Author: Glenn Smith

A thunderstorm has disabled our internet service at camp. We are blogless.without email and unable to post daily pics. Rest assured everyone is fine and camp is running smoothly. We hope to be back on line soon. As always please feel free to call with any questions or concerns. Glenn Smith

Last night marked the first outside camp trip of the session, with the younger campers going to Trout Pond and their older counterparts going on a white water rafting adventure. I was lucky enough to accompany the group to Trout Pond, where everyone had a great time.

The first highlight from the trip requires me to correct an error in yesterday’s post. I incorrectly referred to the largest potato chip as the loomster, but I have now learned that title is reserved for only the largest fry. The chip with the most mass is known as the ‘choomster.’ Sorry for any confusion, but I’m still catching onto all the fun quirks and inside jokes here at CTT.

Regardless, there was a good-sized choomster found, flaunted and later consumed by Kevin Shefferman of cabin one. At this juncture, the boy’s side leads the loomster/choomster race 2-0. Also worthy of accolades is Alex Goldstein, who ate an incredible six hotdogs at dinner.

Elsewhere among the chicken-fights and water-wrestling mayhem was a counselor- burying contest. Counselors Chris Brown and Spanky were buried up to their necks in the white sand and the campers sculpted the counselor’s coverings into designs. Campers turned CB into a formidable sand mermaid, but were bested by the folks who turned Spanky into a trident/cactus. It was a tight contest, but counselor judges Rachel and Aram unanimously decided in favor of the trident/cactus hybrid.

Before the big trip, there were some notable happenings around campus. The boys in the Buffalo Village (boy’s cabin one) have had a vendetta against certain female counselors and older campers. In the past few days they have captured Squirelly Girl/ Hannah Sherman’s sandals by defeating the CIT girls in both dodge ball and ga-ga ball. They now hang proudly by a string on the BV plaque on the front porch of cabin one. They have also managed to make Medusa (also known as counselor Rachel) clean their meal table twice.

Perhaps the most astonishing of the BV’s feats so far is the successful capture of two girls in three days at meals. This warranted a “girl on boy’s side” chant by the entire side and admiration from their counterparts.

There has also been a fair number of animals captured, named and released over the last few days. At arts & crafts, Olivia found a frog. The class promptly named it Ralph Liggy IV. After the formal naming, Liggy was released and will hopefully live a long and happy life in the area around the art shack.

Down by the lake, the Dennison sisters are finding success as anglers. Reece caught her first fish yesterday, which her sister Casey promptly named Bob. Not more than a few minutes later, Casey caught her first fish. Reece quickly named him Billy.

As if catching fish weren’t enough, Taylor and Reece also rescued a stray paddle- boat from a kayak. All in all, it was a big day at the lake.

In the morning, the boy’s league competitions dominated most of the athletic facilities. The Twixie Cups overcame G-Force 8-5 in softball, while the Lacksplash Savages smacked the Fighting Trowjans 4-0 in dodgeball. As we speak, league play rages on as the Savages and the Cups face-off in soccer and basketball whilst the Trowjans and G-Force compete in hockey and ultimate Frisbee. Result and details will start to trickle in soon…

As another days dawns at CTT so does a new baseball league and all of the fun and excitement that accompanies a good game of America’s past time. The first day of competitive play will see Adam Gersh’s Blue Jays and my own Red Sox take to the diamond. Waiting in the wings will be Twix’s Yankees and Bill’s Wildcats, who are equally ready to turn double plays and smack multiple base hits. It should be a highly competitive, highly skilled and very fun league to be a part of, so please wish all competitors (mostly the Red Sox) luck as we begin the season.

Following an evening of good times and better friends at Trout Pond, I cannot wait to get out there amongst the campers and counselors and have yet another amazing day at CTT. Whether it be on field trips, baseball diamonds or at the lake, every day at CTT is a special one and it is my pleasure to be able to bring you closer into the family.

I’ll be back on Sunday with some more, and hopefully news of the Red Sox successful victory over the Jays…

Mahalo.

There aren’t a lot of things in the world that can compare to the opening days of summer camp, and at Camp Tall Timbers the first few days are the among the most special of the season.

There is a great mix of nerves and enthusiasm as the campers and counselors are beginning to settle into their schedules, as well as a great sense of excitement as some of CTT’s traditional contests and competitions begin to take place. One of the most fun contests is the search for the ‘loomster,’ which is a hunt for the longest fry or the largest potato chip during meals. The boy’s side came up with the win in the first loomster search of the year when David Morrell was served a fry over six inches in length. The boys watched in amazement and the girls in disgust as he chomped down on the prized morsel, the size of which was so remarkable that administrator Mike made an argument to hire bouncers to protect it.

Despite not finding the loomster, the girl’s side still managed to have a good day. In the morning the teams for the Girl’s Leagues competitions were announced. This session will see Bob’s Blackout, the White Gangsters, the Blue Pikachu’s and the Red Participants of Positivity compete in an array of different contests.

In other good news for the girl’s side, Amy Caplon bested counselor Adam Gersh in two-of-three ping-pong games. In a lunchtime announcement, Adam declared that Amy is the best player in camp and is accepting all challenges. Several challengers piped up, but there has been no word if anyone was successful…

Amy also had a big day at the riflery range, where she and Nicky Feldman (of boy’s cabin one) fired a gun for the first time in their lives. The first shot is a special one. You feel the weapon come alive in your hands after you pull the trigger and you see the target jump after your round makes contact. It is enough to hook some people for life and there is no better place to harbor that interest and learn respect for the weapons than from counselors Jason Gersh and Bill at CTT. The riflery classes are very popular for this session, and some young shooters are having remarkable success. Max Mendelson, also of cabin one, is the epitome of a fast learner on the range. In only his second shot, he hit one of the spinning targets. This is impressive, as it is a feat I have not yet achieved despite teaching four riflery classes this session!

Some campers learn things outside of the teaching classes and competitions. One resourceful girl, Jennifer Heiman, had a feat of conservation that is unequaled so far into the session. Jennifer got off the bus on Sunday with a bottle of Coke and just finished it on Wednesday. That is one bottle lasting four days. She got a round of applause during the dinner announcements, and deservedly so.

Jake Abel is learning the art of a peaceful protest. In response to what he felt was a disappointing lack of cream in his orange cream pop, he wrote a very professional and strongly worded letter to Rich’s Ice Cream to request more cream for his future snacking endeavors. The camp is eagerly awaiting the response from Mr. Rich, hopefully to inform us that the amount of cream has been drastically increased.

That sums up some of the bigger headlines thus far into the summer of 2009, and as the younger campers look forward to this afternoon’s trip to Trout Pond and the veterans prepare to go white water rafting, rest assured I will be around with my ears open and my notepad ready to bring you all of the day’s news and observations from the first session of 2009.

Mahalo.

Every session at Camp TT seems to get marked by different things, and usually it happens when nobody’s noticing. All day I’ve had this song Lollipop by Mika in my head, that people have been playing all over camp this session, and I just realized that whenever I hear it from here on out I’ll probably think about this summer. A big phrase this session was “Yeah boys’ tents.” This was the session that counselor Mike Conti was into laser combing his hair, the Mookie Mobile was introduced, and the tent boys decided to write home and ask if they could shave their heads. I know I didn’t blog about it much or maybe at all, but it was the session that cemented my love for a game that Emma and I like to play called Pass the Pigs. The Blue team adopted the saying “Whatch-u talkin’ ‘bout Blue-wis?” and crossed their arms and huddled together whenever they said it. I’ve been trying to commit to memory the things everyone does that are so funny, and it’s so hard to remember all that I tell myself to. I think what I always take away most is that it is all really funny – there’s this easy sense of humor and that weaves through CTT, and I don’t know whom it starts or ends with, but it’s always here.

It’s been a whirlwind day. Color War culminated at lunch, with songs, chants, and two outstanding plaques. Santa’s White Fluffy Beard had the first ever 4-dimensional plaque, which consisted of 3-D layered art and Ryan Clifford’s watch (giving it the fourth dimension of time). Blue Fresh’s plaque was a stage made with real stage lights (polystyrene cups with christmas lights inside) and an ipod on the back that played boy band music. While we waited for the judges’ decision, I heard some people on the blue team point out to some white team people that the sky is blue, and the white team people saying back that the clouds are white. In the end…Blue won the song, White won the cheer, and Blue won the plaque, making Blue Fresh this session’s Color War champs. People were jumping on each other and hugging, and then within about five minutes it was on to the next thing, and behind us.

I went down to Free Swim and saw Counselor James do an epic bellyflop. When it was time for everyone to get out, the counselors started yelling “Get out of the pool! It’s lunchtime!” and diving for campers in slow-mo to pull them toward the ladders. The campers tried to dodge them and laughed, it was cute.

We had a loomster champ at lunch: Juliet Mullins. Girls’ Side created a ‘smoomster’ competition for smallest fry, which backfired when Boys’ Side Ryan Clifford won. It was announced that, after two weeks of all the campers looking for it, Evan Cook’s camouflaged water bottle was found on the golf course. All the announcements were done in cracked voices today.

I just came from the Art Shack, where cabin groups are working on their plaques. Others are packing up and getting ready for tonight’s banquet, which always includes special food Debbie and the crew have cooked, decorations by the tent girls, and Snoopy pops for dessert. Afterward, we’ll have plaque presentations, golden feather awards, and a slideshow — with music — of all the pictures from the session. As excited as I am to get home, I have a bit of a heavy heart this afternoon. I know a lot of campers feel the same about ending the session and saying goodbye until next year.

Anyway, I’ve had a lot of fun writing the blog this summer. It’s given me an excuse to eavesdrop, ask questions, get to know your kids better, and have a beautiful time. Thanks a lot for reading.

All the best, Jodi

Yesterday morning the whole camp divided into Blue Fresh and Santa’s White Fluffy Beard. Color War was announced this morning when the generals (counselors Karina, Chris, Adam, and Jordan) ran into each cabin before breakfast and painted blue or white stripes on their team members. The teams gathered in front of the dining hall to cheer and, after breakfast, decided on their names. Blue Fresh is a tribute to 2 Fresh, a band that was founded by five counselors at CTT (For a performance by 2 Fresh, see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HypsdP_ynjs). I guess Santa’s Fluffy White Beard is a tribute to Santa.

Lunch was silent, with the quietest team winning points for the meal. It’s a very exciting meal for the Admin table because we can hear each other talk. Jerry came in and said “Woohoo” before he sat down, and Glenn came in doing a little dance. Each team spent most of the time flattering the judges: writing love notes on their plates in ketchup, bowing in front of them, giving them massages. Since two of the judges have twins here at camp, it was announced that there would be points deducted for wrong twin name-calling.

