Day 2 (Friday, June 13th)

I woke up and hung out with the counselors while waiting to get in touch with Jay. We ended up going into town for lunch (Subway is more expensive in Alaska) and listening to the head counselor’s stories about his ingenious ways of disciplining children. During the drive through town, I saw a couple Bald Eagles circling above. Those things WILL eat you. I didn’t challenge them.
Jay and I were supposed to meet to work at 3, but he kept getting delayed in his trips around town. Turns out he's working 3 different jobs in Sitka, all at the same time. At 5:30 we finally got to work, which consisted of driving around picking stuff up. After a short dinner break, we finally got to REAL work (on the stage) at 8:30 PM. Worked until 1 AM. Got audio and light systems up and running. Blew a breaker on our portable power distro, had to break out a few more dimmers to make it happen. My feet hurt.
Jay and I ran around town in Roger’s truck. Roger is the camp director and owns a 1981 blue Toyota pickup. The thing is a pile of rust and bolts, but reminds me of Dad’s old pickup that we used to have “windstorms” in on the Narrows Bridge. We would turn up the AC all the way, open all the windows, and drive across the bridge to visit Pete. I was 5 or 6. Those were good days.
The stage and performance “venue” is an old WWII airplane hanger that has been converted into a gym. A stage has been built in 1/3 of the building. Because our Front Of House (FOH) speakers are bouncing off a huge wall of sheet metal, natural reverb in the building lasts 4 full seconds. This means the sound quality will be muddy, but we'll still be functional.
While driving around town, I had a nice chat with Jay about how Christianity is misinterpreted and used as an excuse to either destroy the environment (“God's given us dominion over animals, plants, etc.) or to refrain from helping the environment (“It’s the end times!!! We shouldn't do anything!!”). We both agree that it’s unfortunate that some Christians twist the Bible to meet their flawed human standards.
My reading material has been Miles: The Autobiography. The language and drug stories are true to American jazz heritage. Miles Davis is a fascinating cat.