The Best Thanksgiving

It was Friday the 13^th, 1970, close to midnight when we got the phone call.  Right after Mother answered the phone, I could tell something wasn’t right.  After she hung up, she told me Daddy had been in an accident and he was being transported to the hospital in Weatherford.  Luckily, the hospital was within walking distance from our house.  We got to the hospital just ahead of the ambulance.  The doctor stabilized Daddy, then he was transported to Harris Hospital in Fort Worth.  Mother and I went with Daddy in the ambulance.  That was the longest ride of the longest night of my life.  It was serious.  My father sustained life-threatening injuries.  All we wanted to hear was, “Joe will be alright.”  That night we didn’t hear many words of comfort.  We didn’t hear much of all.

You don’t realize how important family is until storms roll into your life. The next morning, the entire Griffin and Lester clan joined us in the waiting room.  Conversation was minimal but comfort was abundant. Later, members of my father’s church, Northside Baptist Church of Weatherford, Texas, joined in the vigil.

My father pulled through.  Considering the severity of his injuries, it was amazing that three days before Thanksgiving, he was home.  He was in a hospital bed in the living room, but he was home.

Of all the Thanksgivings I’ve celebrated, the Thanksgiving of 1970 was the one that stands apart from all the rest.  It was possibly the smallest.  Only Mother, Daddy, my sister Janis and I celebrated together that day.  With great effort, Daddy moved from the bed to the table for our Thanksgiving meal.  On that day, Daddy’s Thanksgiving prayer wasn’t a ritual we went through before digging into Mother’s wonderful meal.  It was a genuine offering of thanks for everything the Lord had provided us.  This Thanksgiving was special.

Daddy won’t be with us this Thanksgiving, he passed away October 8^th.  We will miss him this year, but I’m grateful for the 48 Thanksgivings we celebrated with Daddy since his accident.  This Thanksgiving I have so much to be grateful for.  I have a wonderful wife, Susan, I still have my mother, brother and sister.  I have a job I love during the school year and Doublecreek during the summer.  I have an ever expanding Doublecreek family of campers, parents, counselors and staff who mean everything to me.

My message to you this Thanksgiving is a simple one.  Cherish those close to you and appreciate all you have.  Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

-- Joe Ray

Carnival Week 2018

Carnival is a fun word, so it’s appropriate for Doublecreek to have a Carnival Week.  I recently googled the word, carnival.  After several clicks, I worked my way past the cruise line to a working definition.  The definition of carnival is basically, “A time of public revelry at a specific time of year or a traveling amusement show or circus.”  I actually remember traveling circuses coming to town when I was in elementary school.  Now, I associate the word carnival with school fund raisers!

This week was Carnival Week at Camp Doublecreek.  We’ve had fun and games all week!  During Sing-Song, we had mass juggling contests, ring-toss contests using hula hoops and our taller counselors, knocking over cups with dodgeballs, and a “Find the Head of the Counselor” through a blanket game.  I’ll try to explain that one.  Three counselors were behind a screen.  Two were holding balls and pushed them into the screen.  The third counselor pushes their head into the screen.  A camper is given a foam club, boxing glove, whatever and hit one of the bulges.  They have a one in three chance of hitting the counselor.  All the games described above some with the caveat, “Only at Doublecreek.”

I noticed when reading up on carnivals that the focus is on having a good time.  You get the impression that it’s “canned” fun.  It may look spontaneous, but it’s choreographed.  Doublecreek is both similar and dissimilar to a carnival.  Like a carnival, we’re here to have fun!  Our activities are chosen on the basis of “will the campers enjoy this?” 

We’re constantly changing and modifying games and tweaking our schedules to ensure our campers have the most fun possible.  For example, we might start out playing Newcomb or Volleyball in the sand pit and end up seeing who can make the largest sandpile!  Once, we started off playing basketball and ended up with Pac-Man!  Ore than half the games we play aren’t played anywhere else but at Doublecreek!

