Thursday, July 15, 2010

inside

The Folks Inside
Shel Silverstein

Inside you, boy,
There's an old man sleepin',
Dreamin', waitin' for his chance.
Inside you, girl,
There's an old lady dozin',
Wantin' to show you a slower dance.

So keep on playin',
Keep on runnin',
Keep on jumpin', 'til the day
That those old folks
Down inside you
Wake up . . . and come out to play.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

tips

I am sitting on the floor of a finished-out boxcar 100 yards from the shore of Lake Gaston. Nine rising 9th graders are snoring just feet from me and I can't sleep. I'm seven weeks into camp and for a brief moment I am able to stop and reflect on what I've learned since I arrived here on May 20th. My own mid-summer meeting of sorts.

+ Don't steal someone's debit card unless you're absolutely positive that you're not going to lose it on the floor of Wal-mart.
+ Fitting 7 college-age people in a 4-door sedan is possible, but numb legs are to be expected after riding for 45 minutes with 16 limbs crammed in a space meant for 12.
+ Wearing sunscreen can help prevent burning.
+ You should always make sure that your sunscreen is waterproof.
+ Sometimes sunscreen doesn't really prevent burning at all. Even if if is waterproof.
+ Sour patch [children] taste better at camp.
+ "Dropping the Bible hurts God sometimes."
+ Even girls sweat when it's 102° outside. Really, girls can sweat a lot.
+ Thinking of a purple elephant for a few seconds can cure hiccups.
+ Thinking of a purple elephant cannot, however, cure homesickness; you'll just end up imagining your parents riding the purple elephant which makes you miss them more.
+ Toy Story 3 is a phenomenal movie and I should buy it as soon as it comes out on DVD.
+ Homesickness doesn't go away as you get olderyou just get better at dealing with it.
+ In amazing ways, God provides patience when you ask him for it.
+ Trying to clean mud out of your ears with a Q-tip is not a great idea; you'll probably just end up pushing the dirt farther back into your head and never be able to hear again.
+ Super Wal-Mart contains everything you could ever imagine to need while working at a summer camp. And most of those things are $5 or less.

Three weeks left. God is working here and I am so excited to see what else he will do.

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!...
Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
Psalm 34