Not So Much With The Maggots
2005-05-16,

There's a song that I wish to any power that might exist on this plane or any other, had never been recorded. It's 'Memphis Soul Song' by Uncle Kracker. It's a song that'd make me fill my ears with Super Glue rather than hear it again. I mean, the song itself is rather inane and that, while annoying, wouldn't drive me to such drastic measures. It's the 'singer', if I must be forced to call him that. Oh, the pain. How can a song get past so many recording people with the lead singing so sharp!? So sharp! Every verse! The chorus isn't as painful, but I get the feeling that it's the same chorus used repeatedly throughout. They all just sound so the same. I'll have to do some analysis to prove it, but I think it's easy to surmise that this person singing does not bar the ability to duplicate his vocals so consistently. Ack.

'Camping' this weekend - if you call staying in a bunk bed-filled cabin camping - was a whole lot of fun, despite the rain. We got there an hour or two ahead of a nasty thunderstorm, which cancelled the scheduled bonfire. The camp where we were staying - the same camp (Manatoc) that I went to twice for Summer Camp as a Boy Scout myself - is known for its massive bonfires; we wandered into the fire ring area when we first arrived just while checking the place out, and the stack of wood prepped for burning was higher than my head. That's a big fire, folks. So the evening festivities of a snack, camp songs and silly skits all took place in the cramped, hot, wormy chestnut mess hall.

Guilt kept me from sleeping for quite a while: the guilt of snoring. I stayed up to give the kids that were bunking in the same room a chance to fall asleep before being subjected that that which was once described as sounding 'like trying to snort a Volkswagen up [my] nose'. (Yes, I know.) Eventually I crept into my squeaky bunk, where I managed an hour or so of sleep, until I started getting the feeling like my precautions weren't enough. Maybe I was being oversensitive, but I still made myself eventually go out and sleep in the van. The kids needed sleep-- it was going to be a long day coming. I actually slept in the van, too, though I at one point had a nightmare of sorts, where I was updating my journal there in the van on Lappy, and then someone hacked my journal and turned it into a porn site, right in front of my eyes while I was trying to add an entry. H then poked her head in the vehicle and said, "Why the heck are you sleeping out here?" Then I woke up. Apparently you have dumb dreams when you're curled up in a minivan captain's chair.

And what's the first thing the boys got put in their hands after breakfast? Guns! BB guns, to be specific. There's a low tech shooting range there, and the boys got a chance to learn about gun safety from Scout experts. Great, I thought, here's a chance for the boy to really get upset over not doing well. He is both something of a perfectionist and also raised without ever having a toy gun of any kind, not a good combination. Then they tell us that if they get a certain number of points (35), there's a patch to earn. Great again, thinks me to myself. Something he can hope to get and then not.

So the group, including The Boy, gets all their careful instructions and gets set to fire. Round one of two done, and The Boy at least hits the target once, close to the center. Whew, thinks me, it'll be an easier pep talk afterward. Then comes Round Two, wherein The Boy becomes a sharpshooter and pegs the thing with all 5 shots (47 points). Wowzers. Awesome. Patch on its way.

Next phase of the day: the Great Camp Traverse, parts I, II, and III, wherein we cross the length of the camp three times. Mind you, this is no small place. First was to a nature observation section, near the lake. After that, by the lake for Funoes. (fun+canoes=Funoes!) They paddled around in circles (and the ages, and the ages) for a while, then it was time to head to lunch. Which was on the other side of camp. After a round of (I guessed it would be) hot dogs, it was... back to the lake! For fishing! The Boy, no to mention either of us, was interested in using live bait or, for that matter, actually catching a fish, which made for an interesting fishing experience. Someone else baited his line to start, with a (blech) maggot - and a BIG one, too - but it didn't last long. I wanted to bait the thing, but one look into the cup of squirming white things was more than enough, let alone actually sticking my fingers in there. Luckily, we also learned that fresh corn also makes for good bait, and there was some on hand (whew). The Boy took it as an opportunity to practice casting, more than anything, because he was taking efforts to make sure that we didn't actually catch anything. Anytime there was even a hint of a nibble, the line got reeled in. We did manage, however, to catch a couple of unfortunate waterlogged leaves; these were set free immediately after careful extraction from the hook.

Most of the rest of the day was spent relaxing, save for Archery, where The Boy finally had some difficulty, though he certainly didn't seem to mind. The adults got to participate in this one, and H managed to score higher than me. Good to know where the family's strengths are-- you know, for when society collapses and we need to start hunting for food and defending ourselves from roving bandits. I'm looking forward to fining out what The Girl's as-yet untapped survival skill will be. Time will tell.

-- End Transmission --