Robbie Sir (our Activities Director) has created an amusing new tradition.

Before I tell you about it, I need to provide a little context. Before every meal, members of our Senior Camper program fill a cup of water for every camper and counselor and place the glasses on their tables. We ask them to drink it before eating anything and to also have an additional glass of water. [Note: this second glass is occasionally part of a “Waterfall”, a practice that involves an entire cabin standing on their benches, holding up a cup of water, yelling “WATERFALL!” and then drinking the water. Making a health-related activity into a fun activity is always a good idea.]

When a new term begins, the Senior Campers will occasionally fill more cups than we need and place them on an extra table.

In the past, we would quickly correct them so that they would no longer set out the extra water.

But that was before Robbie’s brainstorm.

Now, we have some fun. Robbie will approach an empty table with a tray water glasses atop it, freeze and then loudly announce, “FREE WATER! Totally FREE!”

On cue, at least 2 or 3 counselors will leap to their feet and dash to the treasure trove of free hydration.

At this moment, about a dozen boys will also go to the table hoping to cash in on this special treat.

To be clear, no one ever suggests that the treat is anything other than water. They have water on their table. It is in their water bottles. There is water available everywhere around camp.

But, this is FREE water.

It reveals something amusing about human nature – if you hear the words “free” spoken excitedly AND you then see a dash, people will follow. Think of it as a miniature Black Friday, except instead of $150 flat-screen TVs, people are after aqua.

So please make sure that you get your free water now!

Steve Sir