Hey, Camp Fans!

Last month we asked for people to share their collections with us whatever they may be. And today, I'm thrilled to feature our first collector, Travis T.! Travis attends Camp Longhorn and he collects Baseball cards.

With over 5,000 cards to his collection, he keeps them well-organized in boxes and binders. He started collecting three years ago when he was nine years old. With a collection that is ever-growing, it’s a constant learning experience for Travis. Not to mention, it’s provided a great way to interact with people from all over the world.

Born a baseball fan, Travis was inspired to start his card collection when it dawned on him that every player had a card. It’s a challenge with no end in that regard. “You can’t collect them all,” Travis tells us. “So it is always a challenge looking for the next best deal.” But collecting in itself has furthered Travis’ understanding of the stats and teams of lots and lots of players.

“From there I started understanding their value and shopping eBay and looking for deals,” says Travis. “I am most proud of my graded cards,” he says. When cards are ‘graded’, they’re given a number in value based on the condition of the card and the quality of the print. “Once they are graded they go up in value, come in a case, and are a lot safer,” Travis added.

“I have so many valuable cards that I have worked hard to accumulate,” he says. “I have also spent a lot of time organizing them by team, year, and brand. This has been a HUGE project for me that I have accomplished over many hours. I am also sending players cards for autographs and getting some back in the mail now which has been really exciting!”

Sending cards out to players is a great idea. I’m sure an autograph increases a card’s value as well! While his favorite team is the Houston Astros, neither of his top two favorite players have ever played for the Astros. A mutual favorite for Travis and his dad is Charlie Hough—professional player for 25 years! And then there’s Mike Birkbeck.

With just one-year contracts for each team he played for, Mike really had to earn his keep! But Travis did such a good job in his explanation of why he likes Mike Birkbeck so much, I’ll let him tell the story: “One year he signed for the Indians. His teammates ask him to go on a cookout on a boat. He opted to go with his one year-old son to Disneyland instead. That boat crashed and killed several people on it. He put his family first…”

Such a sad story, but a blessing for Birkbeck! “These are just some of my favorite players and I have cards for each with some autographs seen in the picture below,” says Travis. Another hero of Travis’ would be Mr. Pat Neschek. “Pat is one of the greatest card collectors of all time,” Travis explains. “I would love to hang out with him and see his cards!!!” 

That would be such a cool experience, Travis! What a great collection you have. Thank you very much for sharing all these great pictures and with us and wonderful insight into what you collect and what it means to you! Till next time, Readers. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hello, Fellow Outdoor Fans!

Letters sent and received through the post office is one of the oldest means of long-distance communication preceded only by homing pigeons (birds trained and used to deliver letters and other small items). Today is designated to celebrate this old means of connecting with folks far away. Today is Letter Writing Day!

While writing letters is a big part of summer camp, Winter is a great time to flex your writing muscle for this therapeutic indoor activity and great way to spread some cheer as we venture into the holiday season! Here are some great reasons to sit yourself down today and write a letter or two to some of the people you have in your life.

Ain’t Nothing like the Real Thing, Baby
A letter is not an electronic message; it’s something corporeal that the recipient can hold and keep in their home. It exemplifies effort and thoughtfulness. It’s sure to bring a smile to that somebody when they receive your letter in the mail—a hundred times more joy than any text, email, social media message, or even a phone call could ever bring.

Great Mental Exercise
Writing a letter is an excellent way to keep your brain sharp. The wintertime especially can hold us sort of spellbound with what some refer to as ‘the blahs’. Articulating your thoughts through the written word gives you and the recipient clarity. It can feel a little bit like cleaning out your head! I feel better just writing this post!

The Power of the Pen
As I alluded to in a post I wrote years ago about Letter Writing Day, letters give a writer the space to really take the time to articulate their thoughts. You’ll find the opportunity in a letter to express yourself like you maybe never otherwise would. Use a letter to let somebody know what they mean to you.

These are just a few of the many benefits there are to writing letters to people. Make the connection and spread some cheer as we venture into the holiday season! Put your pen to some paper and see what comes out! Happy Letter Writing Day and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Halloweeners!

This time of year delivers in such a variety of ways; Halloween means costumes and treats. There’s also decorating and pumpkin-carving. But the main festivity Halloween is notorious for is telling a good spooky story! Finding a scary story to delve into was always my favorite part about Halloween. I learned a lot about witches, and vampires, and ghosts, and alike.

When I was a kid my mother would take me on trips to the public library where she would help me find the coolest Halloween books to check out. I’d hang onto them for a week or two and go back each year to check the same ones out.

