Councillor T-Bird

I hate camping. I was surprised when Carolyn came up to me and asked if I would be a counsellor at Camp Cherith. I had every reason on earth why I didn’t want to do this, but the main one was that I hate camping.

Carolyn explained that they were desperate. Seriously, to consider me as a camp counsellor, you would have to be. I had never been to a camp. How could I be the leader of a cabin full of boys? I flunked the swimming test. I had sciatica, a pinched nerve in my back that caused great pain. Oh, and did I mention that I hate camping.

I agreed to give it a shot. It’s difficult to say no to Carolyn.

I arrived the day before the kids to get a feel for the camp and be there when they arrived. One of the traditions was that each counsellor created a camp name related to a bird, so you had people called Eagle, Robin and Sparrow. I chose the name T-Bird.

My first camper walked towards the cabin. He was a twin. He took one look at me and said, “Let’s switch cabins,” to his brother. My confidence plummeted like a stone dropped in the water or me trying to swim. My first camper rejected me.

It didn’t get better. One by one they arrived and I realized that I had a very mixed bag. Some of them were veterans of many years. Others had been dumped by their parents for a week and really didn’t want to be there. I could identify with those ones.

The way I figure it, the series, Survivor, is based on camp. Kids thrown together form alliances and sometimes are cruel towards each other.

I remember they handed out balloons one day. One of my guys really liked his, but another in the group broke it just before he went to bed. He cried. Councillor T-Bird came to the rescue, though. My sciatica was waking me up very early in the morning. I got up and found the balloon stash and blew up about 8 balloons. Then I quietly snuck into the room and gently placed them on his bed while he was sleeping. The next morning those tears were replaced by laughter.

By the end of the week I had been through quite a bit with my group. The craft I had been assigned was creating the daily camp newspaper and we did one of the best ones they had had.

Did this experience change my attitude about camping? Not in the slightest. I still hate it, but I learned that people who share adversity get close. By the end of the week, those boys were like sons to me. There was a bond of love that had been formed and I suddenly was aware what camping was all about.