Whine Country

Counseling day camp in Sonoma County is an interesting venture in upper-middle class, suburban spoiled-ness. Some of these kids are amazingly charming, cute, polite, and funny. Some of them, however, are well trained in the fine art of arrogance, rudeness, and a sense of entitlement that is embued only upon children who are given much more in the way of stuff than positive attention. It is hard to say which type of child is in the majority, because the ones that leave the greatest impression are the ones with the angriest tantrums and the shrillest whines. The quiet, unassuming child, who follows instructions with respect for her teachers and stands up to snobbish bullying with respect for himself, rarely gets the notice he or she deserves. He or she is left, instead, to appreciate the beauty of the world around him, which he has learned to do, and the silliness of her peers, which she is learning to do, unhampered by the watchful eyes and increasingly shrill voices of her counselors.