Potato cannons, rifles, rockets, power boats, zip lines, and a real lack
of supervision, pretty much sums up Camp Teepee pole.
This camp holds a lot of memories for me. I attended this summer camp for boys from age
11 until I was about 17. It is a high
test youth camp that involved climbing and rappelling, white water rafting,
shooting rifles and shotguns among other things. For eighteen years I thought
of coming back as a counsellor to give back into something that was so
influential in my life.
Well this week I completed 6 days of counselling at Camp Teepee Pole and
successfully achieved one of my I Ho Chuan goals. There is so much to be said about this
camp. Right now though, I want to thank
my wife Stephanie for her encouragement and sacrifice of her own time as camp
cook to help make this possible for me and my son (he attended as well.)
Burnt fingers from fire starting, hundreds of bruises from field games, half
drowned kids tubing down rivers, countless cuts from carving and pocket knives,
tree climbing injuries, a broken toe, and the list went on and on. It was a week where at any given moment
there was something hazardous going on.
But that is what makes this camp one of a kind for boys turning to young
men. From the side of a counsellor I
finally realize the sacrifice that went into providing this experience when I
was a kid. Something at the time I
really took for granted. As difficult a
week as this was, it is something that I plan to continue to do. In a way I think this camp needs people that
under think safety, tend to have a lot of kid in them….people just like me.
No comments:
Post a Comment