Be Prepared

Something about learning that a large group of young boys would be camping in the park on a weekend that we were to work sends chills down my spine.  Normally, each of the available campsites hold only 2 adults, and maybe 1 or 2 children.  Cleaning the park and bathrooms after a busy weekend when the park is full takes some time.  Now imagine that 8 of those campsites average 8 boys each for a weekend.  Imagine cleaning those 8 sites and the bathrooms if those 64 boys were unsupervised most of the time.

You and I would drive into this RV park and see an attractive, elevated building with a combination of steps and ramps leading up to the office.  We’d also see a large observation deck upstairs that overlooks the river, a deck where we could look out and see dolphins playing, boats of all kinds passing by, and pelicans dive-bombing into the water in search of food.  We’d see and be thankful for the sparkling clean bathrooms and shower areas.

What does a group of 64 unsupervised boys see as they look at that same building?  Two-story high ramps for footraces.  A deck to hang from before dropping to the ground 15 feet below.  A deck that also serves as a launching pad for rocks, wet and wadded-up balls of toilet paper, and gobs of spit that rain down onto the heads of unsuspecting passers-by.

Imagine 64 unsupervised boys in the bathrooms and shower area.  Water to squirt all over the mirrors, walls, and sinks.  Toilet paper to turn into wet globs and hurl up to the high cathedral ceiling, where they stick.  Paper towels to stuff into the toilets so that they overflow with the first flush.  Shower curtains to rip down.  Corners!  (Why use the urinals and toilets?)

What adults in their right minds would bring a group of 64 boys to an RV park for a weekend and not have any activities planned for them?  Who, in good conscience, could let 64 boys play unsupvised and out of sight along a deep river right at the dangerous mouth of the Gulf of Mexico and on the beach where riptides and pounding surf can claim a wader or swimmer in seconds?  I can answer that:  It’s the 3 adults sitting under a canopy, visiting with one another and turning a blind eye to what the boys are doing.  Who's counting heads?  No one.

Be prepared?  That’s an impossible task because there is no way we can prepare for 64 unsupervised boys who are turned loose for 48 hours in the RV park.

 

Be prepared?  Yeah, I'd like to be prepared . . . by hanging out a CLOSED sign at the entrance to the park.