The turn of the screw, or my day at camp

My souvenir of the day. 

"My tire was flat. The atmosphere at camp was anything but," suggested the camp counselor.

I was staring at my car, at the utter flatness of the back left tire, at the reality that I may truly be stuck at camp forever, never to return home.

A few hours ago, I had been driving merrily along the highway in anticipation of what I thought would be a fun-filled visit to a local summer camp. I planned to interview participants, counselors, and whomever else wandered by for a feature in the paper.

But instead... upon arrival, I detected an unusual hissing from the back of my car.

The camp's maintenance team took full control of the situation, but the prognosis was grim. We peered at the hefty screw (see photo) sticking out of the tire.


I'd gotten some photos and interviews by this point. I was actually considering suggesting an editorial about my adventures - prompting the nearby camp counselor to share the witty lead idea featured above - since nothing was going to be more interesting than this.

The team removed the tire after wrestling with it for a good 20 minutes - something with the make of the metal not cooperating with easy removal - and plugged up the hole. I'll be forever grateful to those guys.

I was invited to lunch in the mess hall, which I accepted. I'm not sure what the food was, but since everyone else seemed to share the same thought but was digging in heartily, I tossed my worries aside (for the most part.) They were kind to share their meal with me.

I found a maintenance place down the road after lunch, they patched up the tire for free (!) and I hurried back to camp for the remainder of the activities.

It ended up being a good day after all, and I met some awesome people and learned some awesome stories.

Lesson learned? There are good people out there, and they're willing to put a smile on your face if you'll let them. I didn't end up writing an editorial about my unfortunate tire, but the article that came out of my day reflected, I hope, the kindness and joy of that summer camp and its staff.