Jodi's Camp Blog

Jodi Lynn Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author of several books for young people, including Peaches, for older teens, and the May Bird and the Ever After trilogy for middle-graders. As an editor in New York Jodi originated the concept for, and edited, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, which was based on her own college experience with a pair of garage sale jeans. She joins us as a former Camp Tall Timbers counselor. She lives in Washington, D.C.

August 3, 2007

End of Session 2!

Well, I suddenly find myself writing my last blog of the summer. I don’t know why it never stops being surprising when the end of camp arrives. Yesterday we had the Apache Relay – a central event of Color War – and Initiation. And I feel sheepish saying it, but both things made me feel a little emotional. Erica Scheller of the Blue Team was the final runner in the Relay, from the lake to the bell – a difficult, uphill run. Evan Lutz of The White Team had already made it and rung the bell, so it seemed it could be anticlimactic to see Erica finish for her team. But watching how passionately every single person on the Blue team cheered her on as she appeared around the bend, and how hard she was pushing herself to make it as fast as she could, sent shivers down my spine.

Initiation was similarly moving. Jerry and Glenn did their traditional talks and performances – the same ones they did when I was a counselor. I can’t give away details, because there may be some soon-to-be-campers out there reading and one of the coolest parts of initiation is that it’s top secret, but suffice it to say, it’s a special night. Memorable enough that Triscuit claims it’s like his birthday, Hannukah, Christmas and Thanksgiving combined.

I was trying to think, during both of these events, how to sum up what it is that makes these things mean so much - what it is that’s so special about the way things are done here. The best I can do is to repeat something admin’er Dawn said to me at breakfast, when I was wondering out loud why I’d feel so emotional about something called an Apache Relay. “The kids have a lot of heart,” she said. And I guess that’s the best way to put it: there is a lot of heart at camp. There’s love for your camp, love for each other, love for your team, doing your best and believing you can. There’s constant encouragement to throw yourself 100% into your pursuits, whatever they happen to be: your friendships, your teams, your goals. That was exactly what made the relay so touching, and what made last night a real, memorable ‘initiation’.

Anyhoo. The teams did ‘presentations’ this morning – which involve a skit, a song, and the revealing of the team banner. I woke up at 7 to the sounds of the campers up early practicing. How you get a group of young people, a good portion of them teenagers, up earlier than they have to be, I do not know. But it definitely paid off in the shows. The Blue Butterfly Catching Sasquatches did a lot of Sasquatch related shenanigans. The White Star on a Texas Flag did a Texas Barbecue show. The songs were just awesome. And the teams went crazy cheering afterwards as the judges sequestered themselves in the rec. hall to announce the winners of Color War. And the winners were….The Blue Butterfly Catching Sasquatches! Counselor and Blue General Greg, who has never won a Color War in his time as either a camper or a counselor, was maybe the happiest kid out there. Both teams made a spectacular effort, and both deserve congratulations.

Tonight we have Banquet and Voice Box (when campers can get up in front of the whole group if they want, one at a time, to give goodbyes and thank yous). And then campers’ pickup tomorrow morning. Wah!

As soon as the buses head out I’ll head out too. I know there’s one more session to go, and I’ll be sad to miss blogging it! But I’m sure the campers coming in are headed for the same memorable experience that we had this session and the session before. I hope, and believe, that they’ll take memories and friendships with them that will last a lifetime.

I’ve loved doing this blog. Thanks for reading!

Jodi

August 2, 2007

This morning, color war erupted in the dining hall. Nothing is the same after this point at camp. From here on out we’ll be doing only special activities and hurtling toward the end of the session.

Announcements started with the counselors making bogus changes to today’s A-day activities– archery was moving to riflery, there was going to be a game of ultimate soccer, counselor Mike Hertlein was taking campers on a 26.4 mile hike. Then Counselor Greg stood up to congratulate his team the Red Bulls on winning the flag football Super Bowl yesterday (which occurred on the central field, with commentary over the loudspeaker by counselors Mike Conti and Brownie), claiming it was a one-sided game. (P.S. Ari Witten was awarded the Super Bowl game ball.) Counselor Pat stood up to object to the unsportsmanlike tone of Greg’s announcement. Counselor Stacy stood up to support Pat. And counselor Miranda stood up to support Greg. They slowly made their way to the middle of the dining hall, arguing. Then ‘Ready To Rumble’ came on over the loudspeakers, the judges (Counselors Ryan, Ibby, and Peggsy – dressed in red) burst through the dining hall doors, and the four counselors (aka, Color War team generals) stopped arguing and ripped off their outfits to reveal all-white and all-blue outfits underneath. The campers went crazy -- jumping up and down and cheering. As they hurried out of the dining hall counselors painted their cheeks either blue or white, depending on their new teams.