This afternoon was full of meetings and competitions: Balloon Stomping, Speed Math, Powderpuff Football, Tug-O-War — always one of the highlights. Blue faced off against White at pretty much a tie, and we Adminers faced off against the counselors for fun (we won! In the counselors’ defense, I think they were a little tired)

I sat in the art shack for a while and worked on some knitting while members of each team – Albert Oriol, Camille Horan, and Kate Pantano for Santa’s White Fluffy Beard, Molly Shay, Kenna Hinton, and Sara Ginsburg for Blue Fresh — worked on their team plaques. I stopped in last night to see the progress. I don’t want to give too much away yet but there are some new twists this session that are pretty impressive.

Some announcements: The winners of the home run derby are:
For girls: Taylor Dennison
For boys: Jake Abel
For counselors: Mike Hertlein

Camper Albert Oriol beat Adminer Mark Clark in the ping pong tournament quarter finals.

Though Debbie, the cook, and I took Wednesday night off to catch up with each other (we both worked here in 96), the night’s camp play was wonderful by all accounts, with special shout outs to Joe Gillette, Kenna Hinton, Jack Parr, Sara Ginsburg, Juliet Mullins, Jake Abel and Matt Kasoff for their key performances, and of course huge thanks to counselor Karina, who made it all happen. I made it back in time for the art show afterward, which was wonderful.

In the last few days the Knitties’ projects have really come together. Both Casey and Reece Dennison bound off to make their projects into purses – they look great! And Taylor Dennison bound off her piece of yarn art.

Yesterday evening was reserved for the Apache relay, which always makes me sort of emotional. Campers are scattered two-by-two at their stations. The race stretches all over camp – down to the lake, up to the horse stables, across the main field…Each pair of campers has a task they compete in: skipping, riddle solving, football throwing, kicking field goals, hitting golf balls. This year, it kicked off with “Escaping the bus,” in which the whole team had to cooperate on getting off of one of the two buses fast. The last person off the bus was the first person to start each relay.

The race passes from camper to camper, and there are people from their team to cheer them on every step of the way. The coaches switch off at different places so they can make it through the whole relay. The judges bike alongside the action to watch the whole thing. So basically, when you see a kid running up the hill, there are about 8 people flanking them and cheering them on, plus everyone who’s waiting for them at the next station cheering them on too, and it always makes me all oogly inside.

In the end, White prevailed, with tent boy Tyler making it up the last stretch of the uphill lake road and ringing the bell. We had canteen and then scattered to get ready for initiation. Any camper who’s already been initiated meets to up the hill to get into their togas (boys in the gym and girls in the rec. hall), while any new campers/counselors gather in two cabins and wait to be surprised. The energy at the rec. hall was contagious, and I helped tie a bunch of togas and put on my own. Most of us headed down the trail to our “stations”, while a few stayed to lead the new campers. At the bell, they came down to the office and we lined them up quietly.

In silence, we led them down the path through the woods. The path was lit every several feet by ‘smudge pots’ (small fires in pots), with many of our campers standing like statues in their togas by each one. They did such an amazing job – each camper had a pose and didn’t move; everyone looked ancient. I’d love to tell you what happened after that, but the rest is a secret!

The older campers stayed up late working on their Color War stuff, and I heard them bright and early this morning practicing behind the gym and down at the pavilion. It’s pretty bittersweet to think we only have one more day.

One more blog to come, stay tuned!

Jodi

Whoa, how did it get to be July 30th? There was supposed to be a game of Find Evan Cook on the Golf Range at second free swim today, but it just started raining a few minutes ago. The trick to finding Evan Cook is that he owns this amazing camouflage suit as well as a camouflage water bottle. Although, his water bottle has been lost and no one can find it (despite the one soda reward) because no one can see it. It is similarly difficult to see Evan himself during Find Evan, but eventually he gets up and comes in for dinner.

It was an amazing day for flag football; The Purple Nurples faced off against the Red Bulls for the Superbowl at first free swim. The Purple Nurples, a true Cinderella story –who lost every game until the playoff that got them into the Superbowl– sailed to victory with much thanks to coaches Chris Brown and Jacqui Clark, and MVP Michael Springer. As usual, we brought our chairs up to sit and watch the spectacle. The rocketry class set off rockets every time a touchdown was scored, and the dance team came on after the show to do a choreographed number by counselor Myi. Counselors Ryan Hertlein (dressed up as John Madden) and Brownie commentated, detailing the game play by play and also offering funny asides and fake histories on all the campers/players, such as where they went to college and how many setbacks faced before making it to the Superbowl.

Some announcements: Brendan Arnold had the loomster today at lunch. Ashley Scheller scored a bullseye in archery and Jesse Alloy nearly tied counselor Drew Wolfe’s record of getting every arrow in Archery into the target (he only missed three). Jasmine Whims beat all of girls’ side in a game of Knockout. Quinn Morrow made a legitimate ping pong serve onto the table all the way from Riley’s play area, and Vito climbed Lord Equinox ten times in one activity period.

Just as an aside, I want to say that most of the announcements are hard to record faithfully. For example, today counselor Jason made two announcements that were just “Oh yes!” Often, people stand up and announce that admin’er Mark is doing a good job and then sit down again. Plus, there are different styles to the announcements. Today, everyone made their announcements in a “Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here!” voice. Sometimes they make their announcements as if they are asking questions, like “Today? In Riflery?” And then everyone goes “Riflery?” The Gersh brothers are known for the most over the top announcements, which usually involve running, jumping and waving their arms.

Anyway, the Ghost Court punishments were fulfilled yesterday, with a few stragglers finishing up today. Jordan Kovalsky stood in the middle of the dining hall and explained what “Nam” means. It can be something really bad–derived from “Viet Nam”, really good– derived from “Phenomenal”, and something that’s good when you expect it to be bad, but I don’t know what that’s derived from, and I still don’t really understand “Nam.” I was standing with nurse Sara when Carl Lasker came up to give her his ghost court gift– a sparkly rock he’d found–and told her she was a really good nurse. Unrelated to ghost court, there was an outbreak of pointing at lunch, where the entire boys’ side and the entire girls’ side just started pointing at each other, walked to the center of the room pointing at each other, and then stopped pointing and walked back to their seats.

Anyone who did not do their ghost court punishment was gathered up by the Judge Mookie Mobile at Free Swim. Unfortunately there was a rebellion and Judge Mookie was pushed into the pool.

In the evening we had Cheesy Skit Night. Cabin G&H did an awesome skit about Eskimos, with subtitles, and Girls’ Tent Group 2 did a funny show using rocks with smiley faces as actors, but Ug’s group, Girls’ Tent Group 3, won 3 Gouda’s from the judges with a song-filled number and came in first place.

Right now, the seasoned campers are meeting behind the gym to talk about Initiation. It’s a really beautiful night and always a secret until it happens. The actors are practicing the play. And people are talking about color war – it even made it into the Knitties talk today.

Things should be pretty exciting from here on out. See you tomorrow!

So as promised, here is a long blog! Where did we leave off? I guess it was Holiday Day and the Social on Saturday night.

So I came out of my cabin Saturday afternoon and there was a group of campers doing line dances on the rec. hall porch with noisemakers in their mouths. It was the Holiday Day New Year’s party – one of the activities they could opt to sign up for for the afternoon. It felt so random, seeing a bunch of people having a dance party in the sun. I passed some people on their way to the Cinco De Mayo tortilla wars where, apparently, they were throwing real tortillas.

There was a bigger dance Saturday night: the Valentine’s social. Lots of people had dates. Some people had six dates. Some people had dates that they never talked to except to ask them to be their dates. You know the drill. With the exception of a couple of slow songs, the DJ played the usual peppy camp favorites. Little Ethan Weinstein busted out a line dance and pretty soon the whole camp was doing it. We don’t know if he made it up or if he learned it somewhere. That kind of thing happened a lot. Everyone would look around and then someone else would start doing something random with their elbow or some kind of clapping move and soon the whole camp was doing it – every single person. Camper Joe Gillette showed me a crazy kicky dance.The whole thing was great.

The next morning was the Leadership One hike. Counselor Steve and I had campers Theresa Brecker, G’Burg, and Camille Horan in the jeep on the drive to Shenandoah National Forest. The girls gave Steve a quiz from one of their magazines on how good he was at interpreting the flirting signals of boys. Impressively, he was deemed “Master Interpreter.” We talked about other deep things on the drive, like what it would be like if we could all read each other’s minds, and whether we’d rather lose our hearing or our sight.

The hike was beautiful. We ate at the top of the mountain and several of the campers spotted a baby buzzard that they named Candace Cameron. We also saw a giant beetle that someone named Brian. We stopped at Pack’s on the way back for ice cream and Molly Shay had a sundae, a snow cone, and a root beer. On the car ride back the girls played their ipod over the car speakers and sang a few. We got back just in time for dinner.

Murder Mystery Night started early, with a performance by Counselor Ryan Hertlein in the dining hall, pretending he’d been poisoned. The campers started whispering that it was murder mystery night, and a few minutes later, after Ryan was ‘taken up to the nurse’, counselor Staci announced that it was. The campers went from station to station all over camp, finding clues about who had done it. In the end, it was discovered that counselor Jason was the culprit, poisoning Ryan because of camp’s Baltimore/Houston rivalry. Afterwards, the campers were taken to the rec. hall to watch a movie while the counselors secretly prepared for Ghost Court. They ran into the rec. hall in their ghost costumes and gathered up the campers to bring them up the hill above the golf course, where a campfire had already been started.

Judge Mookie (Mike Hertlein), who is from the underworld, presided as usual, announcing that anyone who did not do their punishments would be taken to “Judge Mookie’s punishing lair.” At one point several campers rushed the judge’s bench and Mookie chastised the ghosts, whom he calls his ‘children’ and who are supposed to protect him.

Some of the crimes and punishments that were handed out are as follows:

The girls of Cabin G were convicted of asking too many questions. At lunch today they’ll have to give their answer to the ultimate question: “What is the meaning of life?”

Jakeable was convicted of always being the last camper out of his cabin for breakfast. He had to get up this morning and stand outside the dining hall, giving everyone who walked in a “sincere, unique” compliment.

The girls of Cabin H were convicted of continually nagging to be ‘ghost courted’. They have to dress like ghosts all day today.

Alex Fang and A.J. were convicted of waking up the tent boys each morning in different annoying ways. They had to wake up and do dippies this morning.

The boys of Cabin 3 were convicted of being too cute and getting along too well. They had to dress and act like gangsters all day.

The boys Cabin 4 were convicted of going to the nurse for every little thing. Today, they each have to give a present to the nurse.

Jordan Kovalsky was convicted of using a word she made up, “nam,” all the time. Today at lunch, she has to give us a definition of “nam”, it’s origin, and has to use it in a sentence.

Julie Clark and Lauren Friedman were convicted of getting along too well with their siblings, and they must ignore them all day today.

Counselor Brownie wasn’t convicted of anything, but he is still being punished. Today he has to finish all his sentences with the words “Texas Toast.” He will also be covered in shaving cream so that the campers can throw water balloons at him.

