Shortly before High School Graduation, Steven got a summer job lined up. There was a Summer Camp, located about 100 miles away that offered various sport theme camps during the summer. They had a Football, Basketball, Baseball, Soccer, Volleyball, Wrestling and Weightlifting Camps. All of the camps featured some weight training for the campers so Steven was hired to work in the weight room for the whole summer. They brought in athletes in each sport for each camp, but many of the counselors and staff worked at all of the camps. The first camp would be the Weightlifting Camp.

Steven was hired based on the recommendation of a coach from High School to the camp director. When the camp owner realized who the director had hired, he quickly revised his flyers and advertising to include that now weight training would under the tutelage of the `Strongest Man in the world.'' This caused a spike in enrollments, and the weightlifting camp to be sold out with a waiting list. Steven's friend, Bobby was able to get hired for the summer to work in the Kitchen. Bobby asked Steven, "So tell me again, how come you get to work in the air conditioned weight room with a bunch of sweaty guys pumping iron and I have to scrub pots in the kitchen?" Steven flexed a bicep and said, "Muscles my boy, Muscles! I pump iron, you scrub it!"

Actually, Steven was a little nervous about the job. Sure he was the strongest man in the world and had big muscles and spent a lot of time pumping iron, but he didn't really know a lot about the technical aspects of weightlifting. He just knew he lifted heavy weights and his muscles got big.

Steven had talked to the camp director and told him that due to his height and immense weight, he couldn't sleep in a normal camp bed. It would probably collapse under his almost 800 lbs. The director had a carpenter build a real heavy-duty platform for Steven and they put 3 twin mattresses on it and a 4th along the bottom for extra length.

Many of the staff caught the camp bus for the trip to camp, but since Steven couldn't fit through the door, so he followed the bus in his own car up to camp and Bobby rode along. About half way there, the bus had a flat tire in the rear. They did have a spare tire, but school busses don't carry jacks. The driver thought they would have to go to the next town, about 25 miles away and call for a tow truck. Steven had them unload the luggage that was stacked in the back of the bus. Then Steven proceeded to lift up the rear of the bus so that they could change the tire. Steven had never lifted a bus before, so he wasn't sure he could. The back end didn't really seem too heavy. One of the counselors commented, "Damn, he's strong;"

Some of the guys wondered if Steven could lift up the front of the bus. Steven tried hard and got the wheels off the ground but it was a struggle. The bus had a large diesel engine in the front. Bobby said, "I can see Steven has his summer challenge. He's going to keep working until he can lift up the bus. Probably by the time camp closes, he'll be able to hold the bus over his head with one hand!" Steven added, " Fully loaded too!" Bobby and Steven laughed, but since none of the other counselors really knew Steven they didn't get the joke. One of the counselors said, "Now that'd make a great picture for the cover of Sports Illustrated!"

Even though Steven was something of a celebrity at the camp, he was hired as a junior counselor since he didn't have any experience. All counselors had to sleep in a cabin with the campers.

Steven got to meet Curtis, the Senior Counselor in charge of Steven's cabin. Steven was kneeling, packing his clothes in a locker that each person got to put their belongings in. Steven was kneeling on the floor when Curtis walked in. Since this was a sports camp, most of the counselors were some sort of athletes. Curtis was a football player, kind of short, about 5'7" but weighed about 200 lbs. Curtis said, "You must be Steven. I'm Curtis, the Senior Counselor of the cabin." Steven stood up and extended his hand. Curtis' mouth fell open and his eyes got wide. "You're fucking huge!" was about all he could say. Steven grinned, "Yeah, I've heard that before." Curtis regained his composure and said, "You're the big, strong guy they were talking about. I didn't know you'd be assigned to my cabin. Do you think you're strong enough to pick me up? I'm pretty stocky!" Steven didn't get this question too often, but people did ask once in a while. Steven shot Curtis an amused look, reached over and grabbed him by the chest and 1 leg and hoisted him up over his head. Then Steven put a hand on Curtis' butt and held him up with just one hand. Steven raised him up and down a few times. Steven said, "Yeah. I guess I am strong enough to lift you up. And with just one hand too." Fortunately, the cabins had real high open ceilings. Curtis said, "Damn, you're strong! OK. You can set me down, my nose's starting to bleed from the altitude!"

