The House of the Setting Son

Dust is in the air and the sun has turned red again: the boys are coughing , noses running.We set out from J&M’s house at the foot of Mt Olympus to fetch Matias, the prodigal son, from camp after a fevered (literally) morning of work.Matias has spent the week at Camp Roger deep among the Aspens an hour from home. Camp, that great tradition of American childhood is run by counselors from America but also Britain and Brazil, Columbia, Ireland and Singapore. Core values are fostered in all the activities from mountain biking to swimming, to horse riding – friendship, respect, caring, honesty and responsibility. The kids are rewarded with dog tags to recognize their adherence to and promotion of these values: sounds like a good place to send members of Congress.After the celebrations, the mud caked campers reunite with parents , collect their belongings and head for home : unlike in the song, they all seem to want to go back as many have already done . I get the big hug from the grandson.All the family go out to dinner with the boys and then we ascend the mountain for an Olympian view and to howl with the birthday boy, one last time at the Moon.