Taco Night

Glenn Breazeale | Jun. 14, 2017

I have just walked from the office to my house at dusk. The clouds and large and wispy and the sun reflecting on them is almost a pinkish hue. There is steam coming up off the team sports field. We received a nice rain today during lunch and then the sun came back out for the afternoon. That combination in the mountains always seems to make for a beautiful evening. Boys are playing games on the field, and in the gym, and other various locales tonight. I can hear lots of laughter and excitement from where I sit.

For dinner we enjoyed a taco buffet. Our Kitchen Boys have the night off, with their counselors, for dinner and probably a movie and run to Walmart in Fort Payne. So the ladies serve buffet style on paper and we eat picnic style around the dining hall and lodge lawns. Plates piled high with corn chips, ground beef, rice, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, grated cheese, salsa, and sour cream. It’s a nice change of pace. And the weather was perfect tonight after the rain we got midday.

Activities continued today. Team Sports is one that everyone takes, by age group. While we may not all be the best athletes, it’s important for boys to learn the lessons that come along with playing on a team. I heard a cool story that took place yesterday on the field, with 11 year olds, I think. A boy got pegged by a kickball while running to base, falling to the ground. Embarrassed, he slowly made his way to his place in the field to play defense. The counselor telling me relayed that what happened next was amazing to him, especially at this age. As he walked into the field, still upset, his teammates rallied around him, asking if he was Ok and encouraging him.

They compete hard in games like softball, kickball, flag football, soccer, ultimate frisbee, and basketball. They also have fun. A chief class (the oldest age group in camp) planned out and staged a “bench clearing brawl” at the end of their kickball game. The counselors said it was hilarious.

Things aren’t always perfect out on that Team sports field. Boys get competitive, they argue, they get mad at each other. It’s part of life. There are some dedicated sports counselors who help them work through those issues. We think that it’s just as important for a boy to figure out how to “maintain” a friendship as it is to know how to make a friend. It takes work sometimes, definitely forgiveness. And often happens through the modeling of guys older than us. Watching older guys (no matter how old we are) gives us perspective. And often a mirror, revealing how we must have looked handling a given situation compared to the way we watched them handle a similar one.

As I finish typing this all night games have ended and boys are back in cabins, preparing for a devotional led by their counselor, before drifting off to sleep.

Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn

Glenn Breazeale
Glenn Breazeale

Like his own father, Glenn grew up as a camper at Alpine for six summers, coming from Jackson, MS each summer. He has served on staff at Alpine since 1997, working full time as Assistant Director from 2003 to 2005 and Director since 2006. Prior to that he gained experience serving in various capacities including cabin counselor, Head Counselor, Head of Project Adventure (Ropes course), Horseback instructor, and Program Director. Glenn’s love of camping and his desire to preserve the traditions of Alpine drew him back to camp to offer young boys the same opportunities he experienced. He met and fell in love with Carter during a Square Dance with Camp DeSoto.