Steven set Curtis back down. Curtis said with a smile on his face, "Just remember, big guy, I'm the Senior Counselor here and I'm in charge!" Steven saluted and said, "Aye, Aye Sir! Just remember, little man, I'm the strongest man in the world and outweigh you by 600 lbs. and can crush you like a bug" Curtis said, "Aye, Aye Sir!" and saluted." Steven laughed and said, "Now that we got that straight¼" Curtis said, "I don't think we'll have any discipline problems with the kids in the cabin this year!"

There was a staff meeting with the camp director. They went over various rules and regulations for the benefit of the new staff members. One of the agenda items was to select the camp disciplinarian. This person was responsible for enforcing disciplinary action. Since this was a sports camp, frequently the campers were bigger than the counselors were so the disciplinarian was always the biggest counselor in camp. Of course, that was Steven this summer. The camp director asked Steven, "Since you're brand new here, do you think you're up to the job as disciplinarian?" Steven flexed an 80" bicep for him and said, "Oh, I think so!" Everybody laughed. The camp director said, "I bet we have the fewest discipline problems this year than we ever had!"

After the meeting, Steven met with the rest of the weight room staff. There were 3 other guys. The staff would be responsible for setting up and maintaining the equipment, supervising the campers, spotting as needed and providing guidance. One of their important functions was to make sure that the campers didn't overdo it and get hurt. The staff was supposed to monitor the weight being lifted to make sure nobody tried to lift too much which could be a problem in a group setting if the kids try to compete with each other. Most of the sessions were grouped by age so that younger kids and older kids were not in sessions together.

During camp, if it weren't too hot or raining, they'd set up some weights outside also. There would be special seminars and sessions during each camp related to that's camps specialty. The day was broken up into 2 morning sessions and 3 afternoon sessions. Each cabin would be scheduled for at least 1 session in the weight room during the day, so there would be a steady stream of campers. When the sessions were over, they were free to take part in any camp activities that they wanted to, such as swimming, campfires, etc. Plus there was at least one session a day in the amphitheater where a special guest would come in and give a talk. So that was a free session for most of the staff.

The next day, the `campers' started to arrive. They ranged in age from 12-18. Most of the campers were grouped into cabins by age, 12- 13, 14-15, 16-18. Steven's cabin was to be and older cabin, ages 16- 18. Most of the campers arrived by bus about mid day, but a few were driven up by their parents so in the morning a few kids were wondering around the camp, getting settled in before the rest of the campers arrived by bus. They also got first pick of the beds in the cabin. Steven slept in that morning and got up to take a shower, leaving his clothes and shoes on the floor. While he was gone, 2 campers arrived and began unpacking. One of the kids wondered over to Steven's bed and picked up one of his size 36 shoes. "Hey Chad!" Andy said. "Can you imagine the goon that wears these gunboats. They must be a size 20 or something." Unbeknownst to Andy, Steven had come back from his shower and was standing the cabin with just a towel around his waist. Chad saw Steven but Andy didn't. Chad was waving at Andy and trying to get his attention. Chad said, "Uh, Andy¼" Andy picked up a pair of Steven's shorts. "Look at the size of these things! They're huge! Probably some 300 lb. big fat guy." Chad said again, "Uh, Andy¼" Then Andy picked up Steven's jock strap. Andy said, "Damn, this guy must be hung like King Kong or something! Look at the size of his jock!" Chad cleared his throat.

Just then Steven said in his deepest, most intimidating voice, "That's a size 36 shoe Andy. And it's more like 790 lbs. of muscle, no fat!" Andy turned around and saw Steven standing there with just a towel on. Steven walked over and put one of his big hands on Andy's shoulder. Steven raised Andy up off the floor with one hand. Andy turned red and began to stammer, "Uh, I'm sorry Sir, I didn't know¼I didn't mean¼" Steven smiled and said, "That's OK. Sometimes I can't believe I'm this big either." Chad said, "Are you a camper?" Steven said, "No, I'm the junior counselor assigned to this cabin. I'm on staff at the weightroom." Andy said, "If you're the junior counselor, the senior counselor must be like 10' tall!" Steven laughed and said, "Actually you two are probably bigger than the senior counselor, Andy. Not as husky, but taller." Andy said, "That's a relief. I thought we'd wandered into `Land of the Giants'!" Steven laughed and said,, "You're lucky I'm a gentle giant!"

