talk. They are not being respectful and they need to be more obedient. I walked out front. All week long this was the sight of fun downtime. We had time to kill and so there was frisbee going and chess and stratego, kids would just be sitting in circles chatting, etc. Like Patti had done with the bonfire, this guy had sucked the fun out of things. It felt like school. The boys were silent, in a line, motionless. He stood in front of them with his hands behind his back, like a drill sergeant and continued to scold them. I had enough. I went to Zach, who had seen this guy before, and voiced my opinion. I explained that what we had worked, and that we know these boys, we've been with them all week, and we have our way of running things. This guy walks in and is supposed to be doing us a favor, and instead has completely replaced us and disregarded that we even exist. Zach, surprisingly, was in total agreement. I expected him to side with the guy, saying that we were too relaxed, or that this guy knows what works because he comes here every year. Instead he said the guy is a total ass and he has totally crossed a line here. He talked to Father Tim later that night, I was told, and the Fordham-Alum-Guy, got an ear full. For the most part, he stayed out of the way the rest of the night.

It was time for the dance. I walked in with my camera, and the boy who was nervous about the dance came right up and told me, "we are not here to dance. we are taking pictures, and thats it, ok?" I agreed, telling him that I would not leave him sitting here and we'd just hang out all night. He was on the dance floor before the first song ended. One of the female CITs grabbed his hand and that was the last time I saw him sitting. He was up and into the dance the rest of the night. I was thrilled. For the most part, all of the kids were too. After about 40 minutes of picture taking and wandering, I handed my camera to Zach and joined in. It just looked like too much fun, and I didn't care if I looked like an idiot or not. As with any activity here, we had a water break during the dance. I found that amusing. There were one or two slower paced songs and a few of the boys made good on having dates and did their best at slow dancing. They stayed about 3 feet from their date and rocked back and forth in place. It was awkward and cute and exactly what you would expect from 10 and 11 year olds.

The dance was exhausting and at the end of it all everyone was sweating. Patti had everyone sit and she explained how the next morning would go. We had our closing and it was off to the dorms. All the boys got ready for bed and soon enough, Fordham-Alum-Guy showed up to relieve us. Earlier I had expressed to Zach that we wouldn't even need him. That I wanted to hang out at the dorm that night because the next morning would be a blur and then we'd all part ways. I would get to go back with and spend time with my co-counselors after this but not the kids, so why not spend my last night with them instead. I really wanted to get one more shot at reading Pinocchio. Unfortunately, by the time we had our closing meeting with Patti and Father Tim, went through how the next day would be, expressed to them our gratitude for their incredible hospitality, and so on, it was late. I hung out for a bit but started dozing at the table. I knew people would be hanging out for a bit on their last night. They may even walk to the overlook, but I was too tired. I walked back to the dorm, but Fordham-Alum-Guy had worked his stern magic. The dorm was silent.

I set my alarm a little bit earlier for the next day. We would have to be on the road by 8 am and needed to have the kids at the pavilion by 7:30. As such, I was getting up at 6:15 (instead of 6:30) to make sure I was all ready to go so that I wasn't scrambling to pack and fill the car when I needed to be helping the kids get their things over to the pavilion. I walked around the dorm for a bit, thinking about the week, the first time I had walked through there, the first night, and so many other events during the week. I laid down and felt really upset. I knew that this may be the last time I spend the night here, come to this place, see any of these people, and so on. It had only been a week and yet it felt like I had been there for months. I dreaded the work day, the technology, the responsibilities back home, and so on. I wanted to wake everyone up and hang out and just try to put tomorrow off a little bit longer.

The next thing I knew, my alarm was going off. Time to go home.

picture key:

1. the waterway

2. Tim and Mary signing awards

3. Tim dressed for the dance

4. Jason

5. Zach

6. the clothesline where the boy was hit

7. Tim and Andrew doing their best Sheriff and Deputy

8. a glimpse at the color of the t-shirt I wore in the water which started out white

9. all of the counselors dancing in a circle

10. Zach and CIT chris

11. Ali and Andrew

12. Fordham-Alum-Guy and Chris

13. Patti and Heidi

14. Tim and Andrew looking a bit like the Beastie Boys

15. Giving a final farwell

Go Mississippi Day 7

Go Out With A Bang

Friday, June 18th - Today was to be the last day of camp, or at least the last full day of camp. After getting the full run down, which no one was going to remember past the first or second event, I went to bed. The end of camp was bittersweet. I was so excited for the events of Friday but I was really getting upset at the proximity of the plane ride home and the return to 9-5.

I woke up Friday morning at the same time as I had the rest of the week. Today was filled with special events, one last trip to the waterway, and the dance. What could be better? To say that Friday was the most emotionally intense, draining, happy, and trying days of camp is an understatement. Father Tim had told me that Friday can be difficult, especially as the day progresses because kids who really love camp and have rough home lives will start to act out with the thought of going home in the minds. I felt like saying, yeah me too. I have a great home life, but spend a week outdoors doing something like this is hard to give up.

After my morning shower I headed to the dining hall, as I had all week, to grab my cup of coffee, fill my water bottle with ice (it'd be water in an hour), and head to the porch to write down the events of the day before. At 7:15 I flipped on the lights, got everyone out, walked down to the flag, did our "Rise and Shine" and were dismissed first (straightest and quietest!) into the dining hall. I was a little on edge this morning due to an added stressor. Yesterday (Thursday) I was told that the CIT, Chris who played the acoustic guitar at mass in the mornings, was told that I can sing and wanted me to lead all of the songs in mass, fitting in Let It Be (The Beatles) and Amazing Grace. I love to perform in my band, but I really get nervous when it's a more solo effort. My plan was to meet up with Chris after breakfast and talk him out of it. (Ok sure I was chickening out!).

Typically in these posts I skip breakfast in my posts because nothing notable happens. Everyone is too tired to do much more than eat. Today, as Father Tim warned, things were not as easy. The boy who had had the sloppy-joe-melt-down yesterday after being told he could not be an alter server and then 180'd after Father Tim's intervention was crashing again. I missed the start of this but essentially, his counselor Mr. Mauro scolded him for something and followed it with "and eat your cereal." Apparently the back to back combination of being yelled at and being told to eat something caused him to react as he had the night before. He put his head down and began crying, refused to eat his cereal or look at anyone. I am too empathetic for something like this and I started getting bothered by him being upset. Talk about poor timing too, Brother Craig was walking by and this triggered Mauro to tell the boy that if he did not stop crying and finish his cereal that Brother Craig would have to find another alter server. Mauro viewed this as the same situation as the night before and went for the same punishment. Surprise, Surprise when it lead to the same result. The boy refused to respond, lost his chance to alter serve, and then shut down.

