Colestin Gratitude

Greetings Campers!

I got email from Louise today (some of her photos will be posted here soon). She said that she’s feeling a bit of a letdown after the camp out and I couldn’t agree more. The camp out was sublime this year; there was plenty of everything for everyone, no-one got hurt and nothing caught on fire. I can’t ask for more than that. Tom informally counted 60+ folks in the meadow on Saturday, and that didn’t include the people who were hiding up in the hills. (We know you were up there; we could hear you howling when Jimmy sang “Oh I Wanna Be A Dog”.) It was such a perfect weekend that I’m having a hard time readjusting to the “real” world. I’m even suffering from some physical aftereffects, although I think that has more to do with the massive amount of calories I consumed.

What can I say? Thank you doesn’t begin to cover it. I’m deeply gratified to know that the camp out is so special to so many people. You all feel like family to me, and what is better than that? And so, although I’ll inevitably forget someone important (and PLEASE let me know who I forget!), I want to acknowledge the following people:

To Sequoia, the only 50 year old I know who looks good naked on a slip and slide;
To Kiva and Arly, for putting up with a lifetime of silliness;
To Dogboy, chef extraordinaire and court jester;
To Noah and his friends, Aidan and his friends, Tom, Stephanie, Phil, Shawna and all the other 20-somethings, for taking the torch as it is being passed;
To Lauren, Claire, Sierra, Grace and Kincaid our sweet little sisters. What a privilege it is to watch you grow up;
To Louise for radiating calm kindness in everything she does and for spearheading the recycling center;
To Peter for radiating crazy energy in everything he does, and for constructing the recycling center;
To Elaine for rolling out 51 pizzas while keeping Pete in line;
To Dr. Jeff, one of the few people I know who is knowledgeable, committed and fun all at the same time;
To Ruthe for her luminosity, calm and deep quiet;
To Cooper, the nicest young man I know;
To Dutch for his unparalleled energy and amazing service in the name of disc golf;
To Kat, sweet mama, for smiling while keeping Dutch’s feet on the ground;
To Finn for being so darn cute;
To Eli for saving the lizards;
To Lynn for her genius in wrangling kids, dogs and amazing snacks;
To Jesse for knowing every song ever written in the history of music, and for playing tunes that prompted the 20-somethings to sing along around the campfire;
To Ellen for making me laugh;
To Ezra, my brother, for every little thing you do, every instrument you play, every breath you take;
To Manda for showing that a woman can be beautiful AND kind;
To Maeve for sitting on my lap in perfect contentment;
To Steve and Michael for Pico de Gallo in the face of chaos;
To Michael Buttercup, a genius with a trowel and pure poetry in motion;
To Dave, ditto on the poetry/motion thang, AND for his photojournalism on Joe’s behalf;
To Cousin Allen and his sons (Tal and…I’ve forgotten his name!) for slip and slide virtuosity;
To Tim, Erin, Elib, and all the other Scene Shoppers for your beautiful, skilled selves. Viva Los Techies!
To John and Michelle for keeping the Deadhead faith alive and making it manifest in your daily life;
To Michael and Maryann for healing, the Free Mexican Airforce the world’s sweetest soprano;
To Jimmy for 14 years of fellowship;
To Konnie for beauty and truth;
To Zoe, my sister under the skin, for baking babies;
To Papa Chris for his deep wisdom;
To Dr. Serena, the smartest woman I know who can also get a groove going;
To Maia and Jasper for beautiful neighborliness;
To Dave Bob for fish and harmonicas;
To Danny and Matt Feltz and Chris Meyers and Sasha and Ed Willy and all the other folks who worked so hard to build the oven in May
To Joe, who was with us in spirit;
To Jon Bates for the songs we’ve sung in the past and the songs we’ll sing in the future;
To Tom Green for everything he does;
To Cathy, for neighborliness and salads;
To Jim, Hope, Sky, Greg J, Debbie, Greg S, Phyllis, and all the other Colestine Campers who couldn’t make it t his year;
To whomever I’m forgetting;
THANK YOU from the depths of my heart.