Early in the morning

I know it.  I'm going to be one of those old people who go to bed at 7:30 at night and get up at three or four in the morning.

I'm already up at five.  Five am!  What is up with that? Not much to do then; what did early risers do before the Internet? 

Ah well, here I am.  Had a great weekend with some friends from my Pilgrim Pines camp days.  Now, when anyone has bad things to say about Facebook, I tell them my story.

See, Pilgrim Pines is and was a very special place.  I started going in the summer of 1975, when I was a junior camper.  It was a church camp, but the United Church of Christ (not to be confused with the Church of Christ) has always been leading the way for social justice Christians.  Those of you that lump all Christians into the hellfire and damnation and narrow-minded category, do a little research.  Not all of us are neo-conservatives, nor do we think all others should think exactly as we do.  Even in the 70's, we were at the forefront of acceptance.  The idea is that God doesn't judge, and neither should we.  I know, that goes against what many of you think of when you hear the word "Christian."  I've even heard the term "Christianist" to describe the hateful, judgemental way of the neo-conservatives.  That bugs me.  Please don't lump me in with them.

Anyway, I digress.  Social justice is what my church has been about.  The church camp was no different, and it had a big influence on my life.  I went on to work at the camp as a lifeguard, and made some deep friendships.  Later, I went to Japan to teach at a Christian girl's school (Kobe Jogakuin), because  of connections made at camp.

As I got older, I lost touch with most of my friends from those times.  We all got on with our lives, marriages, children, and all that.  I'd hear of someone now and then, but really, didn't know where most of us had ended up.

Enter Facebook.  Someone started a page for "Pilgrim Pines from the 80's."  My sister found it, and told me, and here we are today.  There are over 225 members, and no, I don't remember all of them, but wow, it's been great catching up.  I went to a reunion last year; a beach day, and it was great.  Yes, we've all changed in the last 25 years, but wow, we ended up pretty spectacular people.  So many of us have ended up in careers in which we help others.  Teachers, social workers, speech therapists, volunteers.  We give back.  Some are involved in church life and others like me, not so much. 

So, my sister decided it was time to go back to where it started. An overnight at Pilgrim Pines.  Yucaipa, California is about 200 miles away from Santa Barbara. It's a drive.  A long drive for a less-than-24-hour stay.  But wait, there were folks who came from Redding and Oakland.  One couple from Houston, Texas.  That's how important this place is. 

She set it all up through Facebook.  We sent her money, we got the reservation, and once again, we were together in that special place. 

Talking to people, I realized how many challenges have been in our lives since we were 18 or 20 years old.  Cancer, death, divorce... difficult stuff.  Things that are rare when you've just become an adult, but become (sadly) more commonplace as one hits the halfway point of his or her life.

Yet, there was a hope, an optimism that still seemed to be a part of my friends.  I didn't feel from anyone a sense of giving up, or even of cynicism.  No one seemed beaten down, even though there were tough times for some.  There was a feeling that  if I needed help, it would be there.  Just because that's the way it was.  Friends help friends.  Even if we'd lost touch, the reason we liked each other all those years ago hadn't changed.  It wasn't because we were all in the same place at the same time, or liked the same football team, or  we had all grown up together; it was because basically, we were good people.  How corny is that?

But it's the truth.