Annapolis Capital Punishment

The Capital's Mr. Smith, who for some reason, seems to have occasional trouble writing about topics of real local interest, meanders off to other areas from time-to-time. Recently he opined about horror stories at summer camps. Noticing with his perspicacious wit how similar horror stories about legendary ceatures in the hills seem to be told at different camps, he refers to his friend who has theorized about such amazing topics. Herewith from Mr. Smith and friend, “So now here is my friend Jay's theory: He thinks that camp owners and administrators deliberately encourage these awful stories to make sure campers stay in their sleeping quarters at night. Camp counselors can't be everywhere, after all, and the kids might wander around after the lights go out.”

Holy childhood traumatization Eric, parents do the same thing and have from time immemorial. Grow up. It’s why we have Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, Ronald McDonald, the Boogeyman and probably explains, at least partially, why we have religion (and God? The Devil?) as well. Do nightmares cause myths or do myths cause nightmares??? Camp counselors may make up horror stories, but probably because their counselors made them up when they were campers. Similarly, kids today carry on that tradition. Our psyches make them up and have done so since before Cam Runamok or Camp Granada were opened!
Hmmm…..I guess Mr. Smith and friend have never read Freud, Bettleheim, Jung, Neumann, Rank or Campbell, but did it ever occur to them that there has always been a “contagion” of folktales and legend circulating among youth? (Think "step on a crack, break your mother's back" or "Eeny meeny miney mo....") Did it ever occur to him that there are numerous worldwide myths and legends that have similar themes though dispersed much more widely throughout space and time than are east coast summer camps for middle class kids? For example, the story of a great flood is not just restricted to Noah in the Bible, nor is the story of a low-born baby (aka Moses) being found and raised by royalty.
In any event, if you have a column in Annapolis called “Cityscape” and can’t find enough real, local stories about which to write, then please, make way for someone who can. For example, Eric Hartley whose new column in your newspaper is worth reading. Okay, thank you Mr. Smith.
ONCE AGAIN, SAY IT AINT SO JOE…..
The Capital’s Joe Gross has again put pen to paper and told us all of his views about cheating in sports, beginning with supplying readers with a dictionary definition of “cheating.” Somehow he combines the moral issue of cheating with that of medical and surgical advances, which he says is cheating “in the very quest for life itself.” Good grief!
Joe gives us a capsule (pun intended) history of cheating in sports and in the whole wide world and says, “Just because everybody does it, doesn’t make it right. It doesn’t even make it OK….” All right already. OK already Joe. It's all right. It's OK. He says that people who go too far, who go beyond the realm of fair play, "will always meet their downfall. " When Joe? We are all waiting…..
MAKE THAT AN EXTRA LARGE WITH CHEESE AND SUPERSIZE ME………
CP joined his son and friends at a birthday party dinner at a local pizzeria. Despite the din of the table-full of ten-year olds, CP could not help but overhear the whiney and complaining tone from diners nearby who deprecatingly argued with their server about how their table had been arranged. It went on. CP was wondering what kind of obnoxious diners would be so discourteous and disruptive to a server who was obviously trying to arrange a table in the crowed establishment for them.
Well, well, it was Eric and Joe. No wonder they had to rearrange the table. No wonder why they were so …shall we say…assertive? CP wondered about two things: How could the restaurant fit a large enough pizze on the table and how could Mr. Smith stay seated so long without a cigarette break?...inquiring minds want to know.