While I’m trying this write this article, I’m watching a Farmer/Rancher contest consisting of a dunking booth; then the world’s tallest ice-cream drop!  As the contest ends (I think the Farmers won, but it doesn’t really matter), the groups are now taking turns dancing off the stage to go to 4th Period.

Officially, the carnival is almost over.  Meta-physically, the circus is leaving town!  The thing is that at Doublecreek, we don’t have to have a circus to have a carnival!

 -- Joe Ray

Mr. and Mrs. Doublecreek 2018!

This week was our Mr. and Mrs. Doublecreek Week, which always is so exciting! I’m not sure when this contest started, but it wasn’t an annual event until somewhere between 10 or 20 years ago. It’s fuzzy when this tradition started.  I do remember a pair of our early winners were Hanz & Franz!  They spent the week yelling, “We’re going to pump you up!" But what really separated them from the other pairs was the talent show.  While other pairs sang and danced, they wrestled.  It was spectacular!  They dove off tables and playfully pretended to hit each other with chairs!  How can ballroom dancing compete with that?  No, they didn’t get hurt – which I thought was impressive.  The campers loved it!

An issue we have now is choosing the contestants.  I’m grateful I’m not part of that process.  So, I’m not sure how the contestants are selected.  Now the format changes from year to year.  Some years we have formal wear, which usually translates into everyone wearing heels.  Beach wear usually incorporates a water fight of some kind.  We almost always have a relay race of some sort.  Now that’s a Doublecreek concept which would liven up any beauty contest, especially the section where the girls throw a soccer ball at the boys’ faces!  Trust me, it is not as bad as it sounds.

This year our minis kicked off the event with a waving contest. Then the counselors took over and it went downhill, sideways, whatever from there.  Tuesday, we had the ‘Newlywed Game.” This was an entertaining, if dubious affair.  It appeared some contestants had a “heads-up” of some sort.  That is the only way I can explain both contestants saying, “Ice cream,” when asked the question, “What is your spirit animal?”

Wednesday was our singing and dancing part of the contest.  It might be more accurate to compare it to karaoke, but it doesn’t matter.  I don’t know who enjoyed it more – the performers or our audience!

Thursday was the relay race which took twenty minutes to set up and less than a minute to complete.  But, it was an intense minute.

That brings us to the Friday Talent Show.  When I think of talent, I think of singing, dancing, or maybe magic tricks.   But our counselors think outside the box – way outside the box!  We had one song-and-dance routine – a well done song and dance!  Bus we also had counselors showing us how various animals (ranging from a pigeon to a T-Rex) would eat a bowl of cheddar goldfish.  Another pair had an obstacle course which involved painting, eating without hands and feeding other counselors using their feet!  The phrase, “you had to see it,” comes to mind.  And finally, we had a science act which was similar to a physics circus.  They had lots of foam and explosions!  Of course, the foam and explosions won the day!

When told she and her partner were the winners, Madison had the quote of the summer: “I may not be the Prom Queen, but at least I won this!”  I can’t think of a better sentiment to end on!  So, congratulations, Jacob and Madison!!  And thank you: Jaicie and Eric, Brandon and Sydney, and Alex and Alex, for giving us another thrilling Mr. and Mrs. Doublecreek.  It will be hard for the next year’s show to top this year’s show!  But, we’ll have a plethora of counselors who will give it the ol’ Doublecreek try!

-- Joe Ray

Pirate Drama

If you’re a history channel aficionado, you have watched at least one, if not several specials about what pirates were really like.  Pirates were not the romantic swashbucklers portrayed in the movies.  Apparently, they were similar to other ship crews of that era.  They were more concerned with fighting scurvy and boredom than making fashion statements by wearing eye patches (unless they lost an eye), parrots on their shoulders and the iconic tri-cornered hat.  The song, “Sixteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest,” wasn’t sung by pirates or anybody until Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island.   So “real” pirates weren’t as cool as movie pirates. 

