And once more to the apartment

… much to the kitties’ delight. Our reunion with them was most tender.

Here is my summary of the last three days at the camp.

It rained often, and so the paths were muddy.

We went to church twice each day. The sermon that I discussed in the previous entry was the best one by far. The others all went on longer than their allotted times, and they rehashed these points:

(1) The importance of the U.S. armed forces.

(2) The importance of the church elders (Michigan district).

(3) The importance of camp, for training the youth.

(4) Dangers that beset the youth. In this last category:

(4a) Satanism in rock music.

(4b) Activities that steer the youth away from camp.

(4c) Homosexuality.

(4d) Disney World – not explicitly named, but inferable from certain mentions of (4b) and (4c).

And lastly:

(4e) Unmanliness in various guises: being an absent father, selling one’s spiritual “birthright,” and failing to “cross the line.” (Julius Caesar, one speaker told us, heroically “crossed the line” when he crossed the Rubicon. The speaker himself had “crossed the line” many times, breaking rules at the mental health center where he worked, so that he could lead a teenager away from Devil worship.)

Yesterday, between services, Karin & I and Karin’s friend, Shad, traveled to the touristic town of Frankenmuth. Much of the town is German-themed. It’s also the site of Bronner’s, “the world’s largest Christmas store.” Like the House on the Rock, the store displays a staggering number of knickknacks. It also has a small chapel.

We returned to the camp. That night was the best night of the trip. We took lawn chairs out into a dark field and watched a meteorite shower. It was lovely, except when other campers drove near to us in their rented golf carts, blinding us with their headlights. “You’re ruining the meteorite shower!” I called out to them.

This morning, Brianna and her retinue tromped into our cabin and woke us up. We packed up our car and drove home, skipping the sermon of the denomination’s president. I plan to listen to the sermon on YouTube.