On a Scale of 1 to 10

How Happy Are You Right Now?

At a Catskills sleep-away summer camp in the 80's, 90's, and - yes - 2000's, I learned a somewhat reliable, semi-scientific method for checking the emotional well-being of my fellow bunk-mates, and - when eventually promoted to counselor status - of my 15-year-old hormone-raging campers. The method was called "Fist or Five" and when instigated by the leader of the pack (the counselor) - who routinely announced Fist or Five in the middle of meals, on the way to flag-raising, during waterfront, after sing-downs - it was understood by the pack's members that they should indicate silently with a simple hand gesture where, on a scale of zero (fist) to five (the total number of fingers on one hand), how good or not-so-good they were doing at that moment. As one can imagine with dilapidated cabins full of self-conscious teenage girls, who dolled themselves up for campfires and sporting events alike (aka Sunshine Appreciation; running? pulease!), variations of fists predominated this daily ritual while deep down inside multiples of five (ten! fifteen! twenty!) abound because, after all, this was summer camp. Enjoy!

[Blog Reminder: Click on Subtitle Above for Article.]