The whistle blew and the first round of campers was off. Half-walking, half-running, they carefully balanced a Ping-Pong ball atop a paddle in their hands, eyes glued down in concentration. From the sidelines teammates cheered.
The end of a summer day. We sit out on the front porch. The heat eases as the sky darkens and stars slowly emerge. The crackle of a radio broadcast punctuates the relative silence of the night, the play-by-play of a baseball game taking place hundreds of miles away.
The bus arrives. The campers race off to their cabins. Except Sam. The camp director had warned during orientation that his parents thought he might have a “few separation issues.” Standing just off to the side of the bus, he sobs — loudly — chest heaving convulsively. He refuses to budge.
Color War is always an intense, all-out finish to an event-filled summer at Scatico. It's the last full camp push; a series of games and competitions campers and counselors alike have been looking forward to since their very first day in Elizaville...