Shield The Joyous

Bob Ross could not have painted a more picturesque mountain scene to open Alpine’s 67th First Term of camp this morning. Parents, we are delighted to have your boys with us. It was a joy to see so many familiar faces and also welcome many new ones. At our opening meeting just prior to lunch I reminded campers that it’s perfectly normal to be a bit homesick these first few days, whether it’s your first year or ninth. My tip to all was that telling someone about your feelings of missing home is almost sure to make you feel better. Our tendency as guys is to hold in our emotions out of embarrasment or fear of seeming weak. And yet almost universally it helps to just get it out.

Though I’m quite sure everyone is missing a little something about home today, all outward signs point to an excited group of campers who are eager to have fun and get into the swing of camp.I’ve witnessed so many longtime friendships pick right up where they left off last summer. I’ve also loved seeing newer campers (or perhaps campers moving from JR to First) mix right in and meet new friends. Of course the glue is the counselors. They are the secret sauce at Alpine. I’m so, so very excited about this group of staff this summer. It’s a nice blend of returning counselors, completely new counselors to Alpine, and former campers who are serving on staff for the first time. I even had our brand new counselors raise their hands in our opening meeting to remind all the new guys they are not alone.

Every staff has a personality or a feel to it (vibe? aura? is that what the kids say?). I would characterize this group as very positive and eager to please. They bought in very quickly to some of the hallmarks of Alpine like unplugging. This morning and afternoon they played some get to know you and icebreaker type games around camp, in between other necessary stops like health and lice checks. Cabin photos were snapped and will be posted tomorrow along with lots of other photos from the day.

Last night Carter and I gave each counselor a copy of a book called, Shield the Joyous, by Chad Holley. Chad is a friend and former counselor at Alpine. This is his first work of fiction, a hilarious and moving tale about boys growing up in a small town. I loved it so much that I bought a copy for each counselor. It reminds me so much of young boys at Alpine with all of their creativity and playfulness and innocence. The title comes from a prayer attributed to Augustine: “give rest to the weary, bless the dying, soothe the suffering, pity the afflicted, shield the joyous; and all for love’s sake.” I love this so much and told our staff that this is what I see our job as this summer. We are tasked with providing such a safe environment for boys that they can grow in “wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man” while being shielded from the pressures of our day.

Part of being joyful is making sure we are fueled up for all the fun we’re gonna have! We served a mid morning snack of crackers and fruit as we know most boys were up early with excitement this morning. Lunch brought an Alpine opening day tradition: homemade chicken pot pie with Mrs. Crow’s famous silver dollar size buttery biscuits, now made by her daughter and head cook, Gail Collins. Served family style in large bowls, we also enjoyed green peas, corn and a green salad with diced tomatoes and ranch dressing. This evening chicken sandwiches and tater tots with all the fixin’s delighted boys after a busy afternoon of fun in camp.

All campers are headed back to cabins after night activities. They will end the evening tonight and every night with a devotional led by one of the counselors before falling asleep to the sounds of a summer night on Lookout Mountain.

Thanks for reading and for allowing your boys to be here this term, Glenn