A little while later, Andy came up to Steven and apologized again. He told Steven he'd never seen such a big shoe or jock strap, or pair of shorts, or for that matter anyone as big as Steven. Andy said, "It takes a big man to fill that giant jock strap!" Steven just laughed. Andy said, "I'm glad you're not mad. I'd hate to have somebody as big as you mad at me!" Steven laughed and said, "You really wouldn't like me when I'm mad! Don't worry. All is forgiven. Just don't mess with my stuff again. I'll let you get away with just about anything once but the 2nd time, you're dead meat!"

Andy asked, "How'd you get so big? Steven said, "My height and heavy build were genetic, but I had to pump a lot of iron to get these monsters." Then Steven flexed a bicep for Andy. "Can I touch it?" Andy asked. "Sure, go ahead." Andy put both hands on Steven's bicep and squeezed. Steven hadn't fully pumped his bicep, so as Andy was trying to squeeze it, he pumped it harder and it got bigger.

Andy said, "Will you help me get my biceps that big, Steven?" Steven said, "Well, I don't know if you can get as big as me, but you should be able to get bigger. Plus, if you keep up what you learn when you go home, you could be a monster. You've got a pretty heavy build already." Andy flexed a bicep for Steven. He wasn't huge, but he had a decent bulge under his shirt sleeve. Steven put his hand on Andy's arm and gave it a squeeze. Andy yelped in pain. Steven stopped squeezing and laughed. "I'm sorry," Steven said. I just can't help myself when I see some guy flexing his bicep like that." Andy rubbed his bicep and said, "That's OK. It's payback for what I said before."

The whole camp had a meeting after most of the campers had arrived. There was a small amphitheater with a stage. There were flat rocks and benches for the campers to sit on. The director went over the rules and regulations with the campers. He introduced most of the staff. When he got to Steven, he said, "And here's one of our staff members that stands head and shoulders above the rest of the staff, literally! Junior Counselor Steven Andrews will be working with you in the weight room. And he will also be serving as the camp disciplinarian, so you big guys out there, don't think you'll be able to intimidate the disciplinarian this year. Steven, would you like to show the campers what they have to deal with if they cause any discipline problems. In case you haven't heard of Steven Andrews before, he's the strongest man in the world." Steven stood up and gave them a double bicep pose. Then he walked over to the adjoining parking lot. The camp jeep was setting there. Steven proceeded to lift the jeep up over his head. He pressed it up and down a couple of times. Then he held it up with one hand. The jeep had a winch welded to the frame. Using the winch as his holding point, Steven turned the jeep on its end and raised it over his head with just one hand on the winch. There was literally a gasp from the crowd as they witnessed this amazing feat of strength. Then Steven gently set the jeep back down. The crowd cheered loudly for Steven.

As he went back to the stage there were 4 campers on one of the flat boulders. Steven came up behind them and picked up the boulder with the campers still on it. Steven turned the boulder and the 4 campers slipped off onto the ground. The Steven set the boulder on his arm and flexed his bicep. The boulder cracked and broke into several pieces and fell to the ground. Steven said, "Sorry, I broke your seat guys!" They said, "That's OK!"

Steven asked the camp director, "Would you like to see me bend a crow bar?" The camp director said, "I think they've seen enough to get the idea of how strong you are."

Steven addressed the campers, "I'll give you 3 answers that may save you from asking me some questions. 7 foot 10 inches, 790lbs., and size 36." Just a word of warning. I get mad when there are discipline problems. And when I get mad, adrenaline starts flowing and I'm even stronger than what you just saw here! You really, really, really don't want me mad at you.

Steven loved the cafeteria. The food wasn't gourmet but it was decent. Their policy was `Take all you want, but eat all you take', which was not a problem for Steven since he loved to eat. With so many big athletes in camp, the kitchen prepared lots of food. Steven would go through the line and load up 2 trays of food, and then go back for seconds, thirds and even fourths!

Steven even enjoyed working with the campers in the weight room. Some of the guys were or wanted to be body builders and others were into power lifting. Steven worked more with the power lifters since that is where his interest lay.

