On Camp Owetti, Radiohead, and an Overdue Thank You

It has been a year since the warnings began to go out all over Minot, North Dakota. One year since the evacuations started. One year since so much of my childhood washed away.

A year ago today was the beginning of what could have been the end.

But it wasn't.

By the end of June 2011, 12,000 of the city's 45,000 residents had been evacuated. 4,100 homes had been damaged, over 800 of them beyond repair. Rebuilding is still going on. 1500 FEMA trailers are still occupied by Minot residents who continue to try to re-find their American dream. (I grew up with one of the people in that video, Liz Vibeto. She is/was seriously one of the nicest people on this planet and has the power to make me look like a total and complete pessimist. Put THAT into perspective.)

But, things are getting better. Slowly.

There was a lot about the flooding that I personally found devastating, but high on that list was the damage to Oak Park. Oak Park is where I spent many summers at Camp Owetti, the Girl Scout Camp. My mom was a troop leader for a few years, so some of those loooong summers at camp were forced, but others were nothing but fun. In my mind, I can still navigate the twisty trails all around the "island" the camp sat on. I can find my way to the abandoned cabin near the river, I can sense the stuffy heat of the now flood-ravaged main cabin, I can feel the itch of the nettle I ALWAYS managed to accidentally find. (Nettle = sort of like SUPER EVIL poison ivy that leaves you itchy, rashy, and miserable FOR-FREAKIN-EVER.)

Camp Owetti is where I learned to make Mountain Pies and where I mastered the art of Campfire Bananas. It's where I once spent a summer insisting everyone call me "Shelly," which is funny because now I would punch anyone who dared shorten my name that way. I learned to weave baskets there. I learned every ghost story I know there. I grew up there.

When I was too old for Girl Scout camp, I still called Oak Park home. All through high school I sat on top of picnic tables there, chatting with friends. When I started hanging out with people from the Air Force base, that's where we went. We just sat around in Oak Park listening to music and talking. Hour after hour, day after day, week after week. I can distinctly remember the echoes of Nine Inch Nails and Depeche Mode and Radiohead as I blasted the bass in my tiny Ford Ranger pickup. They were all bands that weren't on the radio at the time, but I knew about them and I loved them.

When I first heard that Oak Park had been virtually destroyed by the flooding last year, Creep was the soundtrack as memories rushed through my mind. Not to get all "get off my lawn" on you or anything, but they just don't make music like that these days. The good ol' days weren't always good, but damn they had a good soundtrack.

Some time after I learned about the damage to Oak Park, I received an email from a friend in high school sharing that the people of Minot had found an interesting way to get some of the money needed to rebuild the park. It was an online voting thing and could I please spread the word? Of course I did, and some of you I'm sure followed links in tweets and from Facebook and helped to vote Oak Park "America's Favorite Park."

$100,000. BAM.

The park is set to be up and running any day now.

I never really took a second to thank all of you who voted, so here it is. Thank you. Thank you for caring about a place that you've never seen. You played a part in rebuilding a place that was part of my life's foundation.

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As of right now, Pittsburgh's Frick Park is #56 in voting for this year's America's Favorite Park. I'd love for Coca-Cola to have to give $100,000 to help make Frick Park a better place for our kids, so that's where I'm throwing my votes this year. Here's how you can, too.

Ten Things I No Longer Need To Hear

The title pretty much explains it all. Here are ten things I no longer need to hear.

1. LOL. Just stop with the LOL. You and I both know your face has the same bored expression it had before you read that sentence. Your mom now says LOL in text messages, so it's way beyond the point of being cool to say.

2. Complaining about people breastfeeding in public. Seriously, how is that still a thing? If it isn't your boob, don't look at it. If you don't like not looking at it, too bad. See also: it's not your boob.

3. Kardashian anything. I DON'T CARE.

4. Fake British accents. Thank goodness Madonna ditched hers because I can't handle them.

5. "Nadya Suleman needs to get a job." You guys, really? REALLY? Why do people say that? There are two issues here. The first is a simple math problem. She has 14 kids. Let's say she gets one hell of a great deal on daycare and only pays $800 per month per kid. She would need to make $11,200 per month JUST TO COVER DAYCARE. There are jobs that pay that much, but unless she gets an advanced degree or terribly lucky, those jobs pretty much require taking off your clothes.

The second issue is that I wonder when it became OK to say that a particular woman shouldn't have the right to choose to stay home with her kids. I have plenty of friends who don't work who are dealing with crazy tight budgets and/or who receive public assistance. It has never once occurred to me to tell one of them to get a job. They made a choice and it's a perfectly reasonable choice.

(Don't start with the "she should have thought about how she would pay for everything before she had kids." It's a moot point now. The kids are here. It's done. Besides, wealth has never been a prerequisite for being a parent and it shouldn't be one now.) (Really, the dumbass who implanted all of those embryos should have to pay child support.)

6. "Why?" I would like to ban that one-word question from the English language, please and thank you. The answer is BECAUSE I SAID SO JUST SHOOSH, CHILD. It always will be.

7. "There's a tick on Penny." OK, so I'm the one who keeps saying it. Three times in two weeks, thank you very much. I'D LIKE TO NEVER SAY IT AGAIN.

8. Jay Leno's voice. I can't for the life of me figure out how he's still a thing.

9. Political ads. Need I say more?

10. Anything that has to do with THAT Time cover. I'm over it. Can we please move on?

More Photography Workshops for Pittsburghers

Getting Started with Your DSLR

You spent a lot of money on your camera, now learn what it can do. The purpose of this course is to help you understand the basics of photography so that you can take more control over your own camera. You'll learn about aperture, shutter speed, and ISO and when to change each of them. You'll also learn about white balance, basic composition rules, and have a chance to put your new knowledge to use through hands on activities.

When: June 16th 9:00 am to 1:00 pm

Cost: $75 per person

Where: Near Robinson Township

Photographing Children

It doesn't matter whether you're using your expensive DSLR, a point and shoot camera, or your cell phone, there are some things you can do to take better photos of kids. This course will cover dozens of tips and tricks that you can use to improve your snapshots. (Please contact me if you would like to have your kids attend the workshop with you.)

When: June 15th 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Cost: $45 per person

Where: Near Robinson Township

Pssst ... I typically post about this sort of stuff over here. Oh, and if you aren't a Pittsburgher and would like to participate in a virtual class, I'm looking at June 18th. Email me if you'd like more information.