Backing up a bit, last night was the play, art show, and Ghost Gourt. Sara G-burg, Ellie Forman and Molly Shay did a piece called The Lemon Sisters. Jasmine Whims, Juliet Mullins and G-Berg did monologues. Ashlyn and Abbey Morrisroe, Olivia Seltzer, Jessica Timmins, and Marley Smith did a skit called Suzie, Her Sisters, and the Socks That Stuck. The counselors did a couple of funny skits as well.

When the kids filtered out of the gym after the play, Ghost Court was waiting for them. It was dusk, and a few counselors stood scattered through the field ominously, dressed in sheets and holding flashlights under their faces. Watching from the porch, Admin’er Dennis pointed out that the kids screamed and skipped toward the ghosts at the same time. They were escorted up the hill beyond the golf course, where a bonfire had been lit. Judge Mookie (Mike Hertlein) was waiting at a table with his microphone to read out the names of the accused and to pass judgment.

Here are a few of the verdicts and their subsequent punishments:

Justin and Spencer, the twins, were found guilty of looking alike. Today, they had to wear signs around their necks saying “I’m ….. Don’t confuse me with …..”

The boys of cabin 4 were found guilty of playing entirely too much Magic, the card game. Today they had to come up with, and present at lunch, a list of ten reasons why their counselors (Greg and James) would win in a fight against a dragon.

Evan Cook was found guilty of socializing with every table group but his own at lunch. His punishment was having to sit at breakfast this morning with five imaginary friends. These friends had to have names and personalities and Evan had to talk to them throughout his meal.

Alex Istaphanous was found guilty of being the slowest-moving camper in CTT history.

Today he had to talk incredibly fast, so fast “that a rabid squirrel swimming in a puddle of sugar water would tell you to chill out”.

The Cabin G girls were found guilty of always dancing to a song that goes: “Lean like a cello, elbows up, side to side!” They had to perform this dance for everyone at lunch.

All morning we’ve had various Color War competitions – a diving/splashing contest at the pool, dodge ball up in the field…Others have been painting banners in the Art Shack and making up the team songs. Campers came up with their team names: The White Star on a Texas Flag and The Blue Butterfly Chasing Sasquatches. The whole camp is dressed in either blue or white. Team spirit and good sportsmanship are big point winners so people have been cheering nonstop. The day has flown.

Phew, are you dizzy?

P.S. Someone took to labeling everything yesterday with masking tape. There’s a label on the water fountain that says ‘water fountain’ and a label on the porch that says ‘porch.’

P.P.S. A special Dippies took place down at the lake this morning. Sadly for me, I slept in, but according to Emma Bean they took the paddleboats into the middle of the lake and jumped in.

Okay, will write with an update tomorrow!

Jodi

August 1, 2007

It was a red letter morning. Last night at dinner, while counselor Dean, the creator of Sleepies, was out with the CITs (Counselors In Training) on a leadership hike, counselor Brownie announced that we’d be trying to set a Camp TT record for Dippies -- the irony being that anti-Dippies Dean and Mike Hertlein created/reinstituted the Camp TT records tradition. This morning 37 campers (as opposed to the usual three or four, accompanied by five counselors) and 1 frog hit the pool at first bell. That’s a lot of camp, rolling out of bed and running to the pool! We ‘got in the box’ – a square that we always have to stand huddled in at the beginning of each Dippies – yelled ‘Greatest Dippies Ever’ and then, one by one, jumped off the diving board and swam across the pool. Admin’ers Mark, Dennis, and Dawn joined in. It was awesome – possibly the proudest moment in Dippies history.

Last night was Counselor Hunt. Eight of us hid at various part of the camp and were assigned different point values (for moving and stationary targets). The campers were split into groups and traveled all over camp to try to find us. Emma Bean had the largest point value (600) and just sat on the office porch. Only two teams thought to ask her if she was ‘hiding’ and got the points. Counselor Casey dressed all in black, painted her body black as well, and waited for kids to spot her. I tried to outrun kids up near the stables. Counselor Mike Conti hid behind the parking lot and meowed.

