I once did something called an AMA on a
website called reddit AMA stands for ask
me anything and well it's pretty much
what it sounds like people can write in
and ask any question they like I didn't
know what reddit was but my son said it
was a pretty big deal on the Internet
that's all I hoped I could tell some
stories to the people on the reddit site
my son said it could also help raise
some money to send kids to summer camp
and I thought that was a fine idea is
there anything better than going to
summer camp I remember when I first went
to summer camp this was well before
things like Reddit before every kid at
all of television and the entire
internet in their pants pocket my back
when I went to summer camp if you didn't
catch something on TV or at the movies
the first time well you just be left out
of all the references and jokes nowadays
they call jokes means you're never more
than a click away from being in on the
joke in on the mean I guess that's a
good thing kids aren't excluded from
sharing the fun but maybe there's
something lost there too maybe you lose
the chance for your imagination with a
little help from a storyteller to paint
a picture that's even better than the
original Oh back at Sonny Lake summer
camp there was one kid Johnny Doherty
well Johnny Doherty had seen every movie
there ever was and he remembered them
too we'd all sit up after lights out
listening to johnny dougherty he liked
the war pictures like Bridge on the
River Kwai he'd say you give me powders
pills baths injections enemas when all i
need is love and we would laugh and
laugh and laugh we didn't know what
nanima was but we knew it was funny and
how can I forget the rather puri and
interest we would all show when he would
describe the moment of rear window when
Jimmy Stewart's character watched the
woman across the alley put on her bra
and dense across the screen in her
underwear well I'm not even going to get
into how that plays out differently now
that young boys have the internet but I
don't think it's for the better Johnny
Doherty was real treasure
aside from him the only news we got were
things like Billy Parker's mother
telling about how the dog found some
deer droppings and had to get hosed down
again I suppose the closest image you
can get of the power of a great
storyteller is when c-3po captivates the
Ewoks with tales of adventure and Return
of the Jedi just like those fuzzy little
fellows the boys at Sunny Lake summer
camp revered Johnny Dougherty hanging on
his every word for us the storyteller
broke those moments of tedious monotony
at camp for an eleven-year-old boy any
moment you're not doing something of
great significance and excitement it's a
moment of utter boredom a wasted moment
that pains you to the quick and that
goes double after bedtime sure the camp
activities were great fun but it was
those moments of boredom the made camp
so special we'd have to find ways to
entertain ourselves and that usually
brought it closer together I'm not sure
if kids still get that on the red
websites I think it's real important for
them to go off into the woods once in a
while go beyond the shadow of the cell
phone tower and get bored for a bit have
the time to find out who they are and
what it's like to connect with each
other and who knows maybe they'll bump
into somebody like Johnny Dougherty and
discover the magic that a great
storyteller can weave when you lend him
your imagination boy I sure hope so
