Chapter 7: Church Camp and more

Since I wasn't there, I've asked Cindy to tell you about it. Here's what she had to say:

I spent Friday night at Dana's house and we got our bags packed ready to go on Sunday. We had to be up by 5:30 in order to be in the church parking lot by 7:00. Once we got there we all piled in the church bus and we were off.

It took about an hour and a half to go to the camp and on the way we sang songs. We started out with "Old MacDonald had a Farm". That didn't last very long and one of the kids suggested we do "100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall" and the counselors on the bus said okay but we would have to the change the words a little bit and sing it as "100 Bottles of Milk on the Wall" so that's what we did all the way down to "No Bottles of Milk on the Wall" but some of the older boys in the back kept singing as "Bottles of Beer".

There were probably about thirty of us on the bus evenly divided beween boys and girls. The age range for the intermediate camp was from 14 to 17. The girls all sat in front arranged in age from the youngest to the oldest and the boys did the same thing in the back.

When we arrived at the camp the first thing that was done was to assign us to our cabins. The girls were in the cabins to the lake and the boys in those furthest away. The cabins in the middle were for the camp counselors, presumably to keep from creeping down to the girl's cabins or vice versa.

Apparently it didn't work very well because the very next day when we went to the lake to go swimming there were probably six or seven used condoms laying on the shore off to the side closest to some bushes. I knew what they were because I found some in one of my dad's drawers when day when I was snooping around one day when was gone for a few minutes. A quick check on the internet told me more than I ever wanted to know about them. I just ignored them.

Apparently, some of the kids weren't as knowable as I. I saw a nerdy looking boy with glasses eyeing the carefully. I thought it would be nice if I could keep him being embarrassed and walked toward him. I was too late, however, when one of the older boys asked him what they were. His answer? "I think they are rubber sleeves for test tubes."

The boy that asked him broke our laughing and I couldn't help it, so did I. Of course this embarrassed him even more. Later, I ashamed of myself and took him off to apologize. His name was Brian and he was the same age as I was. We came to be friends during the week and he promised to write but I don't know if he will actually do it. I think I would really like it if he does.

Coming back to what camp was like, there was a huge canopy with picnic tables where we had three meals a day. Sometimes it was just hot dogs and potato chips but the evening meal was normally something good ... roast beef, potatoes and carrots; fried chicken, red skins, and corn; etc. There must have been 70 kids there from four different churches and we usually had a lot of fun during meals. We'd sing song and watch carefully the counselors and if we caught one of them with their elbows on the table as one we'd shout, "Mr. Smith (or whoever) strong and able, get your elbows of the table." What wasn't fun about meals was the sermons we got one at each of them. Breakfast and lunch wasn't too bad because they would only be maybe ten or fifteen minutes but in the evening the minister would go on and on and on ... sometimes as a long as an hour and a half. Between meals there was a lot to do, play bad-mitten, volley ball, or go swimming or sunbathe on the raft in the lake if you could keep the boys from pushing you into the water (sometimes trying to take your bikini top off in the process) or...

To sum up, I'd say it was fun but I don't think I'd ever want to do it again. At least it took my mind off what mom had done to us which was a good thing. I also knew that there was a good possibility that when I got home Rachel would be living with us. They had talked with me before I left for Dana's house. If I had said I didn't want it to happen they wouldn't have but actually I thought it was a good idea.

It's me Pete again. While Cindy was gone Rachel and I got a lot accomplished. We had talked with Cindy on the day she went to spend the night with Dana and leave from there for church camp. We were both sort of amazed at how much she seemed to like the idea. Her exact words were, "It'll be sort of had a family again except this time with a mother who cares."

We tried to warn her it was just a trial and might not work out. But she simply said, "I hear what you're saying but I've seen how you look at each other. I'm not worried. I KNOW it'll work out just fine." After she'd left I remarked to Rachel, "You know for fourteen my daughter's got a head on her shoulders."