Things are about to change around camp as we launch into the last few days. At yoga today, Molly Shay was schooling Ashley Scheller and a few others on the need to wear all their socks and underwear to initiation. All over camp, kids are conjecturing about when Ghost Court is going to happen. I know but am not telling.

I always get excited about lunch announcements because a lot of times, they are like a comedy show. Today’s was especially good:

I haven’t written about Can Do. During announcements, the counselors often tell the kids to bring a can do attitude to whatever activity they are announcing. This is often shortened to just ‘can do’ and accompanied by a gumption-y type arm movement, such as “Bring your shirt, shoes, can do [arm movement here].” Today during lunch while counselor Mike Hertlein was talking about an upcoming activity and ‘can do’, Brownie stood up behind him and started imitating him. When Mike noticed, he ‘froze’ Brownie. The kids unfroze him, and it was soon a freeze war over Brownie between the kids and Mike. Finally Mike himself was frozen, which sent the kids jumping out of their seats in an uproar. Coincidentally, when it was Brownie’s turn to make announcements, his voice cracked and Ethan Weinstein, in a stroke of genius, yelled ‘Girl on Boys’ side’ which had everyone rolling. Incidentally, some real announcements were made. For instance, Erica Scheller hit a ducky in archery, and on a hike this morning, Zack Cohen, Justin Fribush, and the twins (Spencer and Justin Leibow), along with counselor Vik, saw a strange monkey-like creature that ran away before they could identify it.

Blogs are gonna be exciting from here on out. I can feel it.

July 31, 2007

Well, I was supposed to leave camp today but am sticking around till the end of the session instead because I don’t want to miss stuff. Big day yesterday! Hershey Park was very cool. I spent most of the day with admin’er extraordinaire Emma Hully, finding out how chocolate is made at Chocolate World, linking up with various groups, riding coasters, and running around the kiddie water complex cooling off. Here is some info I gathered from Emma that campers may not know about ‘the Bean.’

She leads a life of glamour. Emma knows many celebrities. She has met Tony Blair’s son and hung out with the band Travis. She once had a bunch of famous English actors you probably never heard of come over to her house.

Neither her middle nor her last name is Bean. She got the name Bean in her first year at camp (1998) when a former counselor, Erica, said she was as skinny as a bean while they were out canoeing.

No, that’s not a white tank top and shorts she’s wearing. That’s her tan line.

I rode a roller coaster with Tent 6’s Jordan Kovalsky, who bought a really cool hot dog hat for twelve bucks. We heard lots of stories of the campers doing camp cheers while waiting in line. Apparently one group got everyone in their line to clap along.

On the way home we watched High School Musical. I’m glad I got to experience the High School Musical phenomenon for the first time with Camp TT because the kids sang along at some parts and I got to see Admin’er Mark Clark chair dancing. Camper Adam Tommer (A-Tom) sat behind me and didn’t seem as impressed as I was. I guess the movie is somewhat girly.

Some news from lunch. Rohan Lal caught a fish from a paddleboat this morning. Dana Marks skipped around the room to celebrate her birthday. There will be a game of hockey during second free swim for anyone who wants to join or just come cheer (counselors will be commentating). Admin’er Dennis had the loomster (for anyone who hasn’t read the previous blogs about what a loomster is, it’s the longest french fry in the room), filling the admin table with pride.

Once a week, the cleanest cabin/tent group is rewarded by a trip to Pack’s for ice cream. Pack’s and Anthony’s Pizza are often a part of the Camp TT experience. Today’s winners were girls’ cabin BA and boys’ cabin 2. Congrats!

Talk of color war, ghost court, and initiation is in the air. Campers never knew when these things will happen. Initiation and ghost court are especially mysterious. Will keep you posted.

July 29, 2007

One of the Coolest Camp TT Evening Activities Ever

Before leaving for town last night, I had a chance to watch the Wacky Day teams perform their synchronized swimming routines. To say they were incredible would not be exaggerating. The Zany Zebra Smugglers’ skit began with counselor Patrick, dressed as a zebra, pretending to drink at the pool (an oasis) from the diving board. Then some kind of predator (Triscuit) came along and they both went tumbling into the water. Triscuit spun the dying zebra Patrick around in his arms while the kids swam around them in a circle, holding hands. The rest of the kids did all sorts of moves back and forth across the pool. It was awesome. Another team started with an Austin Powers song as they jumped into the pool, and ended with a slow Coldplay song. It was crazy how quiet the whole camp and the performers were as they slowly did their moves without communicating with each other at all. All you could hear was the music and the sound of the water, and the evening sun was kind of filtering down on the pool – it was so cool. Another group did a dramatic number to Carmina Burana, which was just so intricate and ended on a funny note, with all the kids pretending to be fountains. I just couldn’t get over the whole thing. Everyone focused, took their routines really seriously and did great.

