Summer camp… at this time, mid-1960s, a rather American tradition I think, more so for boys than girls but than, what wasn’t? I had made it through two seasons of Abnaki and one of Rock Point, but my mother was still concerned (cautioned by well-meaning male friends?) about the male-lean influence on a boy whose father had died and he was now in a household of mother and three sisters (for Heaven’s sake, Anne, the lad needs some male guidance, some manly influence, some muscle and gristle, blah blah…). It occurred to me later in life that Mom made very good decisions when they were forced upon her- strong, thoughtful, sometimes daring but always considered. My next summer influence was a change of venue: Camp Dudley in Westport NY.
This was like going from a VW to a BMW. Dudley, a YMCA affiliate, had amenities galore: two or three playing fields with baseball diamonds, actual cabins with mattressed bunks, multi-day canoe and hiking trips, an audition position big band which rehearsed with the resident conductor (during my stay a Broadway-frequent arranger/composer) and was the basis for the end-of-season musical we all put on. My first year we performed “Oliver”, and I was a singing street urchin… typecast, I know.
I was at Dudley as a camper (#10179) for, I recall, two years (four weeks, then eight weeks), during which I signed up for a couple 3-day hikes (Mt Marcy and ?), and a 5-day canoe trip which took us on the Adirondack finger lakes, paddling in perfect wilderness, setting up camp at night, cooking meals on an open fire, helping feed the burgeoning mosquito/black fly population… to this day one of my ‘dream dates’… Back in port there were all sorts of choice diversions for the summer: organized sports (baseball, soccer, tennis- me with my prized “Jack Kramer”), music happenings, swimming and water-play, and honestly good food.
At 15 I returned for a term as a junior counselor, which meant having a bit more freedom, a lot more responsibility, and probably less fun for someone who was uncomfortable with decision-making and discipline-wielding. That was my last summer at Dudley, and would launch me into the unexplored experience of a freelancer during those months. That, unavoidedly, would mean actual summer jobs, and a taste of what life was really all about.
jmidworth 
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