Tony was a tall and gentle giant with a heart that was as big as his reach. I met him when I was a young teen going to camp for the first time for a week where we camped out in the Pisgah National Forest with about 50 other junior high kids. He showed us how to pitch a tent, cook over a fire in a frying pan larger than a car wheel. He told us that we didn\u2019t need a watch, just to follow our needs \u2013 get up when we wanted to and go to sleep when we needed to. And, if he could see three stars, he was going to sleep outside. We did that plenty of nights..and also got rained on some of those nights anyway. I also learned important things like tuna fish, macaroni and cheese and some canned peas mixed all together taste mighty fine after a long day of backpacking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After I was in college and started working at the camp, I moved from camper to counselor and became a co-worker with him. But, really never a peer. He was always ahead of me. Not just because he was older. Just because he was. I admired him so much. I wanted to be his friend. And I was. For over forty years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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