Well, it was showtime for me. I had been there through everything yesterday and so Ms. Sandra, his other counselor, asked me if we could switch places. She would watch my kids if I would try talking to the boy. I agreed and took a seat across from him. He had his head buried on the table and so I did the same, placing my cheek on the table, looking at him. He looked up, crying, and I asked him to tell me what happened. After he described the situation I asked him why he wouldn't eat. He told me that Mr. Mauro made him too upset and he couldn't eat. Ms. Patti started to give her wrap up speech, telling everyone what was to come next and then moved into dismissing the female counselors and then the girls. We were running out of time and I knew if things didn't improve before we left the dinning hall that today that he would never rally.

I reminded him about what Father Tim said yesterday. That he says the mass, and that he makes the decisions. I told him that Father Tim and I are good friends and that if I talked to him he would let the boy regain his job of alter server. He didn't believe me at first and I had to convince him to look right at me and I repeated myself again. At this point, Patti had called the counselors of Swamp. The boy started to eat. I told him he had to eat 4 big spoon-fulls. If he did I would go talk to Father Tim right away. He ate them like he was eating ice cream. It was time for the boys to get up and walk back, and he waited until they all passed before getting in line and trailing a bit, tears still in his eyes.

I stood up to go talk to Father Tim. There are 6 male counselors and without me, the 5 others are more than capable to handle the campers. Patti stopped me and asked me where I was going. I told her that I needed to talk to Father Tim about the boy and the alter server situation. She very sternly told me to go back to the dorm and that she would go talk to Father Tim in a very "I am the authority here" voice. I walked back half mad because of what was on the line here. I wanted to make sure today went as smoothly as possible, for all of the campers, and for myself. It was my last day too, and I wanted to have a lot of fun. A dilemma this early would surely drag through the day.

I got back to the dorm and because the boy had been lagging a bit, still upset over breakfast, another counselor yelled at him. Already shaken up, he got back to the dorm and went back into turtle-mode in his sleeping bag. I spent my 10 minutes of getting washed up and ready for mass trying to convince him to please get ready so I could go talk to Father Tim for him. I knew this would go on all day and I didn't want that for either of us and now I was more determined than ever to make sure Father Tim knew to let this kid do this. I know it could read like he was a spoiled brat but that isn't the situation at all. He had his moments of being a trouble maker during the week but certainly not more so than anyone else. Unfortunately, he had a harder time taking the criticism and often he would either not listen initially, sparking a more harsh disciplinary response, or he would just shut down.

I told the other counselors I needed to go talk to Chris because that was the plan all along. I could also use that as my excuse for leaving the boys and going to the pavilion early to talk to Father Tim. I showed up and said, in apparently a more stern voice than I thought or am used to having, that I was not doing the singing. Chris didn't even question me once and instead said ok but can you help with the music and play the tambourine. Sure thing. I went to Father Tim and wanted to just add my two cents to what Patti had already said. Brother Craig was there first, cutting me off before I got to Father Tim, stating that the boy acted out twice and lost this opportunity twice and he felt that we shouldn't give in on this. I told him my opinion on the situation and luckily Ms. Heidi, the other camp head (next to Father Tim) completely agreed with me. I brought this to Father Tim and he was completely unaware of anything past Mauro telling the boy that he could not do it anymore. It turns out, Ms. Patti had no intention of talking to Father Tim. The campers were entering the pavilion by now and I went over and told the boy that Father Tim was looking for him to alter serve. He, once again, bounced back. The entire time he was at mass he was beaming.

After mass it was time to get into our bathing suits, tennis shoes, and head to Field A. We were having the camp games. First up was a mock-relay race. One counselor went about 30 yards opposite their group, with each group lined up next to each other in relay race formation. When the "race" started, each child ran to the counselor who then sun screened the kid. Essentially the goal was to get all the kids sun screened and make it a little more fun. Next was the pringles race. Each team had to have every member run to the other end, eat a number of pringles, be able to whistle, and run back. Counselors had to eat 10 pringles, campers: 5. Let me tell you, it is really really hard to eat 10 pringles fast and next to impossible to whistle before you swallow it all. We got killed. Next up was the "soak the counselor". One counselor went at sat at the 30 yard mark. At the other end, in the front of the line was a bucket filled with water and a giant sponge inside. Each person would soak the sponge, run down, wring it out over the counselor's head, and run back. I was not elected as our counselor, and instead my female counter part got the job. I wanted it because it was getting really hot. Next was another relay race where you would have to jump rope 10 times.

At the end of the relay races we all took a much needed water break, had popsicles, and then got back in line. It was time for the tug-of-war competition. The 3 groups were paired and 3 winners emerged. GR8 and Toad Camp J were 2 of the 3, with The Little Rascals, having defeated the previously Undefeated and our Rec rivals Hamburger Helpers Of The Future. They had GR8 and TCJ face off first, with GR8 taking the victory handily. Now to give you an idea of our athleticism, we hadn't won a single relay race, coming in last in all of them. We fell to GR8 almost instantly. Still, the Rascals had defeated a previously undefeated team and come in 2nd overall. Next it was time for the counselors tug-of-war. It was guys vs. girls and the guys had all schemed to drop the rope on the count of 3, causing the girls to all topple over. On 3 both sides dropped it. Apparently they had the same plan. We decided to have a second round since both sides had essentially forfeited and the kids were mad. Unfortunately for the girls, they didn't think we would stick with our plan. Oh, and they fell hard! It went over really well with the campers, too.

The last even was the waterballoon toss and I was paired with my rival counselor, but also partner in Dorm Duty, Mr. Andrew Gorman. We made it to the final 3. They had us about 25 feet apart at this point. It was two groups of campers and us. In. The. Bag. The first group made a shorter toss and it popped. The second group surprisingly made a successful toss. Apparently I got nervous, and before I could even swing my hands back I popped the balloon in my hands. I insinuated that I had thrown the game to the other counselors and staff without letting the winning campers notice what I was trying to say. In actuality, the balloon really and unexpectantly just burst in my hands.

