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New Jersey 2006

Frito Pie

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Photos and Articles by Matt Lurrie

 

Campus Kids is teeming with traditions.  There's the traditional dance song Piano Man, there is the tradition of clapping as campers get off of the bus, there are unspoken traditions in certain dorms, and finally, there is one tradition that affects our taste buds.  This tradition is, of course, Frito Pie.  According to Stu, writer of the weekly column Blast From The Past, Frito pie has been served since 1991, the first year Campus Kids existed.  Because there were not as many choices as there are today, most people ate it.  The following year, it was on the menu again, and the rest is history.

 

According to a recipe from Texascooking.com, Frito Pie consists of four main ingredients: Frito corn chips, onions, cheddar cheese, and chili.  Traditionally, this is how it is served.  But at CK, the chefs at the Centenary College cafeteria add a few other things, such as lettuce, tomato, beans, and a few spices. 

It is a favorite of our camp director, Tom.

In a talent show in one of CK's early years, a few counselors made fun of our beloved dish in a skit.  The skit began to catch on, and is now performed annually (yet another tradition found here at Campus Kids).  It is usually performed at the talent show.  This year, it took place on Frito Pie day, in the younger kids' cafeteria.

 

It usually consists of three counselors playing the part of actors, with a fourth playing a director.  The counselors see each other from opposite sides of a crowded cafeteria.  They greet, and suddenly realize that Frito Pie is being served.  "I love Frito Pie!" exclaims one counselor. 

They begin to eat.

 



 

Then suddenly, they begin to feel ill.
They begin to collapse, and a fifth counselor comes
in and begins administering CPR.
It is at this point that we find out that this is a skit within a skit.  The director comes in and criticizes the actors.  Then, he gives directions about how they could improve the scene.  "Do it fast," he says.  Now, the fast version of the skit is too fast to even photograph, so this will have to be left to the imagination.  After another criticism, they are told to do it in slow motion.
 

So they do so.

 

And the same ending occurs.
 

 

Finally, the director says that in order to spice things up more, they ought to try it as ninjas.  Once again, the scene is run through, with the same outcome, but a ridiculous path to get to it.

 

It is at this point that the actors become fed up with their maniacal director, and take him behind what was this time the salad bar and, let's just say, let's him know exactly how they feel about his leadership.

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