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Thursday, July 26,
2001 Once again, our intrepid campers raised their heads from their nice warm pillows (with great vim and vigor) to attack another day at camp. Also, in a scene that repeated itself several times, several male campers nearly tripped over themselves as they passed the cheerleaders who were returning to residence after their own breakfast. Not a pretty sight. In terms of breakfast, we were served a pleasant ham quiche and fresh-baked donuts. <Ahem!> Some days, things just don't run according to plan. In fact, early reports indicated that two of our instructors may have been briefly abducted by outside forces today. Starting her rounds of the classes as classes began, an assistant counselor found that the Hypnosis instructor hadn't yet appeared. Fearing the worst, an all-points-bulletin was sent out, the tracking dogs were released and she radioed out to co-ordinate the air search. Much to everyone's surprise, Gayle -- the instructor -- appeared a few minutes later, apologising profusely (having presumably escaped from her captors). With things finally calming down, Gayle reached for the door to her classroom and found out that it was locked. She went off to find someone with keys and returned a short time later. A regular day in Hypnosis class ensued. Another abduction-related story comes from the Chess class. Another assistant, doing their morning rounds, discovered that the Chess instructor had also gone missing. "Two in one morning," he thought to himself, "this is bad... very bad..." Composing himself, he noticed that there was a chess board in the classroom and encouraged the campers to play with one another while the situation was sorted out. A dispatch was sent to the highest levels and before long, Mike Cantlon appeared in the doorway to take control of the unruly chess-playing mob. When the chess instructor arrived, he claimed that his car (i.e. a squadron of bolts, flying in loose formation) had bit the proverbial dust, forcing him to seek alternate transportation. Admittedly, we prefer the Satori-camp-instructor-abducting-evil-genius explanation, but we've always been told that we're a paranoid bunch.
The Programming class continued work on their end-of-week projects, getting a lovely green tan from their computer monitors. The Harold newsroom continued to look busier than that of the Washington Post, with Sherry (the editor-in-chief) presiding over the bustling cacophony. Lastly, the Photography class made proof sheets and debated how flattering the light from a light box was. The abovementioned shenanigans now over, campers shuffled off to their second class of the day. Because of an unfortunate set of personal circumstances, the Road To Nowhere class had to make do with a substitute teacher: Mike Cantlon, himself! Although baffled a little at first, the campers quickly adjusted and made the most of their situation. (No, they didn't put tacks or whoopee cushions on Mike's chair. This is MIKE we're talking about, after all...) Meanwhile, in Dance class, they learned salsa as well as some other Latin dances and in Humour Writing class they finished up their Top Ten lists. In Physics, their instructor, Nathan, continued to boggle campers' minds and in Sculpture class, they continued work on their pieces for display tomorrow. After lunch, campers went off to their last class of the day. Those in philosophy were treated to a wide-ranging discussion on the nature of happiness. Their instructor, Chris, explained some of the various definitions of "happiness" that have been suggested through the ages and then campers were encouraged to suggest their own definitions and reasons for it. When it was suggested that we might define happiness by a state of the brain, Chris took the opportunity to plug a course he might teach next year: Cognitive Science. Elsewhere, the Harry Potter class continued their discussions on the Potter franchise, and made some predictions about how the next in the series would go (as well as the upcoming movie). The Genetics class continued to hone their skills with the lab equipment that they'll be using tomorrow for their final project. The parapsychology class continued their experiments. (Sounds ominous, doesn't it?) The last recreation time, already? Just another one of those signs that camp is quickly drawing to a close. Today was the last chance for campers to try something new, and some took full advantage. Rumor has it that Nathan and Tyler (two of our instructors) set up a cricket pitch on one of the upper fields and were teaching people how to play. Elsewhere, Chris Mathieson (counselor / instructor) and Dan Bodenstein (camper) were seen with a video camera, cornering random campers in secluded places. (Admittedly, it wasn't for anything nefarious; instead, they were doing interviews for what will hopefully become a future Satori promotional video). Otherwise, campers amused themselves in the weight room, on the wallyball
court or in the pool... It's really quite sad if you think about it; our last dinner together. To be honest, though, not many people payed attention to what they were eating; instead, their minds were on the next event.... the annual Satori Dance! You never can say enough about Satori dances, being the amazing events they are. Held in the Streeter / Morrison Cafe this year, certain logistical problems immediately present themselves, most notably the fact that three of the four walls are made of glass. While it makes for a nice airy atmosphere, during the season of late sunsets (Satori season) it also means that the room stays quite light until late. As such, the Assistant Counsellors took it upon themselves to cover up a significant portion of those windows with black butcher paper. Also equipped with a stage for the DJ's equipment, the room was absolutely perfect for hosting a dance. As campers piled in at 7PM, the music had already begun and Kyndra (the Assistant Director) had already laid out goodies and drinks. Now, Satori dances are legendary for how much fun they are, and that has alot do to with the attitudes of the campers (the spirit of inclusion surfaces again!). Unless you're REALLY determined to "sit this one out", you're liable to be grabbed by the wrists and yanked onto the dance floor, without notice. Unlike school dances, where everyone starts the evening by finding a place to sit, Satori campers instead start dancing immediately. Of course, Satori dances are special for another reason too; they're a time when alumni are encouraged to come back. You never know what faces from last year, three years ago, or ten years ago you're going to see at the annual Satori Dance. Several faces from Satori Past made it out, both from the recent past (2000 camp) as well as the more distant past (1988 camp). T'was good to see them all!
As mentioned before, the cheerleader camp was in the building next to us, Streeter Hall. It may have dawned on you that the name of the room where we had our dance is the Streeter / Morrison Cafe; it is, in fact, the thing that connects the two buildings to each other. As such, it wasn't surprising that we caught the attention of those girls with our boisterous party. Not long after those outside on the patio noticed the cheerleaders grooving up on their balconies several floors up, it was decided to move, briefly, the entire party outside. The DJ turned the speaks to point them out the door and we enjoyed a little dancing in the fresh air. A few songs later, we collectively waved goodbye and returned inside. Later on that evening, we had our annual lip-sync/dance competition. The format: groups of four get a chance to strut their stuff to three songs chosen by the DJ. Points are awarded by a panel of not-at-all-impartial judges and the winner got to take home some nifty prizes. One group of counselors and several groups of campers each competed feircely, shakin' and boppin' and giving it their all. After the scores were tallied, it was found that two groups had tied! Left standing was the counselors group and the eldest of the camper groups. The DJ announced that the format would be altered somewhat for the ensuing showdown: each group was to choose one individual to represent their group. That person would then have to do two more songs, solo. The pressure showing in their faces, Tyler Burnet and Nathan Fitzpatrick each took the stage and poured their heart and soul (yes, I'm exagerating!) into their performance. Due, in part, to his boundless musical knowledge, Tyler won the competition for his Counselor team-mates. After receiving their prizes from the DJ, they decided to give a portion of their prize to Kyndra Gamache for all her hard work getting the camp organized each year. (Besides, what's a group of guys going to do with time at a beauty spa, anyways?) Countless other things happened that evening: "Purple Haze" was played for Mike Cantlon, The Police classic "Roxanne" was sung to Roxanne McPeck, Bob was the centre of attention, shoes were flung and people were seen swing dancing... The dance was, grudgingly, brought to a close at 10:30PM. The lights came up, group pictures were taken and campers slowly shuffled back to their floors. Can you believe that tomorrow is the last day of camp this year? |
