The Summer of Adam - A Visit to My Past

I'm currently reading a book which takes place at Disneyland.  It's actually the fifth book in a mystery series I've been enjoying.  But this book has caused me to reflect back on an event from my past.  In the book one of the main characters is a Disneyland employee.  He is a ride operator on the Canoes attraction.  The other main character is Swiss pop star, Malaysia Hosner.  She is in the United States for the first time on a concert tour.  While she is here, she wants to visit Disneyland for the first time.

Before I go any further, let me say that I will not be giving away any details that would ruin the book for you in case you have intentions of reading it.  Now that that's out of the way, here's the skinny.  Malaysia Hosner and her sister decide to go to Disneyland while in Anaheim for her US tour.  Since she is an international pop star, however, she has to go incognito.  She dyes her hair and wears a baseball cap to cover her face.  While at Disneyland she spots Blain, a ride operator on the Canoes.  She drags her sister on the ride and hits it off with Blain.  But the connection is short lived because, well, he is at work and she is a guest of the park.  So she goes about her visit and he continues his shift.  They both continue thinking about each other, though.  After his shift, while he is walking through the park he runs into Malaysia, who is using her alias Missy, and the connection is reignited.  Ultimately, he asks her to come back to Disneyland with him so he can show her around and they start falling in love.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering what this has to do with me.  Well, let's take a trip back in time to the summer of 2000.  Wow, I'm getting old.  That summer I decided to take a job at Universal Studios.  I was a ride operator on Jurassic Park.  I could give you all the details about why I both liked and disliked the job, but that's not why we're here.  While reading my current book I was reminded of a specific day during my employment at Universal.  On this particular day I was working an early shift.  Sometime about mid morning a group of girls came through the line.  I was stationed at the Child Switch station, which is where parents can wait if they have a child who is too short for the ride, but they still want to go on without each parent having to wait in line.  It is also where disabled guests and those with front of the line passes enter.  And it just happens to be across from the poncho station.  This group of girls was nervous about getting wet, so they wanted to buy ponchos.  I tried to tell them that the ponchos wouldn't really help, and one of the girls, a beautiful blonde, said she tried to tell the rest of them the same thing.  We started talking while her friends bought ponchos.  She was gorgeous and had an amazing accent that I initially thought was Australian.  She informed me that she was from South Africa and was visiting the United States for the first time.  We really hit it off.  She was easy to talk to and had a fun attitude.  But alas, she and her friends went on the ride and I stayed at my station.  As much as I wanted to, I knew I would probably never see her again.  Apparently, though, I made an impact on her as well, because she came back later in the day!  I was fortunate enough to be working at the front of the ride when she walked back into my life.  Her friends weren't with her this time.  She came back just to talk to me!  I was at the station for an hour and we talked the entire time.  We talked about everything from cartoons to school to surfing.  She was a surfer and had also just started college back in South Africa.  I was smitten.  And then I got word that it was time for a shift change.  I wanted her to wait a few minutes to see where my next shift was, and I found out that I was actually going on a break.  But when I came back, she was gone.  Out of my life forever.  I hoped I would see her again.  I even took the long, slow walk through the park after my shift, hoping I would run into her.  But it didn't happen.  When I came to work the next day, one of my coworkers said he had something for me.  He told me a girl came by looking for me the night before, but I was already off.  She asked him to give me a bracelet from her.  He was impressed.  I only wish I could have been there when she came back.  I know she lived in South Africa, but who knows what might have been.

I was reminded of this event as I was reading my book.  What if this girl was a pop star in disguise?  What if we had more time to spend together?  What if she was the one and I let her get away?  I've never connected with a girl like that since then, and very few girls, if any, have made an impression on me like she did.  I still remember that day like it was yesterday.  I know I shouldn't be living in the past, but I wish I could recapture the confidence and ease that I exhibited that day.  That was part of my Summer of Adam, where I focused on myself and acted on some of my whims, like working at an amusement park.  Maybe I should try that again.

Things Full House Got Wrong, and a Few They Got Right, About Camp

Last night I was watching reruns of Full House (don't judge), and and the episode where the girls come home from Camp Lakota came on.  The episode's official title is "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night".  As some of you may know, camp is a big part of my life.  I have been volunteering for over 10 years with Arizona Camp Sunrise and Sidekicks, a camp for kids who have/had cancer and their siblings.  If you would like more info about Camp Sunrise or want to get involved, please let me know.  Anyway, this episode had me both shaking my head and agreeing with the depiction of camp and the after effects of coming home from camp.  I tried to find the full episode to post for you all to watch, but had no luck.  So I'll just have to do my best to describe and explain what happened.

