Sunday, January 23, 2011

Swimming & Holiday Hill Little Bobby

Here  is a video for all the "Little Bobby"  campers who  dream of swimming like Olympians!  Read the " little Bobby" Memory from Trampoline Bill ( Bill Young)  below. 

"Wow! to many to pick one and even remember a small percentage of them in a short time so, 1.) climbing up the rope swing, over the limb,  pulling up a new rope, attaching it to the limb and climbing back down NOW THAT WAS DUMB! 2.) losing the race to the horse and knowing Lloyd won. Two feet from the finish it seemed impossible to lose. 3.) ( probably my favorite)  racing 6 Orioles around the 200 meter track.  They each ran 100 meters. My first lap was backwards and against my perception the slowest kids. Easily keeping up, my mouth  was running faster than my feet. Next lap shifted to a higher gear, skipping because the next two campers were faster. Uh Oh! 30-40 meters into  this lap my legs started to rig. The burn, the pain, the dismay watching them pull away but the necessity to endure without quitting to avoid the kids thinking it was OK to quit when things got difficult. Hitting the finish line with a lap to go all was certainly lost as my legs were shot and they were 50-70 meters ahead. Then as each running stride massaged my muscles back to functioning and momentum shifted my way the race was on. Entering the backstretch the fastest little guy was already into the final turn but with each stride he was drawing closer by about a 3:1 margin. With me going into the turn he was almost coming out the other side. Leaning and digging my bare feet into the beautiful sod as the turn straightened he was 10-15 meters from the finish to my about 30. The  it was rig time for me again, but panic time for him as he kept furtively looking over his shoulder, carrying the weight of his teammates on it and pressing so hard for that line. With but 2 yards for him and 4 yards for me he was confident of victory but with one last push and a well timed learned lean,  victory was mine, was my feeling but with everyone cheering for him this one time I had to pay off with popsicles from Lloyd and Gwenn's freezer or come away looking like a poor sport. Having run a few races over the years it is without equivocation the best race of my so far short life.  4.) My first day as camp counselor in 1966 we played a quiet game called " Black Magic" which over the years proved highly entertaining and provided  endless hours of fun for many children. Unfortunatley this being my very first go at itwas the first little disaster of the morning. Saved by swimminglessons we set off for the pol. UH OH we're 20 minutes or so to early, another mistake by the unit leader. OK, I've gotit! We'll do "Indian" wrestling, something I remember from my youthful playing days. Lying feet to head, hip to hip, each contestant raises their  adjacent legs up past  their opponents, once, twice, and on the third lift crossover, interlocking and trying to roll their opponent over backwards. Being unable to remember which guy got the worst of this Jeff and Nate, but I think Nate missed the leg lock and bashed Jeff in the mouth with his foot. Another disaster! Finally we're getting tonto the water. At least the Unit leader isn't in charge anymroe. Testing first. Those who know how to swim go to the deep end, those who don't to the shallow end. New York City Bobby, " do you know how to swim?"  "Yup!"  With the big boss Lloyd himself, standing right there, portly little Bobby hops into the deep end and goes under. He's verticle but swimming and pushing himself down negating his own buoyancy. Lloyd looks at me, I look at him and in an instant we're lying on the coping reaching for Bobby. We miss, we both miss again. My thought is if I miss him again I'm going in after him, but we both grabbed him on the third try and  lift him out. That was the begining of my first day at Holiday Hill Day Camp! Needless to say more than 11 seasons spread over more than 30 years it just got better and better.  5.) Trapoline. As they say in Hawaii, "no need" to say anymore."

( not little Bobby but another camper loving pool time!) Remember now is the time to get the best discount on this summers registration! Sign in before Jan.31 to save  on summer fun and Olympic sized memories! online registration at: http://www.holidayrecreation.com/

Black Magic How To: www.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid-20081115080744AAhnlUB

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