Dear parents,
Wake up time is at 7:00 AM, always to the squealing bagpipes and a drum. The racket is indescribable and the worst thing is, if you sleep in the room close to the beginning of the hall, you can wake up just hearing the piper blowing up the bag. Of course, covering one’s ears doesn’t blot out the cacophonous sound and eventually one just accepts the inevitable and gets out of bed. Heaven help the one who delays because he may be on the ground doing pushups before the fortifying effects of breakfast and a strong cup of coffee have done their salutary work.
As the boys shuffle to the restrooms to change, discipline is strict. No talking till fully dressed and ready. Beds must then be made and shoes put under the beds. Clothes must be folded and put in the dresser drawers or suitcases. Everything must be tidy and clean. When the inspection begins, the rooms are not perfect but generally the boys try their best and get a pass. The veteran attendees, though, must be more vigilant. Since they should know better, there is very little leniency for them.
From the rooms, the boys file out into the flag corridor for some choir practice. Songs like the Credo, We Want God, Immaculate Mary, The Mighty King and The Marines Hymn are practiced until they are almost perfect. All the songs are sung with voices of manly piety and youthful vigor and while we may never win any prizes for being the most on tune, we might earn several for enthusiasm and pure volume. During the singing of the Credo we raise the American flag, the Papal banner and the ruby and gold standard of the TFP after which we process into the refectory for breakfast. So far pancakes have been the all around favorite but there is always a wide variety of foods to satisfy any taste at every meal.
The first talk of the day, which covered the Protestant Revolt, or First Revolution, was given by Mr. Rex Teodosio. It seems that everyone understood the meeting but, it is always interesting to notice the difference between each camp and group of boys. The crowd this year is a bit younger than the previous one and it shows. There is more hesitation to venture questions and comments about the material at hand. On the other hand there is no lack of enthusiasm, coupled with an intense desire to learn new things, something sadly lacking in many older teenagers. It is fascinating to watch Mr. Rex draw them out of their shells and stimulate their young brains to think about other things besides food and games.
Our first official fencing classes started today and went very well. Picture the rudy face of a young teen looking down the bent blade of a fencing foil at his adversary. His muscles tense, his eyes dart from side to side, he steps cautiously forward and back, analyzing his opponent shredly and looking for an opening. Then a clash of steel is heard, the wrenching, scraping sound of two rusty swords sliding into each other is similar to the sound of ripping cloth. The first thrust slides past the centerline of the blades and heads for its mark. A spot three inches below the heart would be a solid target but then the impossible happens and the sword is flung aside by the opponents longer reach. Recoiling a foot or two, the pair again lock blades, moving forward and backwards, each trying to gain the advantage. The blood rises in the head, the heart beats faster and then there it is...an opening. A vicious thrust towards the torso and then the satisfaction of feeling the steel blade contact yielding flesh. The enemy drops his blade in consternation, flush with effort and dripping sweat. The helmets come off and the two erstwhile enemies compliment each others style while shaking their left hands. The right hand is never used as it is occupied with holding the sword.
Lunch at noon and an announcement. Our Lady was coming to visit us. Thanks to the tremendous generosity of Mr. Patrick Sabat. We currently have the International Pilgrim Virgin Statue of Our lady of Fatima attending our summer camp. It was this statue that cried real human tears at New Orleans in Louisiana in 1973. We are greatly honored to have her presence here at the camp and are doing vigils at her feet asking for graces for the Camp, the participants and also their parents. We are all praying that she shed tremendous graces upon the remainder of the camp and that these graces received work toward the sanctification of its members.
After lunch we greeted the statue as it came and then said a rosary kneeling down in the presence of the image. Our Lady’s expression is serene and serious with a note of sadness yet one seems to notice a certain amount of tender solicitude for all these rough and tumble lads who stand in silent admiration at the feet of the miraculous statue. Time was given after the rosary to pray quietly and examine the image before orders were given to change for games.
The fencing continued after lunch for a while, then the boys were split into groups and played various games. Once they were good and soaked, the day was hot, an order came to change for swimming. I never saw such gusto in the fulfillment of duty. There are no slackers when it come to water. Pandemonium reigned in the pool. More experienced teams competed in various games while some individuals learned the rudiments of swimming from “experts” and everyone generally had a grand ol’ time. But after the swim comes the most dreaded exercise of the day. Getting hosed down with ice cold water from the hose to wash off all the chlorine from clothing is not most people’s idea of a happy ending but the day is hot and few complain.
Showers were followed by dinner in the refectory. Before dinner, Mr. Thomas Schnieder gave rules of etiquette and good manners to the assembly regarding their actions at the table. Although I would love to be able to say that all of the boys come with the most perfect manners one could ask for...well you know them better than I do so I will let you be the judge. Old Mrs Post would be turning in her grave if she were to see the infractions against her rules committed blithely by camp participants every day but that is exactly why they are here, to learn something new.
After dinner we had a solemn rosary procession which walked slowly down the driveway and ended facing Our Lady’s statue while the entire group sang the Salve Regina. We once again thanked Our Blessed Mother for her protection and maternal gaze before setting her back in the place of honor in the main room.
After the rosary procession there were indoor games. Charades was the order of the day as each participant tried to make himself understood by his team so they could score a point. Not to be outdone, the dads were convoked by Mr. Rex to play the part of a group of liberal professors from college to confront the participants with some tough questions regarding abortion. Debate raged, at first quietly and then in a rush of arguments for and against. The dads hung stubbornly to their faulty logic and the boys tried with all their might to raise up arguments to crush their sophisms. As the debate progressed, even the shy and timid ones came out of their shells and began to loudly proclaim the truth. The hardest thing for the fathers to do at that point was to keep themselves from smiling at the eagerness of the boys to overcome them.
Camp participants 1 and Liberal professors 0
A final short talk was given shortly before going to bed which follows a custom of St. John Bosco. Each night he would gather his boys around him and tell them something useful for their spiritual lives and set the tone for the night. We follow this tradition, and whenever possible we tell an interesting story right before the boys are sent off to bed. This serves a double purpose. First the spiritual advice and example is priceless. Second it gives the boys a chance to slow down the pace and prepares them better to sleep the night in peaceful slumber.
So with that I will also say good night and retire into the land of Morpheus.
In Jesu et Maria,
Michael C. Shibler
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