I Love Halloween!!

I love Halloween – always have!!  I really like the candy – all kinds of candy!  The only difference between now and when I was a kid is the hard candy.  My teeth can’t handle jaw breakers anymore.  Oh, the trials of old age.

When I was young, I couldn’t wait to go trick-or-treating.  For me, trick-or-treating was all about the candy, with almost no thought to the costume.  I didn’t view the costume as an expression of myself – the costume was simply a license to get candy.  Have you seen children show up at your door wearing a cheap mask and holding out a pillow case?  Well that was me.

Of course that attitude doesn’t fly with most children.  At school when children discuss Halloween, they’re not talking Butterfingers or lollipops; they’re talking about the costumes they will be wearing.  As I got older, my attitude towards costumes has evolved.  In fact, after Susan I were married, we always managed to come home with some hardware from costume parties.  One year, we went as Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood.  The next year Susan went as an elegant Victorian lady and I went as the Elephantman. Luckily for posterity, no photos survived.

Halloween is a time of superstition which and be traced back to Celtic times when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts.  The word “Halloween” dates from about 1745.  It comes from a Scottish term which means “All Hallows’ Eve.”  I generally don’t dwell on the deeper meaning of Halloween.  I simply enjoy it.  I watch old horror movies for the tenth time and buy lots of candy to hand out to all the cute ghosts, pirates, princesses, monsters, and superheroes who come to our door.

Halloween is a transitional holiday between Fall and Winter.  Halloween comes after the leaves turn and we get relief from the heat, but before trees go bare and a hard winter sets in.  Of course, here in central Texas, sometimes we don’t have dramatic season changes. But Halloween helps us to prepare for winter and the upcoming holiday seasons with new camp experiences around the corner.

Oh, by the way, if any Doublecreek campers come to my door, don’t be disappointed if I don’t recognize you.  Remember, you’re in costume!

-- Joe Ray

Summer in the Rear View Mirror

You’ve heard the expression, “objects in the rear view mirror appear closer than they are.”  That’s how summer feels to me.  We are more than a month removed from Doublecreek’s last day and I find myself looking back on a summer that’s slowly receding into memory.  It is officially Fall.  Baseball is moving into the post-season, football is in full swing, and at many elementary schools progress reports are going home.

I’ve been to Doublecreek several times since the last day.  This time of year Doublecreek feels empty.  Doublecreek is made for children and when children aren’t around, there's a void.  This off-season is especially significant as we hit the one year mark since Aunt Trudy left us.  She was a wonderful and special woman who touched so many lives. Together with Uncle Carter, Aunt Trudy created a special place.   She will always be missed, but we can find joy in the knowledge that Aunt Trudy’s and Uncle Carter’s vision endures and thrives. A true testament to their vision that Camp Doublecreek continues to be a place for campers to have fun and grow.

Yes, Camp Doublecreek looks and feels empty now, but It won’t be dormant long.  Winter Break Camp is just around the corner, then Spring Break Camp, then we’ll have another summer.  Of course, there will never be another Aunt Trudy, but because of Aunt Trudy and Uncle Carter, there will always be another summer.

-- Joe Ray