ENGINE SUMMER
A steam engine chugs along Essex Valley Railroad in Connecticut
It’s a new week, and the summer just keeps barreling along. Once again, as I write this, I’m sitting at a table in the middle of Pub Shop here at Buck’s Rock. Last night, I was able to get another counselor to cover my Guidance Assist post long enough to attend the Clown show, where the comedy kids put in a whopping total of 16 sketches.
Every Monday, I’m assigned to watch over one of the boys’ bunks for four hours and give their guidance counselors the evening off. Clown Shop, which is where Kechi works, has been preparing for this show all session. Ordinarily, they do improv shows every Monday night, and because of my assist assignment, I haven’t been able to attend any so far. This was different, though, and I’m glad one of my coworkers came through so that I could attend.
I’m not as lucky tonight, although the situation isn’t as important to me. I love attending the student productions, though. So far, I’ve seen the kids do Dennis Kelly’s DNA and The Play that Goes Wrong, by Henry Shields, Henry Lewis, and Jonathan Sayer. I enjoyed The Play that Goes Wrong more than the other, but that was mainly because I had much better seats, and the venue was a lot larger, so sightlines were clear.
Tonight’s big production is The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Rachel Sheinkin. I know virtually nothing about the play other than I definitely want to see it. Pub shop is open late twice a week—on Sundays, and on Tuesdays, and while I’m not assigned to stay Sundays, I am assigned to work late Tuesdays. I haven’t tried asking a coworker to cover me, but I’m so grateful I was able to see Kechi’s kids perform that I feel like I shouldn’t press my luck—especially since the first four-week session ends this Sunday and we’re about to greet a raft of new campers while a few of the ones already here will stay on—some for two more weeks, some for the full four. There will be a lot of other productions to see. As long as one of them is a musical, I’ll be okay.
I have a blast watching the kids, though. Seeing them stretch out of their comfort zones and become more capable and aware reminds me how much I missed teaching children. That’s a major piece of the enjoyment I take from teaching adults, too… but it’s different. It’s hard to explain. Even though my adult students are taking a chance, trying to connect with a talent some of them aren’t sure they possess, the stakes are a little lower. Sure, there are grades, but at least with me, the grades are unimportant. As long as my students demonstrate an effort to learn and communicate in good faith, I give them a high pass. That may change once I’m teaching undergrad students, but I suppose we’ll see…. (I am not looking forward to dealing with the AI situation, if I’m being honest.) I just enjoy watching children figure out who they are, who they hope to be, and assess the distance between those two points.
The nature of this work often makes me consider the fact that before the last couple or three years I was never healthy enough to put my body through this. The accomodations aren’t the most comfortable (nor are they the least) but I walk uphill and downhill an awful lot—and being forty-five means I feel it in my knees. It was rainy last night, though, and the drops fell like marbles on the roof of our cabin as Kechi and I lay in bed, and Karate lay curled up in his own bed underneath. This experience may not be perfect—the schedule and the intensity are sometimes grueling, but my God, moments like that, I wouldn’t trade for the world.
Just now, a kid sitting next to me at this table got up and briefly left the shop. His passage drew my attention to the light outside where the sun beams fall like rain through the forest canopy and set the grass and moss aglow with natural light. I’m so fortunate to be here, now.
Kechi and I are right on the verge of signing on a new apartment in Chicagoland. We have one all but nailed down, but we came across a listing yesterday that turned our heads, and our broker is going to film a tour and send it to us to consider before we fully commit to the other. I think we will still take the apartment we’ve already secured. It’s located very close to the Northwestern campus, and while it’s a bit cozier than we’d hoped, I think we can be happy there for at least a year. You know, even with all the massing shadows and toxic meanness in the world, since 2018 I’ve had chance after chance to marvel at what my life has become. I’m so proud of what I’ve accomplished, where I’ve been, and the people I’ve gathered around me.