When the writer Kurt Vonnegut told his wife he’s was going out to buy an envelope, the following ensued:

“Oh, she says well, you’re not a poor man. You know, why don’t you go and buy a hundred envelopes and put them in the closet?

And so I pretend not to hear her. And go out to get an envelope because I’m going to have a hell of a good time in the process of buying one envelope.

I meet a lot of people. And, see some great looking people. And a fire engine goes by. And I give them the thumbs up. And, and ask a woman what kind of dog that is. And, and I don’t know.

The moral of the story is, is we’re here on Earth to fart around. And, of course, the computers will do us out of that.”

Community at Camp

That’s one of the beauties of camp. For three or six weeks, we get to ‘fart around.’ We have time and space for connection, for the inside jokes and the moments that will mean little to others but we’ll never forget.

Mr. Vonnegut is right – ‘computers will do us out of that’ if we aren’t careful. Amazon will deliver our stuff, Door Dash our food and some screen our entertainment. They have their algorithms that serve things up like a (very) informed personal assistant.

But I wonder if the real danger is not that computers will think like us but that we’ll begin to think like computers. No imagination, no creativity, no magic. Community only due to information exchange.

As our kids head back to the demands and structure of school and the draw of technology, I hope they’ll remember what camp brought to the forefront: we are community driven creatures. That meaning of all this comes from the moments at the margins of our day – time spent in the car on the way to school, around the dinner table, walking and talking with a friend, taking a moment to smile and interact with the barista or cashier or delivery person.

If camp teaches nothing else, it reminds us of the importance and beauty and restorative properties of community, of time spent together. It’s easy here… during the summer at least. We have to work for it a bit back home.

A School Year Challenge

Can it be uncomfortable? Sure! But that’s where growth is – in the uncomfortable.

Camp proved to you that the ‘uncomfortable’ is actually worth it. So… go reach out to that new friend. Put down your phone, look the people around you in the eyes and smile or, better yet, nod and say ‘hello.’ Get to know the custodian of your hallway, the bus driver, the person serving your food… whomever your actually interact with or pass by often. Do it all year – not just this week.

At the end of the school-year experiment, I bet you’ll return more confident, still and more excited to be back where community is the easiest thing in the world.

Remember: you, me and we are community driven creatures. Go practice and prove that through the year.

Can’t wait to hear of your adventures through the year. Summer 2027 will be here before we know it. With GAC,

Cole