During Pirate Week at Doublecreek, guess which version we went with?  If you said movie pirates, you chose wisely.  Let’s face it – movie pirates are more fun!  All things being equal, we go with fun here at Doublecreek.  This is typified by our skit this week.  I’ll try to summarize this masterpiece in a few lines.  Here goes:

Princess Buttercup’s brother and his sidekick are kidnapped by the nasty pirate captain, Soggy Bottoms, and his first mate and only crew member, Mattie Dead Locks.  In desperation, Princess Buttercup and her lovely entourage of one, recruit a group of pirates who don’t do anything (our apologies to Veggie Tales) to save her beloved brother.  Except for the fact these pirates are cowards and lazy, they’re the perfect choice.  After several close calls and high drama (and low humor), the pirates who don’t do anything save the day!  Like most pirate movies I’ve seen, only a happy ending will do!

To appreciate the attention to detail, we employed when writing our opus, all you have to do is read the script.  We use precise naval terms, like starboard and port in the stage directions.  In the end, we had fun with Pirate Week!  I truly believe Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins would be proud!

-- Joe Ray

Lights, Camera, Action!

There’s an old song which goes, “You Ought to be in Pictures, You Can be a Star.”  I think that’s how it goes.  I could be wrong.  My memory is fuzzy sometimes, especially when it comes to a song I haven’t heard in several decades.

This week’s mantra has been “Lights, Camera, Action!”  Nothing is more exciting than being in a show.  We had a ton of shows this week.  By my count, we had a total of sixteen “shows” this week.  Each group acted out either a scene from a movie or they sang a song from a movie.

Of course the hardest part for each group was finding time to rehearse.  Somehow, practice time was procured.  Of course, for most groups it wasn’t enough to have a scene ready to go – they also needed props and costumes to add an extra special touch to the production.

What I enjoyed was how campers got into the spirit of putting on a show.  When the groups went on stage, they were up there to perform, not stand around.  We had campers acting like animals from the jungle "The Lion King"; toys from “Toy Story"; monsters from “Monsters Inc."; Luke and Darth Vader from “Star Wars” and "Harry Potter" characters.  We had re-enactments of two dance numbers from “Grease.”  We were inspired by the chant from “Remember the Titans.”  The scene from “Finding Nemo” really brought a smile to our faces!

But the all time show stopper has to go to the Minis.  On Friday, they acted out a ballroom scene from “Beauty and the Beast”.  The stage was covered with pairs of minis swaying to ballroom music, except for one boy who was standing alone in the middle of the stage.  From a door in the back came a camper dressed as the beast.  Beast and boy stood center stage, then from the back of the Dance Barn, weaving her way through the crowd, was Belle.  When Belle got to the stage, the Beast bowed, Belle curtsied, and then they danced!  But don’t feel sorry for the boy left standing.  His little sister ran on stage and they started dancing.  I don’t know what was louder,  the clapping or everyone going “awwwww.”

Of course the minis won the first ever Uncle Carter Acting Award.  As one proud mini held the award aloft, the other minis waved to the crowd.  They may be only four or five years of age, but they knew they’d hit a home run!  I need to say there were many home run hits on our stage this week.  But our minis with, Miss Chloe’s direction, hit the grand slam!

 -- Joe Ray

DC Cup!!

Soccer isn’t my thing.   I wish it were, but it isn’t.   Like many of my generation, I wasn’t exposed to soccer during my formative years (whenever that was).  So I missed that boat.

I have a rudimentary understanding of soccer.  I know enough to know I wouldn’t be very good at it.  It wasn’t until Dan became director, that soccer became a big deal at Doublecreek.  We played lots of ‘football,’ but it wasn’t the world view of football.

Now soccer is the game time lifeblood of Doublecreek.  One of the highlights every summer is the DC Cup.  It’s our version of the World Cup.  What we lack in scale and media coverage, we make up with passion and intensity.

Our format is similar to the big World Cup.  Notice that I didn’t say ‘real.’  To the campers, DC Cup is very real!  Campers are placed on teams based on two parts planning and three parts random, which makes for some fascinating matchups.  We give the teams names of countries that qualified for the World Cup.   The only good aspect of the United States not making the World Cup, was not having campers becoming upset because they were not on Team USA.