I highly recommend you peruse your local library or other bookstores to find what could become your favorite stories! I put together a list of my old favorites. Maybe you’ll enjoy them as much as I have! Have your parents heat up some apple cider, grab a flashlight, and read these to you in the dark! The first group are good for any age while the second group is geared for older kids (like 10 and up).

All Hallows for All Ages
‘Scared Silly; A Halloween Treat’ by James Howe and illustrated by Leslie Morrill is one from the Bunnicula book series about one Halloween night with the Monroe family pets home alone.

‘A Woggle of Witches’ is a picture book written and illustrated by Adrienne Adams—a tale of witches on a nightly flight.

Eve Bunting tells of the spooky costumed visitors on a Trick-or-Treat evening in her book, ‘Scary, Scary Halloween’. Illustrated by Jan Brett.

Readers have a laugh over the funny shapeshifting of a witch’s hat in ‘The Witch’s Hat’ by Tony Johnston. Illustrated by Margot Tomes.

And—my absolute favorite—the story of a boy who’s expectations of Halloween night are underwhelmed despite the lurking monsters behind him in ‘It Hardly Seems Like Halloween’, written and illustrated by David S. Rose.

Better Wait Till You’re Older…
‘Nightmares; Poems to Trouble Your Sleep’ by Jack Prelutsky is a collection of children poetry that covers creepy creatures that go bump in the night. Arnold Lobel depicts these deadly beasts in inky illustration.

Sequel to ‘Nightmares’, Jack Prelutsky also put out ‘The Headless Horseman Rides Tonight; More Poems to Trouble Your Sleep’ to complete his collection of iconic characters of horror—illustrated by Arnold Lobel again. 

And lastly, ‘Halloween Poems’ is a compilation of macabre poetry selected by Myra Cohn Livingston and accompanied by the creepy artwork of Stephen Gammell.

Whether you find my old favorites or discover some new titles for yourself, have a dim, warm, and spooky time looking over the tales of terror in great Halloween books! Don’t get too scared now! And, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John

Hey, Fall Friends!

A pretty essential part of Halloween and the Harvest season, pumpkins are the perfect type of produce for carving and placing on a front porch or window. Jack o’ Lanterns light up the night with toothy grins and eerie expressions. It’s important stuff—figuring out which side of a pumpkin the face will be on, deciding on the kind of face to carve, and finding the right place for your Jack o’ Lantern to sit.

It’s important enough that I wrote a Blog post about it a handful of years ago. You can check that one out by clicking right here.

However, as important as all those decisions may be, there’s an even more important step that comes before you can even start thinking about a face. That step is picking out your pumpkin (or pumpkins if you’re lucky)!

This step can be lots of fun and a cool part of the fall season if you know where to look. There are lots of places to find pumpkins in autumn. You can get them at grocery and convenient stores. Or it’s common to find pumpkins and other assorted gourds at roadside displays.

But, for a surefire way to have some serious fall fun, I recommend a visit to a pumpkin patch if the trip to a local farm isn’t too far for you. Walk among those bulbous vegetables and find your favorite of the bunch! Their orange bodies and green stems always evoke such specific personalities; they almost tell you what kind of face to carve! And a trip to a pumpkin patch may yield other seasonal festivities like a hay ride, or a corn maze, or cider with donuts!

Go find out what kind of fall fun you can have in your local community and enjoy picking out the right pumpkin for yourself. Happy Harvest, Everybody. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

With the Harvest season upon us, now is the perfect time to consider all the work that goes into the food that we buy at the grocery store. All the fruits and vegetables, the meat, milk, and eggs. The bread in the bakery. It’s all thanks to farming and those hard workers that grow all that food that we put on our dinner tables. October 12 is Old Farmers Day.

This day is dedicated to old farmers and the old-school techniques they used back in the day. It’s typically celebrated as a throwback to the sustainable practices of growing food the way they used to.

While mechanized and scientific methods are widely utilized in farming today, the entire trade would not exist without the wisdom and hard work of old farmers.

In their honor, today is about being thankful for farmers and learning about the processes and methods that go into their work. Perhaps you can suggest a family trip to a local farm where you can see firsthand where your food comes from!

Farmers are essential to our own survival! They take care of our food from sowing the seeds to harvesting the crop and seeing reach the market. Without farmers it would be difficult or impossible for us to have food on our tables.

How Can You Celebrate Old Farmers Day?

• Do some research to learn about farming techniques from the days of old.
• If you happen to live on a farm, take today to use old farming tools.
• If you know an old farmer, ask them about how farming was different when they were young.
• Visit your local farmer's market to support your local farmers.
• Buy only locally grown food and locally raised meat.

On behalf of everyone here at Everything Summer Camp, we would like to send a special thanks to all of our local farmers and farmers all across the nation and across the world. Without you, we would go hungry…literally! Thank goodness for farmers and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John