But wait, there’s more…

Yesterday was King’s Dominion. I ran into the camper/counselor groups throughout the day and everyone looked like they were having a good time. I faced off against Glenn in a water gun race and lost. We rode the Dominator three times. On my way out, I played a quarter toss game and won a humongous stuffed dragon. Jakeable won a huge stuffed frog at the same game. Emma won a big pink fish at bowling, and brought it back for Ethan Weinstein, who spent the day with the doctor because he was feeling under the weather, but is feeling better this morning.

I made sure to get my compliment from Jakeable at breakfast. It’s a normal activity day today, which is kind of nice. All sorts of secret plans happen in the last week of camp – so it’s nice to have a couple of regular days before things get really exciting.

I’ve been out of camp all day with the Leadership One Group doing a hike, so I’m sorry this blog is going to be short! There’s a lot to cover:  the Valentine’s dance, which was awesome…today’s hike, on which we found a baby vulture we named Candace Cameron and a beetle we named Brian…Murder Mystery night…and ghost court, which is going on as I write. Plus, it’s up early in the morning for King’s Dominion.

I promise an extra long blog on Tuesday with all included, but for now I’m off to ghost court so I don’t miss  special time with Judge Mookie….

Jodi

Last night was Dance of the Decades. There are always high expectations for this night, and it did not disappoint. There was the usual number of boys dressing up as girls for the fashion show beforehand. The tent girls did a fantastic, funny dance to an 80’s medley. The Cabin 2 boys got really into their rendition of Daytripper. A-Tom rollerbladed across the stage and Max Penn threw a ‘shooting star’ in Cabin 4’s performance of AllStar. Zack Cohen played electric guitar while cabin 5 performed. But Cabins G&H won the day for their excellent choreographed dance to a medley from the 00’s. That didn’t stop the Boys’ Tents from jumping up and hugging each other when the winners were announced.

Ezra Rudman cut his long curly hair short after getting an okay from his parents. Most of the tent boys are hoping to get permission from home to do the same. A few stink bombs have been exchanged down in the tents. An upcoming game of ‘Find Evan Cook’ has been announced – Camper Evan will hide and we will find him.

Every Saturday the CIT’s run a camp service where we read poems, sing songs, and talk about a theme. Today’s theme was things we celebrate. Ethan Polk-Trauman played guitar and blew kisses for one of the sing-a-longs. The campers each wrote one thing they celebrate on a paper leaf and the leaves were used to make a tree on the rec. hall wall. Some things campers wrote:

Dinosaur Day
Family Reunions
Christmas 06 in San Diego with my family
This very moment
Onesies
Hannukah
CTT
When my Pikachu came out of my Game Boy and kissed me
When I can put on my pants without falling over
You!
Camp
Stuff
When my brother was born because I always wanted one

Campers Morgan Berry, Lexi Smith, Spencer Leibow, Matt Kasoff, Jasmine Whims, Philipp Stein, and Michael Springer got up to read little quotes about life. Everyone said things like “That’s deep.” and “So true.” when they finished, and gave them high fives. Then some campers and counselors got up to read poems they’d written. Orli Berman and Dana Marks did an interpretive dance to a poem by counselors Staci and Sarah about fireworks. Kenna Hinton and Maggie Johnson read a poem titled “Kenna and Maggie’s Poem Exclamation Point Exclamation Point Exclamation Point”. Alex Fang read his hilarious poem about all the things he celebrates. Some examples: when Riley says his name, various levels of Pikachu, Full House Marathons, and that his ipod charges in 30 minutes but plays for 2 hours.

Jerry Smith and I talked about the poems afterwards, and he said how blown away he is with what great things the campers come up with. He says it makes him think twice about the End-of-Session limericks he does every year. But we love Jerry’s limericks and the last night of camp wouldn’t be as special without them.

Finally, we launched into Holiday Day! The campers can sign up for the activities they want to go to, like: President’s Day presidential dodge ball (a president is elected and has body guards), a Halloween hike to the haunted house, Easter Egg decorating and hunt, a Passover ‘Egyptians vs. Jews’ Red Sea Game, Cinco De Mayo Tortilla Wars, Festivus Suds Wrestling, Saint Patty’s Pin the Leprechaun on the Pot o’ Gold, a New Year’s Countdown Dance Party, and Christmukkah ‘Family’ Photos with Trees/Dreidels/Sidewalk Chalk. Rumor is Santa will be making an appearance. Tonight we’ll have a Valentine’s Day Social. Thanks to counselors Steve, Conti and Sami for planning such a cool day!

Morgan Berry finished her scarf today in Knitties! We are gearing up for King’s Dominion on Monday….

More to come…

Jodi

We had a perfect night at the Winchester Royals game. It was a beautiful breezy evening, and the sun set behind the field, and the Royals actually won, although we only stayed until the 7th inning. Some counselors and campers brought signs to hold up for player #19, who is the best hitter and the best looking, and the kids did lots of songs from the bleachers. Some players came out and signed people’s Tall Timbers shirts, baseballs, etc. It all felt really old fashioned. Whenever we go out, I am really proud of our campers – they always have a good time but they’re also really well behaved. They did the wave and cheered a lot.

This morning we took Mayson and Riley down to the creek to wade in the water and skip stones.The creek runs through the valley behind camp, through a small waterfall we sometimes hike to with the campers, and on down to a beautiful river. We ran into the fishing class down by the water where, according to lunch announcements, Erin Uhlfelder caught a pine cone. We were back up at the baseball field to see part of the home run derby, which will resume on Sunday. So far, I think Jakeable is in the lead.

Tonight is Dance Through the Decades! The campers will spend rest hour, free swim, and their time after dinner picking their songs and getting dance routines together (each cabin has been assigned a decade between the 1950’s and 2000). Can’t wait to see what they come up with! It’s always one of the most fun skit nights to watch. It’s so cool to be somewhere where you see a show almost every night.

I walked past Leadership 1 group this morning while they were talking about how important it is to be a good example to the younger campers. I think they really are. It’s fun to see how the campers of different ages interact, giving each other hugs, the older kids looking out for the younger ones.  At night skits, the younger kids often lounge on the older kids, like family.

I don’t have that many announcements today: Bradley Griffith caught a fish and named it after his counselor, Adam. Ryan Hertlein will no longer be known as Mike Hertlein’s brother after running to the church (which is a really long way) and back this morning. Leadership 2 is building a picnic table and they are almost done!

More tomorrow…

Not so much to report today. It’s gorgeous out. Emma Hully and I both had camp-related dreams last night. I dreamt counselor Dean and I were fighting mobsters in pin-striped suits. Emma dreamt that Aurelien appeared on the cover of The Daily Telegraph for inventing a ‘Wind’ decathlon (a decathlon involving wind sports such as kite flying).

The Choco Tacos won last night’s activity, which was Human Board Game. It was a pretty cool set up, and the first time the activity has ever been done here at camp. Giant ‘boards’ (with spaces to land on) were set up up for Candy Land and Trouble. Teams had to roll, move spaces, and follow the directions for each space. The Choco Tacos sang their team jingle for us today at lunch.

Signups for the Homerun Derby have been announced. Brad Griffith, Rhenard Walker-Chesser, and Hunter Green cleared the mountain boarding obstacle course. In Girls’ Leagues, Olivia Seltzer was really into Gaga ball today. Molly Shay and A.J. climbed Lord Equinox using one hand. Jesse Alloy and Forest Green got bullseyes in archery. Matt Kasoff lost a tooth and everyone cheered. I forgot to announce this yesterday, but Casey Dennison rescued a canoe while kayaking for the first time. Counselor Chris Brown was drafted in the Fantasy Football Darft. Alex Fang stood in line and got his dinner completely on one foot, doing tree pose from yoga.

We’re off to see the Winchester Royals baseball game tonight!

Last night we headed to the roller rink in Winchester to get our grooves on, listen to a lot of songs from the 90’s, and wear glow-in-the-dark jewelry. I was happy to see that several of the girls had cool rainbow socks to go with their skates. Right as I hit the rink I ran into Justin Lasker, who needed help lacing his skates. We sat on the carpet and laced him up, which took forever, and just when I was sure he must be feeling really frustrated (since all the kids were already out on the rink having fun) he simply said “Thanks for helping.” What a guy.

The kids made all sorts of chains, holding hands. We pretty much had the rink to ourselves except for a couple who help to run the rink and who know how to roller skate slow dance. I went a few rounds with a few different kids. Vito and I circled a few times while we discussed which season is the most awesome. Vito said he wished it would turn winter as soon as camp is over because then he can play ice hockey, but I argued that that was a bit hasty because we would miss Halloween. In the end I think we decided we like the seasons as they are. Jasmine Whims and I worked a little bit on our backward skating.

Just as things were winding down and campers were getting out on the floor for the cha cha slide, Jesse Alloy fell and chipped his front tooth. He is fine, but it was a shock at first, and counselor Dean came over to talk to him about the time he chipped his own tooth while singing Peanut Butter and Jelly Time. Admin talked to Jesse’s parents and a dentist (former counselor Erica Patthoff) and the tooth chip is being carefully looked after by nurse Sarah.

We got home late. I heard a thunderstorm move in long after I was in bed and fell asleep to the rain, which has lasted us all day today. In honor of the rainy day, the counselors organized a Mr. and Mrs. Camp TT competition. Each cabin had to select a counselor to enter in the contest. Then they had to help that counselor succeed in the following categories: skit, swimwear, evening wear, question, and talent.

The skits told the story of why each counselor deserves to be Mr. or Mrs. CTT. Chris Brown, for instance, entered the world as a ray of sunlight – deaf, blind and mute- but learned to see from the eagles, and taught himself English before coming to camp. Jordan co-wrote Harry Potter and went to middle earth to save the fairies. Miranda learned from angel Orli Berman what camp would be like if she had never been a counselor here.

A few highlights from the talent portion: Sami and Miranda played the cups (their campers made the music), Ricky fought sharks (played by the boys of cabin 4) while scuba diving, Ryan Hertlein bench pressed the boys from his cabin to a soundtrack by Faith Hill, Eileen and the tent girls did an awesome song and dance routine to “Breaking Free,” the tent boys rapped – with a special solo by Albert Oriol, and Mike Conti built a pyramid out of his campers while laser combing his hair.

Questions ranged from “How will cultural diversity affect the economic stability of the UK?” to “If you had one wish what would it be?” to “Why?” Chris Brown answered his question by saying that “The answer to everything is me.” Mike Hertlein said he didn’t care about his question, all he cared about was disco, and then danced.

Mr. and Mrs. CTT were announced at dinner. The winners were Jordan and Ryan! Their cabins will get a pizza party tonight.

