Seasons of Love
This is the last issue of the 2015 season of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, so before I started to type, I spent a few minutes looking back through my photos from the year. They are carefully filed by the date I downloaded them, and skimming through them refreshes my memories of the events, activities, and day to day cares and joys that are a part of CAMP life.
The year began with the first ever CAMP Rehoboth Cruise—this one to South America aboard the Celebrity Infinity. Then it took a musical turn as the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus performed their winter concert, And The Winner Is….” The Three Queens of Qomedy kept us rolling in the aisles of the Convention Center during Women’s FEST 2015, and the Broadwalk on the Boardwalk brought tears to our eyes as we walked with those who have had or were still struggling with cancer. In the spring we took a turn in the tropics at the Volunteer Appreciation Party, and in June filled the Community Center with families at the first ever CAMP Rehoboth Family Pride CAMP. In July, the men of Well-Strung (the singing string quartet) sold out the Convention Center for a benefit concert for CAMP Rehoboth. In August, the Sundance Racing Festival set a fast pace for the race through Sundance week, and on September 5 and 6 The Super Magic Rainbow Glitter Ball made the Sundance Auction and Dance a glittering extravaganza. Then, a mere few weeks later we celebrated CAMP Rehoboth’s 25th Anniversary at the Silver Gala, and on a spectacularly beautiful day, the amazing Baltimore Avenue Block Party. Soon after this issue comes out, we will add photos from World AIDS Day and the Rehoboth Beach Hometown Christmas Parade—and I didn’t even mention all the health days, flu shots, art exhibitions, counseling services, support groups, safe-sex information, and community weddings and events and meetings that take place in the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center.
Oh yeah, and we published (counting this one) 15 issues of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth!
There is no doubt that CAMP Rehoboth is a busy organization with a wide variety of events and activities, but put all that aside, and we find the people—the people who make things happen, the people who volunteer, the people who provide financial support, the people who access our services and participate in our programs, the people who are our members, and the people who simply need a place to turn for answers.
Beyond the spectacle of our big events, are ordinary people whose hearts make them extraordinary, and I am frequently amazed by the generous spirit of the people in our community. It is no accident, as I have said many times, that the CAMP logo is a house with a heart in it. Behind all those hundreds of CAMPshots I process for every issue of Letters (print versions and web versions), there are real people experiencing everything from unspeakable joy to devastating loss and pain. That is the human condition. CAMP Rehoboth can’t change what is going on in the lives of people around us, but we can provide a place to turn when there is need of community support.
Looking back through all those photographs I was reminded of countless conversations, tiny moments when a hug or a pat on the back, or a kind word of support made my day a little better. Then, as I sat down to write this morning, that amazing song from Rent seemed to float in front of my face and echo in the back of my head.
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
Five hundred twenty-five thousand moments so dear
Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes
How do you measure, measure a year?
And the answer?
How about love?
How about love?
How about love?
Measure in love
Perhaps because technology allows us to be so socially connected these days, we feel like we’re interacting well with others—and we appreciate the “happy birthday” wishes and Facebook messages of support—but technology isn’t a substitute for real human interaction. When I looked back over the same photographs I skimmed through earlier, and thought about measuring the year in love, my perspective changed, and I suddenly remembered not only the event, but the moments when I really connected to someone else. Something different happens when we clasp one another’s hands in greeting—when we speak, face to face, eye to eye.
This year’s World AIDS Day theme—at least for our local observance of that day—is Ribbons of Love, and we are planning to have several ribbon carriers holding long pieces of red ribbon to signify how we are connected to one another and to the loved ones we have lost. We have been observing World AIDS Day in Rehoboth Beach since 1993, and its place as one of the last events of our year has become firmly embedded in our CAMP Rehoboth traditions. It seems appropriate to me that at the end of every year we take time to remember our friends and family, even as we prepare for the fresh beginning that will come with a brand new season stretching out in front of us come January 1.
Cliché as it might be, love does indeed change everything, and as this year comes to a close, I am especially thankful for all the people who are connected to us through our CAMP Rehoboth family and throughout this community. In times of need, I know of no better place I would rather be.
So to all the CAMP Rehoboth members, donors, sponsors, staff, Board of Directors, volunteers, committee members, and community participants, I wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, high hopes for an amazing new year filled with family and friends, and enough love to measure all five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes of the year to come.
Peace! Love! And joy to the world!
Murray Archibald, CAMP Co-founder and President of the Board of Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, is an artist in Rehoboth Beach. Email Murray. Photos (from bottom left): Deana Kensler and Karen Haskins at Broadwalk on the Boardwalk 2015; CAMP Chorus concert at Epworth United Methodist Church in 2015; (top) CAMP Cruisers in Chili.