Some lunchtime announcements from today: Sara Ginsburg (nickname G-burg) scored a bullseye in riflery. Scott Franklin peeled a particularly difficult orange in 50 seconds. The girls’ side got up at lunch and sang Respect to the boys’ side. In return, the boys’ side got up and sang You’ve Lost That Lovin Feelin’ to the girls.

Andy Rome, an old friend, former TT camper and counselor, came for a short visit with his wife, Amy. We walked around camp and reminisced. Andy was the kind of counselor who, when he’d come back for visits after he’d stopped working at camp, the kids would go crazy to see him. He was telling us today about his camper days. He said that the night before he left for camp every summer he was always too excited to sleep, so he stayed up writing letters to his relatives ‘from camp’ that he could then save to mail on letter writing days :) He was recently married and wanted to show TT to his wife. He took her around the dining hall to show her his old plaques (all campers get their names on them) and to a spot in the pool house where he and his best friends had written their names. We talked about how when we come back to camp, we want to visit each spot –the lake, the pool, the rec. hall, etc.. Lots of memories. Anyway, it was great to see them.

Tonight is Family Feud, and tomorrow is the big Hershey Park trip. We’ll get back late, so I won’t be blogging tomorrow. Will fill in the blanks on Tuesday!

July 28, 2007

Wack A Maniacs

Last night’s activity was Choose Your Own Adventure, based on a book series where, contingent on decisions you make at the beginning, you can end up with several different endings. The kids started in one spot, then picked destinations (the pool, the lake, etc.). and split up in groups. At each destination, they had to solve a riddle and move on to one of two other destinations, and so forth, splitting and splitting until they arrived at the final riddle and were told where to go for their ‘ending’. The endings included Dance Party, Riflery Contest, and Gaga Ball.

The Dippies cheer today was ‘Mmm donuts!’ in honor of both the opening of the Simpsons movie and Saturday morning special breakfast.

Today is wacky day. It’s one of the loudest mealtime days. The whole camp dresses in ‘wacky’ clothes: pajamas, wigs, tights, pants with one leg rolled, coats, turbans, tiaras…whatever they can throw together. The teams this year are divided into the Meow Meow Meows, the Wack A Maniacs, the Zany Zebra Smugglers, and What! At lunch, they are only allowed to speak one language each: Meow, Quack, Woof, or Caw. They do every song and cheer they can think of in their specific language, trying to outdo each other in both creativity and volume. One group did the ‘Caw’carena in the middle of the floor. Another group conga’d around the salad bar. Another group stood on their chairs. It was painful for the ears, but the kids obviously loved it.

Even though we at the admin table sit and look at each other sort of dumbfounded at mealtimes like this, it is one of those things I love about camp. I grew up with three older siblings and I remember getting ‘no’d’ a lot. I always had more energy than I knew what to do with and the adults/older kids weren’t interested in the things I was interested in, or couldn’t keep up with the energy. I find myself doing the same thing with my nieces and nephew: they want to play this, then this, then do that, and usually I run out of steam pretty quickly. Camp is a situation were kids get to do the things they always seem to want to do, including yelling really loudly and acting kind of crazy at meals. They have constant activity available. They have each other. I was never a camper but I used to have that with my cousins at my Grandma’s farm – all day to be with each other and play games and get all that energy out - and those were some of the best times of my childhood. Counselor Greg and I were talking about stuff like this the other day on the bus to rafting. He’s been here since he was a camper and says that camp friendships are a special breed, because of how free you are to be yourself. Wacky day –when many people like to wear underwear on the outside of their clothes - is a perfect example of that. Also, I forgot to mention that for Dance of the Decades the other night Atat ‘T’ Stewart of Boys’ Cabin 3 dressed up as a ballerina and did a number to Elton John’s Tiny Dancer. Case in point.

