Pouring water on someone (Rachel) as they lie on the ground, at Camp Gallagher
Back in my day there were 4 camps; Camp Don Bosco, Camp Hamilton, Camp Gallagher and Nanamakee (we'll talk more about Nanamakee in a couple minutes). I had the pleasure of working at 3 of those camps, and working at camp made up the best summers of me life (try saying that last part in your best Irish accent). Each session had what was called an "overnight". An overnight is when all the "grown-ups" in camp take all of the children, make them carry their weight in firewood, sleeping bags, water and whatnot, and take them to spend the night in the forest. Once at their "overnight spot", a sleeping tarp is put on the flattest area the "grown-ups" can find, and everyone marvels at how the size of the tarp would be perfect if there were 12 fewer children present. Then the children are fed a gut-busting combination of Bisquick, ground beef, cheese, tater tots and MSG, and made to walk around the woods for a while. And then, and THEN...EVERYONE is ALWAYS super surprised when the kids have trouble pooping in a hole and/or falling asleep (stacked slightly on top of the campers next to them) in the middle of the woods.
After overnights all heck breaks loose. The campers come back with an inexplicable sense of camaraderie and love for the camp staff (quite possibly a mild form of Stockholm Syndrome). At dinner, tables will yell things and everyone on the inside of that joke will reminisce about about said "thing". For example: "Hey Snoqualmie! How are the mosquitoes?!?!?!" and all the Snoqualmie girls will be like "oh yeah, the mosquitoes were SO bad. I cried SO much. My parents are gonna be mad when they see all these bug bites". There are various table pounding games/songs that everyone does after overnights, and what was once a jaunty tune about multitudes congregating, sung at campfire, becomes a debate about putting sugar on cereal. And if you're lucky, one night after overnights, you might be able to hear a head cook tell a story about how her dad cried himself to sleep every night, ages 6 to 14, until he earned his Kateri Tekakwitha bead (or something). Oh man, but seriously, if you have children you should send them to CYO camp. At the campfire after overnights, each lodge gets to tell the rest of the camp about their overnight experience through a "hike report" (parodies to popular songs that would make Weird Al proud...actually they ended up sounding like "mumble,mumble, mumble TARPS! mumble,mumble, mumble FOIL DINNERS!!! mumble,mumble, mumble S'MORES! mumble,mumble, mumble wake up our counselors at the break of dawn!!!). After the summer of 2006, the people in charge of CYO summer camp suggested each camp write a Hike Report to share some highlights of the summer, at Final Final.
Dressing like KISS for dinner. I am also wearing my Golden Girls t-shirt
Final Final is a night, at the end of the summer, when all the staff from the 4 CYO camps come together, share a meal, maybe play a game and have a campfire. Each camp gets to sing the hits of their camp at that campfire. It's really just a time for people from each camp to come together and say "our summer was more fun than your's and here's why". So, as you can imagine, a Hike Report is a perfect opportunity to make staff from other camps feel foolish about how un-fun their summer was. I had a good lucky feeling that other camps weren't about to get Rainman obsessed with writing the perfect Hike Report, the way I was.
I elected myself head of the Hike Report writing team, and commissioned a hilarious gal named Bri to work on it too. We didn't sleep for two days, and only left the "Ranchero Office" to get more goldfish cracker and pepperoni bagel sandwiches (it's a real thing. A real, delicious thing). When other staff members asked if I was going to help clean and close camp, they could immediately tell by my hunched shoulders, dirty teeth and inability to focus my eyes that I had better things to do.
When it came time for Final Final, I think we worked it out so that we could preform our Hike Report last. If I remember correctly, the Nanamakee staff (which consisted of 2 people) simply marched around the campfire shouting out things they had done that summer... for a couple minutes...and then just quietly took their seats. I feel the need to explain Nanamakee for a few sentences. They are a "roaming" camp, so as a result they know no boundary and God's country is their playground...they're as happy as can be. This makes them a little (I'm talking very little. Tiny bit even) oddball. Kind of like that perfectly nice, slightly odd, cousin you have, that you invite to all your birthday parties because you share so much history and you know it would make your dead grandpa in heaven smile. No, but seriously Nanamakee is GREAT!!! Some of my best friends have been involved with Nanamakee!!!!
Amie worked at Nanamakee, and look how much fun we have.
Really it's Camp Don Bosco (the camp I was working at in the summer of '06), that has a tendency to be seen as the twerpy little brother of the CYO camps, for some reason. It might have something to do with the twerpy little 5 year olds who go to Bosco as "mini-campers". Or maybe it's the old pool that is heated by the sun, camper urine, and love. Or it could possibly have something to do with all the 15 and 16 year old who work at Bosco as dishwashers. Who knows!!!!??!?!?! With all that said, I'd like to share with you the Summer 2006 Camp Don Bosco Hike Report!!!
- (Tune of “Oh Mickey”)
Oh campler you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind
HEY CAMPLER! HEY CAMPLER!
Oh campler you’re so quick, you’re so quick it makes me sick
HEY CAMPLER! HEY CAMP….chatter about the quickness of campler - (Tune of “Winter Wonderland”)
Oh, the weather outside is just fine
But here’s where I draw the line
When Bunnies start losing their heads
I say go, I say go, I say go
In pairs, and be LOUD
When we finally ID the scat
How we hate going out in the woods
But the nurse that we had that sesh, was really amazingly good! - (Tune of “Greensleeves”)
We move along to our 3rd session song
A wacky week was had by all
The minis were hell on 32 legs
So much anger in a package so small
Where, where are those Pilchuck boys?
Don’t go down a trail if you don’t know it well
Oh, Great Spirit, why do you hate us?
At least the labyrinth by the pool was swell! - (Tune of “Take on Me”)
Dododdododododododo
Walkin’ away, from the nurse, everyday
Blood begins to spray
It’s okay LL’s got a band aid
OVERNIGHT RAIN
Danny O. is a young David Wellings
Fourth session fourth session Session four fourth session
Off a horse, Sylvia Fell!
So needless to say
It was not, Bosco’s day
When Vicki went away
Only to come back on medication
Can we just share? All her antics were a tad hilar! - (Tune of “Circle of Life”)
From the day the Japanese campers
Blinking stepped off of the bus
We don’t know their names
What are their names?
Why do they have numbers for names?
Murph came out for Aikido
Ted Healy, came too
They flipped on the grass
They could all kick your ass
But we know that’s not the way of the art
Session 5 of ‘06
What are those zebra’s doing?
Let’s distract them with sticks
Still don’t go to the nurse
‘Till we find a new one
Named Rocky Raymond
Staff are leaving, our circle of family friendship and support - (Tune of “Bossy” by: Kelis)
You don’t have to like our pool, but you will respect the age and number of our campers. Cuz we’re BOSCO!
We’re Bosco, we’re the first camp that came into being
We switch up the way of the week
That’s right we got the fire trucks to come
That’s right our kids were having
Cuz we’re Bosco
We’re the camp y’all love to hate
We’re the ones with Vicki, Joe and Kate
The sno-valley ER, just ain’t that great
But got our own patron saint, cuz we’re Bosco
Crazy in the Mess Hall, crazy at the pool
Crazy up in T-Bird and the Kula Kule
Cuz we’re BOSCO!
(Tune of “In My Life”)
There are sessions I remember
When I cried, but mostly laughed
And it’s hard to leave a summer
When you leave behind an awesome staff
Though I know I’ll never lose affection
For you and Bosco in 2006
And I know I’ll often think about it
As I scroll through my digital pix
Of Summer 2006!