The episode starts with the girls, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle, at what has presumably been a sleep away camp for the summer.  It is their last night and they are saying goodbye to friends.  DJ and Kimmy are counselors, and Stephanie and Michelle are campers.  All seems OK at this point, except for the fact that they are saying goodbye before they actually leave the following day.  Are they going to say goodbye again the next day?  Also, I feel like DJ and Kimmy are too young to be counselors at this type of camp.  But maybe they aren't.  Another aspect they got right was Stephanie counting all the friendship bracelets she got from boys.  In my experience friendship bracelets are extremely popular and campers often go home wearing a ton of them.  Good job, Full House.

Here's where things get a little wonky.  First, Michelle has a rabbit.  Not a pet rabbit, but supposedly a wild rabbit that they nursed back to health from a broken leg.  There are so many things wrong with this.  How do any campers know how heal an injured rabbit?  Do they teach veterinary science at this camp?  Also,  how do they know this wild animal isn't carrying any diseases?  What if it bites a camper?  Can you say lawsuit?  Then, Steve, DJ's boyfriend, comes waltzing into the girl's cabin.  To his credit he covers his eyes and announces his presence as a male counselor, but still, he should knock and wait to be asked in.  Then to make matters worse, DJ runs over to him, hugs him, and they kiss!  What?!  No PDA!!!!  No camp romance!!!!  Just, no!!!  That's not OK, unless you want the campers to start making out too.  I don't know any camp that would allow that.  Finally, Kimmy and DJ try to get the campers to go to sleep early on the last night of camp.  Haha, yea right.  When the campers ask why they need a good night of sleep on the last night, the girls respond so the counselors can go party.  While that may be what counselors do on the last night, you don't tell the campers that because then they will want to sneak out and join the party.

The scene does end with a somewhat realistic scary story telling by Steve.  Here's a clip of that part of the scene.

Then, they all go home and things ring pretty true from there.  The girls start telling their family all about the experiences at camp.  Stephanie keeps talking about her friendship bracelets.  Michelle wants Uncle Jessie to start using her camp nickname, Trail Mix.  And so on.  I feel like this is pretty standard for most kids coming home from camp.  They have a lot of stories to tell.  Although, I'm not sure how many of them want to keep their camp nicknames after the fact.  Or maybe just not the weird nicknames I give them.  The girls also start singing camp songs.  This is very accurate.  Camp songs are incredibly hard to get out of your head, especially Baby Shark.

As the girls are unpacking in their rooms, it is revealed that Michelle brought the rabbit home with her.  Two things: first, these girls have way too much energy after a summer at camp.  My experience tells me that they should have come home and passed out.  Second, how does no one know that Michelle still has the rabbit?!  This is why you shouldn't hire 16 year old counselors who are more concerned about making out with their boyfriends.  So now, the girls, along with Steve, who shows up again, decide to drive back up to camp to release the rabbit.  When they get back to camp, it is pouring rain, the car is stuck in the mud, causing Michelle to be afraid of the mud monster, and the rabbit has escaped.  Oh, and the cabin is empty and looks nothing like it did while they were there for camp.  I can attest to the fact that an empty camp is rather sad looking, so I understand the emotion there.  But let's look past the fact that they probably shouldn't be on the camp site unannounced.  Danny and Joey drive up with the rabbit, the rain miraculously stops, and the car is freed.  As usual, there is a heartfelt moment between Danny and the girls, and then they go home and make smores.  And still, the girls don't seem tired.

Now, I realize that this is just a TV show and they take certain liberties with things, but I felt the need to share my thoughts on something that hits so close to home.  Thanks for reading.

I am Bill Johnson from Pleasantville

I had an epiphany this morning as I was laying in bed in that half-awake, half-asleep state.  I was sort of half-dreaming about talking to my coworkers and defending why I was excited to walk across campus for a meeting.  My reasons were that it was something different and got us out of the office and away from doing the same thing every day.  It was at that moment that I shot up and realized that I was Bill Johnson from Pleasantville!

