fivecats journal

Dan's Backyard: The Fountain
July 2005 Chapel Thrill, NC
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When I was a kid summer vacation meant weeks and weeks of freedom and bliss.  Throughout May, June and early July I'd spend long, happy days glued to the television absorbing as much Game Show trivia as I possibly could.  My days started off with the "better" shows of the early and mid-morning, continuing through the lower-rung "desperation" shows that were the only alternatives to the ever-encroaching dirge of afternoon soap operas.  Depending on how old I was, those no-good-TV afternoons would be spent either playing downstairs in our cooler basement, reading in my bedroom or being kicked out of the house to "get some fresh air" or whatever my mother called her time without any kids underfoot.

Those were the days when I could tell you the prime time television schedule for each of the three major networks for any day of the week.  I was a happy kid, content with the simple things life had to offer.

Then came the middle of July.

The middle of July always meant one thing: The Two Weeks of Unmitigated Hell Known as Camp Cavalier Day Camp.

( I warn you -- it's long. Really long. )

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