One year, per my suggestion, we named the teams after the planets.  Not a good idea.  I mean, how can you take pride in being called Team Earth?  This week we had teams representing Great Britain, Brazil, Russia, France, Belgium and Croatia!  For a brief period, a dozen or so campers banded together to take on campers from another country.  The games are as authentic as we can achieve at Doublecreek.  We have a referee, linesmen and even an announcer.  And we keep score.  We even keep track of point differentials.  There are even two venues where we played.  Some of the players have jerseys with number on the front and back.  All we need are corporate sponsors.  Okay, maybe I’m getting carried away.  But if campers are excited about playing in our DC Cup, then the least I can do is be excited while writing about it! Goooooooooallll - how was that?

Honestly, I’ve seen more soccer at Doublecreek than I’ve seen on TV, so I can’t claim to be a soccer aficionado.  However, I’ve picked up on two irrefutable facts about soccer.  It’s takes teamwork and it is fun.  Those are two components we celebrate over many spectrums at Doublecreek. 
Actually I’m glad Doublecreek has embraced soccer, or should I say soccer has enhanced Doublecreek?!

 Joe Ray

Hooray for the Holidays!!

What do Halloween, 4th of July, St. Patrick’s Day, and Valentine’s Day have in common other than being holidays? Give up? They’re holidays we celebrated this week at Doublecreek!

Since this is Holiday Week, it was decided to focus on a different holiday each day! We had a running narrative during Sing-Song about a man who hates holidays and thinks all holidays are a humbug. Gee, where did we get that idea?

Monday we had Halloween, I’m still fuzzy about why he thought Halloween was a humbug. I think it was because monsters scared him and he didn’t like candy. Neither of which I can relate to. But because of the Ghost of Holidays’ Past, “Emily”, convinced “Sam” that Halloween was a magical holiday that should be enjoyed.

Tuesday was the 4th of July. Emily took Sam back in time to meet George Washington and King George III! Since King George III really had mental issues and George III played his idiosyncrasies to the hilt, they ended up having duel! Take a guess who won.

Thursday was St. Patrick’s Day. Did you know Leprechauns invented Jenga?! Well, for Doublecreek’s purposes, that’s what happened. After the “Leprechauns” knocked down the Jenga tower then rebuilt it, we had “leprechauns” wake up Sam and do the Irish Jig! Sam decided St. Patrick’s Day is also fun and joined in the celebration.

Friday was Valentine’s Day. Emily had Sam relive painful memories of a Junior High School dance, which explained why he hated Valentine’s Day so much. Thanks to Emily, he was reunited with his long-lost love and after a beautiful dance he finally found true love. It was truly magical.

So, that’s our holiday week in a nutshell. We had something for everyone, you just have to be willing to put aside your inhibitions and join in. Like Sam in our narrative, we have many campers who are reluctant to join in, but with gentle consoling from our counselors, they discover that at Doublecreek -  every day is a holiday.

 -- Joe Ray

Doublecreek's Got Talent!!

This week was Doublecreek's Got Talent! While some of our talent is not ready for prime time, they're ready to perform at Sing-Song. Actually, Sing-Song is our Prime Time! We have one serious issue with Doublecreek's Got Talent. It's not finding talent, it's deciding which talent to use. If we let every camper perform that wants to perform, sing-song would start right after the pledge and we wouldn't end until we board the buses. Obviously, that isn't practical! Sometimes we audition. That seems like a reasonable plan except for one detail. You have to tell some campers they won't be able to perform. That's a tough one. So, we relied on a tried and true method. Drawing names from a bucket. Campers describe their talent to their group counselor and they are assigned a number. The number is drawn from the bucket and like magic, we have our talent show roster. And what a roster it was! Tell me -  have you ever seen a camper who could do tricks with his stomach?!? Well, we did!! Have you ever had someone burp the alphabet?!? Well, we did! Have you every watched a counselor drink a concoction that looked and smelled like something you should run from? Well, we did!! Now, the acts I just described were definitely out there, but we also had acts which could be classified as "normal". We had singers, gymnasts (really good gymnasts), dancers, stand up comedians, martial arts demonstrations, a three piece band, and on and on. If this were the Gong Show, the gong would have been silent! (Except for counselors who provided between-act entertainment) It's amazing to see campers who range in age from 7 to 14, who will get on stage and perform without any outward signs of nervousness. They're not shy, they didn't have to be coaxed; they just went on stage and had fun!

