Dear Boundless Families:
The storms keep threatening, but they never quite come. And then the days end in sunshine. The stars emerge on fire. And your kids sleep soundly, or so I am told. Three quarters of the student population are wending and winding their way down the Dumoine, so good gossip on their progress can only be received in snippets.
Bold – We have not heard a boo since they left on Friday. This is a blessing. Thats all I got. My shamanic sense is that they are flying their way down, in deeds and in spirit.
The Wild Cards – Adrian, the honcho up here, joined their group for the first day and a half of their Dumoine descent. I know they woke up Monday morning to pissing rain, and it wasn’t fun (this means that BOLD woke up to this too). Emerging from your tent, eating, cleaning, poohing, waterproofing, packing and staying warm isn’t easy with no roof over your head. But they broke camp in 100 minutes, 20 ahead of their target. They wrapped two canoes around rocks – for the water level is low, and were none too worse for the wear. This speaks to their character. And perhaps “character” is the operative word here, for the Wild Cards are a crazy collection of gifted misfits of character. They are figuring it out. If they remain on this path, they may become my favourite group of the summer.
The Lost Boys – I spent some time with them before they left on Monday morning. Things are pretty much at the exquisite stage with this gaggle of pubescent testosterone. I invited four of them into my office to look at Boundless pictures of the 80’s, when men were men and didn’t wear helmets, like the liability-weary wussies make us do now (that would be me). We had a ball just ribbing each other.
Three Lost Boys arrived with almost paralytic anxiety on day 1. As of Monday, these three already owned the place, fully engaged in the muddy shenanigans of the rest of their tribe. Their turnaround is an inspiration. Families, expect your laddy Lost Boys to come home as heroes, as if they conquered Troy. I am joining the them on Friday as they make their way through Red Pine Rapids, their final day of descent. I can’t wait. I have an affinity with this group. They bring out the 15-year old in me, and I find myself saying things like, “What up Jah?, or “Thats sick”; and a na-na-na-na-boo-boo lets loose every once in a while. Like, duh.
English – Its another Big Chill episode here. A learning utopia. Teachers and kids love each other. Kids complain, with smiles on their face, that there is too much work. They had to delay their recess of swinging 60 feet high on a rope – by an astounding half-day – because they were dragging their asses on completing their essays. Suck it up you poor privileged scoundrels. Na na na na boo boo. Last night they dressed up for an International Film Festival, viewing some award winning shorts. In between each film, they watched their own commercials they filmed, part of the curriculum where they have to learn to be persuasive with words and images. I busted a gut laughing on one of these ads, where three girls parodied the Old Spice guy. “no, I’m over here, sitting on a tire”. Ya just had to be there.
And if you managed this feat of being a fly on the wall up here, you would see a bunch of kids on an adventure of a lifetime.
Until Saturday.
