Adventures in Day Camp: the 8-Year-Old Dancer (497 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.13 on 17 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by RyuFu (View user info) at 2007-02-21 12:03:43 EST
A long time ago--that is, before I started commuting hours every day to and from the workplace--I used to work at a day camp. This was the same day camp I attended when I was a youngster. In my particular case the only difference between being a counselor and a counselee (or "camper"), besides getting paid, is that I hated going when I was little. Kicking and screaming, gnashing of teeth, epic tantrums, that was me. Actually, it's kind of a lie. I'm pretty docile. All that violence was going on in my head. Don't worry, I haven't acted out on any of that ever. It's all just been sitting in the back of my mind all these years, aging like a fine wine. A fine wine of DESTRUCTION!!!!! MWAAHHHhh hahaa!!
Sorry.
The reason I hated going as a kid was because of what the doctors called being fat and what my older sister told me was a state of being "extra" healthy. Yes, I was actually told that once. Anyway, I was tormented to be sure, but that's not what this post is about. Luckily at some point I found a sense of humor. And a gym. And women. Ahh, women....
As an 18-year-old first-time counselor I made it my mission to make sure all the kids were treated fairly. This sentiment lasted about an hour. Aside from having to deal with those I affectionately called the Bad Seeds, it really wasn't my job to be an overprotective nanny. Every now and then I would step in when my co-counselors joined in with certain tormenting activities just to make sure the picked-on kid didn't plot an elaborate bomb attack. At least not on me.
My good nature extended to all the campers, not just those in my group. Boys and girls of all age groups enjoyed having the RyuFu around. Dashing good looks, detailed knowledge of Pokemon, an almost dunk-worthy vertical leap--what wasn't to like? As far as I knew, girl campers were delicate creatures. They needed more vocal attention and less rough-housing than the boys did. I found this to be categorically untrue later on, but such was my mindset in the beginning. Until one fateful day.
~~~~~~~~
There was a certain camper whose name and age I can't quite remember. But for the sake of this post, I'll call her Florence and guess she was about 8. And she was hispanic, that's the crux of this matter. Little Florence was shy and generally distant from the other girls. There was nothing that really distinguished her from other shy and distant girls...except for her eyebrows. Oh boy. I mean, damn. Look, I have eyebrows. Thick ones. Perhaps a shade under Groucho Marx territory. This girl...she was a nice girl. She was nice and she might have been confused for a werewolf. But she was nice. I made it a point to get a smile out of her any time I bumped into her. Jesus christ, those eyebrows....
~~~~~~~~
The annual day camp talent show was on a Wednesday. Just enough time to prepare your group for the show and just enough time to laugh about it with the other counselors afterword. After my group went on I noticed Flo standing by herself in a corner backstage with a little makeup kit. I asked her if she was okay. She informed me that she wasn't going on with her group. Apparently, her dad had arranged for her to go on by herself. Figuring her dad knew enough to request a separate performance for his daughter, I wished her good luck and walked to my seat. If she walked out on stage with a shotgun pointed at her head, I was prepared to close my eyes.
But she did not have a gun. She had put on some makeup and glitter, but that was about it. Somehow that made me more nervous than if she had brought out the gun. And then, Missy Elliot started blasting through the auditorium speakers. And Flo danced.
I mean DANCED. Holy shit, she could dance. Her body flowed perfectly in synch with the beats, it was just very professional. I really don't know how to describe dancing, but I'll just say I can recognize good versions of it when I see it. She even threw in cartwheels and some break dancing while she was at it. She naturally received a standing ovation from the camp.
By the time I was able to congratulate her, she was already with her dad, who was surrounded by a few of his own fans. Apparently he was some professional soccer player. I'm hispanic, but I don't watch soccer. Therefore I had no idea who this guy was. All I knew is that he had werewolf eyebrows and that I only heard him speaking Spanish. But I assumed he knew a little English. Let's call him Ricardo.
Ryu: "Hey man, your daughter was excellent!"
Ricardo: <nods, gives half-ass smile>
Ryu: "She danced great!"
Ric: <nods, smiles again>
Ryu: "No, listen man, your daugher was reeeally good!"
Ric: <nods again>
Ryu: "Man, she looked really, really good up there. I mean, she looked reeeaally good. She was beautiful, she looked..."
I don't know what it's like to be a pedophile, but I do know how people look at you when they think you're one. Especially one with the audacity to flaunt those tendencies in public. Ric, Flo and all their fans had become dead silent and focused their attention on me.
Ric: "Thanks, I heard you the first time."
I walked away from him through a gauntlet of grossed out or laughing onlookers.
From what I later learned from other campers and counselors, Flo had broken out of her shell due to the combination of her dancing and tweezers. I doubt my encouragement had much to do with it. Quite frankly, my encouragement probably hindered her progress and possibly that of any other camper I had coddled to that point. Whatever my reasoning, that was the last time I helped out a camper in that regard.
It was far more satisfying blocking camper's shots in basketball, anyway.
User Reviews
Submitted by JoeyG (user info) at 2007-02-22 04:18:54 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
A woman in my office has eyebrows like that. I keep a silver bullet in my desk in case she gets too close.
Submitted by BeaverDamn (user info) at 2007-02-21 23:34:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
+1 for eyebrows.
Submitted by hot_pocket (user info) at 2007-02-21 21:07:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
fucking creepster, this guy
Submitted by odin (user info) at 2007-02-21 19:27:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-02-21 15:37:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
i never did get the 'camp' thing.
Submitted by RyuFu (user info) at 2007-02-21 14:40:49 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Thank you strwbry. I'm doing quite well except for hating my job, but then that's why most of us are here to begin with. Hope all is well on your side as well.
Submitted by strwbryfanatic (user info) at 2007-02-21 14:32:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Hi :)
Good to see you around again. Hope you're well.
Submitted by RyuFu (user info) at 2007-02-21 13:34:14 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I gotta admit, there's something a little off with my writing nowadays. Mayhaps it'll pick up at some point.
Submitted by TheCrystalShip (user info) at 2007-02-21 13:32:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by particle_man58 (user info) at 2007-02-21 12:32:09 (#)
Ranking: 0
I'm not quite sure how to take this one, i'm going with a solid zero.
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2007-02-21 13:12:22 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Not the most entertaining topic, but you did a hell of good job telling the story.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-02-21 13:06:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Vote for Pedo.
Submitted by jfreakman (user info) at 2007-02-21 12:47:05 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
It was a well-written story, but you lose a point for pokemon.
just a personal thing, sorry.
Submitted by particle_man58 (user info) at 2007-02-21 12:32:09 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I'm not quite sure how to take this one, i'm going with a solid zero.
Submitted by Director (user info) at 2007-02-21 12:25:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Creepy.
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2007-02-21 12:15:13 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
pedo alert
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2007-02-21 12:13:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Not overly funny, but written worth a shit at least.
Submitted by HurtByTheSun (user info) at 2007-02-21 12:06:56 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Paedo.