tim’s thought property

March of the Penguins, the National Geographic documentary, was a wonderful film. Today, after a small series of goings-on that delayed us ten minutes from getting to the theatre, Tim (Penner) and I walked into the theatre to watch this movie. It was a first for me, to see a nature film in the theatre, you know, that’s not in an IMAX. I was instantly taken by the cinematography that was used. There were some very close and intimate shots shown of these birds, not unlike paging through any given National Geographic. The shots were something that I had not seen used in the forum of a documentary, another refreshing move.

Throughout the film, I watched in silence, not making comments on what I saw or thought. I was enraptured by the survival and the inherent abilities to go about living that these penguins had. They were Emperor Penguins, by the way. The narration was by Morgan Freeman, who did a fine job at telling the story of the life of a Penguin.

I learned some things about them that I had not known before. Things like when they mate, they stand by that mate until their baby is born. The next mating season they may mate with a different bird, but the family unit is in tact for at least for bringing one life into this world. There are more females than males, and they will fight to protect the right of having their male. There was a real lovely shot during the courtship of the Penguins, when two were close to one another and preening, that is rubbing beaks together, not unlike kissing. There is something silently elegant about these creatures, something beautiful to observe. When the egg is laid, the female passes it on to the male, in a very particular and delicate fashion. Because of the harsh climate, the egg cannot survive very long on it’s own, away from the protective nest of the parent. Younger mates may sometimes break their egg in the process of passing it. Once the egg is given to the father, the mother treks off seventy miles to get food. At this point, the males are left in a large group, acting as one, to huddle together for warmth. It is amazing the co-ordination that they have to rotate their time on the outside of the group, to the inside, with each Penguin having a chance to brave the winds. All during this time, the males have to waddle ever so carefully, and not lose their egg. Also in this time, the older males may die from the cold and lack of food. There is something sad, about even seeing some animals pass away. Yes it is the course of things, but dying from the lack of heat and food seems a terrible way to go.

By the time the females return, the males have been without food for four months. Just before this, the eggs have hatched and the small little baby Penguins come out to chirp for food. The females have to find their males by the sound of their voice, not the sight. To be honest, I couldn’t tell either gender apart or even the calls. Utterly mystifying. At this point the males leave, on their own trek for food. They’ve lost about half their body weight by this time, whereas, the females would have lost one-third before they went to the ocean. The male departs just after the birth of the child. Then the parents will engage in a sort of exchange or commute to the ocean from the breeding ground for food.

All through the film, I was playing in my mind what the Penguins may have thought or said, in the different scenes showed. I was really taken by the film. There were some real majestic shots of the landscape, the perpetual night, the southern lights, the frozen castle-like vistas. And again, the shots of the Penguins were quite intimate, very close up. If you’re interested in learning and feeling totally captured, see this film. It is amazing the abilities that God has given to animals, who have an almost innate, instinctive will to live.

One of the enjoyments of Camp is watching other people solve problems in unconventional or sometimes sadly predictable ways. Specifically, this one has to do with one of the kids who lives at Camp, since his mom works as the Horsemanship Director, a permanent position.
It happened to be lunch time, and the other two Ropes Instructors and myself were heading down to the lodge to eat. As we pass by the volleyball court, we see our little friend by a pine tree, ,throwing a basketball in the branches. Repeatedly. Now, our little guy here is ten years old, and I would credit him with being quite smart for his age. As we approach, the conversation is as follows:

I (still in Ropes Harness, going to eat): Hey, Little Guy, what are you doing?

Little Guy (focused on his task): Do you see that green bracelet on the branch? I’m trying to get it down.

I (not seeing said bracelet): How did it get up there?

LG (still focused): Some kid took it from me and threw it up there.

I (still harnessed and getting hungrier): Well, I think you should come inside for lunch. The bell rang.

LG (determined to finish): Can you get it for me?

I (tummy: rumble): Sorry, Little Guy, we have to go eat. You can get it later.

At this, my co-Ropes Instructors and I walk into the Lodge, and proceed to get ready to eat. After lunch (which was grilled cheese and soup) we went out to the Ropes Course, not really noticing anything special about the tree. That evening, as some of the staff are up in the lodge playing Cribbage and Mao, I find Little Guy. Earlier that evening, I was Frolfing with Tim Goose (another Tim I met at Camp) and I had lost my Frisbee on the 10th hole, which just so happens to be partly on Little Guy’s Mom’s front lawn.
So I approach Little Guy and tell him about my plight.