We all headed up to the pavilion for lunch. We had planned to do some slip and sliding (the real purpose of getting all the kids into their suits in the morning) but games took too long and it was only about 40 minutes until lunch. Rather than get them soaked and have to get them changed before eating, everyone just decided to play volleyball or foursquare or toss the frisbee while waiting on lunch. Lunch today was PB&J and carrots.

The boy with all the recent dining hall dilemmas, well he loves PB&J and pounded two sandwiches. When it came time for the veggie on the table, he had no interest in carrots. I hate carrots as well and again sympathized at the unfairness of being forced to eat foods that you may dislike. Having had success earlier, Sandra asked me to talk to him. We switched seats and I only had to ask the boy once. I told him that I hate carrots too. They don't taste like anything and they're too crunchy. Sandra found this method to be unproductive and almost cut me off. I continued saying that they're good for you, they don't taste gross, and if you dip them in ranch, you can get a few down easily. I asked him to eat 3 for me and without an argument he did just that.

After lunch was our last rest period before heading to the waterway.

**Tonight's blog is getting long and there is still a lot to talk about. I am splitting Day 7 into two posts (it's just like the HP movies!)

Go Mississippi Day 6

Winding Up, Winding Down

Thursday, June 17th - Things started to run a little differently on Thursday.

Instead of everyone singing Rise and Shine, The Little Rascals were asked to sing in front of everyone. Since it was passed the middle of the week, Ms. Patti decided the groups should know it enough to be able to lead it, and so we were chosen to showcase our moves and voices. I'll blame the half-hearted attempt on the time of day. Breakfast was pancakes and Mass found me as a Eucharistic Minister again. I was asked to do a reading, but before I could think about that option I had responded with a "uhmmm". Apparently that was loud and clear and I was off that task. After mass it was back to the dorms before the start of another day.

Today would be our last day of rotations. I had hoped today we would be paired with GR8. Today's Rec activity was Ultimate Frisbee. Jason, the counselor for GR8 and our chaperone, is quite good at Ultimate and the two of us have played in the past. We brought discs with us and even got the campers into playing during some free time over the course of the week. Unfortunately, due to the weather canceling tent night, and the rule that teams don't have Red first the morning after tent night, things got changed around. Instead of playing GR8, we ended up getting paired with our rivals - Hamburger Helpers of the Future. We beat the two other teams in Rec this week, but our first day of Rec which was against HHOTF was our only loss. They were just better at "steal the bacon" and "sideline soccer". Today would be no different. The crew that was undefeated coming into the day, also left that way. They just had a lot of athletic kids.

Catholic Corner was moved to the Arts & Crafts building because Arts & Crafts was down in the pavilion today. Yesterday (Wednesday) was the end of regular Arts & Crafts. Today we would be using Arts & Crafts time to make our tye dye t-shirts. All of the kids were drawing and writing and myself, being as much of a kid, was sitting right there doing it too. Counselors could do theirs after the campers went to bed, but I was too excited about it. You could choose 2 of the 4 colors - blue, green, red, purple. I went with Blue and Green. I really like mine. I wrote "The Little Rascals" on the back real big and had all my campers sign it. It's a great shirt.

I was forced to wear a regular t-shirt today due to the painful sunburn. After each shower I put on aloe and I even (despite the discomfort and annoyance) wore a plain white shirt into the water. Needless to say, after coming out of the water it was no longer white. The waterway was just as fun albeit a bit different. I took it easier due to the sunburn and stayed in the shallow water. I started tossing a dodgeball back and forth with one of the boys and he started diving for it. This attracted attention and before I knew it I had 10 boys each taking turns pointing out an area, just out of reach, to throw it to. Each of them would charge and make a diving grab for it. I am not going to lie - I have played this from the other side before and it never gets old.

After returning from the waterway we returned for what was to be a difficult situation. On the way back from the waterway, on the bus, someone had brought up what was to be for dinner. Sloppy Joes. As expected, this was met with a lot of excitement - its a mess, so kids love it. One boy, however, was not interested. He told me he hates sloppy joes and wouldn't eat them. To back up, this boy was a handful, but in the best way. Ever meet a kid who is not easy but on the whole they're just really great. So much so that in their moments of frustration, you are less harsh. This boy was definitely that. He had become pretty known amongst all of the staff - he just stood out. Early on in the week he was acting out alot. Monday night Tim, Jason and Zach all hung behind after dismissing everyone for dinner to talk with him. He was being extra stubborn about something and was not bugging. After this talking to he 180'd. The rest of the week he was great, totally enthusiastic, and really someone we all became fond of.

Thursday, the sloppy joe thing was back to square one. Another thing to note about this boy. He was very religious. Not in a very noticeable way at all. Frankly, if you spent 90% of the day with him you wouldn't really know. But, at night he would ask permission for a flashlight so he could read some of his Bible. He was reading it like a book, cover to cover. He had also been promised by Father Tim that he could act as the alter boy on the last mass at camp, Friday morning. Well, flash to dinner on Thursday and he, as he said, is not bugging on the food. He is getting so upset that he puts his head down and stops responding to his counselors. His table was directly behind mine and he sat right at the end so I could hear and was right next to the whole thing. Finally, the male counselor, Mauro, had had enough of the boy's antics and told him that unless he ate, he was not allowed to alter serve. Well, the boy still had no intention of eating, noticed the hopelessness of the situation and lost it. He started crying at the table and just shut down. I had gotten closer with him than Mauro had because I was not his counselor, so I didn't have to see or fix or handle these outburts during the week. I was more patient as a result and had had some luck in some smaller issues throughout the week and had a pretty good rapport with him. Even so, he would not comply.

As an aside to this, I totally saw where the boy is coming from. There are plenty of foods I do not like and some that no matter what I will not eat. Certain things are not for everyone and it is unfair to force someone to eat. On the other hand, it is out of the question to expect the cook to take these preferences into account at every meal for 65 kids and staff. Sometimes you are going to make something that a boy or girl or adult won't want and that's just how it goes. It was a poor situation which left me sympathizing with both and struggling to help because I was upset both for my friend, the counselor who was frustrated, and the boy who was in tears over being forced into this meal and losing this one element that he was looking forward to all week.

