Hump Day?
Hump Day
For those whose week is defined by work or school, Wednesday is often referred to as "hump day". This seems a sad commentary on our quotidian lives but there it is. At camp, Wednesday means the best is yet to come as we are still warming up for the full Geiger experience!
We enjoyed rain, off and on, from Tuesday evening, just before dinner, throughout the night, and up to dawn. Though the rain had stopped, the sky was leaden and the dawn gave scant early light. A heavy fog shrouded the camp, further softening the contours already made soft by their covering of trees and such.
Often, on arises early enough to be the only soul to witness such pretty sights but this session, for reasons unclear, I have not yet managed to rise quite that early. Even rising well before reveille, I found most of our troop up and about already, actively preparing for the day ahead.
Amey Kashyup, Daniel Woehler, Dylan Beaver, and Max Brooks attentively prepared for their role raising our troop flag at the coming morning flag ceremony. Scouter Ben Bryant stepped forward to work with the boys and practice a few of the more salient points of serving as the color guard.
For raising the Texas flag, Christian Woehler, Kaleb Rutherford, Landon Pratt, and Noah Carrillo served as color guard. Owing to an unexpected hitch with the raising of the American flag by the camp staff color guard, our Scouts had to adapt a bit and they were all equal to the challenge. Otherwise, the ceremony went off without issue and shortly thereafter, all of us assembled campers repaired to the dining hall for our morning meal.
Today, we broke our fast with the ever-popular combination of pancakes and bacon. Our own Phillip Prat, Lance Brooks, and Jay Jay Rawson rose in time to be at the dining hall by 5:00 AM to help prepare pancakes (you can read more about what this experience entails here). Bacon preparation began the day before with help from Jessica Harris, Shelly Koonce, Jim Koonce, and Mark Lampe. Midway through this task, Jim and Mark were called away to help split a pile of wood resulting from the removal of a tree. In this endeavor, they were assisted by Steve Kral. Not all of our Scouters spend their days tethered to their electronic devices!
Another round of "The Price is Right" followed breakfast, though none of our Scouts were involved this time., alas. We then returned to our campsite, Sioux Lookout. The Scouts prepared for their merit badge classes of Trail to First Class, of course. The Scouters focused on a few of the more onerous cleanup chores, such as swabbing the toilets and showers that are part of the storm shelter complex.
Thomas Sorensen busied himself constructing lashed tripods to hold the new "Troop 451" sign and setting it up in a suitably visible location. Someone else did the same for the "Toad Crossing" sign. Thus spruced-up, our campsite should have been the envy of the camp. Perhaps it was.
Although the rain ceased by breakfast time, the day remained grey and cool. For those of us familiar with the temperatures Texas can reach in June, a cool June day is not unwelcome at all. Sure, it feels odd to want to don a fleece pullover or a hoodie with summer so very near but, if one is spending a week out of doors, a bit of cool is more welcome than a siege of heat.
While Scouts were busily learning new things, a few Scouters diligently applied themselves to adding finishing touches to upgrades for their Mic-O-Say regalia. This work is usually done under the wonderful pavilion that surmounts the concrete bunker that is the campsite's storm shelter. This affords a spacious venue in which to engage in such efforts free from the fear of falling rain. One can spread out one's project and the needed tools and materials on one of the four picnic tables provided knowing a sudden storm will not be the undoing of all of one's efforts.
A Mic-O-Say costume is a work-in-progress; one is never 'done' making one's costume. There is always some detail to add or an old piece to redo, now that one has experience making it the first time. A chance glance at another tribesman's regalia often inspires one to attempt to create such a feature for oneself.
Nick Harris and Jay Jay Rawson each applied themselves to projects creating Native American-style hairpipe breastplates ("hairpipe" for reasons completely unknown, refers to the long, narrow shell, bone, or horn beads that make up the bulk of a breastplate).
Originally a functional item of body armor, over time, these breastplates became chiefly decorative in function and came to sport colorful beads and other adornments. Each specimen is unique and the form is flexible, permitting a wide range for customization.
It seemed that lunch came surprisingly soon. Once again, the table waiters and the supervising Scouters reported to the dining hall ahead of the crowd and prepared for our midday meal. Once ready, the campers filed into the dining hall (quietly, with hats of!). There, we partook of chicken sandwiches (served on a burger bun) and Sun Chips. As usual, there was water and some sort of fruit-ish drink to accompany the meal.
