I was asked to share something with this group. As some of you know, I was one of Morgans camp counselors back in the summer of 2000. I have some very fond (and funny) memories of Morgan from that week, and I was recently able to share some of these with her parents. In order to give some of you who didnt know her more of a glimpse of who Morgan was as a young girl, here is one of those memories to hopefully make you smile. For those who knew her, you can probably visualize her very well in this story!! One of my fondest memories of Morgan is from an overnight canoe/climbing trip we took during her week of camp. We had quite an adventuresome, fun bunch of kids that week in camp. The climbing day that week was hot and long, but full of surprises. That’s when we first called Morgan our little spider monkey because of how fast she climbed up the rocks. I remember one of our counselors going ahead of the group back down to camp and planting little signs the kids would recognize from the then-popular Blair Witch Project. I remember the kids screaming and freaking out, and little Morgan’s voice saying “Guys! It’s not real!! That was just a movie!” She was such a little grown up at all of 11. When we got back to camp, Morgan & her tentmate found a not-so-fun surprise waiting for them. They had a tent full of earwigs. I remember looking at Mitch – the guy counselor – and saying “This is ALL YOU buddy!!” – because I was grossed out and terrified. He helped them clean out their tent & move it to a new location, and make sure all the creepy-crawlies were gone, and I remember him coming back and saying how surprised he was at how well the girls had handled the situation, especially with Morgan being our youngest camper. He said again for probably the 100th time that week that she may be the youngest but she was by far one of the toughest and most mature. I agreed wholeheartedly. I loved the mix in her – she was one to hug and be sweet, but never one to back down from a challenge – whether it was rock climbing, canoeing, the high ropes course, caving or simple team games in the base camp. She was a tough competitor and always striving to improve her own skills, without comparing herself to the other campers. Another moment from that trip I remember was when Denny – our other guy counselor & head canoe instructor – locked the keys in the van. While some of the kids started to complain and freak out, Morgan began cracking jokes about it and soon had all the campers laughing and goofing off. She literally saved the day. There were so many special moments at camp that summer, but Morgan has always been one of the few campers that stood out in my mind for years afterwards. When Gil posted her poem about Morgan a couple of weeks ago, I actually giggled out loud at the part that said Funny to remember the little girl whod say Im going to be famous someday. That was SO Morgan to me. Another memory from camp - asking the campers what they want to be when they grew up and Morgan saying with a toss of her long, blond hair, I dont know. Actress. Model. President. Somebody famous. Her facial expression and tone at the time was so serious and the words made me smile. Seeing it in the poem made that memory rush back in. I wish her story would have had the fairy tale ending it so deserved. Today, however, I try to focus on the memory of her little girl voice, laughing, singing and having a blast with the other campers. One camp activity I still do today that reminds me so much of Morgan is paddling. Whenever I go kayaking or canoeing, I tend to remember her more vividly. Her blond hair and big smile, gentle teasing and joyful spirit. Last month I had the honor of racing in a 5-mile kayak race in Lake Tahoe. The race and surprising division win became very important to me, because I was doing it for Morgan. As a member of CareRunners, I have often run races in memory of Morgan, but never to raise money for an organization in her name. It finally dawned on me that I could use my racing (running & paddling) to raise money for Help Save the Next Girl. In September 2015, our entire CareRunners team will be going back to Lake Tahoe to race in the weekend events FOR MORGAN and for Help Save The Next Girl. We will be posting more information about the fundraising and event as next year begins, but for now, I just wanted to share the fun memories of Morgan and remind each of you who knew her to keep her memory fresh in your mind and remember the smiles and laughter. “Remember me with smiles and laughter, for that is how I will remember you all. If you can only remember me with tears, then dont remember me at all.” By the way - if any of you run, cycle or paddle and would like to join our team in Tahoe for the marathon weekend events, please let me know. Wed be happy to have you!
Posted on: Mon, 27 Oct 2014 15:52:23 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015