After dinner it was back to the dorms to wash up and then onto skit practices. This boy, however, was done. He had lost the thing he wanted most and was so upset that he got in bed, buried himself in his sleeping bag and would not respond. Tim and I, the two who had gotten closest with him, tried to talk to him and Tim eventually said, look you have been great since Monday but if you don't come with us I have to get Father Tim. We cannot leave you in here and that's our only choice. He just teared up more and stayed retreated. Tim walked out the door, I stood on the porch and I waited for Father Tim. The two of us, Tim leaving to go to his group, talked to the boy. He explained to Father Tim that Mr. Mauro had told him he could not alter serve and so he wasn't going to do the 'stupid skits for anyone' because there was no point. Father Tim convinced him that he says the mass and he calls the shots and so as long as the boy came outside, Father Tim would see to it that he could still alter serve. As with anyone, he didn't react right away, but slowly came out of his sleeping bag like a turtle hesitantly coming out of a shell, and got his shoes on. He reached the front porch and sat down. To him, he came outside, and that was that. He had no intention of going to his group because he was still upset with his counselor and would not be in the skit. Father Tim told him that we could not leave him here and that he could come sit with him and his dog instead but had to move. The boy looked like he was retreating and I quickly jumped in and helped out adding an encouraging few words to which he smiled, even for half a second, and got up.

Father Tim must have talked with him more because by the time we had reached the pavilion he was all smiles. Backing up a second, though, I had to get to my group. They were losing time on rehearsing and with only one counselor there, the kids were acting a bit crazy. Skit night was less than an hour away and we really needed to buckle down on everyone's roles and such. Practice went pretty well and everyone felt ready. It was one last trip back to the dorms and then on to the pavilion for the show.

The skits went well. For some reason my kids volunteered to go first. We were ok. Once they got up there the skit went from 5 minutes to 2 minutes. Each kid only stayed on stage for one judge to comment before retreating. The judges never mentioned the originality, and one of the girls may have said one line. None of that mattered, though. They had a blast, the rest of the campers enjoyed it, and I was so thrilled for them. I still couldn't believe they wanted to go right away. The rest of the skits followed in silliness. There were some dances, there was some aliens and there was a joke about "Royal Papers".

The last skit was by the CITs. These indivudals are not old enough to be counselors but help out at the different rotations, in the dining hall, and several other things. Their skit was a mock date where two people were being set up together. They asked for one of the counselors to come up and act as the table. Andrew Gorman half volunteered and half was picked. He got on all fours, and they put a sheet over him. One of the CITs came up and asked if the two wanted water. She had a pitcher in her hand and there were two cups placed on the makeshift table. Naturally, she missed a bit and spilled the ice cold water on the back of Andrew. When reaching for the cup, one of the people on the "date" bmuped their cup and it spilled down his side. The waitress came bag with a bowl and a rag. She said "you need to be more careful" as she soaked the rag and proceeded to wipe down the table. By the end of the skit, his back was drenched, and we were all in tears. We found out later, they had planned to choose him all along. Brilliant.

At the end of skit night everyone was exhausted but smiling. I will be honest, I don't think at 10 I would have gotten up in front of 80 or so people and sung or danced or acted and I give all of the campers a ton of credit for that.

After the skits we played a very strange version of Rock Paper Sissors. It was a full body version and it was Surfer Dude, Giant Wave, and Hula Girl. You stood back to back like a western duel and on three you both spun around and performed the motions for one of those. The pecking order was: Surfer dude rides the wave, the wave washes out the hula girl, and the hula girl distracts the surfer dude. Like I said, it was strange, but the kids loved acting out the moves and making the sounds.

We brought the kids back and tonight there was no dorm duty counselors. Instead, we were all releived by other staff members as we had to report to the dining hall all together. Friday was to be a totally different day from the end of mass until bed time. As such, they wanted to run through everything with us, ask us if we had any thoughts going into the last day, etc. Afterwards we were asked to fill out awards. Each pair of counselors would award each of their kids, individually, with whatever award you felt fit them the best. After spending all week together, we had to think about what stands out about each of these campers and what do we appreciate about them. I had promised the boys of Swamp Left I would be back shortly to read them some Pinocchio before bed and I knew that if I did not get back soon they would already be asleep. As I stated before, I loved this part of the day and so I may have been slightly impatient in working with my co-counselor on the awards. I, apparently, caused her to mess up two of the certificates because I was stressing her out. I was also really tired and wanted to get in bed. Between working out the issues with that boy, the heat that day, and just the week possibly catching up a bit, I was ready for bed. We finally finished the awards and I walked back to the cabin.

Too late. The two CITs were not putting up with any bonus time for the older boys or reading time for the younger ones. I got back to the dorm about 10 minutes after we typically shut the lights out and the place was silent. I hung out for a bit with them, then told them they could go to bed or do whatever because I was crashing myself, and walked inside. I think I was in bed by 930 that night. I knew tomorrow was going to be exhausting and I wanted to make sure that I did not miss out on anything or be any less enthusiastic. Tomorrow would be the last day of camp and I wanted to be ready for it.

(tye-dye on display)

(some of the counselors at the lookout)

(Sheriff Timbeaux Hartnett)

(Andrew after getting soaked)

Go Mississippi Day 5

Mid Week Is When It Hits You

There were definitely points in the week, especially following tent night, where I felt a little worn. I don't remember another time in my adult life where for a week I was in bed before 10 so many times. I think part of this had to do with the lack of watch. Once the kids settled in between 9:15 and 9:30 the place was dark and quiet. With how active you have to be all day long, there is little else you need to convince you to also lie down.

Wednesday progressed as most of the other days. We woke up, had our morning song, breakfast, mass, and then rotations. Something I have neglected to bring up to you until now is the two "problem" campers. Somehow I got lucky enough to interact with both. We had one boy and one girl camper who, more than the typical homesick kid, wanted to leave. The boy was not participating pretty quickly. The first day of the waterway, Monday, I spent the first portion on the beach trying to convince him to come in. It was a lost cause for that day as he had worn jeans in protest of the activity. I was just trying to engage him in hopes that maybe tomorrow he would come in a bathing suit. By Tuesday he was getting more vocal about wanting to go home. He was living in Swamp Right, where the only counselor was myself. His bunk was right above mine. I am not sure why, but even though he was not in my group, and for a large part of the day I did not interact with him, Father Tim told this boy that it was my call about keeping him here or obliging and sending him home. I was determined to turn his week around and make him happy to be there.