These chicken patties, much like the pork "ribs' from yesterday bear only a distant similarity to a grilled chicken breast, being, again, formed from flaked chicken meat. Just as before, a considerable hunger makes just about anything that is edible seem thoroughly delicious. That, plus smothering it in a mixture of KC Masterpiece BBQ and Tabasco sauces
Atypically, when "seconds" call went out for our quadrant of the dining hall, no one felt the need to have any more, though many partook of the fresh salad bar that is available for every lunch and dinner meal at camp. Could we be slowing down? Perish the thought!
Before we left the dining hall, we were again treated to some silliness. Then, we learned that it was our troop birthday boy, Phillip Pratt, who had Sitting Bull! His task was the seemingly vast chore of counting all the logs in the dining hall, which was built to look like a log cabin sort of structure. Upon reflection, however, Mr. Pratt decided that there were, in fact, no logs in the dining hall; they were all on the outside! At least he spared himself the Herculean task of actually enumerating the unfinished lumber elements of the construction.
We learned that today, we came in second in the "Cleanest Campsite" competition, to, I believe, everyone's surprise. No matter - a clean campsite is a happy, healthful campsite. Sound hygiene is its own reward.
To round off the lunchtime program, Kevin Koonce, Thomas Sorensen, Jay Jay Rawson, and staffer Chad Kral assembled on the dais for a song. Using Kevin's ostensibly-abandoned water bottle as an excuse, they led the 600+ campers in a rousing rendition of "I'm a Little Teapot", Geiger-style! Once, the price of recovering any lost item that had been turned in to the camp, today, "Teapot" must only be performed by pretension. Kevin, et al., were informed beforehand and consent was granted all around. All this is necessary lest anyone consider being made to sing a silly song in front of a large audience as "hazing" behavior.
Indeed, delivered in a hard-hearted and demeaning spirit, such an experience might well be a species of hazing; as done a Geiger, it never struck me as such, however. In any event, the assembled crowd joined right in and the dining hall positively shook to the rhythms of the long-time Camp Geiger tradition, now revived only as entertainment.
The afternoon warmed a bit and it was pleasant to be in a T-shirt, though the sun barely peeked through the low, grey clouds. More classes are the order of the day for our Scouts and a little leisure is enjoyed by some of the Scouters. Costuming continued.
Wednesday night at Camp Geiger is Family Night. Even though this year we have no one attending the event, that bears a post all by itself. Thus, we will pause here to resume when able.
For those whose week is defined by work or school, Wednesday is often referred to as "hump day". This seems a sad commentary on our quotidian lives but there it is. At camp, Wednesday means the best is yet to come as we are still warming up for the full Geiger experience!
We enjoyed rain, off and on, from Tuesday evening, just before dinner, throughout the night, and up to dawn. Though the rain had stopped, the sky was leaden and the dawn gave scant early light. A heavy fog shrouded the camp, further softening the contours already made soft by their covering of trees and such.
Often, on arises early enough to be the only soul to witness such pretty sights but this session, for reasons unclear, I have not yet managed to rise quite that early. Even rising well before reveille, I found most of our troop up and about already, actively preparing for the day ahead.
Amey Kashyup, Daniel Woehler, Dylan Beaver, and Max Brooks attentively prepared for their role raising our troop flag at the coming morning flag ceremony. Scouter Ben Bryant stepped forward to work with the boys and practice a few of the more salient points of serving as the color guard.
For raising the Texas flag, Christian Woehler, Kaleb Rutherford, Landon Pratt, and Noah Carrillo served as color guard. Owing to an unexpected hitch with the raising of the American flag by the camp staff color guard, our Scouts had to adapt a bit and they were all equal to the challenge. Otherwise, the ceremony went off without issue and shortly thereafter, all of us assembled campers repaired to the dining hall for our morning meal.
Today, we broke our fast with the ever-popular combination of pancakes and bacon. Our own Phillip Prat, Lance Brooks, and Jay Jay Rawson rose in time to be at the dining hall by 5:00 AM to help prepare pancakes (you can read more about what this experience entails here). Bacon preparation began the day before with help from Jessica Harris, Shelly Koonce, Jim Koonce, and Mark Lampe. Midway through this task, Jim and Mark were called away to help split a pile of wood resulting from the removal of a tree. In this endeavor, they were assisted by Steve Kral. Not all of our Scouters spend their days tethered to their electronic devices!
Another round of "The Price is Right" followed breakfast, though none of our Scouts were involved this time., alas. We then returned to our campsite, Sioux Lookout. The Scouts prepared for their merit badge classes of Trail to First Class, of course. The Scouters focused on a few of the more onerous cleanup chores, such as swabbing the toilets and showers that are part of the storm shelter complex.
