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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