Our campers are what made this week terrific. The performers had fun and the audience had fun. The campers who performed didn't go onstage for money, or to win a contract. They had fun! When you're having fun, you feel good about yourself. Helping campers feel good about themselves has always been our goal. I'm not sure how many talent shows we've had at Doublecreek, but they always end the same way, with smiles and laughter!

- Joe Ray

It's Dancing with the Counselors Week!!

 This is the week I wish I was adept at video recording.  Of course, I’m not remotely capable of operating a video camera or whatever it is called.  Fortunately, we have several staff members who are talented enough to keep the action within the frame.  Why is this week the week for video recording?  This is Dancing with the Counselors Week!

We tell the campers it’s a competition, but don’t ask me about the criteria.  Wait . . . I’m ahead of myself, which isn’t unusual.  How do we select the contestants?  The key word for the selection process is random.  Counselors are selected at random; then they will tell the committee yea or nay.  Campers’ names are drawn from a bucket.  You can’t get more random than that. 

Now, back to the criteria – skill helps, but cute is better.  Also, glitter and costumes that don’t fit can sway the crowd.  The main criteria is, “does the crowd like the act?”  This makes judging almost impossible since all the acts receive loud and long ovations.  One other detail I forgot to mention is that initially each group consisted of two performers – one camper and one counselor, but we didn’t discourage campers from drafting their friends to perform.  One camper had lots of “friends” because we had about 20% of the camp on stage.  Did I mention the criteria for this contest was fuzzy?

The Dancing with the Counselors Week has a second component.  On Friday, all the groups perform a dance routine which their counselors put together.  All week, the individual contestants and whole groups spend their free time working on their routines.   Some groups have a routine complete with costumes and props.  Actually, the preparation for the routines on Friday is the most satisfactory part of the week.  The work that goes into a 45 – 60 second performance is as much fun as the performance itself.  That’s the wonder of Dancing with the Counselors – how much fun everyone has.  The performers, the audience and the parents on Friday all have a good time.  It doesn’t matter if the campers on stage are dancing in perfect time to the music or if they’re completely out of step.  If they’re smiling because they are having fun, that’s all that matters!

-- Joe Rays Dancing

DC Challenge 2018!

Forget the World Cup!  Forget the U.S. Open!  Forget the College World Series!  This week we experienced something even more amazing – it’s the DC Challenge!

What is the DC Challenge, you ask?  Well, I’m glad you asked!  DC Challenge is the DOUBLECREEK Challenge.  I know you’ve never seen anything like it and neither have we, because it’s different every year.

Think “The Amazing Race” combined with parts of “Minute-to-Win-It” and “Fear Factor,” and you have the DC Challenge.  Lots of skills are incorporated into this incredible event.  You have scooterboard races and the WARP wall.  What’s a WARP wall?  It’s a warped wall, Silly!  Then they do something with bean bags followed by the always thrilling “Fill the Bucket with Water” in a way that takes too long to explain.  Next, campers throw hula hoops over at a tree (or the world’s largest tree stump).

Now it gets really strange, I mean interesting!  At the pool, one camper swims and another chugs a Gatorade!  Then it is on to gun safety where campers shoot at spoons.  This is followed by a trip to horseback riding to tie a lead rope to the gate (who thought of that one?).  But wait!  There’s more!  Campers have a three-legged race at the Gaga Ball Pit and then throw balls into the trash!