The equipment in the weight room wasn't nearly heavy enough for Steven to get a decent work out, so several times a week, he'd get up before breakfast and work out for about 45 minutes using the camp jeep. He'd also lift the school bus a little, but not too much. It was really heavy.

Steven enjoyed the time he could spend in the pool in the afternoons and evenings after the weight room closed. The Andrews didn't have a pool at home, and Steven didn't care much for going to public pools. He tended to attract a lot of attention, which he found slightly uncomfortable when he just wanted to take it easy. The campers came up with game for Steven to play with them in the pool. Steven would stand at the shallow end of the pool, either on the deck or in the water and throw the other kids into the deep end. Sometimes, he'd do 2 at one time. It was a throw of about 30-40 feet. The guys felt like they were flying through the air. Steven enjoyed it to because it was a good workout for him. He could have thrown the guys further, but he didn't want to risk having them hit the end of the pool or even worse, he might throw a little guy out of the pool all together, so he only threw them as far as the center. It was an amazing site to see a 250lb. guy go flying through the air and land in the pool! One of the campers told Steven, "If you can throw big guys that far, I can just imagine how you'd do in a dwarf tossing contest!"

Steven also enjoyed playing volleyball at camp. There was almost always a game going on. Since he was so tall, he was quite good at it. The net height was just about 8' and Steven was 7'10 with long arms, he was very good at blocking and spiking. Steven was careful not to spike the ball too hard. He really didn't' want to hurt anybody. Sometimes they played volleyball in the pool. Since Steven could stand up in the deep end, he found it quite easy.

Each week, the staff got 1 day off. These off days rotated among the staff so that counselors would always be there. Bobby and Steven arranged to have the same day off. On their first day off, Bobby and some of the other kitchen staff had heard about some cave that were a several miles hike away. They decided to hike there in the morning, just to get out of camp, and then go into town afterwards. They made their way to the caves. The entrance to the cave was pretty small and Steven couldn't fit through it. Steven said, "Go ahead on it. I'll just wait out here." So Bobby and his friends from the kitchen explored the cave a little bit. It was quite muddy and they came out covered in mud. Steven found it relaxing just to stretch out and take a nap for a while.

When Bobby and his work mates came out, they headed back to camp. Bobby had a map, but it was hard to follow. As they walked and walked, Steven said, "I'm sure we came this way before! This looks familiar!" Bobby was sure they were on the right track. A little while later, one of Bobby's work mates pointed out a very large footprint on the trail, pointing in the same direction they were going. Steven's foot fit the print perfectly. Steven said, "Well, that either means we're going in circles or there's another really, really big guy out hiking. What's the odds of somebody else being on the trail who wears a size 36 shoe!" Bobby felt really bad that he had gotten them lost. They came to a fork in the rode and took the opposite fork that they had before. Soon the came to an immense wrought iron fence. The fence was so long, you couldn't see the end. They kitchen guys said that it was the property that belonged to Old Man Smith. He was some sort of millionaire who really hated having the camp next to him. The fence ran for miles to keep everybody out of his property.

Bobby said, "Well, we can either go back to being lost in the wood, or cut through Old Man Smith's property." Steven said, "I vote for cutting through." One of the other kitchen guys said, "How are we going to get through the fence?" Bobby said, "You've never traveled with Steven Andrews before, have you? Mr. Andrews, would you like to do the honors?" Steven said, "Certainly Robert." With that Steven proceeded to bend the wrought iron bars of the fence. He had to make a pretty big opening for himself to get through. Bobby and his work mates went through. Steven went through, but he hadn't made the whole quite big enough and got stuck. Steven just took a deep breath and expanded his chest and the metal bent some more and he made it through. When they got to the other side of the fence, Steven bent the bars back into place. They looked pretty good, but they were not nearly as straight as they were before.

They were going across a field. Steven stopped for a minute to kneel down to tie his shoe. All of the sudden, they heard a gun shot and dirt flew up about 10 feet away. Everyone froze. Over the hill, came 2 guys on a golf cart. One of the guys had a rifle. "STOP" he was shouting. The golf cart pulled up. There was an older guy, probably about 60 years old and a young Hispanic male. The young guy had on a tight T-shirt and looked like a body builder. The older guy shouted, "Just what do kids think you're doing? You're under arrest for trespassing!" Steven stood up. Both men's eyes went way up as Steven drew himself up to his full 7'10". Steven grabbed the rifle and pulled it out of the guy's hands. He took the barrel and bent it. He then handed it back to older guy. Steven said, "Didn't your mother teach you not to play with guns?"

