Latham Springs - Part 8

More miscellaneous Camp 'stuff'...

LUGGAGE

You get to Latham Springs... head to the Tabernacle for a 'Welcome to Camp' rally... head to the cafeteria for lunch. While at lunch, most people and groups are wandering about, not quite sure whether they should be throwing chants and cheers down or just eat. All the while... Brad McMullen and a few others (but ALWAYS Brad), is losing 12 pounds of sweat as the U-Haul goes cabin to cabin, dumping off luggage. I helped out one year when I was in shape. Stuck in the back of the U-Haul with no airflow, sifting through luggage for 300 people. That's no easy task. And Brad did it EVERY YEAR. So, while everyone was out having fun... Brad humbly served to make sure we all had our stuff. Thanks Brad! (Although I think I'm still missing a pillow from 10th grade!)

BASKETBALL COURT

Normally, the camp leader (Benny Proffitt, Randy Gressett, Keith Smith, Todd Gaston) would make sure to get out amongst the students and show they are accessible. Benny was very athletic and a thick, fit man. Randy? Dude was skinny like a pipe cleaner. Keith and Todd? Somewhere in the middle... and they LOVED to play basketball. Well... for basketball, there was one game in town, and that was outside the barn, along the road behind Swank Field. Keith and Todd were actually pretty good too. Well, that is until you fouled them. I'll spare the gory details, but let's just say their competitive nature came out time and time again on that court. They were usually facing each other... and it was pure comedy. Listening to them bark and whine on the court was legendary. To this day, I've never heard more whining on a basketball court than when those two were on it. But, it was one way they would connect with a lot of the guys in the youth group, and that helped their ministry. But, it sure elicited a lot of eyerolls on the court! lol

PUTT PUTT
Remember the stellar putt-putt course they built behind the Tabernacle? You don't? It was the one built with hollow piping on a cement slab... the one with no shade... the one where Jr High kids went to play something outside because they couldn't get into the basketball game or softball game. The one that never was brushed clean, so if you wanted to play, you had about 9 leaves per hole to either move or putt around. Hey, it was a nice try. :)

PING PONG

The other great outdoor hang-out? The ping-pong tables so warped from the heat, you could never count on a true bounce because the angle of the table may push the ball the opposite direction you think it should go. Some people were really good. Most weren't. My favorite game? Around the world where 6-7 people would play at once, rounding the table taking turns hitting. Miss and you're out. Last man standing wins. Amazing the ingenuity we had. Some of the coolest times at camp were around those tables, talking, flirting, getting cokes in the middle of the night and chatting, hoping for General Patton not to catch you... stepping on crunching June bugs and crickets. And... it was one of the most popular places to forget a Bible or camp schedule/devotional book. Good times.

ATOMIC SIT UPS

If you know, you know. If you don't, you don't want to.