Wednesday morning he had explicity told me and some of the other boys that he was going to leave his bunk and bags a mess so as to prevent the other boys from getting the bonus they qualify for. Every day the "secret inspector" checks out each wing of each dorm. The cleanest wing wins a prize for all of its memebers. These means beds made, clothes away, bathrooms tidy, etc. It's not boot camp, but it shouldn't be unlivable either. This system is a way of keeping that in check. Well, my boys of Swamp Right were really into the bonus and made sure to keep their side of the dorm in perfect condition without me having to say a word. This boy, however, decided that he was so upset about being forced to stay that he would mess with the other campers. That is when I drew the line. I decided that despite my efforts, I was not going to have him affecting the rest of the kids because he was unhappy. I took off my first rotation that day and spoke with Father Tim. We went and got this boy and called his family with him present. Father Tim spoke with his mother and explained the situation, expressing his desire to keep the boy and turn his week around. His mother agreed but when we delivered this news, he refused to speak, look at us, or react in anyway. To benefit the max we convinced his mother to come pick him up. Father Tim explained that it was unfair to the boys and his counselor to have to cater to him. So on Wednesday we lost a boy.

All week long, a girl in my group was equally displeased with camp. She slept less than 2 hours the first night, dressed herself and sat up in bed until morning. On tent night, she stood up in the middle of the tent all night, still standing when the campers awoke. In addition, she would frequently cry in the middle of activities about being homesick. Only once did she come across as pleasant and that was an hour after getting to call home. She was 11, the oldest you can be in this week, and had been the previous year. Regardless, she was miserable. It was worse that she upset another girl in my group every time she would cry. Often times, this one girl would start balling and then the other girl in my group would to as a reaction to it. When they were apart, the younger girl was fine. So Wednesday, after dinner, and she also went home.

Wednesday was not a loss at all however. As sad as it was to see two campers I was involved with go home it also made things much easier. Sometimes things just aren't going to work out. Wednesday was another day of capture the flag. This day we were up against The Underdogs. They had some scrappy players, but we won by a narrow margin. Arts and crafts was a bit hectic. This would be the last day of normal Arts and Crafts. Tomorrow (thursday) we would be making our camp tie dye shirts. I hurriedly finished my pillow and then had all the campers in Arts and Crafts that day sign it for me. It's my favorite thing I have from the trip.

Before lunch that day we played a massive game of Simon Says on Field A. All week I had been wearing sleeveless shirts but I definitely recall feeling my shoulders during that game and in Rec. Sure enough, by the time we reached the waterway my shoulders were bright red. I put on a ton of sun screen but the damage was done. I was to be burnt the rest of the week. The boys thought it was a lot of fun to torture me and hang on my shoulders that day and the rest of the week.

At the waterway, Sergio - one of the CTs, mentioned to the kids that there would be a dance on Friday. This was the beginning of the end. For the next two days, at any given time, someone was talking about who they were asking to the dance. How much did it end up mattering - almost not at all. Only a few of the boys actually danced one on one with another girl. I mean they're 9-11 years old. Some of the boys actually got so upset by the apparent pressure that they didn't want to go at all. The damage had been done. All the campers wanted to do was talk about who they would ask, and who the counselors would go with. So much drama!

Wednesday was a day we knew about in advance. Why? Because Wednesday was that day that some of those nice people we met at mass on Sunday would come to the camp and cook all day. Dinner on Wednesday was an event. Dinner was fried food. We had fried chicken, french fries, fried zucchini and fried okra. It was absolutely amazing. It was the most legitimate Southern meal I have eaten and I have never enjoyed fried food quiet like I did that day. I had never even had okra before but I didn't hesitate one second before chowing down. Tonight was also parents night. Parents who were local enough or who wanted could come see their kids. For many of these kids, this is the longest they have ever been from home. At 8 and 9 years old, that isn't easy on them. So, after dinner, we walked around and met some of our kids parents. This was a pretty cool event too. Many of them brought their families and you got to see a glimpse of their home lives.

The night before (Tuesday) the campers were told that just like their counselors did on Monday, they too would have a skit night. Wednesday night after dinner we all broke off and worked on our individual skits. My kids loved the American Idol rendition and decided they would all do camp songs. The final decision was to have them all do the same camp song, each with their own spin on it. The judges would continue to mock but comment on how original the song was despite it being the same thing four times in a row. It was tough to get a few of them to loosen up to it, but surprisingly, most of them went at it - singing or filling their roll as a rude judge. It was a lot of fun.

Finally, the night would end with the camp fire. This should have been a lot more fun than it was. We all gathered around the camp fire and we were told that if you wanted to tell a scary story, tale, or joke, you should raise your hand. When it was your turn you would stand up in the middle of the circle and tell it. To keep form things getting out of hand, no one else was allowed to speak. After each story, there was no cheering or clapping. Even at jokes, there was no laughing. I am not sure what the point of all of this was. Patti really killed what should have been the most enjoyable night for the campers. If someone was to tell you that you were going to have a night around the camp fire, I would imagine you would have different expectations than how ours turned out to be. I walked back to the dorms a bit annoyed at how things played out.

It was once again tent night for Toad Camp J. Due to the poor weather the night prior, Tim was back on the floor for Pinocchio. Tonight I was back on duty and it was great. I really think this activity was one of my favorite aspects of the week.

Go Mississippi Day 4

Bad Weather is no Bad Thing

Tuesday, June 15th - It was definitely a bitter sweet walk back to the cabins form tent night. I had known about tent night from one of our last Go! Meetings at some point in April. I had mixed feelings about it. I was not so concerned with the heat, or the poor night of sleep. What I was concerned about was making it a fun night for the boys. I don't know any ghost stories and I am not typically the most outgoing/theatrical person. Tent night came and went and there was not a single moment where I felt the need to entertain them. They took care of it on their own, and just the same, they all fell asleep on their own. I never had to tell them to settle in, I never had to do anything except hang out and goof around like they did.

The day after tent night is typically the worst for the counselor. As such, Father Tim asks that the counselors who were in the tents stay back from the waterway, as well as take full advantage of all of the down time you can have in a day. What he didn't know is that I am just as much of a kid at heart as the campers and there was no way I was missing the waterway. I did, however, take off the a rotation to shower and collect myself. Later, I found Father Tim and due to my enthusiasm he was more than happy to allow me to go to the waterway.

Rec is never first for the group who had tent night the night before as a way of letting you fully wake up before running around. After a calm morning at Arts and Crafts, where I continued to perfect my awesome looking pillow case, it was time for Rec. Rec today was capture the flag. Here, it was on Field B and there was no hiding the flag. It was just who could dodge the other team, outsmart them, and reach the "flag" and get back. The flag was a sponge, a wet sponge. This made it difficult to grab it as you were running. There were many a time where people, while being chased, attempted to grab the sponge without losing momentum but could not grip it. It was a cool added challenge.

