Random Recollections—Orange Cappuccino

Jim Gibbons — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 01:28:32 +0000

In my last year as a camper at Camp Shewahmegon, during which I would have been 14 years old, I went on my second Border Trip—a 10-day canoeing excursion in the remote Canadian wilderness, usually in a waterway reached only by floatplanes or miles upon miles of driving to a secluded boat landing. I was in Cabin Bunkhouse at the time—the oldest cabin at camp during my seven years, though it had been used for younger campers in the past—and was wearing the same black-and-gray plaid, long-sleeved button-down shirt I’d worn the whole trip during our hours on the water canoeing each day, just like I had on Border the year before. It was the last morning we’d awaken in our tents on some secluded, make-shift camp site, as we would reach the put-in point by day’s end where the vans the brought us this far north were parked, thus completing the circular journey of that year’s Canada trip. We had camped on a small island, which on two sides was comprised mostly of large boulders, and had pitched our tents in the wooded area toward the island’s center. The kitchen and campfire of our site was located on the rocky side that faced the direction we’d be heading out towards when we got in our canoes later that morning. As had been the case at every breakfast on the trip, there was hot water for cocoa, to make instant oatmeal or, in this case of my brother’s Australian counselor Miles Bence, to make some General Foods International Orange Cappuccino.

At some point earlier in the trip, Miles had discovered that the tin housing the cappuccino mix had one of those goofy little descriptions oft-times found on coffees. Though I can’t be sure General Foods International hasn’t changed it since then, it would have read something like, “A wonderfully full-bodied coffee with the enticing flavors of orange and spices, inspired by the cafe’s of Europe.” Each morning afterward, including the final one of the trip, Miles would riff on other possible coffee tin epithets, switching into a rich, TV commercial-like voice, probably placing one foot on a rock and leaning on his raised knee with a steaming mug in hand.

“There’s nothing like the warm aroma of General Foods Orange Cappuccino to thaw the chill of a crisp Fall evening from your quivering lips.”

Or…

“Just like the snow falls on a barren meadow, blanketing in white the homes of the forest denizens, General Foods Orange Cappuccino is a fresh, clean start to your day—whether you’re waking up to the peace of a thatched cottage or to the hustle and bustle of the big city.”

Years later, I actually saw a skit on “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” where two rival writers of these coffee tin vignettes had a poetry slam-esque face-off before deciding the victor in a brutal cage match. After seeing that, I couldn’t help but be reminded of those mornings and think, “Man, camp certainly was ahead of its time in the comedy department!” As, so very clearly, we were.Similar Posts:

Random Recollections

Jim Gibbons — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 00:31:00 +0000

Though I’m as big a fan of linear narrative and chronological storytelling as the next guy, one of the perks of doing this memoir on a blog is that I can easily take as many detours and have as many interludes as I see fit. In that vein, and because my camp memories have unsurprisingly never paid me the courtesy of cropping up in sequential order, I bring you Nothing More American’s first regular feature: Random Recollections.

Hopefully, by posting chance camp thoughts that creep into my cranium on NMA as they randomly occur, I can deliver some of the spontaneous joy I receive from my headspace’s incidents of unplanned nostalgia. Also, this will potentially help me to tell many more stories while leaving plenty of tidbits out there that will one day get hashed out—little bread crumbs to lead you folks along, while acting as tasty morsels to some who might have more intimate knowledge of these vignettes. For now, enjoy them as they are and know that these scenes are part of a larger tapestry of tales.Similar Posts:

Nothing More American » Random Recollections

Random Recollections—Orange Cappuccino

Random Recollections