Hey, 2016ers!

Today is a day that comes along just once every four years! No, it’s not the premiere of the Olympics. It’s February 29. But wait a minute!—aren’t there only supposed to be 28 days in February? Typically, yes. There are only 28 days in February. Every four years, however, we hang an extra day off the end of February and call it a ‘leap year’. What does THAT mean?

Well, let’s head to outer space for a moment to get our answer. Here’s how leap year works: we say that 365 days equates to a typical year. But REALLY, it takes the earth 365 days and one quarter (six hours extra) to complete its annual orbit. These six extra hours of our solar year are put on the backburner for three years and then on the fourth year we throw in a whole extra day (6hrs. x 4 = 24) to make up for it all. Thus, February 29 is commonly referred to as ‘Leap Day’.

It may seem a little odd, but it works!

Yet, while February 29 fixes our problem of an inefficient year that doesn’t account for the extra six hours our planet takes to orbit the sun, it also leaves an anomaly for roughly 4 million people in the world who were born on this date. People who were born on Leap Day are known as ‘leaplings’ and their birthdays are constantly in question (which always brings their age into question as well).

That’s right. You can never know just how old a leapling is. See, some leaplings celebrate their birthdays on February 28 for three years until the next leap year. February 29 is the 60th day of the year which is otherwise March 1 in non-leap years which is why you’ll find many other leaplings celebrating their birthdays on March 1.

My suggestion is that leaplings embrace their distinctiveness and observe only their authentic birthdays. Sure it means less cake and presents, but—hey, when your friends are all in their 80s, you can say that you’re just turning 20! Happy birthday to all leaplings today and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Trunk Lovers!

To begin February on the Blog, I posted about our new Designer Trunks—camp trunks that sport a design of your choice with over a hundred options to choose from! Designer Trunks are made with the same rugged and detailed construction as is given to all C&N Footlockers, except the traditional steel exterior is swapped out for a durably-laminated and dazzling high-definition print.

In my last post about Designer Trunks, I told you that on top of the hundred-plus options that are already available, we’re adding more all the time! Well, make way! As we now approach the end of February, I thought I’d post again about the new patterns we’ve added for our Designer Trunks since the month began.

Recently adding a sequel to our Aztec Designer Trunk—inspired by the minds of the native people in ancient Mexico—we now offer Aztec Stripes. Cousin to our Botanical Explosion Pattern Trunk, the Paisley Explosion Designer Trunk is a celebratory spray of floral designs growing wild. We’ve also added a work of whimsy with our Bubbles Trunk. Float away on these enchanting hollow spheres as they journey across this Designer Trunk.

We also added our Cubic Weave Trunk which features cube under and over and under and over and under and over other cubes. Taken in as a whole, it makes for a neat-looking camp trunk. Lastly, our Floating Circles Trunk is included in this current batch of new trunks. Abstract dots orbiting each other in white air, Floating Dots makes for an eye-catching, mesmerizing, and colorful Designer Trunk.
l

We only continue adding to our collection of Designer Trunks, and most of our trunk designs have multiple color options. With so many options adding up quickly, our Designer Trunks are certain to deliver a trunk that strikes your fancy.

Once complete, Designer Trunks are more durable than paint! So what are you waiting for? Click here to check them out and order your own! As always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Aficionados!

Since it first became a thing back in the late 1800s, billions of kids have flocked to summer camps to reap the benefit of community living amongst their peers and beautiful nature. There are so many different camps you can choose from, which is why we like to spotlight some of the great camps with whom we, here at Everything Summer Camp, have the pleasure of working.

Today, I’m shining our spotlight on a camp that has a lot of history behind it. More than a hundred years in operation, Camp Belknap for boys was established back in 1903 in olden days. These were the times of Thomas Edison when horse-drawn carriages rolled through the streets and ‘The Wizard of Oz’ just been written!

Found on 267 acres of fields, forest and shoreline along the beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, Camp Belknap is much, much more than just a gorgeous place. Tons of fun  awaits you! Campers spend their days swimming, sailing, canoeing, playing baseball, basketball, soccer, flag football, volleyball, golf, and tennis! And they all try their hand at archery, riflery, low ropes, arts, crafts, nature and conservation, photography, moviemaking, and more.

The campers of YMCA Camp Belknap are given their choice of activities based on the things they like, their athletic abilities and other skills, as well as their eagerness to learn. Camp Belknap keeps all if its athletic equipment wonderfully maintained, updated, and easily accessible to the campers.

Belknap’s beautiful campgrounds boast a waterfront area with a natural sandy beach, 9 tennis courts, 3 basketball courts, 3 large athletic fields, and modern lodges and cabins for all the campers. They have everything you need to have an awesome time this summer! Not to mention, great people to hang out with and a chance to learn about yourself and how you fit in among a community of people.

If you’re interested in sending your kid to YMCA Camp Belknap for boys, click here to visit their website and learn more. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

February is the month in which we celebrate President’s Day—this holiday landed on the 15th. The day was conceived as a way to combine both presidential birthdays that fall in February: Abraham Lincoln’s and George Washington’s. I posted about Abraham Lincoln on his birthday earlier this month. Today is George Washington’s birthday, or the day we celebrate, anyway.

