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Camp Log

Camp Q. Campers . . .This area is for you! Make your memories last in our virtual Camp Log.

Favorite Quotes:
"I've learned that if you want to cheer up yourself, you should try cheering up someone else" Age 13

"The sunshine of the soul is laughter." Anonymous

Poem:

FALL

Fall is . . .
The unleashed spirits of dancing brilliant colors,
Relatives hugging, kissing, and giving thanks,
Springing in the fluffy leaf piles raked upon the ground.

Fall is . . .
Sticky sweet cider caught in my throat,
Juicy turkey submerged in gravy followed,
By creamy, mashed potatoes and crunchy carrots,
A fluffy, white cloud atop smooth cold pumpkin pie, heartily spiced.

Fall is . . .
Thundering echoes of booming and guns across a quiet landscape,
The ice chill of autumn winds upon the face,
Shrill squeaks of honking geese.

Fall is . . .
The crinkling of quickly ripped birthday wrapping paper,
The moistness of fresh deer meat,
Gooey insides of carving jack-o-lanterns.

Fall is . . .
The tangy sweetness of Thanksgiving dinner,
Strong, spicy aroma of soy-sauce dipping venison,
The sickly, sweet scent of burning leaves.

By Camper Crystal, Camp Quality Michigan
*Fall was selected as one of the Top 10 Poems in Michigan for Crystal's grade division in the Young Poets Contest.

Stories:
"I Can't Wait for Camp"
I was eleven when I was diagnosed with leukemia. The doctors gave me chemotherapy and radiation to help me, but they made me sick and made my hair fall out. When I went back to school, I definitely did not look like all the other girls. I remember wishing that I was normal like all the other girls. I remember wishing that I was normal like all the other kids. I realize now that I was.

In August of 1990, I went to Camp Quality for the first time. My sister, Shea, came with me. The first day, all the campers and companions got in a circle and we all introduced ourselves. Here were a bunch of kids just like me. I had to wonder, "If I wasn't normal, then were they?" Being with the other kids who were in the same boat as me gave me faith and hope that we were all normal. We were kids after all.

Over the next four years I attended Camp as a camper and in 1997 camp back as a companion. I was matched up with a girl named Kate, who was so much like me at her age, we could have been twins. Kate made me laugh and we became good friends. When our week of camp ended, our friendship remained. Kate's leukemia took a turn for the worse a couple of months later and she left us to polish the stars the following January. I got to see her in the hospital before she left. Your might think that this would make me regret going to Camp Quality that year, but it made that all the more precious to me. Camp Quality is a course of hope for all our campers. This one week at camp does more for them than a year at school. Here they can be themselves, normal kids with extraordinary lives.

By Jennifer Fitzgerald, Camp Quality Michigan

Hey Camp Q. Campers & Volunteers! Have a great story or quote from camp to share? Give us the scoop!