Was sent a picture of the amber-yellow tents from SDA Camp Meeting & the image/senders made my brain smell way back & then think about Pronto-Pups and Ball-Tag which sparked a memory of the gymnasium and the huge blue tarp for protecting the basketball court during the meetings which made me think of informal soccer games & this kid Taco who came every year & I wonder if that was really his name or if he’s alive now or if Water-Weenies are still a thing. Then I hear the songs & prayers flood back & always near seems to be this youth leader with an acoustic guitar. At some point there is going to be a fire.
And I already know it’s not the same thing, but since I’m at Stommish Water Festival hosted by Lummi Nation, I get the picture on my phone & make all sorts of connections. Because the paddle races/cultural celebration are annual & I witness shaved ice & tents & families who’ve been coming for years I see all these similarities & feel momentarily we are all related because who doesn’t like a corn-feed or revival. There is a sense at both Camp Meeting and Stommish that at any moment a teenager could get their heart broken or a man might find power beyond himself for the first time. And it’s hard not to relate em’ when you imagine tribal members heart beating their drums & dancing under the same big tent as the youth leader who strums guitar in a ceremony where the Chief and Pastor trade vegetarian hot dogs and fry bread.
Wesley Withrow Tracks 