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"Your post about CQ etc. got to me. I remember those things, and I want to be there, and I am sentimental now having read that. Your explanation of that "cycle" of the camper taking risks by being uncool and ridiculous which generates some loyalty from peers which promotes the ridiculous to cool seemed emblematic of similar cycles I would see at FV. Your description of that night time scramble for some social interaction with adults even though its raining, yet the adults still talk about "work", which is about how the campers are doing, seems representative of a daily occurrence during my tenure at FV. Your discussion of how to deal with the logistics when things like the weather intervene reminds me of how Carrie and I had to scramble to make a plan B (as CIT coordinators) in 1997 after Ranger Patty kicked us out of the state park for sleeping too close to the stream the night previous. Your description of the moodiness of the Sacky village converting to unity and team spirit reminds me of something people would say at FV in the 90's: a day Frost Valley is like a week in real life. Something that happened mid-afternoon becomes a distant memory for a staff member by the time CQ begins.
"I loved CQ. In 1990 as a Hemlock JC I remember the staff frequently being around CQ when not assigned. We got the campers to sleep, we could have gone to staff lounge, we had spent the day around each other, yet we hung out at CQ. We were located in that middle cabin grouping, between "The Hill" and the Dining Hall/Outtrip road, cabins 36 - 40, and that fire ring is a good one, for you can face the ravine thus reducing the risk of keeping campers up when you are talking. That summer, for us, it was backgammon and Billy Idol, and, well, some visits from raccoons, that characterized the Hemlock CQ. Bill Baker, Mark Hanna, Josh Tucker, Wentworth Miller, and David O'Brian (VC) were amongst the Hemlock staff that summer. Sometimes we'd complain, sometimes we'd talk about our lives, sometimes we'd bond, but a lot of times we'd strategize about how to make tomorrow's experience better for Hemlock campers. So your post reminds me of that kind of thing: enjoying working, enjoying your co-workers, helping kids have good experiences. Nice memories."
