Rubber Chickens and Serendipity
The Chronological Story of Justin’s Sports Chickens

1994:  The MDA Camp seed is planted for life

My friend Joe DePadilla, as director of Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA)  http://www.mdausa.org/  Summer Camp bugs me for the third year running to get off my workaholic butt and come be a counselor.  Joe and I knew each other quite well from our shared volunteer experience with Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity at Virginia Tech.  Joe, knowing my high energy and somewhat “whacky ways, ” kept saying, “Hans, this  will be perfect for you!” Little did I pay attention to Joe’s insight.   Then one day despite my workaholic ways, I finally gave in, left work, and showed up to camp a half day late to discover that a week in June would be defined for the rest of my life. I eventually became camp entertainment director and made a new family of friends that has lasted for 13+  years now.  Justin Sokolowski was a camper at “Career Camp” – that year’s camp theme. Justin was also “roped into” being Mayor of the town we had at Career Camp.  Joe’s insight played a hand here too as Joe knew Justin has a hard driving leadership quality. This can be evidenced by his many schemes, practical jokes, and general rule breaking as a camper.  Joe obviously decided Justin needed to be kept busy and “out of (not really) trouble”.  Summer Camp is fun.

1992 - ???  “Shock in a Box” helps that seed grow

Yes a little jump back in time.  Still a college student, I worked part time as a computer support guy at a company called VTLS. It was difficult working long hours and also finishing my senior year at Virginia Tech.  My sanity was greatly “enhanced” (as were my practical joke playing capabilites) when  I met this hard working high energy whacky dude named Russell Shock.  Let’s keep this short and to the facts.  Before long Russell and his wife Jean had  me involved with their church   http://www.goodshepherdblacksburg.org/, a very public service oriented congregation, had me playing with Russel’s “Saurkraut Band” for Oktoberwfest   http://www.sauerkrautband.com/ at Mountain Lake, helped me with my first doggie Winfrey http://www.dingoweb.net,   etc. etc. etc.  and, over the next several years, helped me TREMENDOUSLY with MDA summer camp when  Russell and another high energy whacky dude named Ed Schwartz ( band leader of the Saurkraut Band) lent me a rather large sound system to use on stage with the campers. 

Eventually one year Russell became involved in MDA camp himself when he decided to visit for a few days to see the only activity that he knew of that could actually tire me out ( putting on summer camp is a lot of work  and extremely rewarding – tons of energy burn to make it all special for the campers).  He only visited for two days, but,  that was enough to infect him with the magic.  He called me shortly after leaving the camp ground and said, “I miss you guys!  I am coming to do the entire camp next year!”   the following year Russell arranged for me to have a large vehicle ( and then trailer) to haul my stuff, provided the sound system, and then added his stage lights.

Because of Russell, Jean, Ed, and others Russell rounded up to help out,  I was able to build the arsenal of “stuff” to entertain campers from a few props and a pencil and piece of paper in 1994 and 1995 to an entire stage show that we use to this day.  Russel and I joke that our vehicle with all the camp stuff should be called “Shock in a box, “ named after Russell’s last name,  and we daydream about being able to drive around to many summer camps  to put on the same kind of entertainment we do for the MDA camp.   The Richmond and Norfolk fire departments have since built a shed on the MDA campground  http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/airfield/  to store much our camp stuff!

1999:  A long long bike ride on the Blue Ridge pulls a lot of different people together and launches a rubber chicken.

My brother Eric is 7 years older than me and always treating me to adventures. This started when paid for and took me to my first ever Marathon in D.C. http://www.marinemarathon.com/page11.aspx in 1993, and hit a peak in 1999 when we biked 465 miles on the Blue Ridge Parkway.   Now bear with the story here as many different elements come into play to launch a rubber chicken.  First, when I played with the Oktoberfest band with Russell and Ed, we did the “Chicken Dance.”   This involved the use of, well, rubber chickens.  Eventually I started using these rubber chickens in a juggling act with a good friend and another MDA Volunteer, Donne Hall.  We took our juggling act  to both Oktoberfest and MDA Summer camp.  So now the rubber chicken had infiltrated MDA Summer camp. But I had no idea how much impact it would have until my brother and I went on our bike ride.  

To be continued...

This saga is to be continued. Please check back frequently!!!! Justin is going to hound Hans constantly until he finishes this story!!! Plus he has to go back and rechck his chronological facts... and take pictures.