Friendship

Glenn Breazeale | Jul. 03, 2017

Last night as Carter and I walked home we noticed two boys, arms around shoulders, walking back from night program together. For boys that’s a big deal. They had just finished playing some activity. Maybe they were teammates on the victorious team, celebrating their win. It’s the secret of camp for boys. They are building friendships while they play together.

Friday night we celebrated all of our 2nd year Chiefs, 19 in total. Together they have accumulated 101 summers camping atop Lookout Mountain with us. And they have added so much to our camp community, in spirit and kindness and joy. I said as much at our Council Ring ceremony, an age old tradition to honor them. The ceremony is lit by campfire and tiki torch. Part drama and part comedy, a few counselor “spirit men” entertain us with skits and songs about the term. And then I get to recognize and express appreciation to the aforementioned chiefs. The rest of camp watches. It’s not lost on the younger boys that soon they’ll be in the position of honoree, with lifelong friends who might be sitting right next to them. And maybe they just met 20 days ago.

To be clear, it’s not all roses and side hugs. Friendships do bloom pretty easily around here, under the care of these amazing counselors. AND they are boys living together for 25 days, imperfect and self serving at times, like all of us. We believe we are in the relationship business just as much as the camp business. And no relationship is perfect. Our goal is not just to teach a boy how to make new friends. It’s to teach them how to make up and maintain those friendships. That takes forgiveness, sacrifice, and patience.

Last night a counselor told me a remarkable story about his cabin. A highly competitive boy had frustrated several of his cabin mates over the course of the term with harsh words. Yesterday he asked his counselor if he could read the Scripture during devotional. He was the first in the cabin to ask to participate. After his reading he asked for another moment to speak. He publicly apologized to the other boys. They forgave him gladly. Reconciliation through self awareness, aided by his counselors. I’m not sure that moment happens if he’s not living with guys 24/7 - something about an overnight experience forces boys to see more of who they are and learn to get along. And further, being at camp for 25 days allows for that scene to unfold naturally in it’s own time.

Saturday night our Glee Club knocked it out of the park singing for the Desoto girls. The hit of the night by far came at the very end. The Scouts performed their brand new song, Double Moosetracks. I mentioned the song in one of my previous Sunday posts. We’ve been singing it every Sunday in the dining hall. It’s a tale told from a camper’s viewpoint about whether his tribe will win competition that week, thus earning him double moosetracks. The girls loved it! And even sang along by the end. It’s such a catchy tune, set to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah (popularized by Jeff Buckley as well). I know that sounds strange, it’s a bit of a haunting tune. But with the new words and boys swaying spoons in the air through the chorus, everyone who hears it smiles and laughs along.

A Sunday late reveille and restful day was welcomed after a later than usual evening with the ladies. Cold watermelon sliced fresh on Sunday afternoon and a vespers evening service Sunday night capped off our weekend.

Today we’ve enjoyed a final full day of activities and tonight each age group will get to play one more game together. Tomorrow day will be a mix of activities and packing, along with some necessary meetings to talk about travel plans, pass out lost and found, etc. Final banquet tomorrow night will honor activity award winners, honor campers in each age group, and the announcement of the coveted trophy for the term, Mohawk v. Cherokee.

And I almost forgot, tomorrow at breakfast we’ll celebrate America in style! Music and red, white, and blue decorations will get our day started right. Tonight Bully, Ben and I shoot off fireworks just before bed. We are so grateful to live in a country where we can enjoy all the wonder and amazement that camp allows!

Thanks for reading. This will be my last post of First Term. As a reminder our gates will open at 7:30 CDT on Wednesday morning. Most folks will have picked up by 10AM CDT. We ask for no visitors tomorrow (Tuesday) so we can enjoy one final day together as a camp community. We look forward to seeing you Wednesday morning!

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.