Quiet Places
Sunday, July 5th, 2026
CHESS GROVE circa 2:01pm—A spell of cloud cover combined with a warm breeze has created a drowsy afternoon atmosphere, especially here in the secluded chess grove. Most of the children are downtown waiting for candy and chips to be meted out from the Camp store, that is except for my opponent, Gabriel. We sit in silence, elbows perched, fingers laced, brows furrowed. The sound of Led Zeppelin-fueled kitchen cleaning in the medium distance provides a sort of white noise.
Across the road a small group of children materialize in the Puppet Grove, led by lead puppeteer Milla Blackwelder. They un-clothespin labelled plastic sandwich bags from a laundry line and carefully extract their in-progress creations. Hot glue guns and other materials circulate around two large crafting tables. Just behind the Puppet Grove in my blog lair, two Teen Staff unbox a newly donated junior drum kit, referring to the instructions as they assemble the miniature components.
Gabriel and I conclude our game with the usual handshake and he speeds off toward downtown. A pair of campers emerge from the kitchen with popsicles in hand, a sure sign that they have just completed a shift of dish duty.
“I like washing dishes,” says Hazel, 12. “We were listening to this playlist of old music like Chappel Roan. Some of it was even real oldies from the 2010s. It was so long ago, but the music was so good! Lana Del Rey was good from like 2011 until 2018. Her new single is really bad; she needs to retire.”
“I did dishes just for fun and to help out Lime Tipi,” says Star, 12. “It was peaceful and enjoyable. But, to be clear, in case my parents are reading this, I only like doing dishes at Camp.”
Just as the dishwashers depart, a camper carrying a book appears.
“So far today I’ve been hanging out with my counselor friends and had some tea,” says Sapphire, 10. “They told me about some quiet places I can go read if I get overstimulated. I get anxiety sometimes.” I agree that Camp can be very overstimulating, especially on Mid-Term Tipi Clean-Up Sunday.
“I’m reading Nevermore: The Trials of Morrigan Crow,” continues Sapphire. “It’s a story about this girl born on the unluckiest day, and she’s cursed to die on her eleventh birthday. I don’t think she’ll die though because there’s two more books in the series and that would be awkward.”
As the reader leaves, I head over to the puppet grove to see what’s puppin’.
“If you want to take off your puppet, do it like this,” demonstrates Milla to the half-dozen pupils. “Close the mouth, grab the lips, and pull.”
“I made this puppet but it doesn’t have a name yet,” says Pola, 11. “I didn’t get a chance to make a puppet last year so this time I prioritized it. When people think about Camp Winnarainbow but they haven’t been here, or they’ve just seen the website, they might think that it’s all classes. But there’s lots of random things to do like sitting in the creek, skipping rocks, or puppets. This camp has more choices than other camps.”
“I’m making a princess because I feel like it,” says Alexis, 11. “Her name is Princess Rose of the Rose Realm. She’s pink like a rose, and she also matches her dress which has pink roses on it. My puppet is going to be best friends with Phoebe’s puppet. The Puppet Grove is creative, it’s the art of making whatever. It’s impossible to be bored here.”
“I started making Velora two days ago,” says Tula, 11. “She’s sassy and loves to eat candy and junk food. She can give vicious side-eye and can win any staring contest. I’m gonna make a friend for Velora but with the opposite personality. They’re gonna be polite and nice and they’re not gonna eat just junk food, but also healthy food.”
“Do you want to continue our adjourned game?” asks longtime Camp Chess Purveyor Memo Gosnell. I agree and return to the solace of competitive contemplation. These quiet moments are really crucial to the ebb and flow of Camp’s joyful mayhem. As I play I can hear the kitchen fans humming.
Stay hydrated,
—J. Payseno, Editor