Why don’t we celebrate on Washington’s actual birthday? Well, he was born on February 11, 1731—as it fell on the Julian calendar. However, the colonies switched to the Gregorian calendar (the one we all know and love today) which displaced his birthday to February 22. The date of New Year’s Day shifted as well, changing his birthday to February 22, 1732.

Washington was one hard-hitting president—the kind of leader America needed to stand up to the British and take our independence! Yes, General Washington certainly fought the good fight and won. He did it all in the face of adversity too. He had a number of health problems—not to mention, he saw his fair share of the action. Check out a few of the things he was up against:

1.) He didn’t have wooden teeth as many people believe. He did, however, have some pretty horrible dental issues. Dealing with the terrible pain of incessant toothaches starting in his mid-20s, Washington started having his teeth pulled and started losing about a tooth per year.

By the time he was 57, he had just one, lonely tooth left in his head which was eventually pulled and led him to the need for dentures. Dental health is extremely important to overall health and specifically linked to the condition of a person’s heart. Brush your teeth, kids!

2.) He was the sickest president in the history of the White House. Poor George got hit with a slew of illnesses that left him bedridden. He was sick with diphtheria, tuberculosis, smallpox, dysentery, malaria, something similar to tonsillitis, carbuncle, pneumonia, and epiglottitis. Luckily, modern day vaccines have eliminated most of these illnesses for us, but Washington was not so lucky.

3.) Probably one of his most serious brushes with mortal danger happened when he was 23 and seemingly haunted him till the end of his days. Aide to the British General who was leading an expedition against the French in Pennsylvania at the time, Washington was so ill he was ordered to stay behind. He followed anyway, tying pillows to his saddle to reduce the pain of traveling.

That day, Washington found himself in a battle that neither he, nor the troop he was with were ready for. And despite his hat getting shot off and four bullets tearing through his coat, Washington came away from the battle unharmed, leading the 40-mile retreat. He did, however, suffered continuous attacks of fever and dysentery for the rest of that year—sicknesses from which he never fully healed.Whether you celebrate Presidents’ Day or Washington’s birthday, be sure to look into the very interesting and very amazing life of Mr. Washington. We can all learn a lesson or two from our nation’s first president and founding father. And, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Camp Fans!

Lots of people go to camp. Others send their kids to camp. And SOME people do both. And celebrated American author of the beloved novel ‘The Great Gatsby’, F. Scott Fitzgerald is one of those individuals. It’s no longer in operation now, but Fitzgerald enjoyed a month-long stay at a Camp Chatham, located in Orillia, Ontario in 1907.

Fitzgerald must have well understood what a momentous time camp is for children. When he sent his 11-year-old daughter, Frances Fitzgerald to summer camp in 1933, he wrote to her a rather ‘grown up’ letter with some strong advice for her. Here are his words to her:

l
DEAR PIE:

I feel very strongly about you doing duty. Would you give me a little more documentation about your reading in French? I am glad you are happy– but I never believe much in happiness. I never believe in misery either. Those are things you see on the stage or the screen or the printed page, they never really happen to you in life.

All I believe in in life is the rewards for virtue (according to your talents) and the punishments for not fulfilling your duties, which are doubly costly. If there is such a volume in the camp library, will you ask Mrs. Tyson to let you look up a sonnet of Shakespeare’s in which the line occurs Lilies that fester smell far worse than weeds…

I think of you, and always pleasantly, but I am going to take the White Cat out and beat his bottom hard, six times for every time you are impertinent. Do you react to that?…
Half-wit, I will conclude.

Things to worry about:
 •    Worry about courage
•    Worry about cleanliness
•    Worry about efficiency
•    Worry about horsemanship…

Things not to worry about:
•    Don’t worry about popular opinion
•    Don’t worry about dolls
•    Don’t worry about the past
•    Don’t worry about the future
•    Don’t worry about growing up
•    Don’t worry about anybody getting ahead of you
•    Don’t worry about triumph
•    Don’t worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
•    Don’t worry about mosquitoes
•    Don’t worry about flies
•    Don’t worry about insects in general
•    Don’t worry about parents
•    Don’t worry about boys
•    Don’t worry about disappointments
•    Don’t worry about pleasures
•    Don’t worry about satisfactions

Things to think about:
•    What am I really aiming at?
•    How good am I really in comparison to my contemporaries in regard to:
        (a) Scholarship
        (b) Do I really understand about people and am I able to get along with them?
        (c) Am I trying to make my body a useful instrument or am I neglecting it?

With dearest love,

l

l

Giving a wonderful sense of his terse, yet compassionate fathering, this letter illustrates the honest relationship between the two. No wonder, Frances Fitzgerald followed in her father’s footsteps and saw great success as a writer as well.

We carry great products that encourage convenience for parents to stay in touch with their campers while they’re away. Check it out right here and, as always, thanks for reading, Camp Fans!

- John