"Raoul, get him!" the older guy yelled. Raoul looked at the old guy with an incredulous look. The older guy said, "I don't pay for those muscles for nothing. Put them to work!" Raoul got out of the golf cart and stood in front of Steven. Raoul was really well built and muscular, but he was really short, only about 5'3, but he probably weighed 225lbs. Raoul's head wasn't too much above Steven's waistline. Steven looked down at Raoul and Raoul looked up at Steven. Raoul mouthed the words, "Please don't hurt me." Steven put his hand under Raou's armpits and lifted him off the ground.. "Don't even think about it!" Steven yelled and tossed Raoul about 15 feet away. Then Steven squatted down, got his arms under the golf cart and picked it up off the ground with the old man still in it. "Listen, old man. We were lost in the woods. We needed to get back to camp. I'm sorry we're cutting through your property, but we won't hurt anything." The older guy was still staring at the bent rifle.

The older guy got a smile on his face. "I know who you are. I saw you on the cover of Sports Illustrated earlier this year. You're that Andrew what's his name. The Strongest man in the world." Steven said, "Steven Andrews." The old guy said, "If you'll put me down, I'd love to shake the hand of the strongest man in the whole world!" Steven set the golf cart down and the old guy got out. "It's really a pleasure to meet you in person. I'm Edward Smith. That guy you threw across the field like a rag doll is Raoul, my house boy." Steven shook Edward's hand, then went over and lifted Raoul up and set him on his feet. "Sorry about that, man." Steven said. Raoul said, "That's OK." Edward said, "Let's go back to the house. I'll have Raoul drive you back to camp in the limo." Steven said, "That'd be great. Thanks a lot."

Edward and Raoul rode back in the golf cart and everybody else walked. It was only a short distance from the house. About half way there, the golf cart got stuck. Steven picked it up and got it back on dry land. Edward said, "You'd really be useful to have around here!"

When they got back to the house (mansion would be the correct word), Edward said, "You know Steven, my 10 year old nephew is having a birthday party out by the pool with some friends. I hired a clown to come and entertain but he canceled at the last minute. Steven said, "And you were thinking that since I have big feet, I could fill in for the clown?" Edward said, "No, No. I think it'd be a memorable birthday for him to have the Strongest man in the world entertain. Maybe you could flex those big biceps and lift up some heavy stuff? Steven said, "How much were you going to pay the clown?" Edward said, "$100.00." Steven said, "These mighty muscles don't come cheap! It'll cost you $250.00." Edward said. "It's a deal!" Steven said, "You can pay me when we're done, but if you try to cheat me, I'll do your arm like I did that gun barrel." Edward rubbed his arm. "That won't be necessary.'

Edward said, "I can have Raoul run the other guys back to camp and then he can take you when you're done at the birthday party." So Bobby and crew left to go back to camp leaving Steven at the mansion.

Edward and Steven went into the back by the pool. There were about 8 10-year-old boys swimming and playing around. Edward introduced Steven. Steven took off his shirt and flexed his biceps for the kids and they ooh'd and aah'd. Edward said, "What else can you do with those big muscles? I recall that you can lift a car over your head?" Steven said, "That's right." Edward picked up a phone and said, "David, would you bring the Jag around to the pool?"

While they were waiting, Steven squatted down and all of the kids sat on his arms and a couple on his shoulders. Then he stood up and swung them around. Then at the end, since they were all wearing swimming trunks, he dumped them all into the pool!

A couple of minutes later, a Jaguar came down the driveway adjacent to the pool. It stopped and the door opened. A tall, muscular guy climbed out of the car. He looked to be about 6'3" tall and had to weigh almost 300 lbs. He was all muscle. Steven went over and picked up the car. He raised it over his head with one hand and raised it up and down. Steven was very careful. He didn't want to drop a Jaguar!

