Yesterday while walking to work, I was transported back in time by the smell of garbage. It is safe to say that 4H Camp ruined me on organized camping. Just a year, or so prior, I had a great time at Girl Scout Camp where I successfully crossed the bridge from Brownie to Junior?? (I can’t remember the next level in Girl Scouts. I wasn’t a very good scout despite trying it out again in high school.) Anyway, 4H camp, with the exception of archery, sucked the big one. I didn’t think it would be that bad as my best friend, Kendra, went to camp with me. We had a big routine for the camp talent show planned out to Madonna’s Material Girl in which I performed the part of Madonna, while she danced around, twirling a baton (she was in the majorettes, or the group before the majorettes…I don’t remember exactly.) We both wore pink. Kendra wore her pink, sparkly leotard with matching pink tutu and tights and I work a pink, striped shirt and some shorts (they were probably white, but whatever). While I was disappointed that I did not have the beautiful gown that Madonna work in the Material Girl video, I was very proud of my pink jelly shoes – which Kendra later “borrowed” while I was off doing some camp related activity and ended up stretching them out with her boat-sized feet. [I'm thinking this was 1985? It was the summer before we moved to Kentucky and the summer that I got my dog, Wheatie. (aside: When I came home from camp, my mom and I were in Wal-Mart and she told me that she had a surprise for me when we got home. My answer: is it a baby brother?)] Wait, that was after my return from visiting my aunt in Kentucky, not camp. Whatever, that was 22 years ago.Anyway. Let’s try to get the train of thought back on its tracks.
We weren’t the only girls to perform to Material Girl, so needless to say we didn’t win. Some boys doing some humor bit about a peeing worm won. Maybe we should’ve gone with Like a Virgin.
I remember after the talent show, a “friend” (you know those people that are your friend only for the duration of camp) asked snottily, “is that how you’re going to dance tonight?” (aside: the big camp dance was that night.) I thought I danced fabulously, thankyouverymuch.
Back to why 4H camp sucked.
Kendra and I were not in the same bunk. I did sort of make friends with people, but only superficially. It’s hard for me to make friends. I have to grow on people. Like mold. It’s partially due to my crazy train of thought (see this post), my odd sense of humor and a host of other things. It’s not that I am incapable of making friends. I have plenty. I am a good person and a fairly good conversationalist. Mostly, though, it’s difficult for me to make new friends because initially I’m terribly shy and wrought with insecurity.
So, that was reason one. I was also homesick which, by the way, getting a letter from my mom mid-week did nothing to help that. It was one of those things that you want so badly, but it ends up only making things worse. The entire trip was a fiasco from the beginning: as soon as I stepped off the bus, I got gum all over my hands and clothes, I somehow soaked my towel, clothes and shoes when I went to take a shower and was befriended by some girls from my cabin who snuck me behind the other cabins to safety, I was terrible at sports so that was out (except archery) and, well, there were boys at camp. I did enjoy the fact that our team won a camp competition for best jingle, or something to that effect. We did a parody of the Toys R Us commercial.
I was never so happy to get home as I was the day we left that awful place in central Louisiana and every time I smell a particular type (??) of garbage, I am reminded of it all. You see, the camp had a snack shack where we could buy Cokes and other junk food goodies once a day (or something like that). The snack shack was located next to the camp dumpsters, which smelled extremely ripe and a bit like vomit. And, that, my friends was the smell that wafted toward me yesterday morning. Delicious.
-M
groovy
I was wondering what your point was….I get it now lol
yes, it does take me a while to get to the point…eventually I get there.