My parents were concerned that I was such an eccentric, peculiar, artsy boy..... They made a decision to send me, during 3 summers of my formative pre-teens, to Camp Dunroamin, near Fayetteville, Tennessee, where my childhood and that of about 60 other boys could be 'shaped and formed' by a couple of ex vauldvillians, Mr. Jimmy and Miss Havelon, who introduced us to lariat-making, basket-weaving, sand painting, badminton, croquet, archery, skating, swimmin & diving and riflery.....then, popular activities for boys.....(and providing some summer time for their parents to 'go on vacations'...without the annoyance of driving long distances with cars full of hyper-active boys..... I had been such a reclusive boy that Mother believed that this experience would lead to my being more sociable.....and 'like other kids'......This experience worked, well-enough, because...after 'camp'.....and now an archery expert and pretty good pottery painter and lariat-maker...and skater......my prestige, among those my age, was enhanced ....and I could better tolerate the company of 'kids my age', rather than seek out the company of Old People, with whom I felt much safer and sustained.........
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