John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt

Eleven days til the big 50 mile kick off for the Wisconsin Chapter Multiple Sclerosis Challenge Walk in Door County, Wisconsin. Yesterday, Em and I walked 8 miles to get our legs and minds prepared. I have a song that runs through my head while I'm training, you guessed it...John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt. The cadence of the song keeps me on speed. The last few years I found that a 2.7 to 2.8 mph (including rest stops) is just about right and John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt gets me back on pace if I start to wander.

I looked up the lyrics to copy and paste here, but the official Girl Scout version is different from the way I learned the song.

John Jacob Jingleheimer Scmidt
That's my name too
Whenever I go out
The people always shout
John Jacob Jingleheimer Scmidt
La dah dah dah dah dah dah

repeat to infinity, getting softer on the lyrics and LOUDER on the La dah dah dah dah dah dah, until you are literally screaming. Then reverse...Louder on the lyrics and softer on the La dah dah dah dah dah dah.

When I was a kid, we went camping a lot. Seems like it was the whole summer, but it was probably just a few weeks each year.

At first we had an old army tent. That tent was HUGE. It also had a ton of holes, teeny tiny pinholes and when it rained...you know the rest. We used buckets, pots and pans, cups and even the tub we used to wash dishes to catch the drops as they came in. I think we always picked the rainiest days of summer to go camping.

If I had to name my favorite camping area, it would be a toss up. Brunet Island in the North Western section of Wisconsin and Boulder Lake in the Nicolet National Forest in the North Eastern section of Wisconsin. Both had great swimming holes, plenty of hiking and places to adventure in the canoe.

It was during those years that I learned John Jacob Jingleheimer Scmidt, we sang it loud and proud, often attracting other kids from neighboring campsites to join the fun.

Here's a shot of Brunet Island State Park.