Burr

The first day of Boy Scout summer camp. It is a clear, sunny morning and the sounds of "good bye" and " have fun" echo in the air. There are bags everywhere and a big yellow school bus waits. It is time for Boy Scout summer camp.

It is a long ride filled with excitement. All of the scouts await the sign, " Welcome to Many Point." The trip is filled with scenes of farm field, and then the marvelously green woods.

We arrive at the camp. All you see is thick grass and billions of birch and pine trees. The tents go up. All of the sudden the calm woods turns into a small city. Big, green, musty, canvas wall tents fill the woods.

Everyone is hot and sweaty after putting up the massive tents. Then, the words that many fear are heard, "Hurry up! Get on your swimsuits; we have to go to the lake."

If those words were echoed a half-an-hour ago, there would be call for a celebration. But just as it was said, you start to feel cool, not hot. Some people even feel like putting on a light jacket. To those who have been in "the lake" before, the words can seem like a death sentence.

Down we march, with nothing but a beach towel in hand and with a swimsuit on. We arrive at a small, sandy beach after passing a vile smelling latrine. As you step on the beach, you feel the cold, blustery wind off of the lake. You cringe and you feel the coarse sand between your toes. You are feeling quite cold at this point. Goose bumps cover your limbs. Your towel is your only protection from the wind and cold.

You get the signal for your group to get on the dock. You walk barefoot on the rough wood of the dock. Every step you take, you feel colder and colder. You start to think how cold it will be when you jump in. Your group lines up on the dock ready to jump in. The cold wind is very strong and you feel like it will blow you off the dock. You hear one of the lifeguards say to the first person in the line, " O.K., jump in." There is a long pause. "Jump in, you can go now," says the lifeguard. The poor scout in the front of the line is thinking why in the world he came up here. The rest of the troop is shivering. The troop members straight out lie and say, "Jump in, it will be warmer when you get in the water." After much coaxing, the scout jumps in and he almost goes into shock. One after another, the scouts jumped in.

Many inappropriate words are shouted, and then it is your turn. "Go," says a lifeguard. You stand there and you say to yourself, "Just get it over with." You try to jump in, but you can’t. It is like your body won’t let you. After a long internal struggle, you leap and hit the "ice." (Well it should be ice because it feels like it is –10° F and you think how in the world it can still be in a liquid state.) The waves are huge; they crash over you. It is really, really cold! You knew that it was going to be cold, but it is ten times colder than you expected it to be. You feel that you have lost your body, because you are so numb. You have to remind yourself to breathe. Stroke, stroke, stroke, even the best of swimmers have a hard time making the swim. You finally complete your swim test and you have to swim to the shore. You scurry to the shore, but you stub your toes on the large, sharp rocks in the water. You finally make it to the shore. You feel the cold, strong wind against your blue skin. You run for your towel, your safety blanket. You dry yourself quickly, but you are still very cold. You are shivering at such a violent pace, you feel like your teeth will rattle out.

You and your troop hike back to your campsite. You crowd into your wall tent, change into about five layers of clothing, and then you put on your heavy jacket. The day continues with a tour of the camp. You can’t wait until tomorrow, when you can begin doing the various activities.

You eventually end up at a screened-in eating area. As you enter you see scout neckerchiefs from around the country pinned up. You see wooden benches and tables. You smell food and you see bowls of food on your table. You are hungry and you eat every last morsel of the homemade bread called "Granny’s Bread."

You later leave on a full stomach to your campsite. A campfire is later started. You sit down and see the dim, orange light reflect off of the dark leaves of the trees. You ponder about the coming days as you hear the soothing sounds of the majestic loons on the lake. After the campfire, you head back to your tent and sleep, or try to. You are anxious for the coming days, and somehow you fall asleep.

by: Benjamin J.U. Banwart, Eagle Scout