I went to church camp in the 60's and just loved the all-nonsense let's just have fun function of it all. I also loved being one of 27 boys among 127 girls. I also loved the frank discussions about adolescent issues including sex. I loved the groovy 'sensitivity training' that was popular at the time. It was truly a building block to my adulthood.
On the other hand, I went to boy scout camp and kind of hated it. I hated the hazing, that even adults participated in. I hated the sports hierarchy, I hated the fighting in the woods. I don't remember why I went back, maybe I got older and bigger. The memories there more suggest 'Lord of the Flies'.
But Meatballs - Bill Murray's summer camp flick - is among my favorite movies.
-- JD1954
(To reply, click here)
I've never had the sleep-away camp experience, but the first year of college to me felt very much like what I'd imagine camp would be. You get to start with a fresh-slate identity (status no longer determined by previous school career), you stake out your corner, you make your alliances (and if the gods will it, your rapid romances) under that same sort of lax-supervision giddiness punctuated by organized group activity. And no doubt this particular petri dish can also predict future outcomes fairly well.
-- Hellzapoppin
(To reply, click here)
What did you think of this article?
Join The Fray: Our Reader Discussion Forum
I went to church camp in the 60's and just loved the all-nonsense let's just have fun function of it all. I also loved being one of 27 boys among 127 girls. I also loved the frank discussions about adolescent issues including sex. I loved the groovy 'sensitivity training' that was popular at the time. It was truly a building block to my adulthood.
On the other hand, I went to boy scout camp and kind of hated it. I hated the hazing, that even adults participated in. I hated the sports hierarchy, I hated the fighting in the woods. I don't remember why I went back, maybe I got older and bigger. The memories there more suggest 'Lord of the Flies'.
But Meatballs - Bill Murray's summer camp flick - is among my favorite movies.
-- JD1954
(To reply, click here)
I've never had the sleep-away camp experience, but the first year of college to me felt very much like what I'd imagine camp would be. You get to start with a fresh-slate identity (status no longer determined by previous school career), you stake out your corner, you make your alliances (and if the gods will it, your rapid romances) under that same sort of lax-supervision giddiness punctuated by organized group activity. And no doubt this particular petri dish can also predict future outcomes fairly well.
-- Hellzapoppin
(To reply, click here)