The Rest Hour Thing
Rest Hour.
When you are a camper it feels like Rest Decade.
When you are a counselor it feels like Rest Second.
There is something about Rest Hour that brings a feeling of dread to campers but relief to counselors. If you heard a camper’s reaction to Rest Hour, you’d think the kid was being sent to the guillotine:
"Rest Hour? Again? Aw, man!"
"No, not Rest Hour! Anything but that! Please don’t make me go to Rest Hour!"
"If you loved us, you wouldn’t make us have Rest Hour."
They make you feel guilty for doing something that’s good for them. You feel like the Grinch who stole Christmas.
Counselors have a different view of the "R-word":
"Is it Rest Hour yet? Please say it’s Rest Hour."
"Was that really an hour? Didn’t seem like it."
"Can one of our morning activities be another Rest Hour?"
A typical camper’s thoughts during Rest Hour:
Why do I have to sit here for an hour?
It’s soooooooooo boring.
I mean, really! What’s the point of just lying here?
What can I do for a whole hour lying on my bunk?
I know. I’ll gimp.
Where’s my blue gimp?
Oh darn, it’s on the floor, and I’m on the top bunk.
How am I going to get it now?
Maybe Rachel will get it for me.
If I point at it and make a face at her, she’ll know what I need.
Oh, good, she’s reaching for it. There. Thanks, Rach.
What should I make? I know, a round braid to go with my five
others.
Hmm, how much longer do we have? Fifty six minutes? Phooey!
Uh oh, I don’t know how to start this. How do you start this?
Maybe if I throw it at Rachel and make another face she’ll start it
for me.
Hey! What was that???
Oh, Kaysee just threw me a note. Wonder what it says? Jeez! Did
she fold this thing enough times? I’m never going to get this thing
open.
There we go. Finally.
Christina,
Aren’t you bored out of your mind? Think the counselors would
know if we left and played tether ball? What are you doing? Hey,
after canteen we have swimming with Miss Lifeguard Lady. Let’s
get someone to throw our counselor in the lake. I’m bored. I’m bored.
La la la. Do you have any gimp I can use? Write back.
Kaysee
Now I have something to do! I can send Kaysee a letter.
Kaysee,
Yes, I am bored! Why do we have to have rest hour
anyways? I am trying to gimp, but I can’t start it. I will
tie my gimp to this and throw it across the bunk to you
so you can start it for me, okay? What’s your favorite
part of camp so far? Mine is gimp and swimming. Why
can’t we gimp and swim all day and skip the other stuff?
Like rest hour.
Love,
Christina
Oh no! The note fell on the floor! Mayday, mayday! S.O.S.!!!
Okay, Lindsay picked it up and gave it to Kaysee. Good.
How much longer do we have to sit here?
Forty-seven minutes! I’ll die if I don’t get to go to canteen soon!
A typical counselor’s thoughts during Rest Hour:
Boy, do I have a lot to do---
Write home, start the cabin report for the newsletter, tape
the staff sign together so the kids can write on it tonight, find the
extra batteries.
I’m just going to lie down for just a second. Then I’ll do all that…………
What? Why are they jumping out of their bunks?
Rest Hour’s over? What happened? Oh, man!
Good thing canteen’s next. I need the caffeine.
Now they call it Horizontal Hour. It’s supposed to have a better connotation than Rest Hour. New campers think, Oh boy! Horizontal Hour! Sounds like a fun activity! Returning campers know what it is though:
"What are we doing now?"
"Horizontal Hour."
"That’s a glorified term for Rest Hour, isn’t it? Can we go swimming instead?"