He set the car down and the Birthday boy got in. Then he lifted the car up again with the Birthday boy in it. Steven spun the car around a couple of times. Edward was standing next to David as Steven did this. Edward hit David on the arm and said, "Why can't you do that?" David said, "He's a lot bigger than me in case you hadn't noticed." Edward said, "Excuses, Excuses! I want you to double your time in the weight room. And more juice too!" David looked kind of shocked.

Steven set the car down. "If you've got anything like crowbars, I can bend those, or I can crush a few rocks." Edward said, "It's time for the party to be over. David, drive the boys back to the city in the van." So the kids left and Edward sat down on a lounge chair by the pool. "Have a seat Steven." he said. Steven sat down and the lounge chair promptly collapsed underneath him. "I'm sorry." Steven said. "That's one of the disadvantages of being so big!" Edward said, "No problem. I bet you have a lot of problems with stuff like that. You're enormous. I've never seen a man has big as you. Steven said, "Thank you."

Just then another shirtless, muscular big guy appeared with a tray and a drink. He was even bigger than David. Steven guessed he had to be about 6'8" and at least 350lbs. Edward asked Steven, "Would you like a drink?" Steven replied, "I could go for a Coke." Edward said, "Michael, bring Steven a Coke." Steven asked Edward, "Is everybody that works here a weightlifter?" Edward said, "Pretty much." I like to have big, strong men around to protect me. I have made a few enemies in my business dealings."

Edward said, "Would you like to work for me? I'll pay you $1,000 per week." Steven said, "Thanks, but no thanks. I have an obligation over at the camp." Edward said, "How about $2,000 per week?" Steven couldn't believe what he was hearing. Edward said, "You can do any job you want. You don't have to be a houseboy. You could be my bodyguard. Or my personal trainer? Or a life guard? You wouldn't have to do anything at all. Just hang out here by the pool and pump iron?" Steven said, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I'm interested." Edward replied, "Just name your price!" Steven was tempted, but he said, "Thanks, but no thanks." When Michael brought Steven his Coke, he mouthed the words to Steven, "Smart move."

While Michael was still standing there, Edward said, "How about you and Michael have a little wrestling match? Michael's my biggest and strongest employee." Steven said, "That sounds like fun, but it's really not much of a contest. I'm way stronger than he is." Edward said, "You certainly are. How about we get Thomas and Martin too? Would that be enough of a challenge for you?" Steven said, "It's better, but still not too much of a challenge. Now maybe 6 or 8 guys. That might be a challenge!" Edward said, "I've only got 3. I sent the other 2 off on errands." Steven said, "Well, I guess that'll have to do. I'll try to be careful, but you won't get mad if somebody accidentally gets hurt, will you?" Edward said, "Of course not. Let the games begin!"

Edward called all 3 men out to the pool. They stood in a row facing Steven. All 3 guys were really muscular and well built. Steven made a quick move and grabbed all 3 men in his arms. He gave them a bear hug and tossed them into the pool. Then Steven jumped in. He began grabbing guys and lifting them over his head and throwing them down to the deep end of the pool. Then Steven went down to the deep end of the pool. The deep end was 7' deep, so Steven could stand down there without difficulty.

2 guys came up to Steven and grabbed his arms in an attempt to pull him under the water. The 3rd guy jumped on his back. Steven took his arms and lifted the 2 guys into the air and shook them off his arms. They went flying across the pool. Steven pulled the 3rd guy off his back. Steven held him upside down and dunked him in the water a few times. Then Steven took him and laid him across his bicep and flexed it. The guy started screaming from the pressure exerted by Steven's bicep on his head and chest. Steven then released him. Steven gave him a toss down to the other end of the pool.

One of the other guys was starting to get out of the pool. He was standing on the edge of the pool, Steven grabbed his leg and flung him back into the pool. Steven yelled, "Nobody gets out until I say so!" Steven began chasing the other guys through the water. When he caught one, he stuck them under his arm. Pretty soon he had 2 guys under one arm and one under the other. Steven was ready for the game to be over so he began squeezing the guys under his arms. The struggled but could not break free of Steven's vise-like grip. Soon, they yelled "Uncle!" Steven raised all 3 of them up over his head at once and threw them down to the other end of the pool.

