As the daily bugle sounded at seven in the morning, the campers rolled out of bed knowing that today would be special. On this fine day, Timberlake would gather together as one camp in celebration of the great USA. On this Thursday, July 3^rd, 2014, Timberlake is celebrating the 4^th of July.

So naturally, any day as great as Independence Day is naturally going to be special. Campers and staff alike rolled out of bed and quickly changed into their finest American apparel, as no one wanted to be out of the fun. Suddenly, the morning trek down to breakfast became a patriotic march, with red, white, and blue dominating the landscape.

After the morning march down to the dining hall was complete, Timberlake gathered for a traditional American meal of biscuits, sausage, and scrambled eggs. Once the meal had ended, everyone gathered outside the dining hall for an intensely patriotic morning yell, which focused on our American heroes such as Paul Revere, Ben Franklin, and George Washington.

Next came Chapel, and today Greybeard counselor Davis B. gave the message. Today’s message focused on how Jesus is a healer, and how his healing powers do not just apply to our physical injury, but also to our sins. Following Chapel came cabin cleanup, and every cabin was looking to win.

After the cabins were cleaned, Timberlake went their separate ways. Today, Ben N., Scott R., Matt R., Marcos R., and Kevin R. all went on a fly fishing trip. Kevin R. showed off his ability as a true fisherman with his great casting skills and Ben N. caught the only fish of the day! Back at camp, Nash K. perfected his freestyle in swimming, and later in that same class; he was the first person off the blob this session! Up the hill Will L. completed all of the requirements for his soccer bronze, and in rocketry, Wait M and AJ C. both moved one step closer to becoming NASA astronauts with their successful launch of their bronze rockets.

After the morning activities had ended, Timberlake once again convened at the dining hall for one of the favorite meals in camp, pizza. While pizza may have been invented in Naples, Italy, I’m sure that everyone will agree with me when I say that pizza has become one of the quintessential American meals. Everyone chowed down on delicious slices of cheese and pepperoni pizza, and when it was all said and done, Timberlake as a whole had most likely eaten the entire camp of out pizza.

Following lunch came a much needed rest time, as this level of intense patriotism will leave even the strongest of men exhausted. After thirty minutes of rest time came free time, and multiple activities were open and ready for campers to earn bars. In tennis, James B., Cody S., Chandler S., and Mauricio L. all earned their bronze bars, and in archery, Josh B. shot well enough to earn his bronze.

Once the ninety minutes allotted for free time had elapsed, Timberlake again went their separate ways to their afternoon activities. In fencing, Will C. made great progress towards his silver bar, and in archery, camper/future Robin Hood Nicholas L. beat counselor Stephen M. 33-26 with one flight of arrows. However, amongst all the craziness of camp, one thing stood out the most in the afternoon. In guitar, Bobby G. taught class all on his own, and did an incredible job.

Finally, Timberlake convened one last time for a meal, but this meal was not like any of the other meals at camp. Ever since 2:30AM the night before, the smoker had been going with 36 cuts of pork cooking. The pulled pork cookout on the day we celebrate July 4^th is a great tradition here at camp, and it is some of the best barbeque any of us have ever had.

Tonight, instead of eating inside, Timberlake instead took advantage of the beautiful weather and ate on Mackey’s green. In addition to pork, the boys feasted on green beans, baked beans, coleslaw, cookies, and lemonade. The scene on the green immediately began to resemble a traditional Independence Day picnic, as the air was suddenly filled with Frisbees, footballs, and any other ball game you can think of.

Following the cookout came the Mullet Games. The Mullet Games are not a tribal event, but are instead a fun way to celebrate tradition American past times amongst your friends. Tonight, we had counselor skeet shooting, a camper favorite, sumo intertube wrestling, the golf cart pull, sunflower seed shooting, the hubcap toss, and lawn bowling.

After the Mullet Games, Timberlake will go back to their cabins for a short while, and then the grand finale will take place. As soon as it gets dark, the whole camp will go up to the top of camp at Spencer’s Green and watch the awesome fireworks display that our director Dan S. puts on for us every year. This show is truly one of the greatest fireworks displays I have ever seen and it is always a great ending to a great day at camp.

Overall, the mood today at camp was grateful, not just for those around us, but also for the country we are fortunate enough to call home. We truly do live in one of the greatest places in the world, and today is a great reminder for us to truly be humbled and remind ourselves how fortunate we are.

God Bless America,

Charlie Richards

Big Piney Counselor

UGA Class of 2017

Tennis Instructor

Seminole for Life

Proud American