…and I may not be ready…I’ve made a joke of it but it’s true! Ever since I retired, I don’t have time for my hobbies. Currently, I’m preparing for my second year as a camp counselor at Camp Quest Arizona. Last year was my first year and I didn’t know what to expect. It’s safe to say that most of the other camp counselors didn’t know what to expect of me. I knew a couple of people. Most notably I knew Holly Schineller, the organizer of the 2400 member Phoenix Atheists Meetup Group, and Jessi Draper, the president of the Secular Student Alliance at the University of Arizona. I also knew “John Secular” the Camp Director for 2013 and 2014. This year those three won’t be at camp but during last year’s camp I got to know quite a few of the other counselors that will be returning this year. Also, we’ll be hosting quite a few returning campers. I have high confidence that this years’ experience will be every bit as rewarding as last years. Hopefully better!
Camp Quest Arizona is in a remote part of Arizona where there is no internet and the electrical power disappears at 10 PM. It’s held in June in Arizona. Bear in mind that the camp is in the Prescott National Forest and at 6500 feet above sea level which means that it is a very pleasant place to be in the summer in Arizona. It’s not totally primitive. We sleep in cabins on bunks and the food is catered. We have all the standard summer camp activities. Archery, fishing, hiking, star gazing, and appreciation of nature will be available. There will be camp songs. However, Camp Quest also includes scientific activities which involve microscopes, fossils, telescopes, and the construction of astrolabes. Some activities depend on the experience and knowledge of the individual campers. I’ll be bringing up a PineWood Derby activity including a 6 lane electronically scoring track, car kits, wood working tools, finishing tools, special lubrication, and the ability to adjust the weight of the cars. I’ll also be bringing up a Karaoke machine for a free time activity during the week. Other counselors will be sharing their knowledge about survival skills, self-defense, other cultures, and music.
One of the most appreciated activities, especially for the older kids, is the Socrates Café where there are open and frank discussions about reason, logic, and life outside of the confines of religious dogma. The activity is so popular that there have been occasions where the kids have opted out of other activities just to extend their time in the Café discussion sessions.
Camp Quest Arizona is just one of 14 Camp Quest camps located around the country.
This might be considered a public service. When someone calls me at home, I simply say, “I don’t give money to people that bother me by calling me at home. I’m sorry. Goodbye.” If you want money from me, don’t call me…And don’t come to my door either. The same rule applies. When someone calls to sell me something, I’m less polite than that. Normally, I just hang up the phone and add the calling number to my “blocked list.” Rude? Perhaps but is it less rude to hang up on an unwanted call than to make a sales call to a person who has enrolled in the “do not call” list? To those that call from “Microsoft” telling me that they’ve noticed that I have malware traffic on my computer…I’m even ruder! If I knew how to say “Fuck you, you’re a liar” in Hindi I’d say it but I have to register my displeasure in good ol’ English. Technology is wonderful and I’m on board with most of it. At one time the phone was the pinnacle of technology in the home. When I was a kid we had one on the wall in the kitchen and it had a very long coiled cord. My parents splurged on a “private” as opposed to “party” line so that when the phone rang it was supposed to be for us. However, we lived in base housing on the grounds of the Air Force Academy and our number was GreenWood 2-1006 which was one number off from the number for the kitchen at the Officer’s Club. You can imagine the phone calls we got:
Nancy and I just returned from “down under.” We visited Australia, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. It was a bucket list accomplishment and we’ll be paying for it for a while but it was worth it. We’ll be headed for Memphis for Easter weekend in a few hours to attend the American Atheist Convention and more good times with great friends and fellow free thinkers.


2015 marks my 10th year of Atheist activism. Prior to 2005, I carried one of those little memo books around in my shirt pocket. On the first page was a list of things that I wanted to accomplish. They were big things like refurbish my classic car, replace the carpeting in the house, add a balcony, and build a workshop. In 2005, I was 3 years from my second retirement and I stopped adding to the list. The things on the list got done and I was approaching the point when I needed to find a new purpose. I had plenty of hobbies to keep me busy but I needed something that needed to be done and something that would make a difference long after I’m gone. Hanging more trophies on the wall wasn’t going to do it for me anymore. Nancy and I started getting busy with Skepticism, Atheism, and Humanism. We joined the related organizations but it wouldn’t be long before I would move into a leader position. It is inevitable but so is burnout but there is so much left to accomplish.
I’ve been busy with Halloween for the last several weeks and I need to get back to the series on building a secular community but not today. Today, I want to offer an idea that is particularly suited to this time of year—the day after Election Day.
the one pictured here:
I was in particular need of a box for my rapping skeleton prop that was given to me this year. He worked out great at the Halloween Karaoke gathering at the house but he’s 5 foot tall and the box he came in is only 3 foot tall. He was designed to be pushed down for packing against some strong springs but the locking pins have been misplaced and 10 year old Chinese plastic can become brittle. It would be better to pack him in a bigger box. With his head removed, I needed a 4′ high box.
out great. I cut a picture from the original packing box and taped it to the outside and it’s ready for storage for a year. Now I have to figure out what I’m going to make out of all the other signs.
Apparently, Coroplast sign material is recyclable but it is strangely satisfying to “repurpose” this material directly and custom made Halloween storage boxes is a great application. A new cardboard box for the Rapping Skeleton would be over $5.
Tucson has had its freethinking community for quite some time but it consisted of small disassociated groups with small memberships.
This is the first in a series of short articles about the freethought community in southern Arizona.

The contest has always focused on autonomous systems. It is not a contest of the eye hand coordination of the operators but their ability to make a system that can perform the various tasks without human intervention. Of course, there are “operators standing by” with kill mechanisms to bring down the flying vehicles immediately if there is a problem and they have been needed from time to time.
This July, the JREF (