Page 135 - WhyAsInY

Chapter Ten
Punctuate This:
Anawana Go to Camp
SUMMERS OF 1952 – 1956
Wherein Peter Pan transports our author to a magical new world in which he will continue his education, albeit informally.
Irwin was right. If fact, the only question with respect to the wisdom of his advice was, in retrospect, how long would it take before it would be borne out? Distilled to its essence, Irwin’s advice was that everything
would work out, that I would enjoy and benefit from the experiences to come, and that, in the end, I would be grateful for the opportunities that lay ahead.
And Irwin had given his advice under somewhat difficult circum- stances, perhaps for him, and absolutely for me. I was seven years old (four months short of becoming eight) and crying because I was being separated from my parents and surrounded by a large group of children, all of whom were strangers to me—and almost all of whom were older.
Until that day in July 1952, I had been separated from my parents and socialized, if you can put it that way, only through, as I recall it, (1) attending Happyland, where, as you know, all that I can recall is weeping on a floor, but where I must have learned something about navigating the challenges imposed by monkey bars and a sandbox
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