With so much going on these last few weeks, something had to give - so, I offer my apologies for my Life-in-Tents disappearance. Life has been good - camp is going very well, and so is Greek - and the end of both is in sight, which brings me much joy and sadness...I'll let you guess which emotion goes with what. About the only thing missing from this amazing summer has been Rebecca at my side - it has been weird not sharing the awesomeness of camp with her on a daily basis. I miss seeing and hearing from those I've shared my life with up until this summer as well - it's still hard to believe that I've been here for 2 months already. We have much to catch up on...
It seems every time I sit down to post an entry something comes up - the life of a program director is a busy one. I truly love my job, but there have been some long days that have consumed me. I am pleased to see the pieces fitting together and things going more smoothly now. I also have to "check in" with the happenings every so often - like right now. We're playing Bonkers tonight - so I better go catch some of the action. I'll be right back. You won't even know I'm gone.
Enough catching up - I have a funny story to tell. I have been waiting to tell this one for awhile. Here at camp, some of the staff like to pull pranks on one another. Being an old prankster myself, I knew it was a good place to get some of the cobwebs shaken off and get back into the game myself. My brother and another staff member have been busy doing most of the pranking - and have been quite successful. I'm very proud of some of those pranks - and others, I can only shake my head in wonder... For instance, one prank involved revving up a chain less chainsaw in the middle of a campfire near an open field of tall grass - and another involved creeping through a cabin (full of counselors, not campers) dressed as an old woman and mumbling to "herself" at 3 in the morning. They once placed a giant scarecrow in another female staff members' bedroom and so on. So, I decided to get in on the action too. Here's what transpired:
My brother and I had this mask growing up - the old man mask. It's creepy. We both at one time wore it for Halloween. While talking about scary stories one night at camp, we wondered aloud whatever happened to the mask. I told him I'd look for it that weekend while home. We both wanted it for the same reason - and I just happened to be able to look for it before him. I found it alright - but I told him that I hadn't when I returned. So, here I am with the old man mask, trying to pick the most opportune time to unleash it's creepiness upon him and his prankster partner Jacob. I decided that the best time to strike would be early in the morning when they least expected it. I snuck over to Dave's room one morning and crept into his cabin. He was in the shower and his roommate was up - so I aborted my attempt. The next time I tried, the first door to his cabin squeaked loudly - I wondered whether I had already been compromised. When I reached his bedroom door and began to open it slowly, it creaked and squeaked so loudly that it woke him up. I had to dodge out of the way and rip off the mask without him seeing me. I popped back into his room and told him I was looking for something and was sorry to wake him. I departed the cabin - attempt number two was therefore aborted as well.
I waited a few days before trying a third time. When I couldn't get into the cabin without making a lot of noise, I decided that I could not get him the way I wanted to. The original idea was to creep undetected into his bedroom and sit on the edge of his bed, and then sit there silently while wearing the mask and watching him sleep. I would wait for him to awake and see me sitting there. Oh, the fright I would cause. Alas, it was not meant to be. Instead, I decided to try and get his buddy, Jacob, who lived next door and has been the mastermind behind most of the pranks.
Upon entering his cabin, the first variable was Eric, the sleeping counselor on his couch. I tried Jacob's door but it seemed to be locked or jammed somehow. I wasn't going to get in there unheard either. Drat. So, I thought of a plan B quickly. I decided I'd wait in his bathroom - when he got up and inevitably came into the bathroom to go pee (it's a common practice that all men do upon waking up in the morning, right?) he'd receive his surprise from me. Sitting on his toilet would be a creepy old man...ah, the waiting would be so worth it I thought.
As you can probably imagine, things did not go exactly to plan. I started waiting at 8 am. I knew that he needed to be up by 9 am because campers would be visiting him to retrieve their medications then. I assumed he'd probably get up around 8:30 and get ready. I'd only need to wait around 30 minutes. A long time, but worth the pay off for sure. Around 8:20 am, I heard a door open - and it was not Jacob's. I realized that Andrew, his cabin mate, had woken up before him and was about to probably stumble upon me. This was not good - I needed as few people to know of my intentions as possible. Plus, I didn't want to scare an innocent person. I hid behind the door and held my breath. Andrew entered. I stood silently, wearing the mask. He walked slowly in and did not make a sound. He was looking down, so he saw my feet first, then inched his gaze up until we were eye to eye. I broke the silence and awkwardness with the first word. "Sorry, I'm trying to scare Jacob." "Oh, okay" was the only response. I left and let him do his business. Then I entered again and resumed my post. It was really weird. I was beginning to feel really stupid. However, I stayed determined to finish the job.
At 8:30 am, there was more commotion. Someone had entered the cabin and was looking for Jacob. They woke up the sleeping counselor on the couch. He managed to get rid of the premature visitors. More awkwardness followed - Eric decided to stay up and go to the bathroom. I again, hid behind the door and decided to stay quiet. He entered and saw me immediately. I caught him by surprise - no sound, just the ol' "deer in the headlights" look. Again, breaking the silence first was me - "Sorry, I'm trying to scare Jacob." This time, I received a little satisfaction as he mentioned that I was in fact, quite convincing. I tried to enlist his help by asking him to try the door - but, he was met with the same results. He then knocked on his door and asked him about the campers, in hopes to rouse him out of bed. No luck. The waiting game continued.
By about 8:45 am, I was beginning to really wonder if this was all worth it. I had a lot to do that morning and I had just wasted 45 minutes in another man's bathroom, doing nothing but startling the innocent. Sure, I knew this was shaping out to be quite the story, but I was having serious doubts about the payoff's worth. I decided to stick it out now that all the others were gone and there would be no more interference. Then, 8:50 rolled by - 8:53, 8:55 am... When was he going to get up?! This was going to be cutting it real close. I held on and stood my ground. Finally, motion around 8:57 - he exited his room.... I braced for the payoff.... and he walked right past the bathroom and out of the cabin. My first thought was "You've got to be kidding me! Who doesn't go to the bathroom after waking up?!?!?!"
So, I just sat in a bathroom for an hour and did not accomplish my goal. Ridiculous - I felt like a total goon. Now, the predicament was much bigger than I had anticipated. I could not exit through the front door because campers would be entering and visiting Jacob (he's the health aide) on the other side of the cabin. I needed an alternate escape. I realized that the only way out was through the window. Removing the screen in one of the spare bedrooms was a cinch. I was out in no time at all. Then I just nonchalantly walked away with no one the wiser. It felt good to make a clean get-away, even though I felt like the biggest loser.
It was off to do some damage control - I had to find Eric and Andrew and keep them quiet so word wouldn't spread back to Jacob of my failed attempt. It would have been disaster for my reputation. I reached Andrew first and filled him in - luckily for me, Andrew didn't talk much - so he hadn't told anyone yet. Eric on the other hand, wasn't as tight-lipped. He had told two others - so I raced to find them to keep them from continuing the telephone game. They hadn't said anything else, so at least I was covered there. I couldn't believe what had just happened. What a disaster - and an intrigue. In all my years, I've never met a dude who didn't visit the bathroom to take care of himself right away in the morning. Nothing - not even a drop.
I had to tell the story to somebody - and I managed to fill a few in on the craziness. I found out from one of these hearers that Jacob had freaked out a little when I was trying to get into his room - but his door was latched from the inside. So, I felt that I had at least, on some minuscule level, frightened him psychologically. I decided to play off of this for my next attempt. A few days later, I did return, and I did manage to scare him. Not a great payoff - but a payoff nevertheless.
I shall have to chalk it up to a learning experience and strive for excellence next time. Victory shall be mine...
