The Acorn People

As the narrative begins, narrator Ron Jones has been newly hired as a camp counselor for children with disabilities, and he watches them arrive. He signed up for the role because he thought it would be good pay and fun to participate in typical summer activities with the children; he received little notice or preparation for the fact that he would be supporting campers unable to participate in most of the common camp activities. As he watches parents struggle to settle their children into the rugged environment, he regrets his choices and feels apprehensive.

Getting the children settled requires extensive work, and by dinnertime, he is outright angry about having to be responsible for children who can’t operate independently. When he finally goes to sleep, he has nightmares about the bodies of children with disabilities.

The next morning, Ron must help several children who have wet the bed. He then introduces several campers to the narrative: Benny B., a lively child with polio who is preoccupied with acting like a high-speed racer; Spider, who has no arms or legs but loves to talk; Thomas Stewart, a despondent teenager with muscular sclerosis; Martin, an energetic, blind 14-year-old; and “Arid,” or Aaron, who has no bladder and must use urostomy bags that smell unpleasant.