Weekend Update
Friday’s lunch was interrupted by evil villains who took over the mealtime announcements. You probably saw the photos. They were quite a cast of characters. They had come from a rival camp in Russia to steal the camp directors for their own camp. They escorted Carter and me out of the dining hall and down the ramps out of camp. Then over the loudspeakers the theme music to Mission Impossible began playing and the crowd went nuts! The boys mission was clear. They must save Carter and me and bring us back to Alpine!
Mission Impossible is essentially a camp wide game of spotlight, which challenges cabins to travel from location to location transmitting secret codes between “good agents,” all while avoiding being spotted and sent back to their beginning by “bad agents.” The game is simple enough, but it only takes place once in a term. Boys look forward to this event all year long. That evening boys gathered in the gym, clad in all sorts of camo attire (and even a full fledged gilly suit) to hunt us down. I’m happy to report that three cabins succeeded in finding us and returning us unharmed to our jobs at Alpine. Carter and I treated these three cabins to an extra ice cream treat the next night to say thanks.
Saturday’s weather was delightful. Under sunny skies and not too hot conditions, boys continued rotating through their regularly scheduled activities. At the ropes course, courage was built as boys experienced life from the air on the high ropes course. Archery and riflery continued to practice their skills in preparation for final competitions. Speaking of which, the Alpine Open tennis tournament has begun for all age groups of boys taking tennis class. It may not be Wimbledon but I’ve seen some stiff competition. By the end of the term each age group will crown a winner.
Saturday afternoon brought another special activity Block period for each age group. Several groups played a new game that Richard has debuted called Roof Ball. It’s so simple and the boys love it. Each tribe throws frisbees onto the low porch roof of the gym. Then they have a certain time period to see how many they can knock off the roof with various types of balls. It is as entertaining to watch as it is to play. It’s amazing how much fun boys can have with a simple made up game! Richard also brought out another favorite, Alpine cricket, played on the tennis courts.
A change of pace was welcome yesterday after a full week, a day of rest and worship, and fun activities with cabinmates. Sundays at Alpine are special. They feel very different than the other 6 days. We first know it’s Sunday because we roll over about 7 expecting Reveille only to notice that all is still quiet. Even the young boys sleep in a bit after a busy week.
When we are on the road in the offseason talking to current and former campers we often ask them what traditions they remember best about camp. Sundays are almost always brought up in the first 2 or 3 favorites. And specifically pancakes on Sunday morning. Mrs. Crow’s pancakes, and now her daughter Mrs. Gail’s, are known throughout the Southeast by men and boys alike.
Sunday morning also lends time to an extra special “white glove” cabin inspection, also much needed after the busyness of the week. Somewhere in mid morning a bell rings and the entire camp lines up single file, clad in white Alpine shirts and any variety of white short. A second bell calls us to silence and we process into church one by one.
After church we head to the dining hall. Baked chicken, green beans, rice and homemade gravy, pears, and rolls await us. But most importantly, Moosetracks for dessert. This week the Mohawks edged out a win by only a few points, securing an extra bowl of ice cream. They were very excited after their narrow defeat in Week 1.
After Sunday lunch we also sing a traditional Alpine song, Thank you Lord, for Alpine. Written and set to music over 40 years ago by Bob Ross and Lee “Flop” Ozier, it has stood the test of time. And I would say has become known as the Alpine theme song. So many oft repeated phrases have come out of that song, such as “For rapids that flow” and “Mrs. Crow and her chow”.
Sunday afternoon once again brought time to run around and play some games as a cabin. A few cabins teamed up for a scavenger hunt, planned by their counselors. Others hiked in the woods. Still others played whiffle ball or Gladiator ball. We reunited at the end of the afternoon on the Team Sports field where we cut up cold, juicy watermelons.
Today has been the warmest of the term yet. Although still relative to down the mountain, it’s cool. It’s always 5 to 10 degrees cooler up here than even just down the Mountain in Fort Payne. This morning a group of Chiefs departed for an all day rock climbing trip out of camp. They are escorted by two of our climbing instructors and guided by our friends at Higher Ground out of Rome, GA. I talked to a few of the boys this afternoon who reported a fun and adventurous day.
Boys are now enjoying active night program games all throughout camp after a warm supper of spaghetti with meat sauce, Texas toast, and green salad with sliced tomatoes.
It’s hard to believe we only have one week of camp left. These last few days begin to get action packed with fun special events and final competitions.
Thanks for reading and good night for now, Glenn