Edward applauded and cheered as Steven climbed out of the pool. "Bravo, Bravo. That was an incredible display of strength, Steven. Well worth the money, I might add." Steven stood there dripping wet. Steven said, "If you'll give me my money now, I'll be heading back to camp." Edward said, "Wouldn't you like to stay for dinner? Surely a big man like you would like Steak instead of that camp food?" Steven said, "That's OK. I think I'll be heading back to camp now if you don't mind." Edward said, "I'll pay you $500.00 to just do a work out here by the pool." The money tempted Steven, but he said, "Well, I don't think your weights would be heavy enough for me, so I better just get going." Edward said, "You can come back anytime you like. You can even bring your friends from camp if you like."

Amazingly, Steven's services as disciplinarian were seldom called for during the session. There were 2 guys who got into a fight in the cafeteria. When Steven got there, the 2 guys were standing there with a counselor who had broken up the fight. Steven grabbed the each guy by the arm, lifted them off the ground and carried them into the director's office. He dropped them to the floor. Steven said, "We seem to have a couple of fighters here. Should I discipline them?" Steven took his fist and hit his hand. The 2 fighters really looked scared. The camp director smiled and said, "Take it easy, big guy! I think confining them to their cabin for a day would be punishment enough. But be warned you two. If you're caught fighting again, I'll be more than happy to let Steven take you out behind the barn teach you a lesson. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" The 2 fighters answered, "Yes Sir! We won't do it again. Ever again! Never." The camp director dismissed them and after they got out of earshot, he and Steven had a good laugh.

On the last night of that camp session, it was a tradition that the staff put on a show for the campers. The staff put on a skit based on the old `I Love Lucy' TV show. They even had commercials during the show, just like on TV. Steven's role in the show was to be the Jolly Green Giant in the commercials. Bobby dyed his skin too and he was Sprout. They got some blue and red food dye and mixed it together to make green and covered Steven with the dye. Steven asked, "You're sure this stuff will wash out? If it doesn't this giant won't be too jolly!" Steven had to really scrub hard, but eventually the dye did wash out. Steven's skin did have a slight green tinge for a few days. When they were putting the dye on Steven and Bobby, Bobby whispered in Steven's ear, "It's a good thing we're not dyeing underneath your shorts. We'd need several more gallons of green dye!" Steven laughed.

They actually had several commercials during the skit. They would say, "And now a word from our sponsor, Green Giant¼" In one commercial the Jolly Green Giant is eating off a tray from the cafeteria. He pretends like the food makes him gag. Then the Jolly Green Giant goes on a rampage. He breaks the tray in half. Sprout and a couple of other guys on the stage dressed like farmers. Steven grabbed them all in a bear hug and lifted them up at once and pretended to crush them. They all screamed in pretend pain. Then the Giant lifted them up over his head and threw them off stage onto a mattress that the audience couldn't see.

In another commercial, Sprout says he doesn't want to eat his vegetables and the Jolly Green Giant forces him to eat them. At one point, Steven said to Sprout, "Don't you want to grow up to be big and strong like me?" as he flexed his biceps. Sprout's reply was, "No! You can't make me! I don't like vegetables! " The Jolly Green Giant replies, "HO, HO, HO, Yes I can!" And the Jolly Green Giant picked him up off his feet and swung him around a few times. The Jolly Green Giant then pretended to crush Sprout in his bicep. At that point, Sprout surrendered and ate his vegetables.

In another commercial, the Jolly Green Giant is standing there. He says, "Now kids, if you eat your Green Giant vegetables, you'll grow up to be big and strong, just like me!" The Giant then flexes his bicep. Then the Giant picks up a can of peas and crushes the can with his hand. Peas fly all over the stage. He says, "HO, HO, HO, I'm so strong I don't even need a can opener!"

The rest of the summer sessions proceeded pretty normally. The weight room crew wasn't too busy during some of the other camp sessions like the Baseball and Basketball camps so sometimes, Steven got an extra day off during those sessions. Steven kind of enjoyed having the basketball players around. There were a couple of 7 footers in the crowd. Steven thought it was nice to be able to stand and talk to somebody and almost look them in the eye!

Toward the end of Basketball camp, the last session of the summer, there was some trouble involving one of the camp neighbors. Just about ¼ mile down the road from the camp was a circus camp. This was where the circus stayed when they were not on the road. Actually the summer camp and the circus camp made good neighbors. The circus camp was empty most of the summer when the circus was on the road, and the summer camp was empty all winter when the circus was in camp.