I can’t believe that I forgot to tell you we did indeed beat the world record the other day for secrets told about Dean while Dean is standing right there. Here are some secrets I learned about Dean:

Dean has two right legs.
After a car accident, he was accidentally implanted with a monkey’s heart.
He has lots of stuffed animals on his bed and most of them are angels.
That’s a wig.

Well, tonight is human board game night, and the sun is supposed to come back tomorrow….

J

The sun woke me up this morning, but by the time we all met on the gym mats for yoga the clouds were rolling in, and it started raining during breakfast. Then the sun came out again and it was a bright hot day in time for Free Swim.

Rather than regular activities, we’ve been having special ones. This morning there was an Egg Drop, where ten teams had to use things such as bubble wrap, cardboard, and foam to wrap up an egg before dropping it off the gym stairs (without breaking it). For this afternoon, campers were allowed to sign up for two major activities. I am sad to say not many of them signed up for Storytelling! But for what it’s worth, I made a Camp TT mad libs, and we will be playing something called Desert Island, in which the campers will make up characters who are stranded on a desert island and trying to get off of it by telling the most intriguing story about how they got there. Other activities include wet dodge ball (played with sponges), water polo, making bracelets/necklaces, and hiking.

Now that the Knitties have gotten the hang of knitting, we have gotten into the habit of talking a lot while we knit. Some recent topics include: riddles, ninja worms (what they are and whether they really exist), interesting anecdotes from our lives, and deep thoughts. The deepest thought of today was whether, if you are trying to get somewhere, and you are constantly closing half the distance–as in, going half,  then another half of that, and another half of that — will you ever get there? We unanimously decided that, sadly, no you will not, but that that blows our minds.

I joined some counselors for a night out last night — to have dinner and see the new Batman movie. We sat at Chipotle and talked about –what else?–camp. We talked about how it has shaped all our lives. Mushy but true. We also talked about tacos vs. burritos. We stopped at Sonic on the way home for ice cream and were served by a waitress in rollerskates. We unanimously loved the movie.

Announcements: Much to counselor Chris Brown’s chagrin, he continues to be dominated in staring contests by camper Matt Kasoff. The boys won last night’s activity, Battle of the Sexes, and gave a special shout out to camper Alex Fang this morning for his inexhaustible knowledge of pop culture. It is almost time for the Ping Pong Tournament.

I sat in the pavilion today and observed the Fantasy Football Darft, mostly so I could blog about it. I didn’t understand a thing that was going on but it was really fun to watch. There was a team at each table, led by a counselor being advised by a small group of campers on whom to draft. Volunteers Reece Dennison and counselor Sami wrote the draft picks on a huge paper on the wall, and I must say their handwriting was excellent. Each group would make it’s pick and then the other tables would find some way to tease them about it.

Rollerskating tonight!

J

Some of the best nights at camp are when things don’t go as planned. Last night the campers spread out across the fields and woods to sleep out with their cabin groups. A couple of counselors drove off in the Gator to deliver food for them to cook over their fires (only the younger campers stayed under the pavilion to eat before they left). From under the roof of the pavilion, we watched them trickle away, and the moment the last camper disappeared over the ridge, the breeze and the grey clouds came rolling in. Within ten minutes, it had started to rain, and the kids (picture about seventy of them) started appearing over the rise, sleeping bags over their heads, pouring back toward us, converging on the dining hall.

Glenn, Emma, Lynne and the counselors mobilized, organizing everyone into the dining hall for dinner. We shuttled food from the grill. The counselors made an assembly line to hand out burgers and hot dogs (since most campers were supposedly eating out; the cooks had the night off). The admin staff started talking about what the night’s activity should be. Lynne went to retrieve cabins G and H, who had decided to stick it out for dinner in the woods.

In the end, it was decided that we’d show a movie, and while the kids regrouped after eating, counselors hung blankets over all the windows of the dining hall and moved all the tables. Some other counselors put on music and had a dish doing/dance party. Every time someone brought a new stack of dishes back, they made this loud cheering noise. Later, Jacqui and I talked about how camp is like Mary Poppins because it can make doing dishes strangely enjoyable.

I came outside in time to see there was a rainbow over the dining hall. Tyler Kelly remarked that if he were a dragon he would fly over it. Everyone was in a goofy mood. I had a pillow fight with Bradley Griffith and got chased by some campers with water balloons. Finally everyone but the oldest campers disappeared into the dining hall to watch the movie. Counselor Karina and the tent girls made up a dance in the rec. hall instead. Glenn made hot pretzels. Everyone got to bed a little late, which is usual for cabin night so it was okay. Only one dedicated camper, Aurelien, showed up with the counselors for early morning yoga, while most of the regular camper/yogis slept in.

I had some nice conversations yesterday. One with Orli Berman, counselor Jane, and counselor Ryan Clifford about poetry and drawing. Orli and Ryan recited poems for us. I got to catch up with alum Sammy Brusca, who had his first year here during my last year as a counselor, in 96. The last time I saw Sammy he was the tiniest camper, and now he’s twenty – ahh! It was fun sitting on the office porch and talking about the kids and counselors from that year, like Jaime, who was an expert juggler. We also decided that we both love Seattle, even though neither of us has ever been there.

Some announcements: Alec Marks held four cups stacked on top of each other while frozen yesterday. Jakeable was the last one out of his cabin for breakfast for the second day in a row, and as a punishment he must have fun all day. If anyone sees him not having fun they are to report it to Brownie. We will be going for another Camp Tall Timbers world record today: the most secrets told about counselor Dean while Dean is standing right there. A lot of the older campers are on a rafting trip.

Talk to you tomorrow!

It’s Alumni Day and several former campers have come back for a visit. I don’t know if it was on purpose for our visitors, but the campers put on quite a show at lunch. First, Boys’ Side got up and sang You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ to Girls’ Side, then both sides did some cheers. Older Gersh (Jason) defeated younger Gersh (Adam) in Slow Fighting, Mike Hertlein had everyone sing the Yao Ming song to mark some kind of Yao Ming basketball anniversary that I don’t really understand. Boys’ side did Peanut Butter and Jelly Time.

Some announcements: Brady Osterman and Hunter Green overcame the Mountainboarding Obstacle Course. Casey Harvey, Caroline Harvey, and Reece Dennison finished their knitting projects and Reece held hers (a belt) up in front of the whole camp at lunch today for cheers. Philipp Stein caught his first fish. Two people won a coveted soda from counselor Kevin for defeating his climbing path: counselor Chris Brown and camper A.J. Roshfeld. Steven Miller got a bullseye and Ridge Green got a balloon in archery. Georgia Oriol is standing here beside me and wants everyone to know she climbed Lord Equinox awhile ago, in case I didn’t put it in the blog before.

Last night, we had Gladiator commercials before the Social. Each team had to do a commercial showing why their Gladiator was the best one. Ian Berry narrated the life story of the Lone Knitter, Dana Marx was the commentator on Moose (who broke loose at a moose show). Counselor Chris Brown, as the Dominator, dominated in such areas as creating world peace, making everyone 19 again, and solving poverty and hunger.

The Social started and, after I successfully scared my niece away with my uncool dancing, nurse Sarah and I walked down to the pool and created a synchronized swimming routine. We swam until it got dark and walked back up the hill as the Social was winding down. I sat on the grass after Sarah went inside and just listened to the music while the last bit of light faded, thinking about the socials we had when I was a counselor, and how the music is different but the whole vibe is the same. It’s the campers’ time to dress up a little bit, dance, sometimes with someone they ‘like’, and mingle. I have lots of fond memories of those nights, and it’s sort of strange and nice to sit on the grass quietly when you know that, up the hill, campers are having these nights that they will probably always remember.

Counselor Ryan Clifford is trying to get over 50 people to write I Heart RC on their hands. Joe Gillette, Georgia Oriol, Taylor Dennison, Merce Vilanova, Molly Shay, Jamie Alloy, and Theresa Brecker came to Knitties and revealed that they are all members. 32 people have joined so far.

I caught up with Renee Brodsky, who was a camper, met her husband here, and was also ‘camp mom’ back when I was a counselor. She and her friends created the Friends Friends Friends song, which has made a huge comeback recently. I got to talk to alumni (and camper moms) Lori Friedman and Jill Ginsburg too. They were saying how hard it is to express to people who’ve never been what camp really is. It’s like this long vacation but also this exceptional life experience that stays with you. I was saying that I wished I could put it better but I don’t know how!

Anyway, cabins are sleeping out tonight!

Later skaters….

J

It was a hot one yesterday so our afternoon activities were shortened and we all headed to the pool for a pool party. A couple of the counselors (Mike Hertlein and Jacqui) sat by the diving board and handed out questions to the campers as they jumped off the diving board like: Monkeys or chickens? Red or blue? Are you cold? Which came first, the chicken or the egg? So many of the counselors spend time that could be ‘breaks’ for them making up games for the kids – you see it all day long.

At dinner, I learned that on most days, with very little fanfare, Molly Shay and counselor Dean Lawless have a pbj eating competition. This involves eating their pbj’s into different shapes (for example, a triangle, or – like yesterday – a football), then having a judge decide whose shape is most accurate. I was asked to judge yesterday, and Molly won for artistry by saving her crust to use as the lacing on top of the football. Go Molly!

Mealtime announcements: There were bullseyes in archery from Caroline Harvey, Emily Morrow, and Taylor and Casey Dennison. For the first time in memorable history there was a loomster tie, and everyone shouted “loomstersssss”. Counselor Kevin offered to buy a soda for any camper who can complete his new path on the climbing wall. In boys’ leagues, the boys “learned how to run.” Sydney Alloy caught a fish. The first Fantasy Football Darft (not draft) is coming up next week. Aurelien Vitet ate a 6 decker pbj at lunch, Philipp Stein spilled 6 icecubes and Zack Cohen received 6 pieces of mail. The Yellow Polka-dotted Hippopotamice (YPHs) defeated the Purple Nurples in flag football. Max Penn was carried into the dining hall by two counselors for his birthday: they made a chair out of their arms, walked him in, and held him up while he ordered his food. Of course, we sang to him and he skipped around the room.

Last night’s skit was Movie in a Minute. Each cabin had a movie to act out in a brief amount of time. Some notable performances: Girls Tent Group 2 did The Lion King, with Molly Shay as Simba and Maggie Johnson as the spirit of Simba’s father calling out to him from the back row of the audience. Vito starred as Princess Leia in Cabin 5’s Star Wars. Tent Group 3 did Titanic, with Torie Seltzer wrapped in a white sheet as the iceberg. Cabin 7 did the movie 300, with Michael Springer as Leonidas. The Boys Tents did Beauty and the Beast, with Belle played by Ezra Rudman and the Beast played by Johnny Reno.

Even though the day was hot, it was another cool, gorgeous night and the older campers lingered on the grass and by the porch as usual for a little chill out time before bed. The counselors usually sit on the porches outside their cabins after the kids have gone to sleep, spread out blankets and talk. It’s really peaceful.