Okay, try to visualize this next one!  One camper is on one side of a seven foot wall and another camper is on the other side.  One camper throws an apple over the wall while the other tries to catch it with a 5-gallon bucket.  Raise your hand if you’ve done that one.  Next up is the Shuffleboard Court where campers try to knock down bowling pins with a shuffleboard puck.  Do they do that on cruise ships?

When the team gets to Low Ropes, they have to pass through the ropes without touching a rope.  (I’m about thirty years and fifty pounds from being able to do that one!)  The team then has to balance on a log, then sprint to Archery where they shoot at a target. (This is the only standard activity in the whole course).

Then on to the Mud Pit where as many campers as possible must negotiate the Mud Slip-N-Slide in a minute.  They then have to find Starbursts in the Kickball Field. (I’m not sure if they eat them or not). 

Sprinting through the mister/sprinkler is the last part of the challenge.  When the final camper goes through the mister, time stops.  Oh, did I tell you that all this is against the clock?  The lowest time wins.

You have to see it to believe it.  I saw it and I still don’t believe it.  But, I really appreciate it.  It was wild and crazy and a whole lot of fun!  The DC Challenge incorporates basic skills and ones you don’t use every day.  When the groups finish the course, there is lots of laughter and “high-fives,” which is the whole reason behind the DOUBLECREEK CHALLENGE!

 -- Joe Ray

The Making of a Superhero

This was Superhero Week at Camp Doublecreek.  The word “superhero” dates back to at least 1917, which means we’re celebrating a 100th anniversary.  I’m not a superhero expert.  When researching this article, I took a superhero quiz.  I scored around sixteen --- so I know very little about superheroes.  I was surprised to learn that by definition, you don’t need supernatural or superhuman powers to be called a superhero, although almost all superheroes today have extraordinary or superhuman powers.  It also helps to be rich.  The main purpose of superheroes is to fight crime or save the world from imminent destruction.

Remember, you don’t have to have x-ray vision, superhuman strength, or the ability to fly to be a superhero.  Superheroes don’t start their superhero careers conquering arch villains or forces of nature.  They start small and realize they can do greater things. 

I see superheroes begin by letting go of their parent’s hand and getting on a bus.  That has to be intimidating for them.  Some superhero careers begin by getting on a horse – the biggest animal they have ever been on or by shooting a bow and arrows – which isn’t as easy as it looks.  Some channel their inner superhero by taking their first strokes in the pool without someone helping them, by climbing a tower or going down a waterslide.  I’ve seen many fledgling superheroes discover the thrill of flight when they launch themselves from the top of a 40-foot tower and sail down a zipline. 

I’ve seen superhero movies with elaborate set pieces which go on and on and on.  In reality, campers discover that they have the stuff of superheroes in the blink of an eye.  At Doublecreek, we’re fortunate to be there when it happens. 

-- Joe Ray

Summer 2018 is Here!

Summer 2018 has begun and there’s only one problem...I’m not there.  There are times when my school schedule doesn’t align with Camp’s schedule.   I miss the way we do the pledge at Doublecreek by traditionally singing “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” but with new faces.

The beginning of summer at Doublecreek always blends the old and the new.  This year we will have a new surface to the basketball court, a new surface at the pool, and a new play structure in Central Park.  There’s lots of new paint and freshly mown play areas.  We have old counselors, (let’s use a different term -- we have returning counselors), mixed in with new counselors.  I always enjoy counselor training because I have a chance to catch up with what’s going on with our veteran staff and becoming acquainted with our new staff.

During this past off season I’ve spent time going through old pictures.  I noticed that except for hair styles and attire, campers and counselors who come to Doublecreek really don’t seem to look different from one year to the next.  Now, I don’t mean they look the same in a rigid manner.  But I see campers and staff enjoying themselves at Doublecreek.  Characteristics of great counselors don’t change from one generation to the next. What made a counselor great in the 70’s still applies today.  Campers still respond to counselors who show respect and love.  Campers have fun at Doublecreek.  Why? It is due to the counselors.  When you compare the Doublecreek campus on opening day 1971 to Doublecreek 2018, there’s no comparison.  When you compare the atmosphere of Doublecreek 1971 to the 2018 atmosphere, it’s identical!  Doublecreek has always been a magical place.  Starting with Uncle Carter and Aunt Trudy and continuing through Scott Kirtley and now Dan Neal, it’s a special place because of the campers and counselors who choose to spend their summer here. 

