Summer Camp

by Cathy Pickens

Okay, summer’s half over, so what have you done for fun? When fall comes, about what will you write your “What I Did On My Summer Vacation” essay?

True, you’re probably not going back to school and no English teacher is going to torture you by requiring an essay.

Still, wouldn’t it be fun to look back on your summer with the same happy-that-it-came/sad-that-it’s-passing sigh that you had as a kid?

So, when was the last time you went to summer camp? What?? It’s been years? Why?

It’s not too late. What would you like to do this summer? Trips to exotic locations? A pampered spa retreat? A challenging outdoor experience?

Yeah, that would be great. But mundane things like money, time, work and family commitments cut into that summer freedom we remember from childhood.

I started thinking about the magical taste that summer has when I began planning an MBA elective at Queens University of Charlotte on creativity for business. Why can’t grown-ups have the fun – and the benefit – of a summer camp, despite all their other responsibilities?

Sure, you say, that would be easy if I had unlimited time and money, but it’s possible even with limited resources. The limits can add to the fun and the challenge.

What would you like to do? Art camp? Music camp? Science camp? How about a trip to the library to get books on drawing or the latest on brain science research [The Female Brain and Brain Rules are great reads.] At the library, check out some classical music CDs. Head to the art store for a few supplies.

Check the listing at your area colleges and universities for noncredit courses – everything from ballroom dancing to landscape design to creative writing.

Or many cities have shops that offer courses on beading or jewelry-making, ceramic painting, photography … or pole dancing. Most are inexpensive and are taught by enthusiastic artists passionate about their subject and experienced at teaching it to others.

The hardest part for you will be narrowing down your choices.

Don’t live in a city that offers lots of options? Start something at your community center or church. Heck, check out Mindy Friddle on this blog, talking about starting The Writing Room in Greenville, South Carolina.

Create your own literature camp. Months ago, I embarked on a reading program – a sort of literature camp. I finished two Jane Austen biographies (one on audio from the library, while I was running my usual errands), re-read some Austen novels, checked out the BBC video versions, even read The Jane Austen Book Club.

Maybe for your literature camp, you might want to try a new writer. Someone on this blog? Check out his or her website. Try one of their books. That’s a summer camp that can fit into the crevices of a busy life.

In June, my husband and I went to Owensboro, Kentucky to watch mystery plays. I love mystery plays, starting with Agatha Christie. [If you can be anywhere near Owensboro next June, I would recommend that you check it out – great fun and a pleasant city to visit.] Click on Discovering New Mysteries

When we got home, I checked out some library books on writing screenplays and spent some time playing with ideas for writing my own screenplay. I haven’t written a play yet, but I might. And playing with the ideas was fun.

I also crocheted a purse. I saw the pattern in a store, bought three balls of yarn, and wrestled with a less-than-perfect pattern and my rusty needlework skills. After several months, I finished it. Maybe I’ll carry it. The important thing was that I challenged myself with something.

The real secret to summer camp? EXPECT to have fun. Attitude can make the ordinary an adventure.

What will you try? A new recipe? An elegant picnic for family and friends? Shag dancing with your spouse? Learning what your digital camera can do? Taking your children – or borrowing children – to explore something in your area that you haven’t visited before – a train museum, a park, a tea party café?

The possibilities are endless.

So what will you get for your efforts? Awakened brain cells, energized synapses firing, a proven way to stave off dementia, a new way of looking at things, a sense of accomplishment.

Heck, you’ll have some fun. And, if anybody asks what you did over the summer, make them so jealous they’ll want their own summer camp!

ASSEMBLY REQUIRED by T. Lynn Ocean

An afternoon with author T. Lynn Ocean...

Summertime means spending lots of time outdoors, whether swinging in a hammock with a great book (like Southern Fatality!) or socializing at a neighborhood cookout. But summertime can also bring that dreaded message: Assembly Required.

My husband was walking stiffly, a look of fierce determination on his face, taking much longer than normal steps.

"Are you okay?" I asked, figuring he must have hurt his back.

He stopped in mid-stride. "Hmmm?"

"Can I get you some Advil or something? You're walking funny."

He was stepping off the distance of the deck to determine the best place to put our new gas grill, he explained, slightly annoyed that I'd broken his concentration. He went back to the far side of the deck, did the stiff-legged march thing again, and made a mental calculation. I imagined the new grill would end up in the same spot as the old charcoal one, but with my husband, some things are a process.

Once he decided where our new outdoor addition would go, he hauled the giant cardboard box to the deck and spread out its contents, telling me to get the chicken breasts ready to grill. He'd be done in half an hour, he predicted. Twenty minutes later, I brought him a Coke. Several crumpled pieces of paper—what I assumed to be diagrams and directions—lay scattered next to a variety of tools. The contraption in front of him resembled a grill, minus the tank and wheels, and little knobby things that turn it on.

"That side burner for pots," I said. "Shouldn't it be attached? And, uh, grate side up?"

"What?" he said, lying on his side to get a better look at the underside of the contraption.

"Never mind." I decided that I could always pan fry the chicken in the kitchen. "What's the deal with that baggie of parts over there."

"What parts? I've used all the parts."

"Oh. Probably, they're just extra parts. But that valve looks sort of important." I decided to hang out and offer moral support. Five minutes later, bored, I got the idea to measure the back yard. Starting in one corner with a straight back, I stepped it off to the other side. "Hey," I called to him. "How many feet are in one big step-off type step?"

"About three," he said, looking at me like I'd gone weird on him. "And they're called strides. Not steps. But your stride is shorter. Maybe two and a half feet. Why are you measuring our yard?"

"Did you figure out where that valve thingie goes?" I asked, counting my strides from the corner of the yard back to the deck.

He told me that if I wanted something measured, to let him know. Apparently, only men are allowed to step things off. And then he instructed me that our new grill was ready to be christened. I returned with a plate of marinated chicken breasts and skewered veggies to find hubby staring at the massive grill like the proud father of a newborn. When he tried to light it, I instinctively backed away several steps (two and a half strides, actually).

We heard clicking sounds, but no flames appeared. Frowning, he studied the grill, the extra parts, and smoothed out a crumpled instruction sheet. I left and returned with beers. Nearly an hour and a half after the assembly effort began, we finally had fire. Nothing blew up. Hubby smiled in victory. We ate outside, admiring our new grill, enjoying the evening sounds. The dinner was delicious.

"Would this be a bad time to mention that I bought a new teakwood patio set?" I said. "It was on sale."

He agreed that we needed some new outdoor furniture.

"It's uh, sort of in boxes," I mumbled. "Assembly required."

CHECK OUT T. LYNN OCEAN'S NEW MYSTERY SERIES. The first in the Jersey Barnes mysteries, Southern Fatality, is being reprinted in mass market paperback this July. Southern Poison, second in the series, comes out Sept. 2. For more info, visit the website at http://www.tlynnocean.com/