Camp is a good combination of tradition and variety. There are never too many ‘normal’ activity days in a row before there’s something special to interrupt them, like a trip outside camp or, for instance, Saturdays. As usual for a Saturday, we started out with a late wake up and cinnamon rolls. And then it was announced that today is Gladiator Day. The kids were divided into teams and started getting ready for the day’s events. I walked down to the creek with Riley and Mayson and their babysitter Kim, and we waded and caught crawfish in our buckets. It was a refreshing morning.

We’ll have a Saturday night social tonight up at the basketball courts.

More tomorrow!

Jodi

Yesterday afternoon the camp went to a place called Trout Pond for a landmark day of swimming, lying on the beach, and a big cookout. Camp has been going back to Trout Pond for as long as I can remember – I spent a couple of memorable days there as a counselor, getting buried in the sand by my campers, playing volleyball, etc. This time, I decided to stay back and run some errands in Winchester (including picking up more needles for Knitties), and when I got back, I had the whole camp to myself. I started to think about Cropsy, the camp monster.

The full moon was just rising and I was sitting on the porch writing and trying not to think about Cropsy when the buses came rolling into camp. The campers were all singing really loudly and they came pouring out of the buses. The tent girls had their radio playing and started dancing around in a circle with counselors Sami and Miranda the younger kids headed straight for their cabins for bed. Everyone seemed so relaxed and wound up at the same time; some of the people from the two separate buses were hugging each other as if they hadn’t just spent the whole day together, and the counselors I asked said it had been a really great day. And then it was striking how quickly everyone went from jumping around and socializing to suddenly moving off to their tents. Most everyone must have conked out, because within about twenty minutes the camp was mostly silent and most lights were out and I was standing on the porch without anything to do. I talked Kim, who looks after Riley and Mason, into a game of Pass the Pigs, and then reluctantly went off to bed.

Prompted by the temporary emptiness of the camp, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge the camp TT critters. There is Sushi, the tiny dog, and Gabby, the big dog. There are robins who come out and roll in the dirt of the baseball diamond when there are no kids around. There is a skunk who lives under the shed at the top of the hill but has yet to show himself. There are deer. Last night, before the campers got back, I came across a doe and her baby grazing in the field above the pool – the mama stamped her foot at me and then they ran away. Counselor Nicole said she, too, woke up to see a couple of deer by her tent last night. I have a big exotic bug in my cabin who crawled up onto my nightstand this morning and just sat and looked at me while I was cleaning my room, though generally my cabin has been bug free! Of course, there are the tons of fireflies that come out at dusk and float everywhere.

I don’t have a lot of announcements except that there is a new kind of announcement in which the girls follow everything their counselors announce with the word “Ladies” and the guys, in response, say the word “Men.” It was announced that Evan Cook knows an awesome game called “the pen game” and is willing to give lessons. Counselor brothers Jason and Adam Gershowitz pulled their pants up high for their announcements but I did not understand what they said .

There is talk bubbling of this Saturday’s activity – Presidential Election Day. I wonder if you find this as mysterious as I do. We are wondering what activities such a day might include, but the organizers are keeping it under wraps. If you’d like to throw out any theories, let me know.

J

Here are some mealtime announcements from the past 24 hours! Justin Fribush, Spencer Leibow, Casey Dennison, Rhenard Walker-Chesser and Zack Cohen won the scavenger hunt in hiking. Evan Cook and Emily Jaffe got bullseyes in archery. Joe Gillette chipped a golf ball into a bucket. Brady Osterman, Ethan Polk-Trauman, Taylor Dennison, Nathan Long and Spencer Leibow found a frog and named it Freddie. Leadership One learned to think outside the box. The Red Bulls beat the Purple Nurples in flag football. Ethan Polk-Trauman was recognized as being ‘the toughest camper’ (as in, the person who always wants to keep playing or doing an activity, no matter what) and was available to sign autographs in the pavilion after breakfast. The world record for biggest imaginary tea party was set at Free Swim yesterday, when fifty-five campers showed up to hold invisible cups (with pinkies pointed), pass the strawberry jam, and talk about politics in British accents.

It’s 10 am and counselor Myi is teaching her famous, crazy aerobics class next door in the gym. There’s disco music playing and the tent girls are yelling out with the moves they’re doing. Myi’s class has become well known because it’s run like boot camp (lite), with Myi hollering and getting everyone siked up. It’s mostly the older girls who take the class, and they love it. I just went over and peeked at them and am pretty amazed that they have so much energy at 10 in the morning.

It was a full activity day yesterday. I joined  Jacqui and Jane’s writing class and got to interview Olivia Seltzer with ten questions I made up myself. It was cool learning about Olivia. She said that if she could be anything or anyone other than who she was she would be a tree. Also in the class were Olivia Winston, Carolyn Harvey, my niece Emily VanDerSluys, Casey Harvey,  Merce Soler Vilanova, Torie Seltzer, and Maria Nupponen Camprecios. Knitties, which is growing fast (!), welcomed its first male knitter, Nathan Long. The Knitties are turning out to be very dedicated, and taking their knitting with them to do throughout the day.

In the afternoon I saw some of the tent campers walk, one by one, to the middle of the field and flop onto their backs to look at the clouds. I sat on my hammock for awhile and did the same thing. I really like the simple conversations that people have at camp. I overheard counselor Mike Hertlein say that he always calls dogs ‘puppies’ and cats ‘kitties’. That is pretty typical of the kinds of talks people have here. It’s pretty hard to picture from somewhere else, I think, just how simple it is.

It was cabin night last night. For those of you who don’t know, it’s a really mellow night on which each cabin gets to choose something to do on their own. In know I’m always saying this about everything but it really is one of my favorite camp nights. One group went down to the pool for the evening. A couple of groups had campfires at spots on the grounds that they picked. One cabin chose to do arts and crafts. I joined Girls’ Tent Group 1 for a spa night on the rec. hall porch. Counselors Nicole and Staci made several different bowls of face masks and foot scrubs (out of sugar, oatmeal, honey, stuff like that), made lemonade, and put on some relaxing music. We watched a movie, painted our nails, and chatted. After the younger campers went off to bed, the older campers gathered on the porch in a big knot and just joked around until their 10 o’clock curfew. We may have had our biggest early morning yoga class yet today, with almost twenty people (about half guys and half girls) showing up to welcome the day zen-style.

Something I’ve been thinking about since the second session started is how much the campers *make* camp. I know it’s a no-brainer but it’s been on my mind more than usual lately. Second session is definitely different than first session, and I’m sure third session is really different as well. Each one is great, but in it’s own distinct way. It makes me think about how so much of what camp feels like comes from who the campers are and what they are willing to share with us. For example… (Stop me if you’ve heard this before)! When I was a counselor, we had a boy named John. He was maybe eleven or twelve.  One night some of his cabin mates found out his middle name was Whipple, and started calling him that. Everywhere you went in camp that session, you could hear people calling “Whipppulllllll!” out to him when they passed him. He became this huge celebrity. He even made a guest star appearance in the Color War cheer. And he obviously loved it. My old friends from camp and I still talk about Whipple from time to time and what a cool kid he was and how we’re pretty sure he had one of the summers of his life thanks to being ‘The Whipple.’ (Hey John Whipple, if you’re out there, write me at [email protected] and let me know!) Anyway, my point is, when I think about that summer the things that stand out most are people like the Whipple, and the girls I had in my cabin (I can remember them as well as if I saw them last week!), and the spontaneous, random stuff that came from people just acting like themselves.

Anyway, it’s a trip to Trout Pond today – with swimming and a cookout.

More tomorrow!

Jodi

Okay, so where did we leave off?

At lunch yesterday, a chant started up near the windows closest to the driveway. It began with just one or two counselors chanting ‘Jordan’ and then got bigger and bigger, though most of us didn’t know why until camper Jordan Kovalsky came through the double doors. She had arrived a couple of days late, and a bunch of people jumped up to hug her. It’s so cool how often the campers get to be stars here. It’s one of the things I like about the size of our camp.

I haven’t mentioned it so far this year, but most cabins have a system for deciding who cleans the table at meals, and it’s called Freeze. The counselors have the kids freeze in the middle of what they are doing, and then try to make them laugh or move in some other way. Sometimes it involves everyone standing on their chairs. I noticed them doing Freeze yesterday and realized I hadn’t mentioned it!

A few announcements. At breakfast this morning, Albert Oriol was recognized for spilling 99 fruit loops – the most fruit loops anyone has spilled so far this year. Erin Uhlfelder kicked a field goal. Ethan Weinstein caught two paddleboats and his first fish in Fishing. Marley Smith and Emily Morrow conquered Lord Equinox (one of the climbing walls – the other is Sir Halifax). At archery, Kate Pantano, Jordan Kovalsky, and Noah Meltzer won in knockout. The Lexi’s (Cohen and Smith) parked a paddleboat backwards. And Georgia Oriol acquired a middle name for the first time ever – Harriet.

The afternoon was spent in ‘A Day’ activities. After dinner I joined an impromptu game (with no name, half made up on the spot) in the baseball diamond. It started out with a few of the younger boys and slowly pulled in about twenty campers. It involved everyone being assigned a number and catching the ball when their number was called, and it pretty much made no sense and had no object, but everyone seemed really excited to play..We were good and sweaty by the time the bell rang for the evening’s activity…Pool Party!

It really did feel like a party. We had great music, played water polo (some of the counselors vs. a ton of kids), took turns off the diving board, and at one point everyone in the pool held hands and made a whirlpool. A few smaller kids swarmed counselor Ryan Clifford to be popped up in the air like little balls. The kids who didn’t want to swim set up their towels on the grass like it was a beach and hung out, talked, read…Finally the kids headed into their cabins for hot showers and to wind down for bed. The oldest campers stayed up a bit later and hung out on the office porch. It was a nice chilly night, and I popped into the doctor’s house to see if they had anything good to read, and then curled under my covers with a mystery. This morning is sunny and breezy.

Campers who showed up at early yoga include James Winston, Justin Fribush, Forest Green, Jack Parr (Vito) and Quinn Morrow. At breakfast, counselor Dean stood up to announce we will be trying to set some records for the Camp TT World Record book this session. The first will be for the biggest imaginary tea party, which will be held in the pavilion at Free Swim. British accents will be used.

My cabin is in such a great spot. As I’ve been writing this I’ve seen mountain bikers going up and down the drive, campers walking to their activities, people practicing the Camp TT hug, a robin looking for worms, the photography class looking around for good shots, and a few people checking out the hummingbird nest in front of the nurse’s house. I can also hear the campers learning the music for the camp play.

Tonight’s cabin night, where each cabin spends doing an activity of their choice (usually camping).

Gotta go, tea party time!

J

It is great to see a new group of campers so excited to be back at camp. All yesterday afternoon, the tent girls kept passing by me with a radio, singing loudly, with their arms around each other. Weatherwise, it was a perfect day. There’s so much to blog about I don’t know where to start. Maybe with announcements.

