Sleeping Bag

I am Jon Fusco, an avid camper and hike enjoyer. I’ve spent quite a few years at Camp Blinkleblonk, a little camp at the foot of a mountain. It gets rather cold sometimes when the winds bring the snow from the mountain down to the valley, but summers are warm and mild. Some would say other camps are better, but I disagree. Nothing beats Camp Blinkleblonk.

To give you a glimpse of the campsite, imagine a mountain in the east, our camp building is directly west of the mountain. Why is there only one mountain? Ehhhh… I guess nature decided it only needed to bunch up in one small mound. Some say that mountain once was a volcano but that must have been a long, long, long time ago.

Winding around the mountain east to west is a river that we use for fishing, swimming, and kayaking. Not far west, the river widens into a lake of sorts and we hang out there. Another thing to the east of us is and expansive forest that curves around to the south of our campgrounds. Most of the north and northwest portion of the campground is open field, but there’s still some pretty good trees there.

As of right now, chilly season is well on its way. We have two cabins on our property, one for boys and one for girls, but even in the cabins, it can get quite chilly. As such, it is highly recommended to bring a sleeping bag! We also allow some people to pitch tents around the campgrounds if they prefer a more authentic experience. Again, please bring your sleeping bags!

A strong wind blows and I turn my eyes to the sky. Looks like a storm is blowing in from the west. Aside from snow storms, it’s rare for storms to hit our campground from the east. I blow my whistle alerting the campers and other leaders and rangers of the incoming danger.

“Storm incoming! Everyone to shelter, now! Looks like a real wicked one!” I call out. “If we’re lucky, it should blow over quickly!”

I blow my whistle again as my campers come rushing over to the cabins from the trails. The wind continues to pick up and rain splatters my face. Cold rain…fall is coming… One of the last to make it to the cabin is Timmy, one of our slower campers. It’s ALWAYS Timmy.

“Tim, come on! It’s not safe to be in the woods during a storm!” I cry out.

“I’m coming! I think there’s a rock in my boot!” Timmy complains, hobbling towards me.

The wind blows again and Timmy almost gets carried away. I rush into the storm and grab him, carrying him back to the cabin. We get inside and seal the door. Thunder booms close by…that was too close of a call…

“I’m sorry Mr. Fusco… I didn’t mean to lag behind…” Timmy says.

“I know you didn’t mean it. As a leader, it’s my job to keep everyone safe!” I say.

Storm’s been rolling for awhile. The rain drums against the roof of the cabin noisily. The boys and I are huddled up with our blankets. We have some battery powered lanterns, but even so, the light is kind of dim. If the storm passes in time, we may get a chance to see the northern lights tonight.

“Hey, I got the rock out of my boot, Mr. Fusco,” Timmy says, holding up a pebble.

“Very nice, Timmy!” I say. “The rock is a little bit of geology you can take with you. It’s like owning a piece of the Earth.”

“That’s so cool!” Timmy remarks.

“A rock is a rock… It’s not even a pretty rock!” another of my campers, Doug, argues.

Doug is rather argumentative. His parents forced him to come to camp and he’s been grumpy about it the whole time. Sometimes, though, I think he’s genuinely having fun. It hurts my heart to see him bully the others…I feel like a disappointed father sometimes.

“Doug, sometimes, life is about finding meaning in the small things,” I say. “Speaking of small, check this out!”

I stick out my hand and pretend to draw a dime out from behind Doug’s ear. He stares at me in awe. I hand him the dime and pat his back. I don’t think I could possibly hate any of my campers.

“How do you keep finding money behind my ear?” Doug wonders.

“Why do you keep putting money behind your ear?” I retort with a smile.

“Jon, I admire you. You really have a way with the boys,” my coworker, Colton Fairburn says, squirming up to us while tucked inside his sleeping bag.

“Thanks, Colton,” I say, trying not to laugh at how silly he looks as a part sleeping bag part human creature.

The rain has stopped and darkness has fallen. Quickly and quietly, I help escort the boys back outside. The ground is kind of mucky and muddy, but that’s just part of nature. The lady leaders and female campers are already out so we’re a bit late.

Overhead, the night sky is aglow with green, pink, and yellow lights. They ripple like ribbons blowing in the wind. It’s hard to describe the awe and wonder of it, but, it’s like something nothing else on Earth can make you feel. The boys gasp in awe, some sitting in the mud.

“Funny to think that the sun blasting radiation at us causes such beautiful light displays,” I comment.

“If it weren’t for our ozone layer, we’d all be dead,” Colton remarks.

“What if we’re already dead and we’re just imagining all of this?” that would be another of my campers, Adam, who is rather morbid sometimes.

“Even if that were so,” I say. “This wouldn’t be that bad of a reality to imagine.”

“Yeah, but we’d still be dead,” Adam says.

The lights intensify, silence falls as we all watch in wonder. Shooting stars burst into sight, dotting the sky with little balls of exploding fire. This must be one of the luckiest nights ever. One of the balls grows bright and brighter, seeming to soar right over our heads off to the woods.

“WOW! THAT ONE WAS HUGE!” Timmy exclaims.