Mid-Holiday Ruminations

"Driest December in recorded history"......."Freezing fog but no precipitation"......"Is this the beginning of a long drought?"......  Yes, you heard this on the radio; you heard this on every channel (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, etc).  All of this told to you as if the end was near........no rain in December....the driest month ever...we are doomed.  There is no way any media station could ever (nor would they ever) sponsor a scout troop because their lack of trustworthiness is evident when comes to making up a story.  Seriously.....it had been a dry December until now....currently, 1" of rain is forecasted in the next 24 hours.  This is on top of what we have had prior to this day and what we will get in the days after the next 24 hours.  The way things are going this may turn out to be one of the wettest on record.  I guess media=hyperbole.

So a few people commented on my last post on New Years pessimism.  Sure, it may have been a little bit of a rant, but it was based purely on observations.  Heck, if I wrote about things that I have seen over the years I could write a book (hmmmm).  Yes, I know I can be a little harsh......maybe it is just my underlying cynicism......then again, maybe it is the fact that I haven't had more than a 48 hour period of time off since December 12th.  I shouldn't complain.....it is important that my colleagues be able to take Thanksgiving, Christmas (and the two weeks around Christmas), Spring Break (and when you work, you will find that your colleagues who have numerous children actually have spring break from February 1st through May 30th), Memorial and Labor day weekends.  No problem.....just don't complain when I take a week to teach National Camp School and then take a second week to train the Camp Parsons staff.....wow.....a two week "vacation".  So yes, I might get a little cynical, particularly when I have to deal with the aforementioned annoyances during my brief time off.

This week has been so busy that we have not been able to plan the CP holiday gathering.  Unfortunately, this event has been on the decline for many years.  A long, long time ago (I can still remember.......) we used to have CP staff gatherings, some of which were epic.  I remember when we used to rent out a buffet restaurant in Lake City and put on skits through the night (yes cheesy, but it was fun).  In the last two decades there have been some memorable events.  One was at a place (that does not exist anymore) near Lake Union that was a large "game room".  You came in, went through a buffet and sat as a group.  The employees then would take you to a special room and you would play Jeopardy just like you would on television.  It just wasn't a game, they had the electronics to support it.....it really was like you were playing the real game.  Another epic Christmas gathering was leasing an Argosy cruise ship for a tour of the Puget Sound while dining on pizza and having a "white elephant" exchange.  As the years went on (and funds dried up a little) we went to pizza and bowling.  Alas, we found that some of our younger staff members would tell their parents they were going to a "scout" event, be dropped off and then promptly leave to do their own thing.  It became apparent to us that as we cannot assure that everyone stays together (like a scout troop would) it wasn't worth the time or energy (or money) to support something that only a fraction of the staff enjoyed.  The final evolution of the CP gathering was mainly those over 21 and became more of an alumni event which was very enjoyable, but time and schedules have become more of an issue, much like mine this year.  Some time in the future, we will resurrect the old Christmas party for the entire staff....but it will be heavily chaperoned.....just like any troop would.

Although we are coming to the end of the calendar year, this does not change the fact that we have many projects underway at camp.  We work on the "camp" calendar.  The first of our "year" begins the day the staff arrive.  We still need to finish the Trading Post (which is getting close) as well as a few other projects.  Once again, if you haven't heard......MBC has been saved from my lighter.  Ken was right.....there is no way we would get a permit to rebuild on that site, so he did the next best thing......it is now gutted...no longer the cabin that many of you remember.  Yes....many of the walls are gone....even my name has been ripped (with my consent) from the wall.  The plan is to put three adult sized rooms in that space and have a separate shower room and bathroom.  It is a new era folks.  The younger staff can no longer be trusted with a beachfront property so they will be relegated back to common housing and MBC will be rebuilt to house Visiting Commissioners.  Why not...for years I have had to hear from the VCs about noise in MBL where they had to live, so why not take the guys in MBC and move them to MBL and the VCs to MBC.  That way the idiots can be up all night and the elderly can sleep.  To me that is a win/win.......don't you think?

Then again, let's just say that if the MBC alumni got together and collectively raised close to $1 million for the dining hall....then I would be OK to keep it the same way, i.e:  the MBC you know and love.  I don't know.....but I could be persuaded.

C'mon.....you can feel the cynicism can't you?  It is just like the bad part of a physical examination.....