In baseball, Aurelien Vitet scored a homerun and Justin Fribush got a web gem. I don’t know what a web gem is but I am told it’s impressive so yay! It was announced at mealtime that Glenn got a haircut and counselor Dean shaved his mustache. Jakeable beat counselor Sami in ping pong. Ethan Weinstein, Carl Lasker, and Max Penn each got six skips across the water in skipping stones. Kenna Hinton and Molly Shay kept their arms around each other for a record of 1 hour 18 minutes 14 seconds and 82 milliseconds yesterday afternoon. Spencer did 4 back flips underwater and Justin did 3 front ones.

I spent a lot of the morning yesterday visiting with the different activities (it was a ‘sampler’ day, while kids picked what they wanted to do and sorted out their schedules) and taking pictures. Counselors Brenna and Chris let me have a go at mountainboarding up on the golf course, which was fantastic. It was my first chance to really talk to Brenna, who is from New Zealand and has a really cool accent. A bunch of the girls gathered in the gym to practice their dining hall cheers. Later, a bunch of counselors and kids gathered on the office porch and we just sat and talked. Sara Ginsburg (G-burg) asked me to put her in the blog for no reason in particular.

At rest hour (after lunch) we had our first official meeting of the Knitties. The Knitties will gather every day to knit scarves and headbands. Casey, Reece, and Taylor Dennison came, as well as Sydney Alloy, and special guest Brad Griffith (who didn’t knit, but sat and talked with us).

The evening activity was a campfire and s’mores down at the lake. The kids were divided into groups to make up skits in which they ‘saved camp’ from something. Some of the things that camp was saved from: Ben Affleck, Dinosaurs, Ninjas, Martians, and Gambling. Meanwhile, Emma Hully continued to knit the scarf she started last session. Brownie led a workshop on how to give a camp Tall Timbers hug, with counselors James and Ryan demonstrating the elements of eye contact, bending in the right direction, and the “double back pat.” Then all the campers had to give each other hugs. Anyone who didn’t get a hug (like counselor Steve Friedman) was tackled and hugged by several people.

Counselor James teamed up with camper Ethan Polk-Trauman to play House of the Rising Sun on the guitar, using three chords Ethan had only learned that morning! Then counselor Jason and camper Matt Kasoff played the next and led a singalong. G-burg and Juliet Mullins got up and sang.

The moon was so bright over the lake, and when Glenn, Emma and I left the campfire, we didn’t need a flashlight to get up the hill. Usually at night the fireflies float over the water, and a couple of bullfrogs (named Mario and Guiseppe) pipe in. It is really a sight to behold.

This morning, a bunch of counselors and campers showed up for 7:15 yoga. Some of them went on to join the Dippies afterward for a fully packed morning. After breakfast, Doctor Lee and his son, Nathan, discovered a hummingbird nest in front of the nurse’s house and have kindly offered to lead campers up to see it after lunch.

Later potaters…!

J

Hi. I know you are logging on to get the first update on your kids since they arrived, but first I have to tell you that as I’m sitting to write this, a humming bird just flew into my cabin, hovered above my bed, looked at me, and then turned and flew outside again. Whoa.

ANYWAY. The new campers arrived yesterday, all within a couple of hours of each other, on buses, in vans and in cars. I haven’t been around for the beginning of a session here since I was a teenager, and it was fun to see the kids hugging and greeting each other.You could see the new campers arriving with a bit of trepidation, and even some younger campers from last year not sure if they’d be remembered, and then sidling up to each other and hugging, and then quickly falling back into their old grooves, or starting new ones. Several kids hit the ping pong tables and the tether ball.

A big rain cloud drifted over camp shortly after everyone arrived, and a bunch of kids corralled under the pavilion to catch up, others darting back to their cabins and get settled. Ethan Weinstein came up onto the porch with me, Lynne, and Emma as we studied a bizarrely friendly lizard and Emma tried to look up what kind it was in her reptile book. Finally, I went to visit Cabin G – with Olivia Seltzer, Lexi Cohen, Lexi Smith and my niece, Emily VanDerSluys. The rain was beating on the roof but the cabin was cozy and peaceful, and the girls already seemed at home with each other again, listening to music and writing letters. I talked to their counselor, Anna, for the first time. She’s from Ireland, and teaches tennis, and is really lovely.

The counselors organized a bunch of get-to-know each other activities in the rec. hall and the gym. The kids went from one activity to the next, doing things like rhyming games and cat and mouse to break the ice. Finally, after dinner, we gathered for Activity Skits, where the counselors showcase the activities they teach in funny ways, so that campers can get a taste of what there is on offer before they sign up for their schedules. Several of the skits involved volunteers. Jasmine Whims and Jake Abel (Jakeable) joined in on a skit about acting. In one skit, a few of the counselors took the smallest boy campers and pretended to paint with them. Counselor Dean read a poem about a chocolate volcano as counselors Jacqui and Jane acted it out. We all had sundaes afterward down at the pavilion, sat on the tables and talked.

I was sitting on the office porch this morning when Ethan Weinstein came running out and yelled “Swimmies!” really loudly. The other boys looked at him for a minute, he said “Oh, I mean Dippies,” and then they ran off for the pool. It was really cute and funny. The Dippies – a club which includes anyone who wants to join – get up and jump in the pool at first bell every morning, without fail. They are not to be confused with the Sleepies who, in theory, sit up, yell “Sleepies!”, and then go back to sleep (really, they usually just sleep).

The first few days of a session are a really interesting time to watch the counselors take the lead and build a positive foundation for the campers. In these first few, especially, I think the kids get a strong message from the counselors that they are really free to be themselves with each other. For instance, today Brownie got up and made half of his morning announcement in gibberish, and then the other counselors led everyone in clapping for him. It’s one of the things that sticks out the most for me about this camp – this constant support for each other, and obviously the counselors play a huge part in setting that tone. I could already see some of the new campers this morning becoming more outgoing and excited– there’s this strong signal that whatever they have the courage to express is going to be welcomed and- a lot of times – cheered.

I think I talked about this last year…that for the kids, being around the counselors here seems to me a lot like being around an older sibling who’s always willing to play with them and give them time that they want and be really positive for and about them. Even this first morning, while everyone is busy picking their schedules in the dining hall, I’ve seen counselors and campers walking across the field having cool little talks, or getting involved in some game. I was never a camper but a lot of times I wish I had been!

Well, I said this in my first session blog, but for those of you who didn’t read it…I am open to questions to survey the campers with. If you have something you’d really like to know about camp, like “Have you ever had a hummingbird come into your cabin and stare at you?” or “What is your favorite meal?” or “What’s better, Dippies or Sleepies?” send your question to [email protected]. I’ll take the funniest and most interesting questions and survey the campers.

More tomorrow!

Jodi

So, last night we had the handing out of the golden feathers, Soap box (where each camper gets to come up to the microphone and say a few words, if they want to), Glenn and Jerry’s famous limericks, and our slideshow.  We sat on the rec hall porch and everyone was quieter than usual. One of the most memorable moments for me was when the youngest campers got up and talked about what it was like for them to first get to camp – how they hadn’t known what to expect – and how they felt about it now. One of them said something like “And now I’m like YAY.”

This morning I woke up at 7:30 and walked out onto the road, assuming I was one of the early risers until I saw a whole bunch of campers gathered under the pavilion. It was hard to believe, after all this time with them, that they could be that quiet! The last day is a hard day – with people excited to go home but sad to leave. I think for many people camp becomes their second home. It’s always difficult to see everyone get on the bus.

At breakfast, Dean announced that Ian Lever is the ping pong champion for the third year in a row. The boys sang Leaving on a Jet Plane to the girls (and each other) and occasionally the girls joined in. There was the loudest rendition of “Peanut Butter and Jelly Time” I’ve ever heard. And everyone sang “Friends, Friends, Friends,” the Camp Tall Timbers song.

The buses are just arriving now, so I’m going to run.I’ll be back tomorrow to blog about second session. Thanks to all the first session parents for reading, and see you next year!

J

10:10 am

So it’s the most beautiful day I’ve seen at camp so far. Yesterday was warm and breezy, and as soon as the sun went down it got cool enough to curl up in a blanket and sit on the office porch. This morning I rolled out of bed to do yoga, only to find Billy Mathis’ Pearly White Smile (aka the white team) practicing their team song on the gym mats. Frankly, I was feeling lazy, and happy that I could go sit on Nurse Sue’s porch and drink coffee and have a chat instead – the air was so cool and the sun was shining and it felt so nice.  We used a clothes hanger to retrieve Sue’s keys from under the porch, where she’d dropped them a couple of days ago, then we sat and watched Glenn playing tennis with his kids, Mason and Riley.  I thought about my little apartment in D.C. and how, when I go back, I won’t wake up to porch-sitting and birds chirping. I read something last night about some summers being so long and lovely they fool you into forgetting there’s a winter, and I could definitely see that happening here.

So, on to bigger things. Yesterday, the early afternoon was taken up by team competitions like Keepy-Uppies (bouncing balls on your head), Dodge Ball, and water sports. Those of you who read my blog last year will know of my deep love for synchronized swimming, and the teams did not disappoint this year.  Things then progressed to the bigger, more elemental Color War competitions: Tug-O-War and the Apache Relay. Admin’er Mark stopped me in the middle of what I was doing and told me I was not going to want to miss the Tug-O-War. When I got up to the top of the hill I got why. Each team arrives ceremonially, taking it’s turn to walk up the hill in a procession, chanting.

The white team had a drum. The Blues — The Magnificent Participants — ended up dominating that part of the war – winning every time. But The Pearly Whites turned it around at the Apache Relay. Rodrigo (the guy who came to help with the boys from Spain) and I were playing tennis when the first racers shot past. Over the course of the relay they went by us a couple more times- skipping, biking — and each time Rodrigo and I shot to the fence and rooted for our teams. One of the things that’s so cool about the relay is that each kid volunteers to do something they think they can do (hoola hoop, volley ball, skipping,…), and for that bit of time, the whole race depends on them. So when they are racing up the hill or in some remote part of the relay (it goes all the way through the back trail through camp, by the lake), it’s cool to be able to shout them on. I didn’t see one camper not giving it their all. Color War always surprises me that way. Everyone — everyone – really cares about their team.  In the end, it was the Pearly Whites who made it up the last hill and to the bell.

The judges – counselors Mike Hertlein, Jane, and Ricky –are being massaged, fed, and flattered at all meals Today, Mike Conti even rubbed Mike Hertlein’s calves, and when the judges made announcements and asked if there were any questions, Brownie asked why the judges were so good looking.

For the first time, I didn’t go to Initiation, but instead sat on the office porch to watch all the experienced campers trail out onto the lawn in their togas so they could lead the newbies down into the woods for the secret ceremony. Everyone is included in initiation- our new cooks, the admin’ers….so the whole camp disappeared down the trail with their torches and I just enjoyed the beautiful night and practiced my star navigating skills.

