OK, who brought the girl?

LOLITA HARPER

I’m a big kid. Look what I can do. I can shoot a nine millie, too.

Those of you who have children, younger siblings or watch way too

much daytime television might recognize part of that catchy little

jingle from Pampers commercial, but the gun part is a new twist, huh?

Guns, bows and arrows, rock climbing, poker, horseback riding,

mountain biking and much, much more are some of the things that will

be waiting for area big boys at a special camping trip for men who

are young at heart.

It’s Big Boy’s Camp at Big Bear Lake in California designed to

bring together businessmen, fathers, brothers, sons and friends for

some good old-fashioned male bonding.

No, this is not just some selfish attempt to recreate never-never

land (even though, I can’t see anything wrong with that). A portion

of the proceeds from Big Boy’s Camp will be donated to Orange County

youth mentoring programs run by the United Way’s Keeping Kids On

Track, Orangewood’s Guardian Scholars, the Orange County YMCA, and

the Boy Scout’s Learning for Life.

So on Friday, Oct. 10, local power players, mortgage brokers, real

estate agents, business owners, bartenders, accountants, mechanics,

etc., will pack up their knapsacks and their favorite pillow (and

perhaps a blankie and nightlight?) and head to the mountains to be

boys again.

And just like the tree house of yesteryear, there are no girls

allowed.

Well, until I got involved.

See, Tom Johnson, who just happens to be the publisher of this

wonderful newspaper and my lovely boss (grin), just happens to be the

master of ceremonies for this little shindig. And naturally, the

creators of this camp, Paul Fruchbom, Brian Bost and their crew, want

some media coverage -- and that requires a reporter. Where, oh where

could we find a reporter? Hmmm ... .

Oh! The Daily Pilot newsroom. What a great idea to have one of the

Pilot staffers come up and spend the weekend at Camp Whittle,

heighten his testosterone and write a little something about it.

One problem: there are no male reporters on the news desk. Enter

me.

Yes, I am an athlete and a boxer. And I am certainly used to being

the only girl around, given that I grew up around eight boy cousins

(no girls) and now work at a gym that employs 11 male

instructors/fighters and just one female: me.

But I am not that girl who insists women “can do anything men can

do.” Hey, we can give it our best shot, but we won’t always come out

on top. I have been in the ring with dozens of men and I know,

firsthand (and left hand, right hand, jab, cross and hook) that men

have got a physical edge over women. And I am fine with that.

I offered to cover the event from the outside looking in. I didn’t

(and still don’t) want to mess with the male bonding thing. But

spokeswoman Sue Cannon had a better idea.

“It would be just perfect if we sent in someone like you to do the

run of these events,” Cannon told me last week. “That would be

killer, if you were our token female and sign up for the most

difficult events and show them what you can do.”

I admit, that sounded like a lot more fun that just watching from

the sidelines.

So, I went to https://www.bigboyscamp.org and signed up for the

pistol range, rock climbing, kayaking, laser shot, the Alpine Tower,

baseball, archery, billiards, poker lessons and gourmet barbecue

cooking. (Those who sign up for the pistol range needn’t worry about

stray bullets from me. I have shot a 9-millimeter before, as well as

a few other semi-automatic weapons.)

I passed on golf, magic, photography, wine tasting and astronomy.

So, there you have it. A weekend at Camp Whittle with guns, bows

and arrows, ropes, kayaks, poker, sports, dozens of big boys and me

-- the lone female reporter, working her butt off to try to keep up

with the guys in some grueling physical activities.

Spots are still available, so feel free to come and cheer me on --

or secretly hope I end up dangling by one leg from the rope course.

For those who stay home, I’ll let you know how I did as soon as I

get back. Well, as soon as I have the strength to lift my hands to a

keyboard, anyways.

* LOLITA HARPER writes columns Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and

covers culture and the arts. She may be reached at (949) 574-4275 or

by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.