I (a little frustrated at my loss): Hey Little Guy; if you’re in your yard tomorrow and see a white Frisbee with my name on it, could you give it to me?

LG (looking up from his hand at Mao): Did it go in the back yard? If it did, then my dog will have eaten it.

I (a little worried at my loss): I don’t think it went there. But just take a quick look for it. I’ll try to look again. What ever happened with your bracelet?

LG (in a wonderfully ten year old manner): I got the ball stuck in the tree just after you left.

I (a little surprised at his loss): How did you get that down?

LG (in a wonderfully ten year old manner): Well, I used a broom. And that got stuck before I got the ball down.

I (not so surprised any more): …huh.

I got a flat tire in the Phantom Passat on Friday, coming home from camp. As I set about to change it, I had a few problems. What happened first was that half of the jack was missing, the part that turns into the crank/tire iron, so I had half of a handle with which to prop up the car. While I was trying to jack up this car, a passer-by asked if I needed any help. Turning around, I said “Well, unless you have a jack in your car that works, then no, you can’t help.” He said no, I said that was fine, then he drove on.

It was at this point that I realized that I must have looked mighty foolish. For you see, we had a Pirate Theme Meal that night, with me as one of the hosts. (Lisa was the other.) I was wearing my bandanna, my Treasure Island shirt with a big Pirate skull on it, skull-and-cross bone socks, and about five Pirate-themed temporary tattoos on my person, including a flag tattoo on my neck. I then realized why the man who stopped to help gave me such a funny look, as he drove away. He was wondering why some pirate was stuck in the middle of the Prairies, fixing a flat tire.
By the way, I ran back to camp and got a jack from the Director, and all was remedied.

As it so happened, last Saturday held two mighty thunderstorms that wreaked havoc on the poor little property of Camp Assiniboia. As some may know, the camp is dotted with many tall, old and wide Cottonwood trees, many close to two-hundred years old. When the storm came through, the high winds had ripped many branches from the trees, and strewn them about the camp. The wind also saw fit to uproot many of the majestic giants and topple them on our Old (and not used, and therefor abandoned) Ropes Course. Added to that, five trees of various size and type fell on the Zipline cable on the New Ropes Course and another tree felt like resting on one of the support cables. Lightning was also involved at knocking down a couple of elms and oaks. There was a lot to be cleaned all week.

Now, the Ropes Course being out of commission, and the Frolf Course being in a state of disarray, the options for the Ropes Activity ended up being “Playground” for two days. As things went about, we had an injury on the playground every activity slot, (four a day) and had to make special rules while playing tag, (four times a day). Rules like:

Climb in the tubing, and not on top of it.
No running on the clackity-bridge, since you will get hurt.
No hiding in the slide, since people will be sliding down it.
Careful while running on the dewy structure, for you will fall.
No playing Grounders, since I just told you that you will die on this monstrosity of metal and plastic.

After the stressful Playground times were over, Director AJ and I brainstormed some other ideas, and came up with the Egg Drop contest and the Boat Building Challenge.
The Egg Drop Challenge
I told the campers that the Kitchen Staff needed the campers to build some prototypes of a break-proof egg holder, since the kitchen stores the eggs in a dangerous place. I also said that the transport trucks drive down a bumpy dirt road to get to camp, and they need better protection. So, with cardboard, tape and paper the groups set out to build varying contraptions, not unlike boxes, to house their eggs. Surprisingly, only four out of the dozen eggs broke in the trials. We used the play structure to drop the boxes, covered neatly with pictures and clippings from National Geographic magazines. We told them that aesthetics were important to the contest.
The Boat Building Challenge
No fancy story, just build a boat out of paper to withhold the gradual weight of quarter-inch gravel, put on one piece at a time. The winner ended up having 273 rocks on their boat, again, all of them made with paper, tape and National Geographic clippings. Their prize, or reward for their work was Salt Water Taffy. Yes, the bribery does work. Here is candy for a little mind-numbing and boring activity.

I felt so useless as a Ropes Instructor this week. It was hard to continue going to the mundane activity slots. Many times I just wanted to sleep. If I wanted to do crafts, I would have signed up to be the Craft Lady.
But as it worked out, the builder of our Ropes Course, Peter Bailey, came on Friday to fix it, and it will be up and running next week. Interestingly enough, aside from the prayers I kept praying everyday, the couple earnest prayers of a camper seem to be heeded. One was along the lines of “GOD, please fix the Ropes course soon, so we can have fun at camp.”
And how.