So, I have to miss the first eight days of camp.  I’ll survive somehow! It helps to know that until school’s out Doublecreek will be there.  That is something that makes me smile.

 -- Joe Ray

For the Kids (F.T.K.)

I have a bunch of calendars at home and school.  The calendars at home I may or may not remember to flip over at the appropriate time.  According to some calendars in my house, it’s still January.  Now school is a different story.  On the first day of each month, I ceremoniously change from one month to the next.  Why?  I suppose changing the calendar means there’s one less month to go before Doublecreek is here.  You notice I didn’t say “summer,” because in my universe, Doublecreek and summer are synonymous.

I’m looking over the school calendar for May.  It’s amazing how much is going on... I feel like kids, parents and teachers are pulled in many directions during this month.  On a side note, it is nice to have teacher appreciation during this month. 

Now, when the month is over, cue Alice Cooper’s “School’s Out for Summer!”  Tutorials are replaced with the laughter of campers, the loud singing camp songs and high fives from your favorite counselors.    May means summer is coming. 

For Camp Doublecreek, May means campers are coming. Doublecreek has morphed into hyper-drive to get ready for the summer.  During May, you’ll see cleaning, landscaping, building and planning (lots of planning) happening.  What’s behind all this activity?  F.T.K. is the motivation for all our improvements. To us, F.T.K. means “For the Kids.”

F.T.K. is the driving force behind what we do at Doublecreek: games played, procedures put in place, new activities adopted and improvements made.  The new staff we add to the Doublecreek Family because we see in their desire to give campers treasured and lasting memories.

Summer, the Doublecreek season, is right around the corner.  So get excited about the F.T.K. experiences for your camper because making terrific memories is what we do!

 Joe Ray

Staff Appreciation Month -- Our Terrific Counselors!

My poor counselors. They had no idea what was about to ride through the gate on my first day of camp. To call me rambunctious was putting it lightly. I was a wired little third grader with an outrageous amount of energy. That was before sugar was added to the mix. I also had the tendency (still do) to want to win at everything. If I could claim victory, it was a competition. They had to manage not only my excessive energy and competitiveness, but handle another 19 hooligans as well.

There are four counselors that impacted me the most. Kevin Miller, Kris Dunn, Ryan West, and Craig West. Without these four guys, Doublecreek may have been just another camp to me. They truly made my experience here and I cannot express my gratitude to them enough. They always made it clear when I was in the wrong, and when I was right. They were quick to praise and quick to correct. They were never afraid to play around with the campers and make fools of themselves.

There are a couple of specific moments that stand out to me about them. Kevin and Kris won our Mr. and Mrs. Doublecreek competition while I was a camper (if you haven’t seen a big, burly football player in a grass skirt and lipstick, you haven’t lived). When I finally became a counselor, I brought the skit back - sans lipstick, naturally claiming the title of Mr. Doublecreek in the process. Craig constantly used my own competitiveness against me for the benefit of the group. One day a camper’s glasses went missing from the group and he told everyone that whoever found them would get 5,000 merits for the farmer/rancher competition, which meant a head start in the nickel dive. I immediately went to the spot I had “placed” the glasses and proudly walked back to Craig to collect my merits. Little did I know that Craig suspected I was responsible for the missing glasses the entire time and knew if he offered even a meager reward I would immediately go and “find” them. Then there was Ryan, the highly disputed master of the old 6th and up boys group. Ryan had the perfect personality to handle the older kids. He gave them freedom, but let them know when they crossed the line. Mostly by announcing over a megaphone whatever infraction had occurred. It became my life’s goal to yell something into that megaphone. Unfortunately (for me), I was never allowed near enough to do so. Years later I found that same megaphone and was so excited to finally wield the great power it bestowed upon it’s handler. Disappointingly, the batteries had corroded so badly that it was completely unusable. I then realized that it wasn’t the megaphone that was so interesting, but how Ryan used it to corral a bunch of rowdy middle schoolers.

