The Lost Boys

Grown-ups don't have summer vacation, which means that grown-ups have to take time off work to go camping, which means that grown-ups who don't take time off work to go camping don't get to go camping.

Using this linear reasoning, I was able to designate myself as a grown-up who did not get to go camping. But I did take a break from being a grown-up long enough to visit the campground and play our Peter Pan game for a few hours.

Playing Peter Pan is as formulaic as an episode of Phineas and Ferb. First Peter Pan (that's me) leads the Lost Boys in building a house for Wendy (Little Sister). Then the Lost Boys and Tinker Bell (Ginger Cousin) go to their hideout and make themselves beds of fresh grass. Then we explore.

When Little Sister and I arrived at the campsite with Older Sister and Glory, daylight was short. John (Little Brother) and Tootles (Baby Sister) had already led the others in building Wendy's house at the traditional site. They did this with a combination of branches and foliage, and I must say, it was a mighty fine house indeed. They had also made all the beds and spruced up the hideout.

The Lost Boys and Tinker Bell then brought us presents. Wildflowers for Wendy, and a weathered animal bone for me.

Then we tromped through the woods and sang and explored.

When we first started playing Peter Pan, none of the children were very old. It was more of a mass baby-sitting job for me and my sisters than anything. A baby-sitting job in the woods. With streams to fall in and rocks to trip on and children running around me while I'm trying to fulfill their request to carve their names in a tree with a pocket knife. 'Twas, in a word, unsafe.

Apart from instituting rules about where the little children could go without supervision, we developed a series of communications we could use to call out to one another. This made it so we could explore the woods without losing anyone.

"Sound off" means that everyone has to respond with a special sound-off song. We keep singing it until we find each other.

"Bangerang," means "I see you."

If you crow, it means "I'm in danger and need help."

"Hook, hook, where's the hook?" means that you see Captain Hook.

"Rufio!" is a cry of exhilaration.

This is how whole new languages are made, friends. We communicate this way as easily as we communicate in normal English.

We tromped through our hideout and though Pixie Hollow, the Mermaid Lagoon, and Camp Wanahakalugi. After wood-tromping, we had a council of Lost Boys. Then we ate dinner with the natives (the chief aka Dad and Tiger Lily aka my aunt) and the pirates (Captain Hook aka my uncle and Smee aka Mom).

Then the pine cone war.

A pine cone war is exactly what it sounds like. Hook, Smee, the chief, and Tiger Lily sneak up on us and throw pine cones at us. We throw pine cones back. Whoever surrenders loses and is branded, in the words of John Darling, "a cowardly custard." Being a cowardly custard is a bad thing, because although everyone likes custard, nobody likes cowards.

Determined not to be a cowardly custard, John/Little Brother and Cubby/Monkey Cousin developed a pine cone war strategy. Last year, our foes snuck up on us Lost Boys through Camp Wanahakalugi. That time, the Lost Boys really lost. So this year, John Napoleon Darling lived up to his middle name by ingeniously and efficiently splitting our forces. He sent Cubby to the entrance by Camp Wanahakalugi, took Slightly (Pixie Cousin) with him to defend the hideout, and left the rest of us on the front lines. John repurposed several of our usual Lost Boy commands for the battle. "Squdge," meant "Go to the front lines." "Rufio," meant "Join Cubby," and "Bangerang," meant "Cubby, join us." As you can see, we are running out of Peter Pan words that Lost Boys might say. "Faith, trust, and pixie dust," don't quite suit.

Before and after dinner, we stashed up caches of pine cones throughout the woods so that we would never be without ammunition. We dressed in clothes that were gray, green, and brown so that we blended in. I filled up the pocket and the hood of my hoodie with pine cones and smeared ash from the cooking fire on my face. We were ready... ready for everything to go as planned.

Of course, nothing went as planned. Just before the war started, Michael (Baby Brother) fell and scraped his leg and had to be administered to. No sooner had Michael returned to us than Cubby screeched, "Bangerang!" from his station near Camp Wanahakalugi.

"Already?" we cried. John, Tootles, and Slightly rushed to Cubby's aid. I think Wendy rushed to hide behind a tree. Tink, Michael, and Nibs (Baby Cousin) bravely stayed behind to help me defend the front lines, because we were being attacked from that side, too!

We threw pine cones with all our might, but the enemy advanced. They discovered our caches and started throwing our store of pine cones at us! Nibs tripped, landed hard, and defected into the comforting arms of Tiger Lily. It was chaos.

Chaos, however, must favor Peter Pan, because we won. We herded Hook, Smee, the chief and Tiger Lily into a clearing, then surrounded them and pelted them with pine cones. When Nibs saw how much fun we were having, she defected back to us.

"We surrender!" cried the cowardly custards that we had just beaten like...well, like custard.

I crowed. The Lost Boys crowed. It can be nice to not be grown up.