I’m stealing this idea from my friend Emily! 🙂 I asked her if it was okay and she said she had “stolen” the idea too, so I guess it’s all good. 😉 This next Friday will be our 5 year anniversary, so I’m going to write installments of “our story” this week. Most of you already know the story anyway, so if you feel like you’re reading a rerun then come back after next Fri and maybe I’ll have something “new.” 🙂
Once upon a time…
Stuart and I first met the summer of 2002. It was my second summer counseling at The Wilds of the Rockies, and my first time having a “brother counselor” who ended up being Stuart! Ha! Our cabin name was Tree Faller and Stuart had written this ridiculous cheer about some chicken in the woods getting clobbered by a tree and bleeding all over or something. But since I still didn’t really know HOW to write cheers we kept it with just a couple modifications. 😉 It went like this….
The Tree Faller Holler
A blue chicken walked through the forest one day
He saw a tree fallin’ and forgot to run away.
(Chorus)
Sayin’
BOOOM, CRASH
Let me hear ya holler!
BOOM, CRASH
We are the TREE FALLERS!!
The chickens all plotted the revenge of their friend.
They said the tree fallers must come to an end.
But we’re might axmen and our work is just too good,
Now we’re eatin’ fried chicken in the Big REDwood!
(repeat chorus)
Ha ha ha!! So we were on the red team that year, and had a lot of fun.  I used to laugh at Stuart practice the cheer that we were supposed to “teach” the team on Mondays.  It had this “woo-woo-woo WHOOSH” part in it with hand motions and being somewhat rhythmically challenged, he would watch his reflection in the big glass window of the lodge while he practiced.  I guess it didn’t occur to him that people were INSIDE and could see him through the window! 😀  Although we were “bro/sis” we didn’t really do that much together beyond the cheers and an occasional cabin challenge. Quite honestly I thought of Stu as another of “those” young BJU boys. I admit that I had a prejudice to an extent based on some of my other run-ins with BJ’ers at that very same camp! 🙂 (Believe me or not but it had nothing to do with the school I went to.  I didn’t realize a lot of those issues till later when I was on staff, pretty sad actually)  Fortunately, you can’t (or shouldn’t rather) classify people as being or thinking a certain way simply because they go to one school or another. Or any other of those great and fantastic labels that we like to plaster on people and in our own pride think we have them ‘figured out.’ I’m slowly learning the truth of that as I walk through life, but at the time I hadn’t “dun learned” it that well.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like Stuart, I really did, but only as a fellow TWR worker. And I was right about the young part. 😉 Might as well get it out now, I am 3 years OLDER than Stuart. Yes, it is possible! 🙂 But I think it works out well, and keeps me nice and young. Ha ha ha! At that point in my life though there was NO WAY I would consider “liking” someone younger. So Stuart was safe from me anyway. 😉 Besides after being at camp for one WHOLE summer already I realized how silly most of the “camp relationships” were.  Still, he did let me drive his beloved car “Felina” all the way to Co Springs to see the Flying W. Wranglers!  To this day he can’t figure out WHY he would let me do that since he was very particular about who could touch his baby! 😉  I tell him it’s because we traded places and he got to ride the rest of the way with a car full of girls whereas I was in his vehicle with 2 very shy guys and Marry Poppins soundtrack on!  I couldn’t for the life of me find his other CD’s!!  Haven’t wanted to hear those songs again since!  Ha ha ha!!  We went together with a group to the rodeo in Steamboat and various things like that.  The summer was a lot of fun, but there was no magic.  In retrospect Stuart says he should have “gone for it” that summer, but because a certain someone at camp kept telling him that he SHOULD because we were both “Indian” (which is silly!  I’m not, just tan well!) he was more resistant to the idea.  Besides God’s timing is perfect!  Both of us had things to learn yet.
Still Stu and I did become friends. He even wrote me a nice note about being a great Sis and all after camp was over. I think I still have it!! Now why would I save something like that??? Guess we’ll find out……