This afternoon we’ll be having a Wacky Weeway Wace, followed by tonight’s evening activity, synchronized swimming. Each team will have to develop a routine and show it in the pool, without ever actually having a practice in the pool, which should be hilarious. I have a date with our camp cook, Debbie (who is a friend of mine from back when I was a counselor) and will miss it, but someone will tape it for me, so I’ll blog about it tomorrow!

Until then.

July 27, 2007

Yesterday the camp split up – most campers and counselors went to Cacapon State Park while some of the older campers came with counselor Greg and me whitewater rafting. Our bus driver, Randy, asked us if we wanted to play a joke on his friends, the guides, by pretending when we got to the river that we only spoke Spanish. We pretended we were from Barcelona. The guides tried as hard as they could to speak to us in the Spanish they knew. And then Juliet Mullins, who had been zoning out when we talked about the trick, heard them speaking, thought that they didn’t know English, and pointed to Georgia Oriol, saying ‘She speaks Spanish!’ which brought groans from all the other kids…the jig was up. It was time for the joke to die anyway and it was a funny way for it to end.

The rapids were a little on the non-rapid side but the views were gorgeous; we floated past Harper’s Ferry, perched in the hills, and the guides provided us with bailers we could use to splash each other with. I was on a raft with Jess Corteau, Theresa Brecker, and Juliet, and we yapped much of the way. The kids swam in their lifejackets during our snack break about halfway down the river. After rafting we headed to the much coveted Golden Corral Dinner to gorge ourselves on the all-you-can-eat buffet. Molly Shay deserves special props for consuming the most sugar at dessert. The kids coasted on sugar highs on the way home, singing. When we got back, the rest of the camp hadn’t arrived from the lake, so we had the kids drop their stuff in their bunks and then come to the middle of the central field with their sleeping bags to hang out, listen to music and look at the moon. A few of the girls did cartwheels around the field or danced with each other or sat and talked and the guys gravitated into their own circle with Greg. When the camp bus pulled in we all laid down in the middle of the field and turned off the radio, waited till the bus had come down the hill, and then jumped up and did the ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!” cheer.

We got lots of comments throughout the day on how nice the kids were and how much people enjoyed them– from the rafting guides to the bus driver. We were proud.

Some lunchtime announcements: David Cohen caught a fish and named it Moses. We will be trying to set a Camp TT record for the most bottles of water poured on the most heads at Second Free Swim in the central field. There was a freeze war at lunch when counselor Ellen wandered onto the boys side of the dining hall (when this happens, all the guys chant “Girl on boys’ side!”, or vice versa) and admin’er Mark froze her there. Counselor Jacqui came to rescue her but Mark froze her also. It felt like a scene from Harry Potter.

Tonight’s Choose Your Own Adventure night, which I’ve never seen before. I’ll fill you in tomorrow!

July 26, 2007

Sleepies vs. Dippies

As you may have anticipated, the rivalry between Sleepies and Dippies is heating up. This morning, following on the heels of the creation of the first ever Sleepies, Dippies (in its 38th year) had its strongest showing ever for second session 2007. We yelled ‘Sleepies stink!’ before jumping in the pool. Sleepies was dealt another blow at breakfast announcements when Glenn declared that they would not be getting their own plaque. As I’m sitting on the porch writing this, counselor Dean is baiting counselor Greg with the projected creation of a Sleepies ribbon.

Yesterday afternoon a turtle was found up on the hill and christened Turtle Turtle, then set free. The butterfly outside the dining hall snuck out of his cocoon without anyone seeing him. Counselors Brownie and Jacqui shared some nickname info with me during writing class, which I wanted to pass on to you. Apparently, Jack Parr got the nickname Vito because his counselor had always wanted to nickname someone Vito. Ug (Ben in Tents) got his nickname in a similar way: his counselor tried to nickname someone else Ug, but this original Ug didn’t want it because he thought it was insulting (since it’s the sound a caveman makes), so Ben said he would take it and has been Ug ever since. Other nicknames at Camp TT include Flip Flop, Triscuit, Nemo, Brownie, Yackey 5 and Yulie 4.

