Camp Adventures

Our two-week high school camp ended on Saturday. I got emotional. We had 9 fantastic kids who did a bunch of fantastic things. They wrote and shot a 10 minute movie in 4 days (I had a supporting role as Phil the Camp Director, and I composed the theme song). It's called Mr. Quiggles. It's awesome.

They climbed a big, steep mountain over the course of two days (without me, since I'm fat and injured). They rafted 30 miles down the Chama river and spent another 2 nights camping (this time, with yours truly in tow). The views on the Chama are spectacular...lots of striated bluffs and cool dimpled cliff faces. They did a high ropes course, where they did trust falls, climbed walls, and jumped off a 30 foot telephone pole. I did the first and the last, but I couldn't really climb, again, cause I'm fat and injured. But that's pretty good for me, since I'm scared of heights. The week culminated with a showing of Mr. Quiggles and a "wrap party" involving strobe lights and lazers in the middle of our pristine mountain pasture. It rocked.
It was a very therapeutic two weeks for me. I was in need of some reminding of why human beings are worth fighting for. Those kids are so brave and decent and creative...it warms the heart to know that there are good folks being born all the time. They were so willing to help each other and to work hard and to try new things...they were all so unjaded. It was nice to see.

I kinda wish I could do this all the time. I'm pretty sad that I have to leave at the end of the summer to go do...what exactly? Whatever it is, it sure isn't playing outside with kids. I'm gonna miss that.

We start our month-long session for middle schoolers next Sunday. It's a much more structured program. Hopefully, it will also be awesome.

I'll leave you with this from Ben Folds, from the song Evaporated from the Ben Folds Five album Whatever and Ever, Amen. Hopefully, it won't be so long until my next post.

What I've kept with me
and what I've thrown away
Don't know where the hell I've ended up
on this glary, random day
Were the things I really cared about
just left along the way
for being too pent up and proud.

woke up way too late
feeling hungover and old
and the sun was shining bright
and I walked barefoot down the road
started thinking about my old man
it seems that all men
wanna get into a car and go
anywhere