(no subject)
Had a great weekend, so far. Much fun was had in a variety of situations.
But that's not what I feel compelled to write about.
I was just feeling a bit moody, & pulled up "Z88.3" (Positive Hits!) online. I haven't been a canonical Christian for well over a decade, but I've long believed that Christians have a lot of the best music. ;}
Anyways...
I started wondering about the camp I used to go to every summer from 5th grade 'till about my sophomore year of highschool.
I looked them up a few years ago, & was a little disapointed to learn that they weren't as horse-centric as they'd been back when I was around... but at least they were still there.
As far as I can tell, they aren't there any more. Their website is down, most of the sites that references them are dated around '04, & I found one blog that said they were closing down (in '05) because of pressure from a ritzy housing community that'd sprung up next to them.
Fuck.
I don't know why I'm this upset... but I am. There are a lot of little reasons.
Growing up, I was being raised Lutheran, & was completely crazy over horses. Also, our family was very far from well-off. We couldn't afford regular riding lessons. So, what are the odds that there would be a Lutheran riding camp less than 2 hours from where I lived? And IIRC, one week cost about $150 "way back" then. That much, apparently, we could afford.
I learned all of the hands-on horse-y basics, there: grooming, feeding, mucking out stalls, various other chores you never think about when you're fantasizing about horses. Over the years I learned to drive & I learned to ride (not well, but I did learn to ride ;} ).
The last year or 2 I went, I thought I might like to be a counselor, eventually. Even then I was drifting away from Lutheran dogma, but I was (still am, actually) very well-versed in Lutheran Bible-studies, especially as they were presented at this particular camp. And I knew (still do, mostly!) the words to most of the songs they sang at that particular camp.
But I ended up buying my own horse (for which, BTW, I still owe my mother about $3,000. How sad is it that it's been about 15 years & I never paid her back... and now she's dead...). I bought my own horse, & got caught up in all sorts of things that go along w/ highschool, & eventually I graduated & "Got A Life".
I sold my horse when I was 22-ish. I'm 32-ish, now.
All these years, every once in awhile I'd think about that camp... and I'd still entertain the thought of being a counselor. The job paid for shit, but the money was the least of the considerations...
And now it looks like they're gone. Just one more childhood goal I can't possibly reach, now. One more way I toyed with the idea of paying something back to "the community" but never did... and now I can't.
Oh, & also? I miss my mom. :(
But that's not what I feel compelled to write about.
I was just feeling a bit moody, & pulled up "Z88.3" (Positive Hits!) online. I haven't been a canonical Christian for well over a decade, but I've long believed that Christians have a lot of the best music. ;}
Anyways...
I started wondering about the camp I used to go to every summer from 5th grade 'till about my sophomore year of highschool.
I looked them up a few years ago, & was a little disapointed to learn that they weren't as horse-centric as they'd been back when I was around... but at least they were still there.
As far as I can tell, they aren't there any more. Their website is down, most of the sites that references them are dated around '04, & I found one blog that said they were closing down (in '05) because of pressure from a ritzy housing community that'd sprung up next to them.
Fuck.
I don't know why I'm this upset... but I am. There are a lot of little reasons.
Growing up, I was being raised Lutheran, & was completely crazy over horses. Also, our family was very far from well-off. We couldn't afford regular riding lessons. So, what are the odds that there would be a Lutheran riding camp less than 2 hours from where I lived? And IIRC, one week cost about $150 "way back" then. That much, apparently, we could afford.
I learned all of the hands-on horse-y basics, there: grooming, feeding, mucking out stalls, various other chores you never think about when you're fantasizing about horses. Over the years I learned to drive & I learned to ride (not well, but I did learn to ride ;} ).
The last year or 2 I went, I thought I might like to be a counselor, eventually. Even then I was drifting away from Lutheran dogma, but I was (still am, actually) very well-versed in Lutheran Bible-studies, especially as they were presented at this particular camp. And I knew (still do, mostly!) the words to most of the songs they sang at that particular camp.
But I ended up buying my own horse (for which, BTW, I still owe my mother about $3,000. How sad is it that it's been about 15 years & I never paid her back... and now she's dead...). I bought my own horse, & got caught up in all sorts of things that go along w/ highschool, & eventually I graduated & "Got A Life".
I sold my horse when I was 22-ish. I'm 32-ish, now.
All these years, every once in awhile I'd think about that camp... and I'd still entertain the thought of being a counselor. The job paid for shit, but the money was the least of the considerations...
And now it looks like they're gone. Just one more childhood goal I can't possibly reach, now. One more way I toyed with the idea of paying something back to "the community" but never did... and now I can't.
Oh, & also? I miss my mom. :(