The night’s activity was Dance of the Decades. It was excellent. The ratings were as follows: Swell, Groovy, Far Out, Phat, and Da Bomb. The kids really went all in on their skits: some of the boys dressed up as girls for the 80’s Girls Just Want to Have Fun, and the counselors did their own skit to Don’t Stop Believin’. The Boys’ Tents and the Girls’ Tents were the highlights of the night with the boys doing a hilarious 50’s Splish Splash/New York, New York medley and the girls doing a slick 50’s The Lion Sleeps Tonight, with red-headed counselor Mike Hertlein cameoing as the lion. This resulted in a tie, which resulted in the first real-life dance off I have ever seen – between Tents’ Julie Clark and Evan Lutz. Evan did some amazing moves, including the worm and the robot, but Julia crushed him in a last minute move by pulling a pair of boxers out of her pajama pants (joke from the movie Zoolander).

Some of the older campers were absent as they went to see a play in town: Bye Bye Birdie, which according to accounts was pretty great (as opposed to last session’s play -- sorry session 1!). They did end up waiting an hour and a half for Chinese food but otherwise sounds like they had a good time.

Counselor Greg and I are taking some of the older campers whitewater rafting today. Greg kindly offered to be the one to wear the fanny pack with our supplies. Phew.

Later Gators.

July 25, 2007

It’s been a gorgeous week, weather wise, here. Sunny but cool. Last night we went to the roller rink in Winchester – I guess the whole rink was rented to us. It was your typical skating night – disco ball, lots of music, the kids skating in groups and people standing on the side holding out their hands for high fives. At the end we took our skates off and gathered in the center of the rink for the cha cha slide, followed up by the Camp TT “Hey! Hey! Hey!” cheer, and then filtering out to the buses singing Bohemian Rhapsody.

There were mixed messages about the viability of dippies this morning so only five hard core dippiers showed up. Every morning we shout something new before jumping in the pool. Today it was “dippies?”

Dippies was dealt yet another blow at breakfast when counselor Dean announced the creation of ‘Sleepies’. Sleepies have to sit up in bed at the 8 am bell and yell “Sleepies!” and then go back to sleep until 8:07. At the end of the session they get their names on a plaque. As with Dippies, anyone who wants to can join Sleepies and we are hoping we don’t lose any Dippies to Sleepies.

Some lunchtime announcements. In Love Triangle, a balance activity on a wire between three trees, the challenge group made it to Marriage. Joe Gillette won seventy-five cents from counselor Greg for doing something amazing with a balloon. The pointing that accompanies Counselor Jason’s announcements continues to escalate. Jason tends to point a lot and now all the boys start pointing wildly whenever he stands up.

A butterfly hatching from its cocoon was discovered by Jack Parr (nickname Vito, don’t know why) outside the dining hall. We’ll be checking in throughout the day to mark the butterfly’s progress.

I’m off to writing class! More tomorrow…

July 24, 2007

A few announcements from mealtime: Lexi Cohen scaled Lord Halifax, one of the camp climbing walls, twice. Julia Shapiro made it up in 23 seconds. Orli Berman also conquered the wall. Roland Lindmayer tread water for 30 minutes, and Lexi Smith of Cabin BA wove through 3 cones on a mountain board and picked up a fourth. Robbie Crowl made it to the middle of Sir Equinox (the other climbing wall), and it was pointed out that the boy who drives us up the wall made it halfway up himself :). Fantasy Football Darft has started, with counselors picking and kids advising. It’s called Darft because when Arts & Crafts made a giant sign for it a few years ago they spelled it that way and it’s been Darft ever since.

Counselor Brownie took on counselor Jacqui today in what has now been christened, by Jeremy Galkin, Ultimate Cafeteria Fighting. Jacqui managed to snag Brownie’s imaginary sword for a few seconds but ultimately Brownie finished her, much to everyone’s delight. The boys launched into a chant of Peanut Butter Jelly Time, which goes ‘Peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly and a baseball bat, peanut butter jelly and a baseball bat, where he at, where he at, there he go, there he go.’ It starts low the first time and gets deafeningly loud and the boys got really into it.

I found a book of Camp TT records in the office yesterday. They are just starting it so there’s nothing in it yet, except for some pictures of something I missed while I was away, called Hurt the Earth Day. This was a day where all the campers who wanted to came to the center of the field at Free Swim to punch the ground. It rained for two days afterwards so the campers returned to the field for Hug the Earth Day and apologized.

