CAMP Connect

Does it ever occur to you that we may have lost perspective living here in Rehoboth Beach? In my case, I think that once you wait 53 years to truly call a location home, it is difficult to accept that you have not found Utopia. Actually, I am still, so frequently, surprised by what a wonderfully integrated community we live in that I suffer a strange culture shock when I leave our area.

Last Saturday night, we took our houseguests, Mary’s brother and his wife, to see Christopher Peterson at the Atlantic Sands Ballroom. Mary and I first saw Christopher Peterson at the Renegade seven or eight years ago. We have continued to be entertained by him two or three times a summer since then. I am here to report that Cher, Reba, Barbra, Bette and Liza all looked and sounded as fabulous as they have in past performances.

If you have been to Christopher’s show, you know that he always asks for a show of hands as to who is heterosexual and who is homosexual. For the Renegade venue, I would estimate that the audience was 85 to 90% gay. (Not a surprise!) As recently as last year, I would have said that Christopher’s audience was 75% gay. Not so this year! Fully one half of the sold-out performance was heterosexual. Now, as best I could judge, maybe half of the straight crowd had come, as did our guests, with members of the gay community. The other half appeared to be vacationers who thought the show sounded interesting. They loved him! Mary’s sister-in-law, Dorothy, reported that the straight man in front of her was laughing so hard he was crying and had to keep wiping his eyes.

Over dessert later that night, Dorothy said that Christopher Peterson is so good that he could perform anywhere and be a hit. We were glad that she thought so highly of the show and we agreed that he is a great performer. It is the "anywhere" part that stopped Mary and I from agreeing completely. We all know that there are many, many places in the country, even in this county, that would not invite Christopher to perform. And sadly, in some of those places, it would not be safe for the performer or the audience to come together.

Now that I have had time to think about it, I believe that Christopher Peterson is really expanding the thinking for many of our heterosexual visitors to Rehoboth Beach. Maybe a few of them will take a more accepting attitude back to their own community. In the meantime, I am going to keep reminding myself to appreciate the unique community we have.

Founders’ Circle

The CAMP Rehoboth addition is becoming more and more real to all of us here. The bid packages have been mailed to nine construction firms who indicated an interest in bidding on the expansion phase. We are hoping that you will all join us for the ceremonial groundbreaking that will take place in the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard on August 18th. Recent payments from our members have resulted in the Founders’ Circle totals reaching $1,372,703.60 pledged and $1,105,099.02 contributed. It is the Founders’ Circle members’ generosity that is making the expansion a reality.