Latham Springs - Part 4

11^th Grade – Alpha/Omega

If there ever was a year for redemption, it was my junior year. Everything about my sophomore year pretty much sucked. Everything about my junior year (almost), represented the opposite end of that pendulum. And it only continued at Camp.

Leading up to camp, I remember meeting as a group when we chose our name. We discussed not to leave anything up for grabs. This was going to be our year. No more heartbreak. No more run-of-the-mill performance. We knew God was going to do some great things that year… and we knew we were going to do OUR part with the other stuff.

Strangely, there’s very little I remember about that week. I’m sure it would all come back to me if I talked to someone who remembers more than I do, but I remember mainly it was just an absolute blast.

The weeks leading up to camp, a core group of us would meet up and start prepping things. Our colors were purple and gold. Yes… we had colors. Normally it’s not quite that defined, but with some of the ideas we had rolling around in our heads (and our leaders’), those colors played a big part of our week. What made this year (and the next) so fun and funny was that our leaders shared our passion for winning. Heck… almost TOO much. But, one thing was sure... I think they knew we wouldn’t settle for anything less than our best this time. And to their credit, they made sure we gave it.

We had all sorts of props that year. Purple and gold dyed sheets (for use in Clean Cabin)… towels… PVC-made diplomas, complete with purple and gold ribbon. We had other things too. I actually came across that diploma thing the other day while cleaning out my attic.

Ever get that feeling when you KNOW a storm is coming and there was nothing you could do to stop it. Well… we were that storm.

I’m actually a little disappointed I am struggling to remember much about that year because it was so dang fun.

One thing that DID begin that year were my poems. I was always a very self-assured guy who didn’t really respond much to peer pressure. I wouldn’t say I was a ‘background’ guy, but I wasn’t normally out in front either. Well, one of the traditions of Camp was that groups would go up to the mic during meals and talk, talk smack, invite other groups to meals, lead in prayers… pretty much anything we could do to get attention and have fun, we’d try it at the mic.

Well… before dinner one night, I was hanging out on my bunk and I realized we didn’t have much mic material. Andy Bennett was worried we had ‘nothing’ to say up there, so I decided to come up with a poem about SOMETHING… I don’t know. But, it just flowed quickly. That night, as we were finishing up our time on the mic, I decided to tell everyone to hold on… “I have something to say.”

And wouldn’t you know? It was a hit. The whole cafeteria got a big kick out of it and gave the ultimate Camp Compliment: clapping in unison until I gave the final clap. I ain’t gonna lie… that was pretty dang intoxicating for someone who usually let others have the attention.

At breakfast the next morning, people were asking me if I had a poem ready. See, you can’t underestimate the impact of ‘mic time’. If you bomb at the mic, the rest of the place smells blood in the water. I’ve seen people and groups implode on the mic and it’s a sad sight to behold. You almost feel bad for them… almost. J

Back to my point… I didn’t have a poem ready. And people were disappointed. That blew me away. At that point… I KNEW I had something. And the rest is history. I don’t think Camp had another meal without one of my poems until I was in college. (But they DID make a comeback… more on that later.)

Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t some modern day Edgar Allen Poe… I wrote page long poems that rhymed, but that’s about it. But, they were funny. Or serious. Or whatever they needed to be. I was just able to strike a nerve with them. I enjoyed writing them. I enjoyed reading them. People enjoyed it too. It worked out pretty well for us all. J

As time wore on through the years, one of the biggest compliments people ever gave me was that my poems became part of Camp’s tradition. For someone who loves Camp like I do, to become a ‘part’ of what it means to others is about as good as it gets for me.

If all this (or anything else I’ve written) sounds egotistic then either you weren’t there or you don’t know me that well. I just soaked up all camp had to offer. After God, Camp was known for its traditions. Following them… and creating them.

I think for me… Alpha/Omega was about creating a new tradition.

Oh yeah… we won that year. Blew everyone away. But, honestly… we knew we would. That didn’t take the joy out of it, but when you’re on a mission to accomplish something, and you DO it… it feels good. But, the journey was the reward. The crowning was anti-climactic.

That year, I also remember my sister was a sponsor. It was cool with her there, but after we got back, she told me something that surprised me. I don’t know how she got her information or whether she was just trying to be nice… but apparently all my poetry and mic time got me so much attention that I was one of the leading vote-getters for Favorite Camper. How cool is that? I didn’t do anything with a purpose beyond having some fun and getting attention for our group. I enjoyed the attention, but that was a side-benefit.

But, knowing that a significant portion voted for me felt really cool. The two top individual awards at the time were Favorite Camper (voted by students) and Outstanding Camper (voted on by sponsors).

To get one of those is really a big honor. To be mentioned in the conversation, to me, was just a nice cap to what was an incredible year all around.