8 | AUGUST 18 • 2022 essay Camp Brigadoon I n these days of COVID and climate change, the concept of a life-altering moment takes on an ominous tone. But back in simpler times, in the early ’80s, when we were growing our young family on Wayland in Southfield, we had a life-altering moment without realizing its sig- nificance. Our neigh- bors, Sue and Sandy, drove up on a summer afternoon in whatever pre-dated the SUV or minivan and began to unpack their family and belongings from a week’s vacation. Being neighborly and a bit nosy, my wife and I asked, “Where ya’ been?” Our neighbors (now life-long friends) proceeded to tell us about their week at a family camp for University of Michigan alumni “up north” near Boyne City. Camp Michigania ran all summer, but each family signed up for only a week. There were activities for kids and adults in a beautiful rustic setting, where families stayed in cabins, shared with other families. It sounded interesting to us. And from such mundane neighborly con- versation an amazing tradition that has had a deep impact on our family was born. If you are lucky enough to be able to have the time and resources for a summer family vacation, around here you’ve got quite a few choices. If you’re very lucky, you have a family cabin near a lake, so you can make multiple trips through the whole year. But, if you’re like most of us, your precious one- week summer vacation requires planning and thought. You may wish to explore the beauty of Michigan and surrounding areas by going to different locations with your family each year. Another option is to find a “happy place” for you and your family and keep going back there year after year. You will miss out on many of the beauti- ful vistas in our summer water wonderland in exchange for the sense of tradition that comes with a return to the familiar. OUR HAPPY PLACE We went to Camp Michigania the next year and, despite the lack of creature comforts, we just fell in love with the beauti- ful setting of cabins, grass and trees and sandy roads (leading to sand in your shoes, in beds and in unmentionable body parts) around the fabulously blue Walloon Lake. We loved how our kids had their own activities led by counselors, which freed up moms and dads to have time to do their own things, from ten- nis to sailing to biking to arts and crafts during the day. And then we would come together as a family for meals and activ- ities together in the late after- noon and early evening. After our first week at camp, I wrote my first of maybe a hundred song parodies, this one to the tune of “Bye Bye Love” (“Bye Bye home, Bye bye dull routine, Hello air that’s clean!”). We were hooked. We couldn’t wait until the next summer! We began a pattern of attend- ing camp each year with a few friends who also brought their kids. Some of our traveling companions went only for a year or two and then opted out of camp to seek out venues with more creature comforts. But a few of our best friends and their families, like us, chose to come back year after year. We found ourselves feeling like a part of a new extended family. After a few years, we found a certain week where we just fit in the best … and we became fourth-week campers “for life. ” There were always a few newbies who joined us every year as well as some transplanted folks from other weeks. But we dyed-in-the- wool fourth-weekers felt like a big family — one week a year. Hence the title of this piece … “Brigadoon” … like the vil- lage that came alive once every hundred years to Lerner and Loewe’s tunes, Michigania only really exists for us for one week a year. But what a week! Camp came with a basic schedule that shifted only slightly through the years. Most activities were expected for a family camp: introductions at the flag pole, lunch and dinner menus tied to certain days of the week, water balloon tosses and three-legged races, a fun final day sailing regatta and a final night variety show. We began establishing our own rituals. An impromptu singalong on a front porch morphed into a well-attended first night singalong in the south camp gazebo, lit by lights strung by our fellow campers, complete with a printed book of songs we love to sing in a large-print edition (which sure has helped as we are getting older). Golf outings led to a golf tournament for all levels of golfers from experts to total duffers who only play once a year. Petoskey stone polishing turned into a group of campers singing “Rock-apella” parodies as they polished stones side by side, such as “I am your rock” and “God bless rock polishing. ” Our camp friend Roger began creating sand sculptures every day, until he was dubbed “The Sandman. ” TIME WITH FAMILY But mainly, camp consists of the gift of time with our kids. We watched our kids grow up at camp, being able to run free! (Kids get an “H” on their camp badge when they were able to find their home cabin on Jeff London and his grandson make music at camp. PURELY COMMENTARY Jeff London