Thomas Sorensen busied himself constructing lashed tripods to hold the new "Troop 451" sign and setting it up in a suitably visible location. Someone else did the same for the "Toad Crossing" sign. Thus spruced-up, our campsite should have been the envy of the camp. Perhaps it was.
Although the rain ceased by breakfast time, the day remained grey and cool. For those of us familiar with the temperatures Texas can reach in June, a cool June day is not unwelcome at all. Sure, it feels odd to want to don a fleece pullover or a hoodie with summer so very near but, if one is spending a week out of doors, a bit of cool is more welcome than a siege of heat.
While Scouts were busily learning new things, a few Scouters diligently applied themselves to adding finishing touches to upgrades for their Mic-O-Say regalia. This work is usually done under the wonderful pavilion that surmounts the concrete bunker that is the campsite's storm shelter. This affords a spacious venue in which to engage in such efforts free from the fear of falling rain. One can spread out one's project and the needed tools and materials on one of the four picnic tables provided knowing a sudden storm will not be the undoing of all of one's efforts.
A Mic-O-Say costume is a work-in-progress; one is never 'done' making one's costume. There is always some detail to add or an old piece to redo, now that one has experience making it the first time. A chance glance at another tribesman's regalia often inspires one to attempt to create such a feature for oneself.
Nick Harris and Jay Jay Rawson each applied themselves to projects creating Native American-style hairpipe breastplates ("hairpipe" for reasons completely unknown, refers to the long, narrow shell, bone, or horn beads that make up the bulk of a breastplate).
Originally a functional item of body armor, over time, these breastplates became chiefly decorative in function and came to sport colorful beads and other adornments. Each specimen is unique and the form is flexible, permitting a wide range for customization.
It seemed that lunch came surprisingly soon. Once again, the table waiters and the supervising Scouters reported to the dining hall ahead of the crowd and prepared for our midday meal. Once ready, the campers filed into the dining hall (quietly, with hats of!). There, we partook of chicken sandwiches (served on a burger bun) and Sun Chips. As usual, there was water and some sort of fruit-ish drink to accompany the meal.
These chicken patties, much like the pork "ribs' from yesterday bear only a distant similarity to a grilled chicken breast, being, again, formed from flaked chicken meat. Just as before, a considerable hunger makes just about anything that is edible seem thoroughly delicious. That, plus smothering it in a mixture of KC Masterpiece BBQ and Tabasco sauces
Atypically, when "seconds" call went out for our quadrant of the dining hall, no one felt the need to have any more, though many partook of the fresh salad bar that is available for every lunch and dinner meal at camp. Could we be slowing down? Perish the thought!
Before we left the dining hall, we were again treated to some silliness. Then, we learned that it was our troop birthday boy, Phillip Pratt, who had Sitting Bull! His task was the seemingly vast chore of counting all the logs in the dining hall, which was built to look like a log cabin sort of structure. Upon reflection, however, Mr. Pratt decided that there were, in fact, no logs in the dining hall; they were all on the outside! At least he spared himself the Herculean task of actually enumerating the unfinished lumber elements of the construction.
We learned that today, we came in second in the "Cleanest Campsite" competition, to, I believe, everyone's surprise. No matter - a clean campsite is a happy, healthful campsite. Sound hygiene is its own reward.
To round off the lunchtime program, Kevin Koonce, Thomas Sorensen, Jay Jay Rawson, and staffer Chad Kral assembled on the dais for a song. Using Kevin's ostensibly-abandoned water bottle as an excuse, they led the 600+ campers in a rousing rendition of "I'm a Little Teapot", Geiger-style! Once, the price of recovering any lost item that had been turned in to the camp, today, "Teapot" must only be performed by pretension. Kevin, et al., were informed beforehand and consent was granted all around. All this is necessary lest anyone consider being made to sing a silly song in front of a large audience as "hazing" behavior.
Indeed, delivered in a hard-hearted and demeaning spirit, such an experience might well be a species of hazing; as done a Geiger, it never struck me as such, however. In any event, the assembled crowd joined right in and the dining hall positively shook to the rhythms of the long-time Camp Geiger tradition, now revived only as entertainment.
The afternoon warmed a bit and it was pleasant to be in a T-shirt, though the sun barely peeked through the low, grey clouds. More classes are the order of the day for our Scouts and a little leisure is enjoyed by some of the Scouters. Costuming continued.
Wednesday night at Camp Geiger is Family Night. Even though this year we have no one attending the event, that bears a post all by itself. Thus, we will pause here to resume when able.
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