Dear Henry

Picked up Jack. Was kinda nervous about how we'd find him. Thought he'd be a mess and mad at us for not getting him when he sounded the alarm.

I shouldn't have worried. He was better than fine.



We drove up on Saturday and went to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield. Joe and I went to look at the exhibits for -- ohhh - about 2 minutes and then we went straight to the court on the ground level. Joe shot hoops for an hour and a half. It was worth the price of admission. After sitting in the car for 7 hours it was the perfect way to stretch the legs.

After Springfield we went to our usual hotel in Sturbridge and hooked up with Jodi, Rodd and Luke. Joe and Luke ran around and had a blast. Mom was dying to be so close to camp and not able to see Jack for another 12 hours, but she hung on.

When we got to camp with the usual caravan of cars with DC and Maryland plates we rolled up to Jack's bunk and there he was. Smiling. Mom didn't wait for the car to come to a stop.

After Mom got hers, I asked Jack to come around to the side of the car where I explained to him that I was going to hug him until his insides squeezed out. And because I am such a good dad I was going to do it out of sight of his buddies. No embarrassment for your brother. It felt good to put him in the "Daddy Jail" again.

We did the normal walking around and lunch at Rondeau's. The trip back to DC was uneventful. Before we got him I thought that I'd debrief Jack in the car on the ride home on just what the heck happened that got so bad the camp told us to come get him. But it didn't seem like the right time. I want to give him some distance and then I'll ask.

Very curious to understand what he was thinking and feeling. Mom thinks it is related to all of the sadness we had around the garden dedication and graduation. Me, not so much. I don't want to be insensitive to how Jack feels about you, but I also want to give him room to feel sad or weird or bad about the stuff that we all experience. Friends. Girlfriends. Disappointments. Frustrations. All that life stuff.

I did learn the "Ga-Ga" tournament story was just that. A story. A myth. Jack says he doesn't know where it started, but it is way overblown. I don't care. I am just glad that he had a good time.