My only thought I wanted to share for today is that yesterday at Free Swim I was sitting on the porch and thinking how much like a village the camp seems to be sometimes. At Free Swim, when the campers are free to do a bunch of different things, you hear guitars and singing coming from one part of camp, and flag football in another, and there’s tetherball in another, and people playing ping pong, and people gathered under the pavilion talking, or people relaxing on the office porch, and it’s just really nice. You feel like you could go join in on different things or just sit and veg, depending on your mood.

We are going rollerskating tonight, which I was bummed to miss last session. Will report back tomorrow.

July 23, 2007

Blackjack the Horse: Are the Rumors True?

Is Blackjack the horse feeling a little under the weather? Yes.

Did Glenn have to administer a large amount of mineral oil to him? Yes.

Did counselor James claim to be a horse whisperer? Yes.

Is Blackjack on his last leg? No. Blackjack was last seen munching on his food with a twinkle in his eye.

Yesterday after helping with Blackjack up at the stables, I joined counselors Jason and Dean, as well as tent girls Dana, Tori, and Kenna for Nature class. The activity was tree hugging. You had to blindfold your partner and bring them to a tree somewhere nearby, have them touch and feel and get to know the tree, its leaves, its bark, etc. Dean brought me to a tree and made sure I felt the leaves, which turned out to be poison ivy. Thanks Dean! Luckily he noticed right away and I got a quick shower and so far so good.

Dean also deserves a mention for eating 7 veggie burgers and 1 hamburger at last night’s cabin night cookout. For cabin night, the cabin groups sleep outside in various areas around the camp. It’s a time for the cabin groups to bond and spend some time a little closer to nature, all but the youngest kids cooking for themselves and sleeping in their sleeping bags and staying up late talking. The younger kids sleep in more civilized spots (like on the mats under the gym roof) but still feel excited about ‘roughing it.’ We could hear the older campers late into the night cheering ‘Hey! Hey! Hey!” at each other across the valley. The kids straggled into breakfast this morning looking beat, which is the sign of a good one.

My niece, who is not what you’d call an ‘outdoor girl’ said she loved it. I am so glad that she has the opportunity to see nature this way and to bond with other kids without all the pressure and competition of the school environment. The kids really let down their hair around each other here – I wish it could be that way for them all the time. They seem to be so comfortable being themselves around each other at camp, being goofy, forgetting to try to impress each other. I’m just grateful she will get to take that perspective with her when she leaves, even as she’s dealing with the more stressful social scenes of the outside world. I think I mentioned this before, but the thing that stands out most to me about camp, again and again, is the goofiness. It’s constant jokes. That’s a perspective I want to keep with me, too.

Counselor Brownie shared the story of Cropsy the camp monster at writing class yesterday. Camper Robbie Crowl was the lucky camper to get the ‘fancy spoon’ (there is one spoon with a fancy handle) at lunch. There is talk of an upcoming night walk to call for owls, led by owl whisperer James. Two days in, several people have managed to finish their gigantic copies of Harry Potter, which arrived on the 21st in special Muggle boxes.

That’s the latest….

July 22, 2007

Yesterday was army day. The camp divided into four teams: Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, and competed at different activities throughout the day. Stuff like covering their counselors in ‘nature’ (mud and leaves and anything else the kids could find) and shimmying up a slip-n-slide. Admin’ers Dennis and Mark were the hecklers, handing out advice like ‘You’ll never make it’ and ‘You should probably just quit.’ The kids thought it was pretty funny.

At lunch, the kids sat in their teams and wore team colors. Navy and Air Force captains Greg and Tristan challenged Army and Marine captains Brownie and Dean to a duel. The duel began in the middle of the dining hall and ended by bursting through the double doors outside, where the kids formed a circle. Someone shouted to Brownie to ‘use the sword.’ Greg and Tristan were vanquished.

Admin’er Dawn and I went up the hill to the social in the evening – the counselors started jumping up and down and getting everyone enthused, and by the time we left to watch the sunset up on the hill beyond the basketball courts, most of the kids and counselors and Emma were in a circle in the middle of the dance floor doing some kind of group dance. The counselors are amazing with keeping the excitement level high and it totally catches with the kids. We have a great group of counselors this year, which is so instrumental to giving the kids a great summer. I can’t believe the amount of energy they have. I do remember, when I was a counselor, taking full advantage of rest hour.

