Undoubtedly, the hottest experience I have ever had on the job was at Camp Dixie. 100 degrees wouldn't phase me if I was still working there. 100 degrees at camp means 1 thing only: more kids at the pool. This would usually be good news for me, who would be working the go-karts in the morning and afternoon when the sun would be it's hottest. I figured I would wait a few minutes, see no one was coming, and then pack the show up and go stand in the walk-in fridge down in the kitchen to freeze-dry my sweat.
But almost always, there would be those few kids who, contrary to rational thought, would forgo the comfort and coolness of pool and lake and instead opt to sweat to death in the dirty, noisy go-karts. A more nagging issue about these delightful children is that they would not simply ride one time, thank me with their gratitude and then be on their merry way. No, that would be much too easy. Instead, these children, seeing their was no line of their fellow mates to bump them off, would ride and ride and ride until they got tired out (which never happened).
But, can I blame them? No. Because they are kids, the kind of kids who will have as much fun as humanly possible with the materials provided. I was looking at the situation differently because I had to sit out there while they had fun and make sure that they don't decapitate themselves in the process. As I get older, it becomes increasingly easy for me to appear cynical towards youth and their way of life. But, as Mr. Rogers once told a group of dentists who were trying to find a way to make visits to their offices less painful for children, he simply told them, "Remember, you were once children too."
