Time flies at Camp Easter Seals
It has been said, ?Time flies when you?re having fun.? I don?t know who coined this phase, but certainly time does seem to go by much faster when one is enjoying the environment he finds himself in.
The second week of June, I ?found? myself on the shores of Old Hickory Lake near Mt. Juliet. A place called Camp Easter Seals. This is a place where many new horizons are seen and grasped. Camp Easter Seals is a special place for hundreds of handicapped individuals all across the state of Tennessee. From Memphis to the tri-cities campers come to this camp for a few days of fun, relaxation, and most of all, friendship. Some campers come from other states. One camper came for a number of years from Atlanta, Ga. He has since passed away. Another individual who lived in Memphis, moved to Denver, Co., has been flying to Tennessee to attend Camp Easter Seals.
Another individual whose family moved to Kentucky from Tennessee, continued to attend the camp. There may be other campers who attend Camp Easter Seals under like circumstances that I am not aware of, these are just the ones I know about.
One thing I think is most interesting about Camp Easter Seals is that it brings two segments of society together that most of us would never think could happen. We see and hear on the news today a lot of negative stuff that is going on among the young people today.
I know some think the young people of today leaves a lot to be desired. I have attended Camp Easter Seals for 32 years, and the one thing I have been most amazed with is the quality of young people that Easter Seals get to serve as counselors. The counselors, I would say, is the backbone of the camp life. For without them the camp couldn?t operate.
Each counselor is usually assigned to three campers. They see to each camper?s daily activity and personal needs. Some campers need no help, while other are ?total care.?
Seeing these counselors go about their daily tasks would astound most folks. And even if they saw what really goes on at that camp, they wouldn?t believe it. When you talk about total care you are talking about adults that must be cared for much like a tiny infant. And yet you have high school and college age young people spending their summer doing this type of work.
Their job doesn?t stop there. These young counselors make sure their campers are at the appropriate activity at the appropriate time, whether it?s pontoon boat riding, fishing, swimming, arts and crafts, or a game of checkers with a friend, the counselor see to it that the campers is where they are supposed to be.
As in the past three years several of the counselors were members of Americorps, an organization based in South Carolina. One counselor was from the state of Maine, and another was from Kansas. The counselor I had two years ago was back as a visitor is from Slidell, La., but is now going to school at MTSU in Murfreesboro.
One interesting note, at least to me, is that several people who once worked at camp as counselors make a yearly visit to at least during the adult physically handicapped session. One of them became a very special friend to me and was my counselor for several years for a week off from his regular job to work at camp. He being a computer programmer at Vanderbilt University, got me in computers. He has been to see me on several occasions and he always wants to go get a milkshake ? at Stewart Pharmacy.