After Greek class on Friday, my friends and I left for St. Helena, where we enjoyed some wonderful beverages and conversation in the only coffee shop in town. Since it was to be some time before Mrs. Abbas, my ride to Camporee, came to pick me up, we wandered the block, fingering fine yarn in one store, taking in the quaint beauty of some of the houses nearby, and trying on the most wonderful-smelling lotions and perfumes in a store that also sold sets of silverware that probably would cost, for a full dinner place setting, more than everything I brought with me to college put together.
Eventually, my friends left (having lovingly assigned me the nickname "Reverend"), and Mrs. Abbas came. On the drive over to Lake Mendocino, the most enthralling sunset enveloped the sky--a fiery painting of orange, red, and deepest purple. We arrived in the middle of a meeting, so I hung back with the Pleasant Hill director, Mr. Brinley, until it was over and I could go out to meet my unit. They had not known I was coming, and they received me with overwhelming enthusiasm, even making room for me to sleep in their already over-crowded tent.
In the morning, we prepared for inspection, as usual. Our unit received a perfect score, as usual. Soon it was time for the marching, and this time, I marched behind Mrs. Brandy, the area coordinator of Area 6. Then, we sat down for the church service, in which it was revealed that my 17-year-old friend Cedric had been serving as temporary director for his club, the Thunderbirds, for the weekend. Shocked, I joined in the applause for his achievement, but my mind was reeling with the implications of this.
I returned to camp to enjoy the usual wonderful sun-dried tomato sauce. One of my girls, Isabelle, taught me how to make a beaded lizard before I led the club through the Sabbath afternoon cultural activity. The cultural demonstrations were, of course, fascinating and delightful, but what impacted me more was when we were crossing from station to station. Unintentionally, found all of Area 6--well over a hundred people--following me; when I took a wrong turn, they took a wrong turn with me. Truth be told, this was a rather frightening experience.
My unit prepared dinner, which we enjoyed by the light of the fire--fire, which I have come to miss since living in the dorm. At the evening meeting, Miss Sonoma County (who is, oddly enough, a veteran of the LIT program and a student at PUC) spoke, which was interesting, and Pastor Eddie Heinrich gave a call. About a hundred Pathfinders responded. This deeply inspired me, and brought tears to my eyes. Afterwards, I sought out Cedric at the teen party, where he was wrangling his group of Thunderbirds on the beach. I told him that I wished to help his club, just as a volunteer on loan from Pleasant Hill--he should not have to shoulder something like that alone. He seemed grateful, and was even kind enough to arrange a ride back to PUC for me.
The next morning, I helped my unit break camp, and we attended the awards ceremony. We made a killing on Bike-a-Thon and our club got its 1st prize trophy for points. As usual, there was a spectacular rescue demonstration from the Coast Guard as well. I then said goodbye to my Pleasant Hill unit, and went on to the camp of the Thunderbirds, where I helped them finish loading. I enjoyed meeting many of them for the first time, and it was interesting to watch the dynamics of a smaller club.
We stopped to eat our sack lunches at the Hopland Solar Living Center, an optimistically futuristic project dedicated to conservation. There was a beautiful man-made lake by which we ate and into which two or three of the kids wound up falling. The rest of the way back was pleasant, and when we reached their community hall, I was fascinated by the space--it obviously serves many functions.
Well, since I got back to PUC, it's been very busy. Some of you will be glad to know that we got our car back, picked clean of valuables and windows shattered dangerously. Fortunately, insurance will pay for the damage to the car itself. Thank you for all your kind responses to the "Justin Day" posting; it really warmed my heart. Also, I'd like to thank the Brinleys for giving me food out of the goodness of their hearts--the cafeteria here at PUC is very expensive, and we only have nine dollars a day allotted to us. Thanks to the filming of a certain show called "We're PUC-Ites!" (check it out at puccast.com) I haven't had much time to eat there, though. I was kind of drafted into acting in the show, but I think I'm starting to enjoy it.
Anyway, I hope you all have been having a wonderful, low-stress, well-rested week and wish you the very best.
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