Laughing Through the Dark Times

Being from Northern New Jersey, there were only a few summer camps offered in the area, and none of which my family could afford. My family is working class. My father is a disabled military veteran, and my mother is an assistant teacher for disabled children in the local school system. So growing up, my parents always provided the essentials for us, but sadly, that meant we couldn’t do some things that are common in other areas.

Summer camp was something that was never an opportunity for me. My mother was off during the summers, so they did not see the value in sending us to camps because she was able to watch me and my two older sisters. Once we got old enough, my mother worked in the summer too, and my older sister was in charge.

So actor Josh Duhamel has a movie out called “The Buddy Games,” and it is based on a real-life thing that he and his friends do every year. They compete in wild, wacky challenges reminiscent of their childhood activities. Now he turned this into a reality-style game show, and I have to say that in watching this, I am extremely envious of these people on the show.

The only time I ever attended a summer camp was in 6th grade when we did a 6th-grade camp. That wasn’t even in the summer; it takes place in mid-May, and it’s basically a school function. It was a blast, and I have a lot of good memories there and also a few bad ones. I remember when we first got into our cabin, we were told we cannot leave because there was a bear in the area. The bear was sitting outside our back window, and we were all like, “Holy fuck, we’re gonna die.” That’s what happens when you take 10 city kids to the wilderness for a week, lol.

So, in watching “Buddy Games,” it makes me realize that as me and my friends are getting older and they are all getting married and having kids, we are not going to be around each other as often. Getting older is like the scene in Grown Ups when all of the friends are coming back together after not being around each other. The boys are the boys; we are always going to act the same and be homies. But acting like the immature idiots you guys have always been changes as you get older. So seeing these people on this show at an adult summer camp just acting how they were when they were young is awesome.

Adult summer camps have been a thing for a while now; the problem is getting the crew together to go. My friends are at an age of growth (buying houses, getting married, having kids), but none of them are at the phase of “fuck this adult shit” like I am. So they recognize that they need time to just unwind but have not reached that stage of wanting to be a kid again. Getting the crew together one weekend of the year to go to a summer camp and do summer things would be such a vibe.

If you’ve ever seen a true comedy about what it’s like to be with the boys, you understand that it’s a feeling that never gets old. Talking shit, arguing about dumb shit, and just unwinding with some drinks and good vibes is the best. The childhood homies are some of the truest and rarest friends you will ever have. You can get together and just bullshit about nothing for hours, and when you get home to your wife and she asks what’s going on in their lives, you have nothing to say because you were just enjoying each other’s company. It’s something that is such a hard thing to describe to someone (mostly women). Because guys can just vibe and be around each other and bullshit and not talk about problems or just dismiss them.

Life would be so much easier if we could stay kids forever in some ways. “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” – Benjamin Franklin – An all-time quote from a group of friends that have continued playing a game of tag for 30+ years.

That is the vibe that we should all aspire to surround ourselves with. People that can enjoy life and have fun just like they did as a kid.