The eternal conundrum of tuck

Tuck....have to admit, the word still stirs a little excitement in me. The idea that once a week I will be treated to a veritable feast of sugar and artificial flavours still massages the pleasure centres of my brain. In hindsight, one of the things that makes me smile about tuck was that it was indexed to the rate of inflation. I think it was 50 cents a week when I was a resident of Bears Claw. By the time I was an awkward teenager in the Swamp, it had risen to about $1.75 (though have to admit by that point the fascination with tuck was starting to wane thanks to hormones and an increasing interest in girls, booze and music). Despite the over 100% mark up in my tuck allowance, it always seemed to buy about the same amount of 'stuff'.

Which brings me to the central philosophical question regarding tuck: was it better to spend your tuck money on a lot of small priced commodities, such as black balls and bazooka joes, or go for the big ticket items such as a kit kat and soda? Alas, the elemental conundrum: is it better to go for quantity or quality? The quantity school of thought suggests that by buying the small items, you can make it last, almost until the next time you go for tuck. In this sense, tuck is like crack, judiciously spreading out your stash until your next fix. Sure the stuff you get isn't as wonderful as a whole chocolate bar or a bag of chips, but at least its still tuck, and can provide a daily alternative to the fruit salads and custard cups that constituted deserts at Kawabi. In the quality school, the idea is that tuck is only a temporary treat or snack. It will be gone before too long, so why not give yourself a real treat and go for the decidedly nice items, the ones you would have down in the city and would buy with your allowance back home. I mean outside of Halloween, who the hell would buy those cheap, tiny plastic wrapped sour tarts on purpose. And is it worth getting blackballs, which I always thought had the taste of industrial waste, or some other penny candy that had a flavour only slightly removed from chalk, just so you can get some slim facsimile of candy for more than one day?

Truth be told, I started out camp life in the quantity school, but as I got older and my taste for sugar-related items became more refined, I first tried to compromise the two, and then finally by my second year in B8, I'd get a coke and bag of chips to eat once decamped at the outsupper or overnight site. I guess by that point, the shiny gleam of tuck had faded. Ironically, this same kind of thought process and development has been mirrored in my approach to buying wine over the years (when I was younger, it was all about the huge cheap bottles of paint thinner with twist off caps; now I'd actually rather buy a nice expensive bottle of Amarone). In the end, I think that you could tell a lot about someone's personality buy what and how much tuck they got. Got to admit, it makes ya think.

Kawabi Reunion

Ok, so originally I was going to write about my favourite female staff, but then Riff Raff sends me this particular information:

Camp Kawabi
Celebrates 40 Years
of Friendship, Laughter and Memories


All former campers and staff, along with their families, are invited to drop-in to help Camp Kawabi mark a significant milestone: 40 Years of Operation under the ownership and guidance of Bruce and Doreen Harris.

The Harris family, assisted by the 2005 staff, will be your hosts for the afternoon offering a selection of safe and supervised activities in a giant “free period”. Whether you want to get out on Big Hawk in a canoe for one more paddle to the point and back, try your hand at teaching your child how to make a gymp bracelet, or simply hang out on the beach trading memories and stories, the site and a range of activities will be available after 1:00 p.m. for you to share with your family and camp friends. Make sure you bring your bathing suit and towel!

Following the activities there will be an early dinner – bring your ground sheets or blankets as we hope to have a traditional beach supper, weather permitting. The evening program will not be buckets and squares (yes we still play several times every summer but visitors can’t play because they “won’t have their forest legs” yet!) but instead, a gathering to sing songs, tell stories and relive some of the Kawabi magic.

WHEN: Sunday August 14, 2005 1:00 p.m. – 7:30ish p.m.
(Yes, you do have to leave Sunday so we can start packing up camp)

RSVP: If you are able to attend, please get in touch with the current Director, Tom Quinn, a.k.a. Esko Pitts, by sending an email to: eskokawabi@neximom.net (please indicate the number of children and adults to assist us in our planning) Don’t use email and too embarrassed to ask your kids for help? Phone 705 932-2750 and leave a message.

PHOTOS: Do you have a couple of special photos you would like to share?
If you do and would like to contribute to the 40th Anniversary Photo Project, please send them to Tom Quinn, 5 Bank Street North, Millbrook ON. L0A 1G0 – or forward them digitally to eskokawabi@nexicom.net If you are able, please identify who is in the photo as well as the year. Original photos will be available to be picked up at the reunion if you would like them returned. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: JUNE 1 – THEMES: FRIENDSHIP; LEARNING; NATURE; HUMOUR; CHALLENGE, KAWABI’S EARLY YEARS…

MEMORIES: Whether you are able to attend or not, if you would like to write some thoughts about Kawabi to be included in the 40TH Anniversary Book of Memories, please forward by regular mail or as a file attachment to Tom Quinn, ASAP.

KAWABI GRAPEVINE: The Kawabi grapevine is still our greatest method of passing on information. If you know of alumni who may not be aware of the reunion, please pass on the word and RSVP information – and please encourage those who can not attend to participate by sending photos or letters as outlined above.

(Please excuse the awful paste job). So as of right now, I'm there. However, my thinking is that I would want to 'camp out' somewhere in the Haliburton Highlands (target: Pinestone or the Beek). Unfortunately, the reunion comes the day after I have a wedding to go to and its my wife's birthday. That said, I still think there is something to the idea of an unofficial reunion the night before, with a stealthy trip to the hooch. Need...time...to...think....