We won Rec handily against Toad Camp J. After returning to from Rec we had one station left. This would be my time to relax. Although I never got a chance to actually rest, it was nice to just move at a slightly slower pace and not be responsible for a group of kids for about 40 minutes. Towards the end of my break I walked over to the dining hall to see what was for lunch. No more than 30 seconds after getting inside, the skies opened up. The rain only lasted about 40 minutes but it was enough to end Rec early, and leave the rest of the campers to walk back from their respective stations in the storm. After lunch we all retreated to the dorms and waited to see if we would go to the waterway. I was hoping we would because otherwise, my going to Father Tim for permission to go would have been a waste. Luckily, the storm looked like it was breaking and we loaded into the bus.

We reached the waterway and it was bright behind us. As long as the storm kept moving east, we would see blue skies shortly. Unfortunately, the storm was moving west. Before we even lined up to go in the water, thunder broke out and we retreated to the hut next to the water. We never got in the water that day. It never let up. Between the thunder and lightening and then the rain, we waited for about 90 minutes before calling the bus back to pick us up. It was not a waste, though. This was the coolest it was all week. The breeze coming off the water and the cool rain were so refreshing. On top of that, Tim told a few long jokes, did a few magic tricks, and everyone just hung out. I was really glad, despite not getting to swim, that I fought to go that day. I definitely didn't regret not taking the day to sleep.

When we got back to camp there was no need to shower but dinner would not be ready for a while. We had time to just hang out and play some games. We even went over to the pavilion and Ms Holly led us in even more night time games later on. Aside from Poop Deck and a massive game of Simon Says, I don't remember what we played. Regardless, everyone had fun with it.

Dinner that night had been corn dogs and this was the first time I had to speak up. Before reaching camp, Patti had asked us if anyone had a special diet so she could let the cook know. I was in the back of the van, half asleep, and half thinking to myself - there will always be something for me at a meal - no need to say anything. Wrong! Unless I was planning on only eating Pringles from 6 pm until 8 am the next day, I needed to say something. Mr. Ron was more than accommodating and made me a delicious PB+J. I don't typically like these, but for some reason, it was really enjoyable.

After dinner that night myself and Andrew Gorman (the two leaders who had tent night the night before) were on Dorm duty. Every night, two male counselors and two female counselors are dismissed from the last evening activity first. The go to the dining hall, get some water, and maybe a snack, before heading to the dorms. These people are responsible for the kids that night. The rest of the counselors bring the kids back to the dorm, are relieved by the dorm duty counselors, and can do what they want. They can go down to Field B to look at the stars, go to the overlook, or just hang out in the dining hall, eating ice cream and talking with everyone.

I found out, since Toad Camp J was heading to the tents that night, that Tim (their leader) had been reading Swamp Left Pinocchio before bed. Not the Disney tale, but the original story of Pinocchio. He asked me, since I was there for dorm duty, if I minded taking over for him in his absence. I was thrilled. I used to hate reading out loud. After working at the day care for a year, and reading to the kids there, I had gotten really good at it. Some things you pick up on are when to change words for the age group, when to add in a "he said" if there has been a lot of back and forth dialogue but nothing written to keep the kids aware of who is saying what, and just the overall delivery. I grabbed the books, told my Swamp Right boys to behave since I would be in the other side and couldn't watch both, and settled in. No more than 1 page in, and Tim had returned. Because it was still ugly outside, he was not going to the tents - Father Tim deemed it too dangerous. He did not take the book back, and instead sat and listened to me reading. I was fascinated at how interested the boys were. They were all hanging over the edges of their bunks, listening to every word. It didn't matter that this version is totally different and much much darker, or that they were nearing the age where they don't need to or want to be read to before bed. They were on the end of their bunks from start to finish.

I read 3 chapters and said it was time for bed. That was all I needed to do. They all curled up and closed their eyes. It was magical and so easy. I took the job the rest of the week (at least all the nights I could).

I had given the older boys 15 minutes extra. I remembered that was something I always treasured as a kid - as I got older I got to stay up later. I let them stay up, on the condition that they were not loud. Instead of horsing around or being obnoxious, they all got together and played a game of simon says. Well, several games, but still. I was impressed that they chose this over just being boys and screwing around. When the time was up, I walked in and told them so. Because they had gotten this privilege over the younger boys, they were grateful and didn't ask questions when it was their turn for bed. I never had to say it twice. Within 20 minutes of telling them to go to bed the entire dorm was quiet. It was the fastest and calmest the boys went to sleep all week. I was pretty impressed and gave myself a little credit on how I handled it.

Since Andrew and myself were on dorm duty, we had to stay within earshot of the cabin. We sat outside and played chess and Stratego. The other counselors, knowing we had to stay there, brought us cake and ice cream. After about 45 minutes of sitting outside, with how quiet the boys were, I was getting really tired. It had been a long day and I got into bed. None of the other counselors complained because once one counselor goes into the dorm for the night, everyone else is free to go hang out. I think I was asleep in 5 minutes. At least it felt like it had only been five minutes and then all of a sudden my alarm was going off.

Go Mississippi Day 3

Rise and shine - today starts the real deal.

Day 3 in Mississippi was Day 1 of actual camp in the sense of scheduled activities with our groups. Up until now things were just kind of ice breakers and such. Monday morning came quickly and I was so ready for it. Maybe I just love working with kids and being outside or maybe it's because I have never really gone to summer camp, but I was full of enthusiasm from Day 1 to the end. I never took a day off the waterway, I rarely took my rotation break, and I never slept during 'rest-time' (although that could be due to my bed acting as the location of the Stratego board/ongoing tournament.)

From Monday to Friday I set my alarm for 6:30. I like to have some time in the morning to wake up and get my day going before going into the plans set out. Kids needed to be up by 7:15 and this gave me enough time to get up, shower, get a cup of coffee, and sit for a bit before kicking into the day. By 7:45 we were all out the door, and in front of the flag. Here we all would sing "Rise and Shine", say the pledge of allegiance and then be dismissed, one group at a time, to go to the dining hall for breakfast. Dismissal order was based on "straightest and quietest". We lost this the first two days, but nailed it the rest of the week. My kids were incredible at being perfectly in line.

