June 30 2025

Maggie Reeves gave an awesome concert on the lawn last night. She has an absolutely wonderful singing voice (predictable since she was on season 11 of The Voice), a winsome personality (predictable since she is a Greystone Girl), and sang a mix of covers/praise songs/and original songs (she is a songwriter in Nashville and does a lot of studio work). The girls loved it, and when I closed the show with a brief conversation, she surprised us all (me included) by saying that she had been in my house as a camper. Apparently, when she was at Main Camp as a young girl her cabin was invited to our house. She proved it by mentioning the firepole (one of the most impressive things about our house from the perspective of a young camper). She also brought custom Greystone stickers for everybody. Slam Dunk!

The concerts at Main Camp are so much fun. Margaret and I do not go to concerts in the “real world,” but we really love going to them at camp. The variety of performers is surprisingly delightful. Campers still talk about Peabod, a Christian rapper from LA who gave an outrageously engaging concert a couple of years ago in the Pavilion. It was so hot and muggy, I was sure it would be a flop, but when he boldly claimed the stage and cranked the volume to 11, we were hooked. It is still talked about (for a sample of his genius, listen to backpack and imagine 500 girls joining in the chorus.) Memorable! Hats off to Sarah Brown who works to find performers we can afford, are willing to do a camp gig, and who can play this venue (harder than you think).

We changed tables this morning, resulting in a delightfully quiet breakfast experience. Changing seating assignments in the Dining Hall is a great idea. Mary Gray is the Group Leader in charge of Dining Hall seating, and she enjoys that tedious job, making it fun for everyone. Rather than just having the computer assign tables randomly, she chooses a theme (for instance, sorting by middle names or birthdays). Today we sorted the girls into tables by birth month AND first name. We didn’t let the girls in on the plan, so this first meal we attempt to break the code. Now you know.

A quick word about the cell phone policy. I think all residential camps share this policy and appreciate its impact. It dramatically enhances “the Bubble”. It is hugely beneficial to take the crutch of a phone away and drop a crowd (of any age) into a place like camp. The shock of this change seems to activate a part of the brain that is not used that much anymore. The part of the brain that LOVES conversation, imagination, dance, reading, writing, art, singing, laughing, thinking, running, swimming, climbing, making friends, and simply living with people who are not constantly distracted by their phones. Preaching to the choir here… I bet we have a unanimous consensus on the point.

Our last talk on Social Growth was an encouragement to embrace our leadership responsibilities in a group. Often, we are not confident enough to do what we do at camp when in other settings. We hesitate to smile broadly at those outside the group or stand up against gossip. Going with the flow (assuming the same attitude as the group) is the easier path that most of us take. We encouraged the girls to live lives marked by kindness, which means they will have to become confident in acts of goodness. Shine brightly in all situations, even if it makes other people uncomfortable or perhaps lowers your standing in the group. This requires a lot of integrity and courage, traits that are developed with practice. Camp is a great place to develop such habits, by the time they go home, they will be experts!

Tonight will be an EP that divides the camp into two groups, each group given a fun activity. The girls will either be at Waterpark/Pool (W1-W2; T1-B1) or in the Dining Hall for Bunco (W3-W6; B2-B6; C1-C12). We will do this group EP again, so everyone gets to experience both sides.

Details of the Day

Breakfast Eggs, Sausage Links, Skillet Potatoes
Breakfast Club Social Growth (last on this subject)
Joke How many is a Brazilian?
Weather Partly Cloudy, 84, UV 10.
Lunch Shepherds Pie
Dinner Fusili Norcia (pasta recipe from Sandi Taylor)
EP Rotating Groups