It was dark when I left for work and still dark when I got to work. There were bits of ice on the car and light snow was falling. It was nice to get a white Twelfth Night. The rain doesn’t really raineth every day, despite what Shakespeare said, but I did like seeing the weekend rain transition to snow. The down side was, of course, going back to work in it. I’d taken just enough time off over the holidays to get used to sleeping until after sunrise, feeding dogs, going back to sleep, and having a leisurely breakfast later. Now I have to relearn my regular work routine of getting up before sunrise, feeding dogs, getting showered, and getting out the door and on the road hopefully ahead of the worst of the traffic.
On my way in a funny memory popped into my head from one summer at Camp Ozone. Maybe my brain was trying to keep me warm by conjuring thoughts of summer but also I remembered a specific summer, I think when I was thirteen, when one of the camp counselors was an exchange student from Spain. Her name was Gabriela but she was from Montserrat and for some reason that led to all of the kids calling her “Mons”. Mons was really funny and a fun counselor, and she taught us all some Spanish which I really enjoyed. She also sang some Spanish songs and taught, or tried to teach, them to us. One was a sad-sounding song sung by children who have to take a three-day holiday from school and they’re sad because they won’t see their teachers, they won’t have to do their lessons, they won’t have any homework, and the textbooks are sent to a pawn shop.
The slow, sad nature of the tune played nicely against the very funny premise, but after a few tries Mons realized it just wasn’t a great camp song. She switched instead to teaching us a Spanish version of the Chicken Dance song. Because that was the first time I’d heard it I thought for a really long time it had originated in Spain so I was always surprised when it popped up in the playlist at Czech family weddings. The original composer was actually Swiss but it belongs to the world now.
I haven’t been able to find the song about schoolchildren being sad about a three day holiday but the idea still made me smile as I was driving to work. By the time I’d parked the sky had gotten lighter. Street lights were still on but I realized we’re past the solstice now and the days are already getting longer. There will be a time when, even though I’m going to work, I’ll get up after sunrise. After all the sun it shineth every day.
I find it quite amusing that you referred to someone as this at summer camp, considering that, from a medical standpoint, it specifically denotes a region within the female pelvis. 😂
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I always enjoy your memories, Chris, and this one made me think of the fact that I actually miss work (particularly my therapy groups) when I’m on vacation (and especially when I’m on vacation and sick). Thanks for always bringing some light into darkness.