Breakfast was nothing terribly special. It rotated every-other-day between Rice Krispies and Pancakes. After breakfast, we headed back to SWAMP, cleaned up, and headed to the pavilion for mass. Every day this was the morning routine, and so every day from Sunday (mass in town) to Friday, I went to mass. It was strange, but never felt off-putting. Actually, the first day I was a eucharistic minister. Definitely strange.

After mass we would line up at the bell tower in our groups, be paired with another team, and be dismissed to one of three rotations. We had Catholic Corner, where kids would learn something or do some sort of activity that reinforced the reading from mass (it was never really religious and was always engaging), Arts & Crafts, where kids could decorate pillow cases, sun catchers, duct tape flowers, frisbees, or make pot holders, and Rec, which was with Miss Holly and was some different competition setting the partnered groups against each other.

We had Rec first and we played Steal the Bacon against the Hamburger Helpers of the Future. I learned after this day that having Rec first is the way to go. Having Rec last is almost unhealthy. It would get so hot, that even at 10 am, after 5 minutes your shirt was wet from sweat. So, even though you would think that Catholic Corner would be the station counselors would want to take off most, it turned out that people would fight over having Rec off just to save energy/have to shower one less time a day.

At Catholic Corner we tried to guess closest to the number of drops of water you could fit on the face of a penny, and then talked about some benefits of water and light. Finally, in Arts and Crafts, I decided to decorate a pillow case. Since we had bought our pillows in MS we had no pillow cases on them. This seemed to be the smartest way to spend that time.

After the three rotations it was back to the dorms to wash up and then lunch. After lunch was 'rest time'. At this point the kids had been up and active for about 6 hours and it was also the hottest part of the day. So, we would stay in the dorms. The point was to recoupperate and stay out of the sun. Most of the kids would just run around or play some of the games we had grabbed for them. After seeing myself and another counselor play Stratego, they all wanted to play. Because we played on my bed initially, this is where the board/battles would be every day at 'rest time' the entire week. This meant I never got to nap. I probably would not have anyway, but now I had no choice. It was cool to see 9-11 year old kids want to play strategic/logic based games like this and Chess. I had little interest in thinking games when I was that age. I really loved that they were so passionate about playing these.

After 'rest time' we got into our swim suits and loaded into the school bus. It was time to go to the waterway. This place was awesome. I had been warned that it was gross, murky water and that we should suck it up because the kids love it and we can't just sit on the beach all week. I think the waterway ended up being one of my favorite things that week. I was in from the time we got there until it was time to go. Yeah the water was gross, and the ground was oddly squishy, but I didn't care. The kids had to pass a swim test to get to go out to the deeper area and that is how most of that first day was spent.

We returned from the waterway and all showered because everyone felt especially gross coming out of that water. After showers it was dinner time. Dinner tonight was tacos. They were delicious. Then, Miss Patti and Sergio took the kids to Field A while we, the counselors, were informed we had 45 minutes to plan out and rehearse an hour of skits to perform later that night for all of the kids. And by later that night, I mean in 45 minutes. A little more notice may have been helpful, but we pulled it off.

Skit night was awesome. The first skit was our very own rendition of American Idol with everyone singing a song using their name. We had four performances - all intentionally awful- with extra critical judges. The kids liked it.

Other skits included some 1 minute challenges, a strange J. C. Penny skit, and ATM skit, a mock rendition of Poop Deck which was quoted for most of the week, and then the invisible arms skit. If you have ever seen the Invisible Arms skit on Whose Line is it anyway, we stole it from them. Essentially, you have one counselor sit at a table, and he or she is getting all ready for a date. But, another counselor, positioned behind them, acts as their arms. The arms cannot see anything, and so brushing your hair, teeth, putting on shaving cream, eating, and drinking get very messy, very fast. This is how we ended skit night and they were dying of laughter. I was the arms and despite not seeing a thing, I could hear the reactions and knew it was a success. If you doubt me, check out the picture below of the end result.

Tonight was my group's tent night. We left first from the pavilion and got our things and headed out into the woods. the 5 boys and myself tried as best we could to get comfortable, but when it is 80 degrees outside, you are all sleeping side by side in a tent, and there are bugs all over, it's not easy. I awoke at sunrise (roughly 530am) and was wide awake until it was time to get them up at 7 am. It was not a great night of sleep. I broke a sweat just trying to spread my blanket out over the little mattress they put in the tent. I pulled 3 ticks off of me, and had to fight off a giant grasshopper to keep it from getting in the tent. Regardless, it was a lot of fun. The boys were so silly and we all walked back, still tired but all having had a good time.

Go Mississippi Day 2

All week long I got made fun of for Day 2. We were told before we went to bed that breakfast would be at 8:15. It would be brief because we had to hit the road and head to the next town over to make it to mass on time.

I set my alarm for 7 am. They had told us to be up between 7 and 8. I then tried to wake everyone else up. I thought I was doing them a favor. They, the rest of the week, decided to mock me for being 'too ready' or 'too anxious'.

Anyway, showers were interesting, breakfast was brief, and then off into town to go to mass. I have not gone to mass regularly in a very long time. Every year my parents still convince me to come with them on Christmas and Easter. We were told that after mass we would be meeting some people from the town including some of those who would be coming to the camp on Wednesday. At one point in my life this would make me anxious. Some how that faded and I was pretty excited to meet everyone.

Mass was pretty standard. Afterwards I met the priest who not only knew the pastor to my grade school but is a Phillies fan and wanted to talk Philly sports. The meet and greet in the rectory was also pretty great. We filed back in the car and headed back to camp. Next we had to grab lunch, knock out the job jar, and get a run down of our 'stations' before the kids showed up. Well my job ended up being - try to fix the camps internet problem. Everyone else had to check the toilet paper in the dorms and other such things. I think I won that one. No points were awarded, however.

Before we knew it kids were arriving. I was stationed as a runner. We had a few counselors directing traffic. Two meeting the families as they came in. A few in each dorm to help the kids get settled and then runners. Runners got the kids after they registered in the dinning hall and brought them to the dorms. Got them situated with the dorm counselors and ran back. It was the most active role. It also helped later with remembering names because I introduced myself/had a conversation with everyone I 'ran'.

After everyone had arrived, picked a bed, settled in, and played some four square we all changed into bathing suits and headed to Field A. Here the camp had created their own 40 Foot slip and slide. We had the kids on this for at least an hour or more. It was awesome. A rare few made it to the end.

