I'm Still Alive!

By David Foster, 0083

Another day done here at Boys’ State. After I last blogged, I returned late to the dormitory after getting lost, and needed a student to let me into the building. When I arrived I found everyone soundly asleep in their beds. I checked in with my counselor, put on shorts and a t-shirt, and drifted off to sleep.

So I wish. My first night sleeping here did not actually involve much sleeping. The mattress was not uncomfortable itself, rather the scorching heat and lack of more pillows.

After tossing and turning throughout the night, I finally began to drift off, until I was startled by what sounded like a bucket being thrown down the hall. I quickly made my rack as prescribed, put on my second Boys’ State Shirt, and left the hall with the rest of the County for the raising of the colors. Then, we performed some marching maneuvers and went to breakfast.

Luckily, this meeting was more of a treat than breakfast. The American Legion had lined up Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General and Gubernatorial Candidate for New York State. He is best known for his aggressive pursuit of dishonest Wall Street Brokers. Mr. Spitzer talked about the importance of honor and ethics, which is sorely needed in today’s government (Tom DeLay, anyone?). He also mentioned an interesting fact that I did not know before: when Mr. Spitzer was in high school, he played tennis against John McEnroe. When question time came, some Citizens fielded softball questions about their adoration of Mr. Spitzer. However, as a whole, our Boys’ State Citizens addressed important state issues such as the economic depression and the Native American casino case.

After exercising our cerebra with politics, we were now treated to a less governmental person, Andrew Savage. This former Survivor contestant talked about his experiences on the show, including the audition, alliances, and truth. Remarkably, Mr. Savage said that he never told a lie while fighting for the million dollar prize. Underscoring Mr. Spitzer’s message, his speech also focused on the importance of honesty.

After the assembly, I marched to lunch, took a nap, and then came to the computer lab to write. More importantly, I will be attending the Nationalists’ State Party Convention tonight. Therefore, I shall write about the politics and “parties” of Boys’ State tomorrow and discuss its role in teaching about government.