Camp is absolutely amazing, but without the staff it is just a  plot of land with a lot of potential. It’s the counselors that make the special memories for our campers. When I get together with some of the people that went to camp with me, we never talk about how great that time was when we climbed the rockwall. We don’t discuss the time we first hit a home run in blooperball. What we talk about are our old counselors and what they did. They, along with Aunt Trudy and Uncle Carter, made a far greater impact on who we are than anything else out here.

-- Parker Achord, Staff Coordinator

Tips for Spring . . . Break Camp From Joe Ray

Most years, it never feels like winter.  Oh, maybe for a day or two, a cold front will make its way to Austin.  For the rest of the time, it is t-shirt and cut-offs weather. So, I’m ready for it to feel like spring!  It seems the Spring Break Camp forecast seems to have heard my thoughts.  We are in the 60's and 70's, if you can believe the weather forecasters.

Tip #1: My first big tip is to dress your camper in layers.  Even if they come with too many clothes, it is still better than too few. I’ll never forget our first Spring Break Camp, ever.  The first four days we had great weather, but on Friday, we had rain, which turned into sleet.

Activities at Spring Break Camp are a little different. Spring Break Camp is similar to Summer Camp except for the swimming -- we have dodge ball in the pool instead of water polo.  It’s a smaller camp than in summer.  We have approximately a third of the campers at Spring Break that we have in the summer weeks.  So this means everyone gets to try our horseback riding activity!

Tip #2 for you as a parent/guardian is to coach your camper to try horseback on Monday, especially if your camper is new.  We have a fabulous program that dates back to the beginning of camp.  Our horses are paired with the riders according to age and the horses with the younger campers are so easy that going through a tornado would not spook them.

I get excited about having campers run across the bright green grass, and trying all kinds of outdoor games.  I love to use Spring Break to teach new games and play some of the 'good ole' ones.

Tip #3 is to be sure you pack your campers with sun screen and even do an application before they leave home. I often have to remind myself during Spring Break to put on sun screen - forgetting that this skin has not seen sun in a while.  The good news is your campers will have counselors that remember to apply theirs.

Tip #4 is send your camper with a water bottle.  We have lots of great snacks and drinks they will eat through out the day, but water every 20 minutes is the policy to live by at camp. 

To be redundant, I’m ready for spring, because spring means Spring Break Camp, which is followed by Summer Camp, and spending summers at my favorite place on earth can't be topped!

- Joe Ray

All You Need is Love!

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"All you need is love (bom, bom, bom, bommmmm), all you need is love . . .(let me hear you now), all you need is love, love.  Love is all you need" (don't forget to hold that note)!

Love is so great and it takes shape in so many ways for all of us.  Sometimes, we love to have fun.  Sometimes, we love to learn something new.  Other times, we love to conquer that thing we thought we never could.  Even better, we love to help someone else succeed in conquering their biggest challenge.  However, there are times we lost that lovin' feelin'.  Whoa that lovin' feelin' (if you're thinking of Meg Ryan playing that piano in "Top Gun," stay focused). Sometimes, we love to stay in our comfort zones.  Sometimes, we love to resist because we fear the unknown.  Other times, we love to live in the shadow of that thing that persistently bullies us.  Love.  So interesting in so many contexts.  We use it both for the positive and negative things -- all in the same breath.  Yes, sometimes we "ain't ready for this crazy little thing called love."

At Doublecreek, we get love.  We also get campers.  We understand that some days campers enter our gates with a resistance to love.  But at our core, we all need someone to believe in us.  Whether we admit it or not, we all need those voices in our lives singing, "I... I will always love you...you, and I will always love youuuuu" (if your voice cracked, no judgment).  The Beatles nailed it, "all we need is love," and love at camp helps a camper grow and feel empowered in so many ways.  One day, maybe someone will make a song about it!

-- Director Dan