When I was 10 years old I found myself riding in the back of a station wagon with a bunch of kids, on our way to a movie for my friend's birthday party. TJ, my best friend and birthday boy, was riding in the middle row of seats, talking to his other friends. I was on my own, listening to one of the other boys, named Robbie, in the "way-back" who I did not yet know, talking about a summer camp he had attended the year before. His stories of catching frogs in the swamp, sailing across the lake, and the gigantic weekly bonfire made me wish I was going to the same camp.

My parent had taken me for a visit to Kawanhee that previous summer. I was impressed by the beauty and the fun people seemed to be having. I was equally impressed by the fun two weeks I had with my brothers at the Kawanhee Inn. When asked, at the end of the two weeks, if I would like to go to camp the next summer, I said, with some hesitation, "yes". Consequently, I was signed up for the full seven weeks at Camp Kawanhee.

Just as conversation in the station wagon turned from the superior quality of Robbie's summer camp towards speculation about how exciting the Star Wars movie would be that night, I spoke up with some hesitation.
"I'm going to camp next summer", I said.

"Really? Which one?", asked Robbie.

I was reluctant to answer. What if my camp was not as fun as the one that had Robbie so exceptionally animated? I mumbled under my breath, "Camp Kawanhee".

"What? Did you say KAWANHEE?" Robbie exaggerated Kawanhee to make fun of my pronunciation.

"Yes," I said. "It's a strange name. My father and uncles went there. I saw it last summer. It looked kind of cool. I dunno. It's in Maine I think. Where is the camp with the frogs?"

"In Maine, you dummy. It's Camp Kawanhee; same place! Duuuuuuh." (Robbie was a bit of a wise guy.)

I could not have expected a better response. The visit to Kawanhee proved that camp could be a fun place for the summer,but I still had my doubts. After hearing all of Robbie's stories I no longer had any doubts that Kawanhee would be a terrific place to spend seven weeks. I don't remember much about the movie because I kept reviewing all of the fun things that Robbie had done at camp and pictured myself doing them next summer. I was as excited as any ten year old could possibly be.