The staff members who were there from the beginning and survived the entire summer were Cute, Momma Bear, Reading Bobcat (who became Bobcat and finally just Bob), Hillbilly (who was constantly called Hillybilly by campers), Peanut Butter, Flower, Spanky, Rigatoni, Ranger Indy, Fren, Mouth, Starz, Sport, Tie, Steak, Symphony (me), Sassy, Hummingbird, Simone and Tiny T.
Our great add-ins were Scooby, Dora, Grace (who is the best cook ever!), Chill, Rasputin (whom had many different names one of which was my favorite Evil Russian Dude), Emerald, Splash (who later became Splashy) Spiffy (who was first a camper, and whom campers thought was my sister), Snow, Pocahontas and Smiley.
The first two weeks, Pre-Production, was way too long and everyone agreed on that. During that time we learned a lot, became CPR/First Aid (some became Lifeguard) certified, went horseback riding (thanks to Mouth for making me comfortable), did our swim check, went on a shopping trip and argued over whether or not white horses exist (I say they do, Mouth says they don’t.
When we went on the Pool Hike I spent the entire time keeping bugs and other creepy crawlies off of Mouth’s back. Some one threw away the leftovers from their lunch in the unit we were all sleeping in and we got a very furry visitor in the middle of the night.
We got camp cleaned up and ready for Open House. It was hard work but it was fun. For open house we took groups of parents and future campers on tours of camp. In my second (and last) group there were two really young girls and the three year old grabbed my hand and had me go with her when she petted the horse that was being used for demos.
Pre-Production was fun. It was a great learning experience, I made many new friends and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I love you guys!