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Asan, my ninja friends! Yet another season is upon us, and together we stand before the trailhead of an unwritten adventure, a sea of possibilities and a wealth of life-changing experiences! The sky will be blue, the grass will be green and the world will be ours!
For those of you who haven’t met me yet, my name is Matt Furman, I am 25, and this will be my fourth great summer at Camp Augusta! I have kept very busy this year during the off-season and I have many stories to tell But, before we dive in full-tilt to my recent adventures, I will provide some context! Put on your helmets and come with me for a magical, interplanetary, ninja-themed tour of the history of Matt:
Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, I grew up on a small, distant planet called Sonora, California. I spent my early years learning the ways of the forest, camping and hiking and traveling all over the land in search of beauty. Rivers and valleys, mountains and sunsets, trees and trails, I embraced them all. I went camping, I climbed trees, I rode my bike like a madman, I hiked and backpacked, I rafted and road-tripped, I did everything I could find that the outdoors had to offer! But, there were many bad guys on this planet, and it was a tiresome job roundhouse-kicking all of them into shape on a daily basis. Though I did love my home and my roots, I knew that one day I would leave and go out into the world to seek my ninja fortune. As I reached the end of my teens, it became time. I packed my spare katana and quarterstaff, a few smoke bombs and a light grappling hook and headed off toward the planet of UCDavis, which was also in the California star system.
For years I studied intensely in the arts of the ninja until, for some baffling reason, it was brought to my attention that all my classes in ninja reconnaissance, stealth strategy and ninja star aerodynamics would not count toward a major. Ruefully I began studying child psychology and human development as well, but after a very short while I realized that this was indeed something I loved equally as much! Could there be a way to combine the two? Eureka! An epiphany! And so it was I discovered my true mission in life: to teach all my ninja skills to the willing minds of the young! Thus, I received my B.A. in psychology in 2005 and began a long journey to an empire that would someday become a legacy. Along the way the adventures would be many and the lessons would dig deep! It’s true, those who attended ninja classes with me eventually turned to other, fancier things like shoes and ships and sealing wax, but in my heart I already knew what would make me happy. That is why I fought through an ocean of bad guys who were even uglier than the ones in level one back in Sonora to come back year after year to the place I love.
For all the things I had sought in life and all the things I believed to be right and wrong with the world, there could be no more perfect place to express myself than Camp Augusta! When the two of us collided in space, we knew with little more than a twinkle-eyed wink that there would be a lifetime of learning and growth and adventures and wonder between us. A wise man once said that true mastery comes of the mind and not of the body, as a ninja there could be no greater truth. In the last 3 years, camp has become for me as much a place of learning as it is of teaching, and as much a place of expression as it is of inspiration. Camp Augusta surrounded me with the best friends I would make in my life so far, and the most highly prized of memories and stories that I would tell again and again and again.
If I had it my way, camp would go all year, but alas it could not be so. From what I have heard, the Evil Emperor Superintendent and his minion Commander Principal want kids to go to regular school during the off season to learn things like times tables and how to make dioramas. “How ridiculous, we must ninja fight!” I thought. So first I made faces at them from behind a Ficas bush, and then I tried throwing a smoke bomb at them but it I think it was deflected by their magic rune shield. Little could be done it seemed. And so, as fate would once again have it, I ventured out into the world one more time to seek a new and creative outlet for my ninja teachings.
For one season I worked a climbing gym and learned and taught the art of ascending rocky castle walls with precision and dexterity (two things that make true ninja masters look at each other with very solemn faces and nod approval). For another season I worked at a snowy mountain chalet and there engaged in the ancient art of weather-enhanced expedited downhill travel, or, for you non-ninja speakers, skiing lessons. Both of these were immensely valuable experiences, and in all this time, with Camp in between, a laundry list of certifications and competencies began piling up on my ninja resume. CPR, First Aid, Life-guarding, Belay and Climbing instruction, PSIA level 1 and many more!
And so it was this past November, all my teachings and lessons culminated in the most recent adventure, the chance to be not just a ninja, but a kiwi-ninja! So, I collected my best ninja friend Looby and began a 5 month work and travel trip to New Zealand! In my time in that amazing country I worked three jobs, clocked over 6000K on the car odometer in road trips, did 4 multi-day backpacking trips, climbed Mt. Doom from the LOTR movies, went bungee jumping, went black water caving, took surfing lessons, went to a crazy wild foods festival full of the most interesting, exotic and downright strange foods I have ever seen in my life, and even had time to stop and learn a few crazy new ninja firespinning moves! And, if there just might be a chance you can learn them too
So it begins then! Or rather, so it continues… another year, another mountain of fun to devour and a million new lessons about anything and everything to learn! Another summer of sleeping outdoors and pointing at stars and climbing in trees! Another summer of warm fires and hilarious improv and goofy skits. Another summer of water fights and watermelon seeds and stealthy ninja games (can you guess which one is my favorite?). Another summer to let go and be yourself, to learn and grow and live and discover all the wonders of life and the world, together. All of this is at our feet, at our doorstep and in our hearts. I invite you all to come along!
Of course though, I will leave you with a gem, as I always do. But you’ll have to ask me for the answer to this one ;-)
What do you get when you cross a brown chicken with a brown cow?
See you all this summer!
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