Things learned at summer camp
“There was a farmer who was a weak man. His wife was very rich. They bought a farm and they named it ‘Harry Butt’. A few years later, they had a son who they named Crack. One day the farmer couldn’t find his son, and he called the police, and he said, ‘Hello? 911? I’ve looked all over my Harry Butt and I can’t find my Crack!’”
At which point, the dotter busts up laughing like crazy. For a few minutes, she can’t speak, she’s so giggly. And I get giggly just listening to her giggle.
A joke. A real life (old and hoary) (and somewhat discombobulated) joke.
Then there’s:
“I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves,
Everybody’s nerves,
Everybody’s nerves.
I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves,
And this is how it goes:
I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves…”
Which goes on and on and the musical theme never resolves and it’s like fingernails on chalkboard, all of which amuses the dotter to no end.
Then there’s:
“Did you know that the man who is the president made us get into a war? And there wasn’t really a reason? And people died?” (This led to a quick recap of 9-11, thousands of people dying, Afghanistan, Iraq ["A rock? Why'd we take a rock to war?"], why people would do such a thing, and presidents that systematically gut constitutional checks and balances, all in terms a six-year-old would understand.) “I don’t think he’s a very nice president.”
(I have to admit I was extremely surprised that she got this version of GWB, especially hereabouts. I would have assumed that GWB would be portrayed as heroic. It was interesting.)
Then there’s hopscotch, jumprope, four-square, a wild variety of clapping games that have variants I don’t know but that I’m learning as quickly as I can, dissecting owl pellets (”Did you know that owl pellets are owl vomit?! Ewwwww! But I found a whole jaw bone!”), gold rush stories, mosquito bites galore, learning to shoot a bow and arrow, and the latest crush, a boy named C., though Mr. Zane, one of the 18-year-old camp counselors, is almost as good as C.
posted in OmegaDotter, Pop Culture, Socializing | 3 Comments
