Podcast Response: Notes on Camp

I chose Notes on Camp because I'm one of those camp people, I love everything about camp and it is a huge part of my life. In this podcast episode mostly two camps are followed, a boys and a girls camp, but they are run as one camp. In the Mr. Popular act of this podcast David Himmel, a former camper and now counselor, says, "Camp is just number one with everything I do," I think this is true for the majority of people who attend camp. This segment of the podcast gives the thoughts of camp an energetic tone and demonstrates what fun camp can be. David also says, "I would not be who I am if it wasn't for camp," illuminating the importance of camp to some people. David, not knowing who he would be if he hadn't attended camp underlines the significance of tradition of camp and the strong relationships that are built between people at camp. In the last act of the episode of Notes on Camp, Color Days, the importance of tradition is once again stressed just as it is in the Mr. Popular act of the episode, "Once you are assigned a team a blue team, black or red for boys, you will stay on that team for all your years at camp." Although this may not be true for every camp each camp has their own traditions and they are all important to each other person who attends the camp.

“It is not normal if you don’t lose your voices,” this said by one of the captains of color wars alludes to how important winning the color wars and the rivalry between the teams is captivating to all campers, young and old. Color Wars are a lot of the girls favorite part of camp and on the last night there is a relay, this linking back to tradition. Most of the older girls compete in the same event year after year, the events being fun and odd, nothing one would do just hanging out with friends at home. The events varying from eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to showering and washing your hair, to building a fire. No one judges you at camp, you can have as much fun and be yourself which is why so many people love camp and why it is such an important part of campers lives.

The tones between the different segments in the episode are very similar; the most illuminating is the energy that each speaker brings about camp. Everything has a high energy and a fun and exciting tone to it. In the Color Wars segment there is also seriousness when the older girls are waiting to find out who will be the color war leaders for the three days. As the girls repeat, "I will be silent," the solemn tone is underlined in an odd way; it is serious but also a very exciting event.