Willsboro, NY

Volume XXXXVII

August 13, 2008

“IT’S ALL GREEK TO ME”

“A TIME FOR WAR...”

   Greek warfare was waged Monday and Tuesday between four city-states. Argos. Athens. Sparta. Troy. With their patron gods and heroes they came, bringing warriors with them. The opening ceremonies took place Monday evening with Zeus and Hera addressing the crowd. All the gods, goddesses, sirens, muses and heroes gathered to help guide the mortal warriors and fight for their patron city.

   Monday night’s opening battle was “The Trojan War Game,” where two city-states battled against one another. Each city-state was divided into a younger and older team to battle against others who were their own age. Athens warrior Patrick Quinn explained, “At first it was tough to fight, but the longer we fought the more experienced we became at the game. We played Sparta first and they had a lot of older kids; we had to play fast.” Diego Bacci, Argos warrior, thought the game was “intense” and commented that, “the younger team was really good and they did a great job avoiding people and catching arrows.” Laura Benson remarked, “Everyone really got into it and there was a lot of cheering. You could feel the tension building.”

   All woke Tuesday morning with the city-states still at war. Warriors started their day with an odyssey in which they had to search for clues and treasure. Somewhat of a scavenger hunt, city-states were again broken up into younger and older teams. “I really enjoyed all the different tasks that we had to complete. It kept the game interesting,” commented Lila Burke. Jared Smith enjoyed “running around between Pok-O and MacCready the best.”

   The hot sun beat down on the battlefield for the final battle of the day. “The Peloponnesian War Game” was a battle of strength, endurance, and wits. Warriors assembled in their city-states and worked to raid other city-states, steal flags, and take prisoners by tagging them with flourhawks. Other warriors went out in search of buried relics so that they could earn money to purchase weapons of mass destruction. Stephanie Urban thought the game was, “very fun and faced paced,” while Matt Hepworth felt that, “many city-states had a tough defense which made it almost impossible to steal their flag.” Max Stransky summed it up best when he stated, “The games are so fun that I wait all school year for summer to come so that I can play them!”

(click here for Greek Games photo gallery)

“A TIME FOR PEACE...”

   Argos. Athens. Sparta. Troy. All warriors fought hard and after the battle the gods were pleased and all warriors gathered peacefully to join in a great feast. Warriors traded shields for togas and dressed in their ceremonial finest while they consumed mass quantities of “wine” (sparkling grape juice) and chicken Caesar wraps. Gods and goddesses sat on a royal throne and had mortals bring them food and drink. Other mortals were summoned by the gods to come forward and provide entertainment.

   “I really liked the Greek Feast because we were allowed to eat with our hands, the food was really good, and no one could yet at us for being messy” stated Dana Samson. Lucy Ripman agreed that the food was good, but thought “chicken and grape juice may have not been the best combo.” After dinner some players provided some after dinner entertainment by performing “King Midas and the Golden Touch.” Ella Horwitz who played King Midas remarked, “delivering my lines alone was scary, but it was a lot of fun.” Jaida Coleman agreed that she was “nervous,” but “it was over before I knew it.”

   Dessert was saved until after the winners of the Greek Games was announced and while Hera and Zeus announced the winners of each individual battle, the confident Argonauts could be seen refilling their glasses with more wine for a toast. “The winner of the 2008 Greek Games is... pause... the city-state of... ARGOS!!!” Looks like the premature pour paid off as the Argonauts cheered, hugged, and toasted to the gods and their victory.

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE

   On a rainy Monday afternoon Advanced Section camper Gabriel Orozco and Intermediate camper Matthew Edwards completed the Adirondack Forty Sixers together on the summit of Iroquois mountain.

   They become the fifth and sixth campers to complete their 46 during this camp season. (see entire camp 46er roster here). Edwards was joined by his brother and sister (who are both 46ers) and mother and father (who still have a few to go). Edwards really enjoyed “looking down on Iroquois from Algonquin and knowing that I was almost done.”

   Orozco said of the experience, “It really didn’t hit me until I was waiting just below the summit and I was thinking about the fact that I’d have to slam the baby food. Then I knew I was a 46er.”

   The summit celebration included Cheetos, SPAM, Cinnamon Buns, Mountin Dew and two choices of baby food: Creamed Turkey and Rice Dinner and Good Evening Ham, Pineapple and Rice Dinner.

   The crew made it home in time for dinner and to participate in the Greek Games. Edwards showed up to play proudly sporting a smile and a new ADK 46er T-shirt.

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