For those who are unfamiliar with the movie, Bill Johnson is the character played by Jeff Daniels.  He is the soda shop owner and operator.  At various points at the beginning of the movie he gets confused because Bud, played by Tobey Maguire, throws off his routines.  So he starts doing things differently and it energizes him.  But ultimately things go back to normal and he gets discouraged because every day is the same thing.

I feel the same way.  Every day is the same.  I get to work, turn on my computer, put in my notes from the day before, and meet with students all day long.  While each student is different, most meetings are pretty much the same.  They tell me about their classes, we look at grades, discuss future assignments, talk about tutoring needs, etc.  It's so monotonous.

Bill eventually explains to Bud that he gets excited for Christmas every year because that's when he gets to paint a mural on the window.  That's exciting.  I also get excited for the holiday season because we have a door decorating contest at work.  That is fun because I get to be creative.  Like Bill, I think it seems silly to look forward to something so meaningless all year, but I don't have many creative outlets at work, so I have to look forward to something.  Really I just want something different from time to time, much like Bill.

And anything that breaks up my day or makes it more exciting is welcome to me.  Even if that means walking across campus in the middle of the day or decorating my door during a non-holiday season.  Additionally, I would love to own and operate a soda shop.  But that's my little comparison to Bill Johnson.  If you haven't seen Pleasantville, you really should.  It's a wonderful movie.

A Glimpse into My Personal Character

Twice in the past two weeks I have had the chance to lie in order to benefit myself.  In both cases I chose not to.  The first instance involved the mileage I had to report to work in order to get reimbursed for driving to Phoenix for a symposium.  Because I stayed in Phoenix for the weekend, my total mileage traveled was a lot higher than what the actual mileage from door to door should have been.  I could have kept it that way and got more money, but it didn't feel right.  That little voice in my head was saying to be truthful.  So I calculated the truthful mileage and submitted that.

And then today, State Farm finally called me in regards to the claim I filed about my water line.  They asked me what happened and I told them exactly what happened.  There was a rock in the ground that was rubbing on the pipe and eventually caused a leak.  The claims adjuster asked how the rock got there, which I thought was odd.  How do rocks get anywhere?  It was just there.  She asked if it anything sudden caused the leak or if any damage to the house was caused.  I could have lied here and said yes knowing that it would help my chances of the claim getting approved.  But once again, the voice in my head said be truthful, so I did.  As much as I would love to get the money back to pay for the repairs, I didn't want to get it by lying.  And, alas, my claim was rejected.

I'm sure some of you are thinking, it's no big deal to tell a lie every now and then.  That's how the world works, after all.  And, maybe you're right.  I can't sit here and tell you that I've never lied.  But there are times when I feel like my lies would go against my character, and that's where I take pause.  These were two instances of that.  I felt like I would be cheating other people by lying and I just couldn't do that.  How can I expect other people to be truthful with me and not cheat me out of something if I don't expect the same of myself?  The answer is, I can't.  I may die broke and alone, but at least I will like myself.  It's important to me to have good character, whether anybody else knows it or not.  Although, I hope people think I do.  Anyway, I decided to share this just to give you all a little glimpse into what makes me tick.  Perhaps, I'll make this a series of posts.

That Seems Like an Odd Place for a Sink

I saw something today that absolutely floored me.  Outside a row of port-a-potties there was a portable sink.  That's right, a sink!  Complete with soap, water, and paper towels.  Now, I know it's not unreasonable to want to wash your hands after using a port-a-potty, but I feel like there are just some times in life when you accept being dirty.  Using a port-a-potty is one of those times.  You go into it knowing that it's gross, but you use it because you have to.  I don't know what the fatality rate from using one is, but it can't be that high.  But now we are so afraid of the germs that might be in one, that we have to put a sink outside?!  When those little hand sanitizer dispensers started showing up near port-a-potties, I could understand that.  But a sink is where I draw the line.

When I was growing up, we didn't have sinks outside of port-a-potties, we were allowed to walk to school and play outside, McDonald's didn't sell salads, and as far as I was concerned everything was organic.  And, you know what?  We all turned out fine.  Well, more or less.  I blame the general lack of common sense on a variety of other things that I will save for another post.

But all of these things seem to be born from fear.  Fear of what, I don't know.  I understand trying to be healthy and take care of your body, but at what cost?  Sometimes we just have to let things be and trust that the world won't kill us for doing so.  Maybe I'm just overreacting to a sink, but it just made me shake my head.