When I moved up to my own porch, and the campers had all finally returned and settled for the night, admin’er Lynne and I sat for just a few minutes and talked about how camp makes you forget there’s anything going on anywhere else, and what a nice change that is from normal life. Anyway, some of the older campers stayed up to work on their banners until about 11:30, when everything finally got really quiet.

Waiting to see how the day unfolds…only a few more activities until a winner is announced!

12:05 pm:

So the winner of Color War has been decided! Wait for it, wait for it…

This morning we had camp clean-up, and then the teams gathered to practice one last time for their skits and songs, while others gathered in the art shack to finish their team banners. At the bell, we gathered on the rec. hall porch to watch each team’s performance.

The Pearly Whites did a skit in which they enacted many of the amazing feats of former counselor Billy Mathis (but not all, because there are too many to count), reminding everyone that on top of being many wonderful things, Billy was also accomplished in origami and loved the rodeo. The Magnificent Particpants did a skit about Magpar Bars, which do amazing things for the people who eat them. Each team revealed a banner: they were both gorgeous, and Nurse Sue and I just looked at each other and then talked about how we couldn’t believe how elaborate and impressive they are, session after session. Then each team did a song. The judges disappeared into the rec. hall for what seemed like ages, while the Pearly Whites corraled themselves behind the closed doors of the gym and the Magpars huddled on the porch to wai, each team gathered in a knot for pep talks. Finally, the judges came out, and Mike announced the winner: The Pearly Whites!

The Pearly Whites went crazy of course, and then a pool peace party was announced. On the way down the hill, I heard a lot of the white team campers complimenting the blue team campers on their banners and songs, and vice versa – it was really sweet.

Well, I guess you first session families will see your campers tomorrow. I know everyone’s excited to see their loved ones! I will blog one more time tomorrow about our last night together…

xo

J

Color War descended on Camp TT last night. I’m sitting on my hammock to write this, and the white team is gathered down by the dining hall practicing their chants, while the blue is practicing up in the gym. They are picking team names and getting groups together to work on their banners and songs, which will be revealed at the end of the war. Many of them are chanting “What would Billy do?” in honor of Billy Mathis.

To get everyone up to speed: The Purple Nurples faced off against the Orange Crush at Free Swim yesterday afternoon for Superbowl IV. Mike Conti and Dean Lawless commentated, counselors Spanky, Ryan, and Jacqui coached, and Emma, Mike Hertlein and Brownie refereed, while a bunch of us sat on the sidelines and cheered. It was a fantastic game. Myi’s cheerleaders did all sorts of excellent cheerleady stuff. And here’s how the final action unfolded (I’ll do my best to explain this in a legitimately sporty way): In the last minute and a half, Tucker Sullivan completed a touchdown to bring the Purple Nurples up to 24, right behind the Orange Crush with 28 points. However, it wasn’t enough to snatch the victory. The Orange Crush held onto their four-point lead until the closing whistle, then started jumping on each other and hugging, gathering around their trophy. They sprayed bottles of sparkling apple juice all over themselves, and Nick Kracov was voted MVP for throwing four touchdowns. Awesome!

There was a spaghetti-eating competition at dinner featuring three teams of siblings: the Gersh’s, the Wolfes and the Hertleins. One sibling held the spaghetti while the other ate straight out of their hands. The Hertleins won.

After dinner, we all waited eagerly for the play. I could hear the actors doing their last rehearsal in the rec. hall, and as I walked past, I saw them in a circle holding hands and having a pep talk. A minute later they came running out onto the deck in their 50’s costumes and perched on the railing, yelling across the field for the bell to ring. The whole camp converged onto the hall, where we squeezed inside and, after a few minutes, quieted down.

The actors came in one by one, snapping their fingers, and It Happened at the Snack Bar was off to a great start. There were excellent solos by Maddie Lawrence, Alyssa Mendelson, and Kenna Hinton. Maddie and counselor Chris shared a duet. Tori Kovelman and Eric Morrel played a frosh and an upperclassman in love. Julz Meier and Jake Shapiro played two martians who come and teach everyone a crazy martian song. A few of the boys (Grant Amar, Ben Mendehlson, Eric Morrell, Mike Hertlein and Chris Brown–led by Quinn Morrow and James Winston) sang a funny song about wanting cool cars. Olivia Seltzer, Nicole Sullivan, Tori, and Hannah Rosen did a song about being freshman girls.

Lots more music and too many funny bits to mention followed. Halfway through the last song, with the whole cast singing, the backup music on the stereo happened to cut out, and the cast finished the rest of the song a cappella, louder and with even more energy than before. It was a great moment. We’re grateful to counselor Karina, the whole cast (including several counselors who joined in), and everyone who helped paint the set for making the play such a success.

It was dark by the time the show was over, and we poured out of the rec. hall and into the gym for the art show. The lights suddenly went out and the ‘ghosts’ rushed in. The kids started jumping up and down and screaming, because everyone knew, it was time for ghost court.

Ghost court is a special tradition at camp. I don’t want to give too much away about how it all goes down, but it’s all about crime and punishment, and a spooky character called Judge Mookie. This session’s crimes and punishments are as follows:

The boys of Cabin B: For using their cabin as a sports arena, they must now practice etiquette and politeness throughout the day by speaking in a British accent, and asking their cabin each time they want to go inside “Sir, may I enter?”

The girls of tent group 1: As punishment for never going to bed on time, they will have to help put the girls of cabins A and B to bed tonight.

Cabins 7 and 8 (called Cabin Seventy-Eight): For talking about girls too much, they must talk only about math and science when they’re in their cabins today.

Olivia Seltzer: For discriminating against ice in her drinks, she must write a formal apology to all ice everywhere. It must be sincere, and she must read it to the dining hall at lunch.

Cabins 1, A and B: For asking too many questions, they must not ask any questions for a whole day, and answer every question anyone asks them with “Because you said so.”

The girls of cabin H: These girls were convicted of not knowing how to share.  They must each write one reason why sharing is good on a shared piece of paper with a shared pen, and recite these reasons at lunch. They also must each share a piece of clothing today. Incidentally, Judge Mookie says that he has three rules in life and one of them is that sharing is cool. He didn’t get to the other two.

The boys of cabin 2: For being too studly and muffiny for their own good, much like greek gods, their punishment is to rename themselves after greek gods for the day.

The boys of cabin 4: For being chatterboxes, they had to find boxes to put on their heads, then make eyeholes, write chatter on the top, and wear these boxes for most of the day.

The girls of cabin G: For having a tendency to be negative, they must start out with a compliment each time they speak to anyone today.

The Jaffe twins: For being twins but being completely opposite, they have to answer all questions for each other today.

The boys’ tents: For being lazy and not very Billy Mathis-like, each of these guys have  to stand up at lunch today and say why camp is the best place on earth.

(James Teasley) Tiz: For having a beard. Today he must paint his beard the brightest color he can find.

The CIT 2’s: For constantly oversleeping (Judge Mookie mentioned that he himself is an early riser), they had to serve breakfast this morning, and say to every person “And a good morning to you, too.”

Counselor Chris Brown: For not being the famous, dancing Chris Brown from MTV. Today at lunch he must perform a choreographed number to Fergie’s “My Humps.”

Finally, four counselors–Ryan Hertlein, Eileen, Steve  and Staci–were called up to the front of the court, accused of having too much energy and of being…Color War Generals! The four ripped off their regular clothes to reveal blue and white clothes underneath, the ghosts spun their flashlights around like strobes, and the campers went crazy, jumping up and swarming around the generals. Those who have been to camp before and knew what team they would be on (14 years after I was in my first color war, I’m still a white) started chanting for their teams. After playing some loud music, the generals started announcing team members over the mic and everyone cheered for each name. I walked off before they were done.  From the opposite hill you could see all these shadows dancing around across the way. Eventually I got into bed in my cabin and listened to them all trail home in a giant group, singing and chanting.

Phew, a long blog….More tomorrow!

Jodi

Yesterday at dinner, Cesar Saracho got the fancy spoon. There is one spoon in the camp’s batch of silverware that is fancier than the others and whenever anyone gets it we chant Fancy Spoon. The fancy spoon chant morphed into the Texas Toast vs. Fat Bread chant. Some people want it to be called Texas Toast and some want it to be called Fat Bread and there is often a camp-wide feud about it at lunchtime. We have a few Texans who are genetically biased. Debbie the cook had to intervene and bring things to a close.

I spent last night with the ‘survivors’, led by counselor Jason Gershowitz,  on an overnight trip that had been postponed from a few days before. The group included Michael Gross, Zack Wagshal, Becca Dreizen, Stephanie Bronfein, Abby Molofsky, Julz Meier, and Ethan Ebinger. Most of the rest of camp had Monte Carlo night in the gym.

We slept in lean-to’s that Jason, who is an Eagle Scout, taught us how to build. We also made hot cocoa using water the group had collected in a handmade still, and purified by boiling (over a fire we started with flint, steel, and magnesium). Jason led us out onto the golf course to show us how to navigate by the stars. We also sat around the fire and talked about knots and other survival skills, and then just sat for a long time and joked around. I wish I’d had a tape recorder, because the kids were just cracking me up. Jason told us about some cool experiences he’s had as an Eagle Scout. We had s’mores and finally got sleepy around midnight.

We were all camped close enough to hear each other, but far enough away that we felt like we were ‘surviving alone.’ It was really strange crawling into my lean-to in the dark to go to sleep, listening to the animals and insects and looking up at the trees. Nobody complained about the bugs or the dirt, and everyone seemed pretty excited to sleep in something they’d built. It rained a little in the night and Stef said it was so cool to be lying there and listening but not getting wet. We dismantled our lean-to’s this morning, leaving the woods like we found them.

It is supposed to be our last overcast day at camp. This morning we emerged from the trees onto the golf course and the sun was shining through the drizzly rain, but no rainbows. The Leadership Two group had gone on a ten mile hike and slept out last night, so they were looking as sleepy as we were at breakfast. That group includes: James Teasely, Tucker Sullivan, Hannah Sherman, Jess Beiser, Jess Littman, Erin Uhlfelder – led by counselors James, Dean and admin’er Emma. On the trail, they had encountered a couple who had encountered a bear. It made me think of longtime counselor Billy Mathis, who not only made the camp bell out of his kidney stone, as I mentioned, but once saved camp from a bear by throwing his own leg at it. Incidentally, Billy also once filled the lake with his own tears. Counselor Mike Conti witnessed many of these acts firsthand. If you have any questions for Mike or the other counselors about Billy Mathis, just let me know.

Today is the superbowl! The whole camp usually comes out to support their teams. There will be an after party, and we’re excited to see the cheerleaders, who’ve been working hard on their routine (led by the mutli-talented counselor Myi). Today is also the play. I can hear the actors practicing across the field. Great day for spectators and participants alike.

