The Old Camp Store

Hannah Lindner-Finlay and I started writing this in Long Pond one cold morning swim-time in August of 2007 and were joined in our composition by Michael Friedman and Erin Talvitie once we dried off. Maya Rogers-Bursen and Arthur Davis provided motivation by resolutely demanding that we do something at gathering that night.

We were all at the old camp store, waiting in line one day,
when into the line Steve Howe ran, his face all chalky gray.
What's up says Browne, "Have you seen a ghost?" You're looking mighty tired."
"No lack of sleep is bothering me. The old camp store's on fire!"

"On fire," says Browne, "What a bit of luck! Everybody follow me."
"We'll break into the store me kids, and the candy will be free."
So we broke in with good old Browne, and the sweets we could not miss.
And we had not been there very very long till we got our sugar fix...

And there was Browne, upside-down, lapping up the soda on the floor.
"Sweets! Sweets!" the firemen cried as they came a knocking on the door.
"Oh don't let 'em in till it's all et up." Somebody shouted "McIntyre!"
And we all got Dove bar Shark bar hyper, when the old camp store caught fire.

Then Browne went to the old ice box, he was giving it a few hard knocks.
He started taking off his pantaloons, likewise his stinking socks.
"Well, you can't do that, you shouldn't do that, no you musn't do that there here."*
"Don't wash those trotters in the IBC we got all this Perrier."

Then all at once came a great big crash. Half the store roof gave way.
We was drowned by the fireman's hose, but still we felt okay.
So we got some snacks and some old Tick-Tacs and we holed ourselves inside,
and we got to eating Swedish Fish till we was sugar high.

Later that night when the fire was out, we crawled out of the ice cream fridge.
Our store was burnt. Our snacks were et. And we were all unhinged.
Then said Browne with a look quite queer, seemed something had raised his ire,
"We've gotta get back to the dining hall! It closes on the hour."

*Among scholars of there is some dispute about whether the phrase "that there here" is a stand alone expression serving to remind Browne of the universal inappropriateness of cleansing one's garments in root beer or whether the line should read, "that they're here" which would suggest that the firemen from the previous stanza provide the impetus for this particular ruling.