A Fall Like No Other
It may just be sentimentality, but this has to be one of the most beautiful falls I have ever seen at Camp. Everyday I think it will be the last - the peak - but each day I am taken by the lingering colors, and the ever changing light. Today at 4 p.m., the dogs poked their heads around the corner and looked at me like I was silly for sitting at my desk- just as the golden hour approached. I heeded their call, and it turns out they were right. It was another glorious show.
It used to be that one could count on the 3rd week of September for the “peak”, but that has shifted, as so much has. I am not sure what it was that aligned this year - it’s been unseasonably warm, desperately dry and Wizard of Oz windy, but the leaves have remained. The mix of green, yellow and red reflected through the light casts camp in a yellow sepia hue. It’s as if one is wearing yellow tinted sunglasses.
I felt a bit guilty on my walk as other than the dogs I had no one to share it with. I wish that anyone who has been at Camp in the summer could see this, feel this. I think it would affirm the specialness of this place, as the falling leaves reveal the scope and scale of the campus. Spots on campus that were so busy nine weeks ago are so still. But despite the solitude of my walk, Camp did not feel empty. Around each corner, below every tree there is a memory, a sentiment of activity and possibility. I can only imagine that the campus needs the rest, too, as it prepares for winter and the eventual return of the patter of little (and big) feet.
Some might see an empty camp as a missed opportunity, or a waste of space. To be honest, I am glad I don’t know many of that sort. The walk I took today was brought to me by so many who came before, so many who come now, and anyone who has called Mishawaka their summer home. It would not exist without the sacrifice of prior owners, loyal campers, and generous supporters. I felt nothing but gratitude today.
In her book, Saving Time- Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, author and artist Jenny O’Dell reflected on how parks saved her during the pandemic. She writes, “Parks are not just left over spaces. The story of any park is redemption presenting itself as a crack in the continuum of catastrophe.” The story of any summer camp is much the same. They exist for a unique purpose - one whose value is seldom questioned, but whose existence is constantly threatened by any number of forces. For Mishawaka to have continued, and for it to be able to offer me this treat today, it took the courage of thousands of campers, hopeful parents, and dedicated counselors. At the core is a belief that childhood is to be lived outdoors and engaged, and it only comes once in a person’s lifetime. Redemption indeed.