Next we dried off, got changed and then headed to the pavilion with Ms. Holly. This lady has the most positive energy I have seen in a person. She was so lively and so great all week. She got everyone active by playing a game called corners. Simple enough - when the 'it' camper said go - everyone else would run to another corner and sit. The 'it' camper had his or her eyes closed and once they finished counting to 10 they would listen to hear movement or sound. The corner that made noise was out.

Next we played a game directed by the one non-Fordham counselor, Zach. The game is called Poop Deck. The pavilion floor is evenly divided into thirds by cracks in the cement. Zach would stand in the front with the kids lined up in the middle section, otherwise known as the middle deck. The section to the left was the upper deck, to the right - the poop deck. He would call out a section and the last person to get there is out. If he called out the section you were in already and you moved - you were out. He could call out 'boom' which meant - hit the deck. This became a camper favorite quickly and really helped get all of them excited to be there.

Afterwards we went back to our respective dorms, washed up, and headed to the Bell tower, which is the center of camp. This is where we'd meet the rest of the week between stations, before meals, etc. Here Ms. Patti announced which kids would be in which groups and which counselors were the respective leaders. It felt a bit like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter. We then filed into the dining hall and sat with our groups are our own tables. After we finished eating, we began discussing a group or team name.

When dinner ended, we would break to the dorms briefly and return to name ourselves and then create a banner to hang over our table for the remainder of the week. Many names had been tossed around. Fire Ants, The Vipers, among others. Ultimately we settled on a classic. We would be known as The Little Rascals. I loved this particularly because all week when I needed to get everyone's attention I would just shout "Rascals!" It was fun. Other group names were: Toad Camp J (initials of everyone in the group), GR8, Hamburger Helpers Of The Future, The Underdogs, and Monkey See Monkey Do.

This concluded activities for the night. We headed back to our dorms, got the kids in bed, and hung out outside for a bit before turning in ourselves. I never had a way of telling time all week and it was amazing. I never thought about what time it was in relation to being tired. I think I was in bed most nights by 10 PM or earlier. At home, I'd never have laid down that early, even if I was tired. Here, once I felt tired, I just got in bed.

I would occupy Swamp right myself, as far as counselors go, for the week. It turned out that they had more kids than they had space for with all of us counselors. As such, they moved the other counselor, Andrew Gorman, from right into a counselors bunk named Spear. I was a bit nervous having to handle the room myself. I have experience working with kids, but 4-5 year olds. Swamp right turned out to be the older kids. Most were 11, with a few still at 10. I expected most of them to just ignore me when I told them to be quiet or go to sleep, but I had almost no troubles. Things really went smoothly that first day. Tomorrow (Monday) would being the regular schedule, rotations, and the lake. I was more than ready.

I may have gone to bed sweating that night, and the rest of them. But I was ecstatic, too. I remember laying there, just elated to be where I was. I was in the south for the next several days. It was 97 for a high and at best 78 for a low. No air, bugs all over, and I was absolutely thrilled. That never faded.

Go! Mississippi Day 1 (and the night before)

So here it is. The first entry about Mississippi.

Friday, June 11th - I was testing this day and that means that I was off site and in Bordentown, NJ. I finished testing around 2 pm and was about 1.5 hours away from a friend's house where I would be parking my car for the next week. Unfortunately, the testing materials needed to be brought back to my office, and so I drove (what is normally 40 minutes without traffic) 90 minutes back to the office to put down a briefcase, walk out and head back the exact way I came.

I reached my destination in NJ around 630 and finally was picked up by another GO! team member (Jason) around 11. I got back to the Bronx close to midnight to find out that the head of the GO! office wanted to see us off so we had to be up about 40 minutes earlier so he could meet us, give us a pep talk of sorts and then be on our way. This would mean we needed to be up by 3. Did I mention it was after midnight?

Needless to say very few of us actually slept, keeping ourselves occupied in various ways. Around 2 am we received a message from said GO! president saying he wasnt going to make it. Regardless we were going through as planned so as to make sure we had enough time at the airport. We got to Laguardia around 4 am for our 630 flight. Checking in went smoothly, we grabbed buffet/airport scrambled eggs (so soggy) and prepped for travel.

The flight from NY to CHI was not bad. A lot of people slept for parts of it, if not all, and with the loss of an hour it felt even quicker. We reached O'Hare airport around 7:50 CT with our flight to Memphis scheduled for 9:25 am. Everyone hit the bathrooms, grabbed Cinnabon and waited to board. O'Hare was packed and we quickly found ourselves in a long line on the runway (about 14th in line). After about 30 or 40 minutes of waiting (its now after 10) we are told we are 2nd in line, everyone needs to return to their seats. Then it happened. Rain!

They quickly froze all flights and we sat there. On the runway. In a 55 person plane. For the next 90 minutes. Nearing the 3 hours mark where airlines are required to let everyone off the plane, cancel the flight, and strand you - we were given clearance and took off. We took off right around when we were due in in Memphis, not actually landing until about 1:30 pm (CT).

Our ride back was captained by Ms. Patti. Our ship - a very large blue van that almost fit everyone (had one person on the floor). We stopped at Sonic, to everyone's delight, and finally reached GlenMary camp around 4:30. The boys would be in Swamp while the girls where in Spring. How fitting.

Swamp is exactly what a boys bunk in the woods would be. About 15-18 metal bunk beds, cement floors, brick walls. It was hot, there were bugs, it was ugly. We all loved it. We settled in (as much as you can), claimed our bunks, and found Candy Land in a box of supplies and games left behind by the previous week's counselors. Thus started the points system. For any competitions, whether it be board games or our kids versing each other in a sport, the 5 guys had a scoreboard.

We got dinner, had some orientation, and headed to Walmart. Most of us needed some things. On the list was packs of sleeveless shirts (beaters) for the guys, pillows for everyone, communal shampoo and soap for the guys, waterbottles for everyone, and some other things. We got out of there around 9 that night and headed back to the camp. Other than going to the waterway (soon enough) and a few people returning to Walmart later that week, we were at camp from this point on.

Everyone hung out, there was an abs work out session (Tim, our leader, told us the focus of the trip was abs back in NY. Apparently he was serious and some of the counselors had an intensive ab work out a few times that week), and later we hit the hay. We were told we had a busy day a head of us. There was much to do before the kids would arrive between 1 and 2pm the next day.

I went to bed sweating. This would happen most nights. I found out later why you don't hope for rain in the south. Here, in the north - when it is that hot and humid - rain means relief. In Mississippi - not so.