Webmaster�s note: Born in 1945, John Penner grew up in BC, where his interest in poetry was sparked. He spent the better part of thirty years working in Saskatchewan. John lost his mother to HD in 1974, and was diagnosed positive himself twenty-three years later. He now resides at an apartment in the Chilliwack area, to �enjoy life.� The Squamish HD Camp has been funded by the BC Chapter of HSC for nineteen years!

Memories of the May 2003 Squamish Huntington�s Camp By John Penner (Early edits and corrections by Kelly. Quotation from �Go Lovely Rose� by Edmund Waller.) John rode the Greyhound Bus from Chilliwack to Coquitlam. Just ahead of them sat a gal in a Superman suit, so they were assured that if anything went amiss she would tow the wreck to its destination. Not sure how tough she was but they had fun kidding her about it. The whole trip in they were having laughs. Linda picked them up at the depot. She also picked up another two campers in the Vancouver area. Then it was off to McDonald�s. Someone was in a panic if we chose another caf�. Surely grown adults would know better than to want to go to McDonald�s. But it seems that one of the campers we had just picked up comes from such an isolated area that McDonald�s has not found them yet. As I would not want Rotten Ronnie to find it I can�t mention the island�s name. Sorry, Kelly. Our driver was nice enough to understand and while we were eating she picked up some Tim Bits. Thanks, Linda. But with the box in the front seat with Susannah they were almost a write off too, as there were just ten bits left. They took a break along the scenic Sea To Sky highway�the ocean view was the picture of tranquility�and got to Camp at about four in afternoon on Tuesday. It was the beginning of heaven. For John had always wanted to go to camp at Fort Bragg when he was still living in Saskatchewan. And now his time had come. Would he ever be the same? Or better said, would Squamish HD Camp ever be the same? He knew there would only be two people there he had met before. One of them he knew only a little. What were the challenges? Right from the warm reception at the front door life was different. One of the first things we learned was that every camper had a staff �buddy.� So for about every group of four they had two buddy staff members. Every time there was something they needed they just talked to the buddies and they helped them. John had heard of personal slaves but never thought they could be so cheerful. Having the buddies meant a lot less load for the director, as the new people would have found it too easy to want to talk to her, as she was the only one they knew. Continue reading here: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

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