Mat's Travel Journal: July 2007

Camp Drake, Illinois 7/19/07

My wanderings in the past few years have taken me around the World. Where I sit now though might be the most impressive yet. I may only be in Illinois, a few miles from where I grew up, but I seem to have traveled back in time. Back to the late 80's and early 90's when I worked, and more importantly grew up, at this Boy Scout Camp, Camp Robert Drake.

I don't regret any choices I've made in life and, as is evident in these books I scribble in, I don't have many reasons too. However there have been many occasions, usually around the time I feel summer in my blood, that I wished I could go back and work at my beloved teenage summer home; take a 9 week break from the timeline of evolution and just go teach kids to swim, sing camp songs, and hang out with my fellow camp staffers. Luckily for me Camp Drake celebrates it's 75th Anniversary this summer and with it there was a special reunion day and dinner planned.

I visit Camp every time I pass through Philo, my childhood home and where my parents still live. That visit is usually around Christmas though and I am forced to walk through a winter setting and picture it green in my mind. With this reunion I now had a perfect reason, in a life that doesn't require a reason to go anywhere, to come back when camp is alive.

The reunion and dinner were last Saturday and it started my journey back in time. Old staff friends I had not seen or talked to in over a decade came back to tell stories that were still clear as day to me and other stories that I didn't recall at all. There was about 100 people in attendance representing camp staffs from eras as far back as the 30's. I saw too many friends to mention all of them by name. There was some co-staff members from my era and some staff from the years I was a camper. There were also campers from when I was on staff who went on to become staff after I left and keep the cycle turning.

The reunion wasn't my time warp though; more like a send off. A chance to look back in time before I actually stepped through the Looking Glass. On Sunday when all of my old friends continued on the current timeline and went back to their homes, waiting families, and jobs I rolled back into Camp Drake and picked up where I started 20 years ago and where I left off 15 years ago as a camp counselor on the aquatics staff.

I could only volunteer for a week but I figured it was probably as close as I would ever get to working back out here for a summer again.
My first day and night at Camp this week had me feeling confused. I was so excited to get here but once I arrived I felt out of place and a little awkward. As I marched back and forth on the pool deck that Sunday doing swim checks on the recently arrived campers I wondered if I looked as out of place as I felt.

There were a couple moments though that day that kept the smile on my face real and not just a show. A few Scout Masters that knew me came through and said hello and then a true surprise moment. "Hey weren't you working out here when I was a camper?" It was an Assistant Scout Master from Paxton who, after looking past his age, I recognized. "Yes I was but I swear I have not been here the whole time." I said as I laughed and shook his hand. I told him what brought me back and when I told him I thought it was great that he was still involved in his troop he corrected me. "Oh I just got back involved....now that my son is in Scouts. He just turned 11." Of course my fellow lifeguards heard this statement and busted up as they saw me doing the computation in my head. Yep, the numbers check out. Wow!

Camp physically looked as it did when I worked here with the exception of a couple new buildings but you quickly realize its people that make you feel comfortable in your surroundings not inanimate objects. All the personalities I knew were gone. In there places were new ones, still very similar to my era, but clicking among themselves. I was just on the sidelines looking in and I'll admit to wondering on that Monday morning if I might have made a mistake by coming here. I wasn't having a bad time but I worried that there was probably better ways to spend my time.

I jumped back into my groove though; teaching a Swimming Merit Badge class as well as helping out with the instructional swim class, working with kids that pretty much couldn't swim at all. I even led the Mile Swim program for the week answering the alarm clock at 6:15 a.m. each morning to meet some ambitious Scouts and one motivated Scout Master for chilly laps before flag raising.

By the end of Monday I felt great but I think it had less to do with me doing the programs I remembered so well and had more to do with the staff and campers. The real spark that fully ignited my campfire (Ha! I love a good metaphor!) again though came from a nameless unrecognized camper. As I sat in the Friendship Circle reading a book during some free time on Monday afternoon I looked up when I heard "Hey Mat" to see a young scout and his friend about 30 yards away. They waved as the continued on their path probably back to their camp site after a busy afternoon of Merit Badge classes.

It was just a mater of fact kind of "hi". A way for the them to feel a part of the Camp; proud to show that they knew the staff by name. They smiled and there was excitement in every step they took. I knew exactly how they felt. I recognized it because it was the same kid that I was once. Not the kid I was from the start...but eventually. An insecure kid from a small troop that failed his swim test the first year but would go on to teach hundreds of kids to swim. Like I said, I feel like I grew up here. It cracks me up to think at 33 it still took me a day or so to feel totally comfortable at Camp. It's just like it was when I was 11 and now, just like all those summers as a kid, I'm not ready for the week to end.

There is only one face and name still working at Camp that I knew from my day. Mike Graham was a new District Executive in the Council my last years on staff and has now been Camp Director for many years. He's the one that allowed me this amazing experience and I can't thank him enough. He said it would be great for the staff and I'd be like a consultant for the week. I don't think I had much to teach them though. They are a great staff and do things as good as or sometimes better than my era did. Of course I still took internal pride seeing them do some things that I could remember when or how it started.
As my week wraps up here though I do hope I taught the staff at least one thing; treasure these days. Treasure these experiences and opportunities. The chance to teach and in the process learn. The ability to have fun and while doing so inspire others.

It's getting late now and I have a mile swim in the morning so I suppose I should wrap up this entry. I could go on and on with more fun stories from this week and probably double the amount with stories from the past that they remind me of. In conclusion I'll say I am so glad I did this! In my year of wandering the globe my favorite spot might be this little area between Oakwood and Catlin, Illinois.

The closing of Whitman's poem "O Me, O Life" has been popping in my head the last couple days. The rest of the poem doesn't fit but the answer he comes up with seems to be how I feel.

"That you are here - That life exists and identity. That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse."

For 75 years Camp Drake has been a powerful play and I'm proud to say that from 1988 to 1992 I contributed a verse. In 2007 I joined in for one more chorus.

MJF

P.S. 7/20/07
I found a tent set up this morning at the bottom of the pool. A staff practical joke from my era that I told the guys about earlier this week. They pulled it off late last night in what feels like a tribute and send off to me on my final day. I can't stop smiling about it and when I found it this morning at 6:30 a.m. I had to wait a few minutes to stop laughing before I could start my laps.

The powerful play continues....and it's as strong as ever!
MJ