As we reach the end of our first week of camp, we have much to celebrate. Our boys are healthy and are feeling settled and at home. They have really persevered through an unusual start to the camp season. We had days of hot, humid weather followed by unseasonably cold temperatures. They had to adapt to COVID-19 protocols and the stress of COVID testing, and yet, we still managed to find time for fun.
Last evening, after I finished blogging and prepared my notes for the following day, Warren and I heard an eruption of boys yelling and running across the campus. It was 10:30 PM, and Warren and I were winding down from a long day. We have sat in the office, into the wee hours of the night for the last thirty-two summers. This was not the first time we heard this explosion echo across our campus during a still night. It was our Okees. Our oldest boys in camp were wide awake and thought it would be a great idea to rustle up all the other boys in camp. Without saying a word, Warren and I sprung into action. As we left the office, Warren took a hard right and made his way across the K Quad, heading towards the Senior bunks. I continued straight towards the main road heading to the Junior Quad. Armed with flashlights that would make your high beams pale in comparison, we surrounded the Okees and stopped them in their tracks. Imagine their surprise when this band of brothers was cornered by two guys with bad knees and a hip replacement.
I have a philosophy here in camp, hate the sin but love the sinner. There are a lot of things that can go wrong when fifty boys run out of their bunks at 10:30 at night. Startling little children while they’re sleeping is at the top of the list, followed closely by injuring oneself running across our rooted campus in the dark of night. But, these are not things adolescent boys are thinking about when they plan their antics. Boys are impulsive by nature. They are easily swayed by their peers. If I were to take any one of the fifty boys and put them by themselves, they would never act this way, but when you combine them with their peers, they usually make decisions that are purely attention-seeking behaviors.
The next morning when I greeted the Okees down on the beach with rakes and shovels in hand, they looked at me with a smile, a wink, a nod, and a “touché,” with one Okee remarking, “It’s never as fun the morning after.”
As we end our first week, our boys retired to their rec. halls for Saturday night at the movies. Tomorrow morning is our first Lazy Man’s Morning when our boys can sleep in and come down for breakfast in their pj’s to enjoy Dunkin’ Donuts. Life is good.
