12 / 30 : training camp.

my bad, the poems are on a backslide due to a suped up weekend. but i got yall.

training camp

usually in the summer months,

parents kiss their kids goodbye

as they venture off to camp 

they'll have to do away with

some of the amenities of home,

endure the heat, and make new friends.

it's an american tradition.

with NFL families, we reverse that shit

i packed my daddy's lunch for his first day

at training camp 

he whined about not having an apple

in his bag, his favorite treat

my mom helped him pack his clothes

and we drove him to kentucky

where all the other 'boys' were

kissed him goodbye and watched him 

wave, listlessly like we were orphaning him

in the back window of the benz

daddy called probably 30 minutes after

as most kids do at camp once they realized

that they are really stuck at this place

he said he wanted to come home

and that his roommates, some of the other coaches,

brought refrigerators  and he was jealous.

my mom told him to ask the other coaches

other middle aged upper class men

if he could share with them until he got his own.

he got all huffy and hung up the phone.

a day later daddy calls my mom

mad because the other coaches played a trick on him

he hates clowns and they woke him up

with red noses on their faces

and the other coaches and players teased him

on the field all day

my mother told him that they were just

being silly, to not be sad, and get them back

by making the players run extra 40s.

this made daddy happy.

a week later, daddy shows up back home

unexpectedly, saying he missed us a lot

and he missed his HBO even more 

there is none at camp and he is going crazy

listening to chad johnson's foolishness

so my mom fixes him his favorite dish

and he watches some chris rock until

the sun sets and he has to go back to came

begrudgingly, like a seven year old going back

to time out

this year, camp is being filmed by HBO

so everyone is trying to be on their best

or worst

behavior, depending on what will get them

more camera time

my dad called asking for his lucky tie

because he had to do an interview and 

he would feel nervous without it

we fedex him the the tie 

along with a jar of swedish fish

and he feels much better

daddy can't wait until we can come and visit

and he can show us around, with bravado,

his new stomping grounds

its hilarious that we are appeasing my 48 year old

father like he is a pre-pubescent boy at summer camp

but after witnessing a water balloon fight last year

with 50 year old coaches and their 30 year old players

you realize that although times change

boys become men and these men take pride

in their profession

when you throw the first water balloon,

the playbooks go out the window and 

the men become boys again