Funny Business

In a Jam

We may not yet rival Los Angeles for pollution and traffic, but Washington, D.C., seems to be trying hard. Local news stories abound about a "rush hour" that barely crawls, about dangerous levels of traffic on the city's beltway, and headache-producing congestion at the entry points and parking lots of National Airport.

Janie Blakely, our Sojourners receptionist, commented on a frustrating traffic experience a few nights ago: "Just when you thought you discovered the thousand points of light, you find out you're caught in a 500-car traffic jam."

What a Trip

Washingtonians are proud of our famous Mall, a chunk of open space that stretches from the Capitol building to the Lincoln Memorial. In warm weather it is the site of volleyball games and frisbee competitions - sometimes large political rallies - or just a place to sit on a bench and watch everyone go by. On those rare occasions when it snows in Washington, the city's cross-country skiers congregate there. But in snowless, wintry weather, the only appeal is the many art galleries and Smithsonian Institution museums that line it.

A group of teenagers apparently couldn't believe what they were hearing when their teacher announced "a field trip to the Mall" one school day. Expectations were dashed when they landed on a chunk of earth in downtown Washington. A few of the wandering souls approached Sojourners member Barb Tamialis and asked, "But where are all the record stores and movie theaters?"

Gross National Product

It may be cold, but it's never too early to start thinking of summer camp. Sojourners reader David Neily of Chicago sent along a newspaper clipping from The New York Times with a possibility for your children that you may not have considered: business camp. Operated by Smart Services Inc. of West Palm Beach, Florida, Dollars and Sense camp can teach your children the basics of stocks, bonds, and mutual funds; how to read the business pages; and how to manage a personal budget. For just $600 (plus food and lodging), your kids can get five days' worth of fiscal exercise.

On the first day, campers play "Money Management Mania," a game-show spinoff in which campers are given $2,000 in play money to manage over a hypothetical month. Spins of the wheel include forfeitures of money for such things as speeding tickets; gains for wise investments; and tough financial choices such as "A big rock concert is coming up. Tickets cost $75. Should you go?"

"At home, I'd say 'Sure,'" said Aaron Kesselheim. "But when you've just got this much money, well, it's not so easy to decide."

On the last day, the campers test their newly learned skills by using $100 of their camp tuition to buy real stock to keep. Does the camp work? Yes, according to 11-year-old Adam Lotz: "My money isn't just flying out the window like it used to, so I must have learned something."

Another option is the Young Americans Success Camp in Utah. The six-day program costs $1,550, including food and lodging; campers here have $20,000 in play money to play with. In addition to money-management exercises, the campers play The Challenge, "a mentally and physically demanding game that requires the campers to escape from a mock prison camp by crossing a 'minefield' and jumping a fence."

Said David W. Tippepps, a spokesperson for the camp, "We teach students the advantages of the free market system over socialism and communism." Campers are encouraged to make future investments in gold and other metals "as a hedge against economic or global disaster."

Joyce Hollyday was associate editor of Sojourners when this article appeared.