Paul Newman’s recent death triggered a nostalgia trip. Twenty years ago, my Connecticut colleagues and I were asked to create the first-ever fundraising brochure for Newman’s Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. I drew the copywriting honors—and it was, indeed, an honor.
Newman’s camp, which serves children with cancer and other serious illnesses and conditions, is the spittin’ image of an Old West town. During my first visit, I chuckled when my guide told me the medical facilities were tucked inside the O.K. Corral “because it’s okay to go there.”
But what most enlightened me were the camp’s meaningful camp fires. My guide said that one night during the campers’ experience, they’d each be given a marker and sheet of paper. Each camper would write down his or her greatest fear: dying, chemotherapy, transfusions, losing family or friends, etc. Then they’d wad them up and throw them in the flames.
Two decades later, we’ve lost the camp’s generous founder to the disease he helped fight. But we’ve not lost an important lesson on addressing fear.
By all accounts, we’re facing recession or even depression. Some face foreclosure, bankruptcy, unemployment, the dissipation of retirement funds, and illnesses without health insurance. It’s serious stuff to send up in flames. But as Hole in the Wall Gang campers will tell you, you gotta start somewhere.
What’s your greatest fear and how can you begin to unload it?
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