One week, at the end of summer, the Circus was in their camp. They were taking a week off before hitting the road again for the fall.

One night, an elephant named Elly went on a rampage. She broke down the gate to her pen and headed out. A trainer tried to stop her but she hit him with her trunk and knocked him out. Elly then headed out of the camp and down the road. Elly ended up in the parking lot of Steven's camp. Elly took the camp jeep and turned it over with her trunk. This of course made a lot of noise and attracted the attention of people in the camp. A lot of people including Steven came out and watched the elephant on a rampage in the parking lot. When Elly tired of playing with the jeep, she turned her attention to another car and banged it with her trunk. Then she eyed Steven's car.

Elly took a foot and put it on the bumper. The back end of the car went down. Steven yelled out, "Not my car!" and began running towards Elly. A couple of people tried to stop Steven, but there was no stopping him. He brushed them aside with one sweep of his big arm. Steven wasn't going to let an elephant hurt his car! Steven running toward her surprised Elly and she stopped pressing on the bumper

When Steven got up close, Elly started to charge him. Steven ducked behind the jeep, which was upside down. Steven flipped the jeep over on its wheels. Elly came up to the jeep and flipped it back on its roof. Then Steven flipped it back over onto its wheels. Elly then flipped it back on its roof. This continued for several minutes. Finally, Elly got tired of the game, and turned her attention back to Steven's car.

Elly raised up her trunk to smash the car. Steven ran around the jeep and grabbed Elly's trunk. Steven pulled and Elly fought him. Steven began squeezing Elly's trunk as hard as he could. Elly went down to her knees. Steven punched Elly in the head a couple of times as hard as he could. Elly roared in pain. While she was on her knees, Steven let go of the trunk and backed off a few feet. Steven then took a run at Elly and slammed into side. Elly trembled for a second, and fell over. She lay there for about a minute and slowly got to her feet. Steven stood there crouched down, ready to tackle her again, but Elly walked quickly back out of the parking lot and back to her pen at the Circus camp!

Everybody crowded around Steven after Elly left the camp. Bobby said to Steven, "Once again you amaze me, big guy! Beating up a rampaging elephant! And winning too!. Steven smiled and said, "Awe, shucks. It wasn't nothing." Bobby said, "How come you didn't pick the elephant up and throw her across the parking lot." Steven said, "I vaguely recall that elephants weight about 8-10 thousand pounds. While I'm really strong, I'm not quite that strong. I wish I was though!" Bobby said, "Oh come on, I know you could do it if you wanted to. You can do anything with those big, beautiful muscles. Bobby reached up and patted Steven's massive bicep. Steven laughed and said, "It may seem like that, but I do have my limitations!"

When camp ended, Bobby & Steven packed up and got ready to return home. Bobby came into Steven's cabin. He was wearing the same clothes he had come to camp in. Steven took one look at him and laughed. The pants had to be at least 2 inches too short and the shirt was real tight and the sleeves were too short on Bobby. Steven said, "What happened? Did the laundry shrink your clothes or something?" Bobby said, "I don't know." Steven said, "You know, you do look a little taller and a little heavier. Let's go measure you in the weight room."

So they went to use the scale in the weight room and sure enough, Bobby had grown during the summer. He had grown 2 inches and he had gained about 15 lbs. He was now 5'8" tall and weighed 150. Steven grinned at Bobby and said, "You're almost average size now. I guess I can't call you `Little Buddy' any more." Bobby said, "I think you still can. Compared to you, I'm still a runt!" Steven laughed and said, "I guess everybody is, if you put it that way!"

Steven said, "I've heard of guys having real late growth spurts before. You must be one of those guys." Bobby replied, "I've been waiting 18 years for one!" Steven said, "Or maybe it was the clean country air and good food." Bobby said, "Does that mean if I stay here long enough, I'd get as big as you?" Steven just laughed. "Dream on little man, dream on."

On the way home in the car, Steven said to Bobby, "You know, if you're having a growth spurt, you should start lifting weights. My theory as to why I'm so muscular and strong is that I was producing lots of growth hormones to get tall, and I was lifting weights at the same time. I think the growth hormone helped me build big muscles." Bobby said, "I'd be willing to try. I`d love to have some muscles!" •