July 19, 2023
One of our famous sayings around camp is that “It Never Rains at North Star.” Tonight, however, we did have a good storm. Right as dinner was approaching, the winds picked up suddenly and we gathered everyone inside at their tables for a great pizza dinner. The winds were strong enough to relocate our water toys at swim point and take out our flagpole, but inside the Lodge camp was buzzing. “It never rains at North Star” is more about attitude than weather. We turned on some music in the dining hall and were singing along with dinner. And then there were the cheers!
If you’ve experienced a meal in the North Star Lodge, it’s hard to explain exactly what it looks and sounds like when the cheers begin, but I’ll do my best. The Seniors kick things off with a conga line into the center of the Outer Lodge, where they then congregate between the Junior and Intermediate Village tables. They start chanting and singing through a variety of cheers from the Villa cheer (V-I-L-L-A, Villa, Villa, All the Way) to some camp classics such as Rise & Shine, Bill Grogan’s Goat, A Man with No Fingers, Bowling Green, and more. The only difference with this group of Seniors is that they seem to be performing all of the cheers at 2x speed. While the Seniors are occupying center stage, the Juniors and Intermediates hardly sit idly by. They cheer their hearts out with their own respective songs and bang on the tables loudly as well. All of it works to create an atmosphere unlike any other dining room these boys will be a part of.
Evening program tonight was Open Mic Night in Mike Hall. We had campers showing off talents of every kind. There were musical performances, skits, talents such as solving the rubik’s cube, comedy, and more. We love seeing our boys bring out their individual talents and to see their confidence as they take center stage feeling great about themselves at camp.
The highlights from my day though happened at some of those little moments in between all of the regularly scheduled action. One was the simple joy of seeing one of our boys teach some other boys how to catch and hold garter snakes. Another was walking into cabin J-4 during cabintime and getting to see some of the boys building forts, some playing some indoor ball games, and getting to be the contestant in several campers card tricks, which they were teaching one another. And the purest of all of them was seeing one our Pine Manor campers spot a younger boy feeling homesick, and quickly approach to console him even before the counselor who was hurrying to do the same. There is so much magic in the small moments at camp.
Today’s Grace:
– Oprah Winfrey
“Do the one thing you think you cannot do. Fail at it. Try again. Do better the second time. The only people who never tumble are those who never mount the high wire. This is your moment. Own it.”