J

There is so much going on that it’s hard to find time to blog! On Sunday, I joined Leadership One on a hike to Mary’s Rock in Shenandoah National Park, led by counselors Dean, Brownie and Steve. It was an overcast day, so the trails were misty and kind of spooky and cool. I overhead the two boys in front of me (who, inexplicably, had tied the strings of their shorts together for the walk) saying random things like “Imagine if mother nature came out of the trees and hugged us.”

We looked at the non-existent view and explored the top of the mountain and ate lunch, then trucked back down and motored to Pack’s ice cream. Zach Wagschal, Eric Morrell, Michael Gross (who goes by the name of Jose, for no reason I can understand), and counselor Steve were in the jeep with me. We talked about Mars for a while, and caves and other random things, and then they all fell asleep. It was a peaceful drive, the fields were like bowls of fog, and the hills were so pretty.

There are a few ‘way home’ traditions on the road into camp. We hold our breath past the cemetery. We look for the spooky little girl in a white dress on the porch of an old house by the road. Everyone woke up in time to make speculations about the girl, and discuss who’d seen her.

A few campers have been showing up for the 7:15 am yoga class. They are: Jenna Ehrlich, Melissa Rifkin, Julia Reifman, and Alyssa Mendelsohn. Counselors James and Adam also came the other morning. And of course, trusty nurse Sue and women’s head counselor Lynne have been coming pretty regularly.

Murder Mystery night was pretty exciting. The campers have to solve the mystery of a humorous murder by going to all different areas of the camp for clues. This year, Maddie Lawrence was the victim – snuffed out by counselor Karina for trying to sneak out. The kids get pretty excited about the night, because it’s always sprung on them by surprise, even though they all know, the moment it happens, what’s coming next. It’s great when a ripple of excitement like that goes through a room of a hundred kids. You can feel it in the air.

So Hershey Park was yesterday, and I’m pretty sure a fun time was had by all. The biggest excitement was when our charter bus gave up on going up the hill into camp. We unloaded the campers into the school buses and brought them the rest of the way up. It was one of those things that felt really camp-y – like everyone was in it together and the counselors were resourceful about keeping everyone happy and guiding them to the buses. It felt like an adventure. I stood in the field with Jerry’s wife, May, and watched the campers trundle off to bed with all their loot from the park, looking so sleepy and ready for bed. This morning, our head cook Debbie had hot chocolate ready to welcome everyone back.

So it’s back to normal activities today, and we are gearing up for the camp play. The last week of camp is always a busy one, with a lot of camp milestones that people talk about for years, like initiation, and color war, and ghost court. Will keep you posted!

Jodi

Hippie Day started out like any other Saturday. In case you don’t know what that means, Saturdays start with a luxurious late wake-up and cinnamon buns in the dining hall. But at 11, Camp TT became a 60’s paradise. With Creedence Clearwater Revival and the Beatles coming over the loudspeakers and across the field, everyone got changed into their hippie gear and started off to activities.

I don’t know if you’ve ever been in a situation where everyone – everyone as far as the eye could see – was suddenly dressing and acting like they were in a different era, but it is a cool, absorbing experience. I walked out onto my deck and saw everyone scattered around (there was a dance party across the grass) and suddenly felt like I was really somewhere else. Somewhere really mellow.

The kids were allowed to choose which activities they wanted to try, and they could go to several in a row. Turtle races were at the top of the hill, accompanied by a smattering of protesters. Down in the woods, kids learned how to hug a tree from Dean. There was also sack racing, paper airplane making, music philosophy, and story telling, followed by optional communal bathing (aka free swim) down at the pool. At rest hour, campers had the choice to either rest in their cabins or go up to the rec hall deck to lie on their backs and look at clouds. In the afternoon there was a water war and accompanying protest, instrument making, a drum circle, bird watching, debates, knitting, yoga, and a massage train. Former campers Lily Meier and Kelly Watts came back for the day to lead a tie dye workshop. There was also suds wrestling down near the baseball diamond.

Jessica Hymer came to knitting and picked it up like wildfire. In swimming, James Winston and Jordyn Chace (otherwise known as Jace) learned how to dive for the first time. In yoga, about twenty of us did some wild balance poses and meditated with incense – and everyone laughed when we said ‘ommmmmmm’. This evening, counselor Adam Gershowitz and I discussed how ‘real’ the whole day felt. He said he was sorry he’d missed the sixties and I felt pretty sorry too. I have yet to take off my rainbow headband, even though the day’s winding down, dusk is falling, and all the kids are up to mellow non-hippie stuff until the social, Timberstock, starts up at the tennis courts.

I talked with head women’s counselor, Lynn, at dinner. She has worked at other camps, and since I’ve never worked anywhere but Camp TT, I asked her what was different. She said that our camp has so much heart, and that the counselors are so mature and focused on the kids. When I was a counselor, we felt really proud of our camp, and loyal. So of course I felt proud about what she said, and also, as always, really proud of our counselors, who are pretty incredible.

Have been sitting on my hammock writing this, and counselor Jason Gershowitz just came over to remind me to tell you that the Wilderness Survival group is heading into the ‘nothingness’ tomorrow to navigate by the stars, build a fire without matches, and purify water they’ve been collecting in their own handmade still. So there you have it.

More tomorrow.

J

[originally written July 4th]

It’s a rainy independence day and I have little to report except that the Winchester Royals game was lovely, we got autographs, the fireworks were awesome, and that for most of breakfast this morning the dining hall was involved in a spontaneous medley of American classics such as the Star-Spangled Banner, Proud to Be an American, R.O.C.K. in the USA, Born in the USA, and other hits that the kids sang to the British counselors. Some people got especially expressive and put their arms around each other while they sang, and all of us stood up. Next we will be dumping tea into the lake and declaring ourselves duty-free.

Rainy days at camp are wonderful, lots of card playing, trusty rainy activities, and there was an 8-girl run on the knitting circle that included Courtney, Sydney, and Emily again, plus Molly, Grace, Jennifer, Katie, and Olivia. Casting on is not easy but the girls were really patient and they’re coming along. Counselor Myi helped out – thanks Myi! Just to paint a quick picture of the day, there’s tons of pitter patter outside, the grass is crazy green, the kids are doing board games, and tonight is Cheesy Skit Night.

The Tall Timbers Tribune came out today, with an amazing article about how the camp bell was carved by longtime counselor Billy Mathis out of his own kidney stone (more on Billy Mathis in upcoming blogs), and a cool story about Doc Sparks, a superhero who was blinded by electrical elevator sparks but who can now control things with his sightless eyes. Today at lunch, counselors James, Brownie, Jackie, Mike Conti, and Drew were involved in a lengthy, five-way fake fight. Weapons included a fruit bowl, a napkin dispenser, a cereal spoon, and tongs. As is often the case in a fake fight involving five people, there was no clear victor.

Since it’s a low key day, and since the rain has put me in a thoughtful mood, I started thinking, what can I do to make the blog EVEN greater than it already is. I know, I know, that’s sort of impossible to imagine. But I thought to myself, it’s 2008, and according to Rodrigo, the Spanish translator who’s here with some campers from Spain, iphones now have gps systems. Who knew? I guess 2008 is all about being interactive. So how do I make the blog more so?

To that end, I’ve set up an email account called [email protected]. Send me a question you want me to ask the campers. I will take the most fun or fascinating questions and do a survey. They can be questions about things you’ve heard or read about camp, like Who is Cropsy? Approximately how long was the longest loomster you’ve ever seen? Or they can be questions about the camp experience in general, like what is the best activity? Which counselor has the reddest hair? Or who tells better jokes, Glenn or his son Riley? No question is too big, too small, or too bizarre. The more ridiculous, the better.

Later skaters…
J

Well, I am sitting on my bed in my great cabin – which is breezy and simple and has a sweeping view of the main field where all the action is – wondering how to start my blog. I started writing about the anticipation of camp: how exciting it is on the days leading up to it and how Greg Lessans, a former counselor, was recently telling me that as a kid he never slept the night before camp because he was too excited. I tried a different beginning, starting with how great it felt to pull down the drive and see my friends, and to arrive on a breezy day with a ton of birds chirping and kids running around. But maybe the coolest part of arriving and starting at camp again is how quickly it feels familiar and how fast you become a part of the action.

Last night was cabin night, when the kids go with their separate cabin groups to a different area of camp and sleep out. It’s a bonding time, a real quiet, laid back night, and more about talking and just being together than about any specific activity. The main field is quiet and serene on cabin nights so Emma Hully (who most of you know, and may know as Emma Bean) and I pitched our two tents on the big sprawl of grass and drank some English tea called Typhoo with counselors Nicole and Karina, who are wonderful and who were waiting on the tent girls to get back from their theater trip. I lay down with the flap open, so that I could just see stars and nothing else, and fell asleep for awhile. This morning, I woke up to the birds chirping and that was it, it felt like I’d been at camp for weeks.

So lunch. The lunch traditions started coming back to me pretty quickly and may come back to those of you who read the blog last year. Things like the loomster. The loomster is the biggest french fry found on a french fry day in the dining hall. And today, Emma made history by being the first person at the admin table ever to have the loomster. A few people challenged her with some pretty intimidating fries, but none of them measured up. Quote by Emma in reference to other people’s loomster challenges: ‘Rubbish’.

There are so many meal announcements that there’s no way I can record them all, but here are a few. Bear with me as I learn the names I don’t know yet! Alli Jaffe caught her first fish today (a sunfish). She named it Roger. Not to be outdone, her sister Emily also caught her first fish, a croppy named Nantucket. In golf, Jose hit the top target. Noah hit a bullseye in archery and Melissa Rifkin got a balloon and a bullseye in one shot. The campers earned a well-deserved victory against the counselors in the apache relay. The mountain biking crew found a turtle and will be caring for him until Saturday, when there will be turtle races. A protest against turtle racing is being organized. I think most of Saturday is supposed to be a surprise so I will keep it under wraps for now.

At rest hour, Sydney, Courtney, and Emily from cabin B came to sit on my porch for a knitting circle, which I’ll be hosting every day for anyone who wants to join in. We’re going to work on scarves, because that is just the obvious thing to do when it’s July. Now it’s just time to get ready to start teaching yoga and writing, and to administer the exciting yoga challenge of the session (which is hard to explain, but involves balancing on your hands). Been daydreaming about where to hang my hammock. I’m a lucky, lucky girl.

The people who weren’t able to make it back this year — kids and counselors alike — are much missed, so if you are out there reading this, we miss you, and send us adults some hot sauce (because you can never have too much). 😉 For all those coming second session – old and new — can’t wait to see you!

Ooh, and p.s., Winchester Royals game tonight with fireworks. While we don’t hold out hope for the Royals to win this year, we like to eat the Ring Pops.

Jodi