LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
CAMP Matters |
by Murray Archibald |
High CAMP, Low CAMP Defining CAMP
Back when the idea for CAMP Rehoboth was first being developed, I loved the idea that the word "CAMP," with all its many meanings, seemed to provide a fascinating commentary on the time and place of its creationsummer CAMP, gay CAMP, the fact that the town was founded as a church CAMP, etc. Over the almost 20 years that we've been publishing Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, I've dabbled with the multiple meanings of the word CAMP on more than one occasion. In light of the growth and development of CAMP over the last few years, however, I recently took another look at Websters, and was delighted to discover a wealth of inspiration still un-mined within its pages and on the web. Here are a few of them: CAMPa group of people favoring the same ideals, doctrines, etc. As anyone who has ever worked with an organization knows, getting everyone to agree on the details of something can be a frustrating experience. That said, it is much easier to assemble a diverse group under one umbrella, if the individual members of that group are allowed to maintain their individual beliefs and differences. From the beginning one of the primary goals of CAMP Rehoboth has been, and continues to be, to serve as a connectora bridgeto the many groups, families, organizations, and individuals around us. We have tried to make our umbrella a large one by creating a broad vision for our organization, but there are times when even it is not wide enough to handle all the issues that come our way. Sharing a common vision and ideals while at the same time honoring the diversity of our community is not always an easy thing to do, but it is our goal. CAMPa place equipped with facilities for recreation, sports, and sometimes academic instruction, usually for children during the summer. I've always thought that gay people possessed a playful, creative quality that was a little childlike in its nature. Certainly our community was built on summer fun and most of us started coming to Rehoboth "to play" with friends from all over the east coast. A primary goal of the new Community Center is to provide space for a wide variety of activities and events. Some-times all the work it took to build the Center, however, makes us take ourselves much too seriously. A beach community is meant to be a fun and a playful place and we hope that both the new courtyard space and the Center itself will provide an ongoing source of bothas well as providing the much needed rooms for meetings, education, and workshops of all kinds. CAMPa place where an army or other group of persons is lodged in tents or other temporary shelters; any temporary structure, as a tent or cabin, used on an outing or vacation. Granted, many of the "temporary" shelters used here in the summertime are (or used to be) million dollar vacation homes, but there is definitely a transitory nature to the makeup of any resort town. Here in Rehoboth, there are weekenders, snowbirds, summer renters (both seasonal and weekly), retirees, and fulltime residents. When we first started CAMP Rehoboth we realized that the transitory nature of our community provided a unique opportunity for us to connect with people from many different places. I doubt that anyone who spent much time here over the years has not made lifelong friends or useful business connections all over the mid-Atlantic. As to the "outing," well, Rehoboth gives a whole new meaning to that definition doesn't it? CAMPsomething that provides amusement by virtue of its being contrived, overdone, or tasteless. One of the greatest gifts of the gay community is our ability to laugh at ourselves and at a world which both loves and loathes us. The grand nature of our drag queens and kings makes them almost shamanic in the way they provide a fantastic mirror for the community around us to view themselves and assure themselves that they are indeed "quite normal." I've long been convinced that those who live on the creative edge have a way of seeing the world a little differentlyand providing the cultural grease that keeps society moving at a progressive pace. CAMPalso, camp it up, to speak or behave in a coquettishly playful or extravagantly theatrical manner. Hello Boys! Need I say more? CAMPthe act of camping out. To some, of course, that simple phrase is about sleeping out in the wilderness. Read in the light of gay camp or CAMP Rehoboth, it becomes a statement about living one's life outside the closet. One of my earliest Rehoboth Beach memories was watching the first Blue Moon happy hour crowd back in 1981, spill out on the sidewalks of Rehoboth. It was a community coming out of sorts. Visitors have long come to Rehoboth, and resorts like it, to vacation out in the openeven if they were not out in the places where they live and work. From the beginning, CAMP Rehoboth was about living out in the openabout being honest about who we are as individuals and as a community. One of the longest running columns in Letters is titled CAMPOut, and Fay Jacobs has entertained us all for years by simply telling the stories of an out lesbian couple. In order that we work with and love the community around us, we must first learn to accept who we areand love who we are. Here at the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center we try to provide a place of encouragement, of advocacy, of hope, and of welcome for all people. Like the many definitions of CAMP, our community and our Community Center provide a diverse list of activities, events, programs, and support. Do we succeed at every thing we try to do? No, of course not. Do we meet the needs of everyone in our community? No, and we never willthat's not humanly possible. We do try to provide a safe place with "CAMPsites" that fit every possible taste. Happy CAMPing. Murray Archibald, Founder and President of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, is an artist in Rehoboth Beach. Thank you to all the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Volunteers for the period of April 3-May 7 Carl Armideo Tamara Augustine Ron Bass Heather Berntsen Bill Bernhart Tony Burns Harvey Chasser Joanne Ciconte Susan Hamadock Charlie Lee Jon McDonough Anthony Perkins Barb Ralph Caitlyn Ruffus Kayleigh Toth Rainbow Thumb Club* Matt Carey Ward Ellinger Rob Freeman Tony Ghigi Steve Hoult Bill Jones Bud Palmer Stephen Palmer Ken Reilly Tom White *CAMP Caretakers |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 19, No. 04 May 08, 2009 |