Seems like just yesterday when Flying Cloud 2012 greeted its first campers; in reality it was more than 20 days of exciting adventures, activities, and forging/rekindling friendships. Closing out the first session is always a powerful reminder of why we come back summer after summer. Our final night is spent in a ceremony called out “Friendship Fire.” On this night, all of our community members are given the opportunity to “Speak for Flying Cloud.” Campers and counselors regale each other with tales of the summer, moments of overcoming obstacles, or just great laughs. This time around, I had my pencil and paper ready to share what was said:
I’ve never seen a place that meant so many different and important things to so many people . . . it’s like a second home, it shows me that there are endless possibilities for what I might want to do with my life as I grow up . . . at first, I thought it was just a survival skills camp. Then I learned it was so much more. A place that shows me I can be who I want to be . . . Flying Cloud is always a place among friends, I never have to be fearful of being judged . . . Flying Cloud is like fire, at first it seems like a disorganized pile, but just a spark can bring it to life. A part of me wants to be able to explain it, but I know it is better to just see it for the magical experience it is . . . at home I never felt recognized or noticed, at Flying Cloud, everyone is noticed and celebrated for who they are . . . it is a place with names that say who you are, not what you appear to be . . . Flying Cloud gave me a better attitude towards life, especially the names that make you feel like you matter . . . when living in a smaller group of people, it makes the community feel like it is a whole lot bigger . . . “
Of course, with over 60 Flying Clouders present for our Friendship Fire, there was quite a bit more said. I just wanted to take some time to share some of the highlights. We closed out the night with our traditional Give Aways. This is an opportunity for people to give gifts in front of the community. They often represent a strong friendship, a well-practiced skill, or just a funny inside joke! It’s always a beautiful moment though, as the best Give Aways are the ones that are the hardest to give.
With the community experience brought to a close, we watched as candles carry the fire of first half of the summer off to all the lodges. Many campers and counselors chose to sleep out under the stars. As I laid my own head down could hear the beautiful laughter of happy boys and men as they spent their last night of July Session Together.
The next day, 22 of our campers left, leaving 20 campers to stay full season. In looking forward to the arrival of second session campers we had those full season boys plan out how they, as the campers, can make sure that all of those campers get warmly welcomed. They came up with all sorts of ideas, and just hearing them talk warmed my heart. It’s amazing how loving and intentionally these young men can be. They are constantly surprising me with their level of maturity.
The second session campers arrived and they jumped right in. In a powerful change of ceremony, the camper leaders were able to creatively bond the group. As we bank the fire every night, they wanted to bring the energy and passion of first session to the opening ceremony of the second half. They also wanted to have an inspiring moment to kick off session session. Our Firekeeper, Maple Holds the Spring, brought hot coals from the first session and added to them a bow drill coal he made Sunday night to merge the two groups. If you want to know more about how the opening ceremony goes I recommend reading the first post from this summer (and it all begins . . .).
We’ve already gotten around to educating our new campers on all the rules of being safe at Flying Cloud, and we even got to orient ourselves on how we create a loving and fun community. Our “In-and-Out List” is always a great chance to hear what the campers want to have in their Flying Cloud experience as well as what they don’t want to be a part of their summer. The counselors almost never have to chime in as all the boys, new or returning come up with so many great things to make sure the community that we build is a good one.
Phew! Closing one session and opening another is a hard pair of things to fit into just one blog post. I hope you all are enjoying getting a chance to hear about how our little village in the woods is doing. As always, if you ever have any questions or are curious about what’s happening up at Flying Cloud, please don’t hesitate to jot me an e-mail at Zach@farmandwilderness.org. I’ll get back to you the next time I come down off the mountain and out of the woods.
Be well,
~FF~