Friday, February 8, 2008

Let the good times roll!

It was quite a Super Tuesday at the camp, somewhat like a three-ring circus. We were an official polling place for the California primary, exit exam testing was taking place for our sophomores and seniors who still needed to pass to get their diplomas in June, and our annual Mardi Gras celebration was happening! Our cup of beads runneth over!

Testing took place in Spellings Hall. Students took the English portion of the test Tuesday and the math portion on Wednesday. Armed with their No. 2 pencils, they attacked the beast head-on. Most of the kids felt they did fairly well, but some were actually seen crying as they left the testing area, especially many of the seniors! How this doesn’t constitute child abuse, I’ll never know. Luckily our NCLB-mandated on-campus military recruiter was there with clipboard in hand, attempting to get kids to sign up for the Army as they exited the testing site. Much to his chagrin, Sergeant Jefferson had no takers.

The voting also went quite smoothly, although many voters did not like the electronic voting machines! Many complained that when they picked Ron Paul, for example, their vote registered as a vote for Mitt Romney! Unfortunately, these machines do not supply a paper record, so no one will ever know whom they actually voted for. Curious!

Voting for some proved to be quite arduous this year. Many former Giuliani supporters were also seen crying as the left the polling place. Luckily, Sergeant Jefferson was still at the camp. Five crying Giuliani voters decided to enlist and fight the war on terror(ism)!

Our Mardi Gras parade proved to be quite a success. The kids created wonderful floats out of discarded auto parts lying around the camp. They worked on their costumes all last week, getting ready for this big day. Folks living near the camp came to watch. Two people who really got into the spirit were the Thibodauxs, Maurice and Charmaine. They came to work at the camp last year, after losing everything they had during Hurricane Katrina. They were prevented from returning to their home by some spooky-looking paramilitary types with what looked like a bear claw logo on their uniforms. When Maurice asked one of these guys why he wasn’t allowed back into his own home, the guy in charge yelled, “That’s what you get for living below sea level, @#&hole! Where do you think you are, the @#&*ing Netherlands?”

They lived in a FEMA trailer for a while, but could never get used to the fragrance of formaldehyde. Maurice works as our maintenance man, but insists on being referred to as our ‘Viceroy of Camp Operations’. Charmaine works as our cook in the cafeteria. She constantly mentions that she used to work in the ‘film industry’, but never mentions any titles that we’ve heard of. But wow, did Charmaine enjoy Mardi Gras! The Thibodauxs were crowned our king and queen this year. As their float made it around the camp, and kids were throwing beads, Charmaine really enjoyed showing everybody what she did with the money she won last year on Wheel of Fortune. Actually, it became quite obvious to everyone that Charmaine would do just about anything for a handful of multi-colored beads! Truly a day to remember. Bons temp roulet!

As I write this, the news that Mitt Romney has left the race for president has hit the airwaves. We are all saddened, especially our Young Republicans group, also known as Mutts for Mitt. Now they have to choose between McCain and Huckleberry. They do face a dilemma. Mr. Thibodaux, however, is quite pleased. He kept raving about there being, “LSD in the Whitehouse? I don’t want no LSD in the Whitehouse! I did enough of that in the 60s!” We didn’t know what the hell he was talking about until our camp nurse, Rondeesha, reminded all of us that Maurice suffers from a rare learning disability known as acronymnial dyslexia! It all made perfect sense.

Have a great weekend!

1 comment:

debb said...

wow I wish I'd been there to see the parade! This camp has it all, and a great reporter/creator too!!!! l'est rolle les bons temps, and keep the NCLB Camp antics coming!
great photos too