dual personalities

Tag: summer camp

August 12, 2015

Way-back Wednesday musings

by chuckofish

katie pool

Polaroid picture taken at summer camp c. 1963

I loved day-camp. Except for some bullying by the swimming teacher, I had a good time. It was kind of a continuation of day-school, but we did crafts and went swimming. I learned to ride a two-wheeler one summer all by myself.

I have fond memories of the counselors and of the young man who drove the bus. They were nice.

We were divided into Indian “tribes” and we had fringed vests made out of burlap bags and wore headbands and danced around a teepee. We were awarded felt patches which were stapled to our vests–guppies to sharks–every time we moved up a skill level. These were awarded at a PowWow at the end of each week. Awesome.

And I got to go home every afternoon and see my own mother and have dinner and watch TV. It was the best of both worlds for me.

Anyway…don’t forget to keep your eyes on the sky tonight! The annual Perseid meteor shower will be on display in the predawn hours until August 13. By the way, a meteor, you will recall, is a piece of stony, metallic or icy matter that enters Earth’s atmosphere and briefly streaks across the sky. A meteorite is a meteor that lands on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body.

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August 11, 2014

Would you like to swing on a star? Carry moonbeams home in a jar…

by chuckofish

MCC girl scout campI worked hard this weekend around the house and on my bathroom project, so I regret that I did not have the strength of mind or body to write a lengthy blog post.

Instead, here is a summery picture of our dear mother (third from the left, middle row) when she was a camp counselor at the Newburgh, NY Girl Scout camp, Palisades Interstate Park, New York circa 1943. (She wrote all that information on the back of the picture,  but did not include a date!)

Our mother loved the Girl Scouts and she loved summer camp. I’m sure she was disappointed that my dual personality and I attended a school that did not have a GS troop. She would have loved being an adult scouter. Although on second thought, times had changed by then, and I think she would have hated all that cookie-selling business. It was really camp that she loved.

Oh well, c’est la vie.

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