MingerWeb
Camp
Introduction
Sunday 01 September 2002
This is the first in a series of essays I composed for English in the eighth grade. My teacher, Mrs. Bender, required us each to, each quarter, compose at least two essays that she would grade. You may notice some mistakes, and you may notice some technical errors. But these stories are published here, unedited, for you reading pleasure, and so that you, my precious readers, will further understand me, my life, and my opinions. I may, in the future, edit these, but, at the moment, I choose not to, because these writings serve as a benchmark to my style and skill. I will annotate and format these writings with comments, acronym and abbreviation hints, and other conventions that I feel will help you read this more easily.
Camp
Tuesday 17 October 2000
My story begins during the summer after my first grade school year: I had been enrolled into the Blue Ash YMCA’s day camp program by my parents. I was to go during the weekday daytimes, when my parents went to work.
Early in the morning of my first day there, my father drove me to the YMCA and dropped my off. I then trotted over to a large building alongside my father, where we were to meet the other campers. The cool, air-conditioned facility was a startling contrast from the hot, humid air outside. I hugged my father goodbye — so much so, that had he not loosened my grip of him, he might have suffocated (not literally, of course).
Waiting for us were about ten different counselors, each erecting a flag, indicating a certain group, named after a country, that a certain amount of campers were assigned to. All of us ran to our assigned places. I was assigned to the group named Egypt. I was anxious, standing in that straight line, along with a dozen or so others. We all stood there for about five minutes and then casually marched down to the clearing — named the amphitheater — where we started our day.
The campers, as a whole, stood up synchronously at the queue. We then proceeded to recite the pledge of allegiance, as two of the boys reverently erected the American flag. Following that, we sat down and debated among ourselves which of the many activities we would participate in. I had, out of curiosity, unthinkingly chose archery as my first motion. I had soon enough realized my mistake, however; I not only missed the target every time by a long shot, also hurt myself in the process. Instinctively, I decided to sit out for the rest of the hour-long period. Thinking much more reasonably, I opted for arts and crafts for the next period, and nature for the one after that. Very fortunately, those choices deemed much more of a success than the first.
Since it was a Monday, all of the countries played a team-vs.-team game called Capture the Flag
, in which each team — otherwise known as a country — searched the woods for the flag of another. The one who found the flag the first won. The moment the game began, we bolted up the hill, frantically searching from place to place; inside every nook and cranny, between every tree, and though the every bush. We lost against Great Britain in a stunningly close game.
After the game, we walked back over to the amphitheater, where we sat, talked with one another, and ate our lunches, packed by parents whom we started to miss. While eating, I conversed with a child about my age, and eventually made friends with him.
Upon finishing our lunches, all of the campers, including I, played in the creek and ran around in the clearing, in what was known as our recess time
.
It was then time for us to trod up the hill to the restrooms and change into our swimming clothes, which we all did. We walked into the swimming facility and all jumped into the pool. I was, however, the exception, as I wouldn’t climb in, on account of my not being able to swim at the time. I learned another day that the shallow end of the pool was only three feet deep; so I could, in fact, have stood in the pool with my face unimmersed.
After the 30-minute swimming period, we changed back into our normal clothing. As the end of the day approached, our group took a bit of time to go back into the woods and hike along the walking trail that winded its way through there. Upon finishing, we playfully stomped our way back up. We played and frolicked around in our free time afterwards, waiting for our parents to arrive and embrace us after our first day of camp.