At a thrilling Lenape/Tacoma Challenge Night last night, one of the challenges was this: the camper most likely to pass as a counselor. These kids really do know the standard staff member's accessories. There's the carry-everywhere coffee mug. The hat strung on the neck, ready for any period-long dose of hot sun. The backpack full: clipboard, bag of lozenges, extra weekly schedules, flashlight, bug spray. Oversized sunglasses. Odd combination of colors and clothing types. In fact the Tacoma girl at far left was already wearing--as it happens--the dress of a counselor from another village. (Huh?) Of course the older you are around here the more likely you're genuinely going to confuse a teenaged camper with a JC. Of course the real difference is in the head and heart. The most camper-like JC assigned to Pokey-Totem--looking perhaps younger than any of these four--turns out to have the sophistication and nuanced sense of responsibility of many another American 40-year-old. That's true.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
passing as counselors
At a thrilling Lenape/Tacoma Challenge Night last night, one of the challenges was this: the camper most likely to pass as a counselor. These kids really do know the standard staff member's accessories. There's the carry-everywhere coffee mug. The hat strung on the neck, ready for any period-long dose of hot sun. The backpack full: clipboard, bag of lozenges, extra weekly schedules, flashlight, bug spray. Oversized sunglasses. Odd combination of colors and clothing types. In fact the Tacoma girl at far left was already wearing--as it happens--the dress of a counselor from another village. (Huh?) Of course the older you are around here the more likely you're genuinely going to confuse a teenaged camper with a JC. Of course the real difference is in the head and heart. The most camper-like JC assigned to Pokey-Totem--looking perhaps younger than any of these four--turns out to have the sophistication and nuanced sense of responsibility of many another American 40-year-old. That's true.
