Glee Club
Each night after dinner boys have the option to attend Glee Club. It lasts for about 30-45 minutes in the gym. We sing songs written with Alpine lyrics to popular tunes through the years. Tonight several veteran staff were meeting on my screened porch with Carter and me during Glee Club. Our house and porch sit directly across the road from the gym. We can hear the sounds of the gym, whether musical or competitive (like right now as boys play some game together!) We began recounting all the songs written over the years. Some have stood the test of time. Others fallen by the wayside. We talked about which staff wrote which songs.
Tonight they sang an oldie, Hey Tree, to the tune of the Beatles, Hey Jude. Tree was our long time program director at camp. The gist of the song was for Tree to ring that camp bell and tell us the plan for the evening. Others have stood the test of time like Desoto Girl to Brown Eyed Girl, and Blues at Alpine ( a woeful tale about a boy’s hair sticking up at the dance, to the tune of Clapton’s Wonderful Tonight).
Newer favorites include “Little River, Here We Come” to the tune of a fairly obscure song called California. And “Filled Up” to Arcade Fire’s Wake Up. It’s a great song about being filled up spiritually and physically by all the experiences of camp. And I think I’ve mentioned it already, but the perennial favorite is “Say It’s French Toast” to Weezer’s Say It Ain’t So. It’s just so much fun. Who doesn’t want to sing about bacon and French toast!
The boys who choose to join Glee Club get a point for their tribe. And they practice all term working up to a special performance for the ladies of Camp Desoto on one of the last evenings of camp. Some of the Chiefs will even perform a special step dance and write an original song to sing for the girls.
Boys are fun and creative, especially when you remove some of the electronic distractions and the social pressures of home. Camp frees boys up to not worry as much about being “cool” (as evidenced by the fact that almost everyone joins something called Glee Club, which sounds like something out of the 1960’s!).
It’s been a smooth day at camp with nice weather, no rain, and continuing activities. For breakfast we enjoyed bacon and French toast, along with the cereal/yogurt/fruit bar. A taco buffet was served for dinner complete with tortilla chips, ground beef, grated cheese, sliced veggies, lettuce, salsa and sour cream. After filling our plates we picnicked on the lawn of the Dining Hall and Lodge with cabinmates and counselors.
All is well on the Mountain. Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn
