Secret Origins, Part I - I Have To Tell You This Story To Tell You That Story

So, over the years, many people have asked me the question, "How did you get the name Bamm-Bamm?"  (You see, that is where the name of this site comes from: "Your Uncle B".)Some of you know part of the story, some of you know other parts of the story, and a few of you know the WHOLE story.  So, I thought this might be a good little blog series to tell that story.  Plus, it makes me keep up with this thing a little better.

Before we get into the meat of the story, I thought I'd give you the background that will get us there.  It is the year of our Lord 1990.  I am a junior in high school (yes, I'm that old... go pound sand), and very deeply involved with my church (Cokesbury United Methodist Church in Margate, FL... REPRESENT!).  One Sunday morning, someone in my church approached me to spend a couple of weeks working as a counselor at the United Methodist Church Camp in Brandon, Florida, which is just south of Tampa.  It was going to be a volunteer gig, but would give me some valuable leadership experience. (As a side note, I probably should have documented all of those hours, and I would have had enough to get one of those service lanyard things at graduation.)  I have always been a summer camp fan, and thought this might be kinda fun.  So, I filled out the application, sent it to the Florida Conference (the entire state is one conference, unlike other states), and within a few weeks, I was scheduled to be there the first two weeks of July, over my birthday.  As the kids come in on Monday and leave on Saturday morning, my mom and I drove up to see my grandparents in Tampa a couple of days before.  My mom dropped me off late Sunday afternoon, and I checked in to my cabin.  There wasn't anybody around, so I decided to engage in my default time killer: basketball.  This would either prove to be a very smart move or a very dumb move, depending on how you look at it.

About 10 minutes in, I overcalculated a rebound, and wedged my ankle between the concrete of the court and a dropoff to the ground, twisting my ankle incredibly.  Since it was so late on a Sunday, no clinics were open, so I was relegated to the administration building with my ankle elevated.  It was here, in this very unflattering position, that I was to meet the staff, who was trickling in from a trip of some form.  I was tended to for the most part by Chauma, who would become a very good friend.  She alternated the hot water and cold water bottles on my ankle to keep any swelling and discoloration under control.  I also remember meeting other friends to this day like Grace, Larry, Mindy, Bryant, Jason, and Jodi (whom I REALLY need to track down).  I still don't know how I fell asleep that night, given that I had to lay still.

The next day, we got me to a doctor and found out that luckily, the ankle was just sprained and not broken.  I still had to spend that first week in a splint and on crutches, but given the alternative, I was OK with that.  I was also introduced that week to a young lady by the name of Heidi, whom would become, in the words of an obscure Michael Jackson song, my "Summer Love".  She had red hair, blue eyes, and the faintest hit of freckles.  Need I say more here, people?  I was seventeen years old, and a college girl was digging me.  THAT was how I was rolling.  At least in my mind.

Those two weeks would plant seeds in my heart and in my head that would lead me to the next summer, where it would all change forever.  But THAT, my friends, is the next chapter.

OOH!  I just had a great idea!  Coming to my Facebook page before Chapter 2: an accompanying photo gallery to go with each chapter.  AND YES, that means I have pictures from those days.

As a post script: The Heidi thing went on for a little while, but then after about a month of camp closing, she MARRIED somebody else.  Let that sink in for a second.

Until the next chapter, which I promise won't take TOO long...

BB