Four girls have signed up for yoga so far: Melanie Seidman, Ashley Schiller, Marley Smith, and Leah Jacobs. The activity days are divided into A, B, and C. I was watching Dawn sign up a couple of children for activities today and thinking about the skills involved. I don’t know why this didn’t occur to me when I was a counselor – I just always thought of the activities as play time. But it’s really cool to know how to develop pictures or do archery or ride a horse. Even frisbee feels like something that I would have liked to learn, since now that I’m grown I look ridiculous every time I try to toss one around with my friends at the beach.

Today is a B day and the campers chanted “baday baday baday” when it was announced. It feels like there’s a special cheer for everything. There are always new trends in cheers and meals are always a show. Right now there’s something going around where, when the kids and counselors cheer for some event, they all throw their fists in the air and go ‘Hey!’ over and over and over and over again until it finally fades out after about three minutes. Sometimes one of the admin’ers, usually Emma or Mark, can fill the rest of us in on what it all means and who started it. A lot of times we just sit there and laugh.

Well, I am beat and off to rest with a book for a bit.

July 21, 2007

Camp TT: Human Settlement or Skunk Paradise?

Last night the admin staff had a campfire by the lake. Luckily nurse Sue’s dog was with us to sound the alert, because we weren’t alone. We shined the flashlight onto the grass behind us, expecting to see Cropsy the camp monster, and two skunks were skulking up to us in the dark. We think it was because we were eating Pringles. In any case, whenever we turned our flashlights off, the skunks came closer. It was easy enough to put two and two together. In camp, every time we see the skunks we run away, or shrink away, or look away and pretend we don’t see them. The skunks know this and know they are on top and are now antagonizing us. As regular blog readers may realize, I am pro-skunk. But others at the campfire did not share my feelings. Some ways of ridding the camp of skunks were discussed, drawing on such sources as Little House on the Prairie. Nothing has been resolved yet.

So, to catch up, I came back to camp yesterday afternoon after a week away. The second session kids are here, including my niece, Emily. Like most families we’ve been on pins and needles wondering how Emily is doing her first time away at camp, worried she’s been homesick, etc. etc. Emily saw me across the baseball field, ran up and gave me a huge hug, and then turned on her heel and traipsed off with her friends. It was the least I’ve ever seen of her in a single showing. I did manage to gain an audience with her later in the day when she told me she hadn’t really been missing us (too busy) and that she had made me a poster for my cabin. The girls in her cabin, cabin BA, are so nice – I met Jasmine and Lexi and Alexandra (the kids call her Nemo), among others.

While I was away some tradition started where the kids sing Journey’s Don’t Stop Believing at the top of their lungs. Yesterday at dinner the girls did it first, and then the guys. At dinner it was also announced that the smartest tent boy competition was won by a tent girl named Dana Marks– a tough blow for the boys.

I realized I haven’t written about ‘freeze’ yet. The counselors can make the kids freeze anytime during meals. The division leaders (counselors who’ve been here longer and have more responsibilities) can make the counselors freeze. And the admin table can make any of the counselors freeze. Yesterday division leader Dean made counselor Ryan freeze while he took his peanut butter jelly sandwich and ate it while everyone cheered.

Last night was Murder Mystery Night. The timing of Murder Mystery Night is itself always a mystery. The kids were told the Evening’s activity was Egg Dropping. It’s a testament to something I don’t really understand about kids that most of them were joyfully jogging up to the gym at 7, eager to drop eggs. As the kids were divided into egg teams they poured outside and found counselor Brownie in shock in the middle of the field, pointing at counselor Dean, lying on the deck of the boys dorm, looking like someone alive playing dead. Brownie ran for the hills. Counselor Jackie covered Dean with the sheet from the game Twister and announced over the loudspeaker that it was Murder Mystery Night. The kids started whispering and pumping their arms, etc. I joined one of the groups as they went all over the camp to different clue stations, picking up one clue from each place.

In return for burying their counselor in the sand, counselor Ryan agreed to paddle in from the middle of the lake and tell the kids what he knew. By the pool, CIT Patrick (Flip Flop), wearing girls’ bikini bottoms, said he would give us the clue if we fished all the foam noodles out of the pool. We had to write a poem about Dean and draw a picture of him at arts and crafts. We had to tell counselor Ellen fifteen reasons why she was better than Dean (‘she has straight hair’ was my favorite). We had to fish golf balls out of the driving range for golfer Ug, and stand on a balancing wire for a paranoid Brownie, who’d been hiding from the cops behind the climbing walls. At canteen, Emma got on the loudspeaker to announce she’d seen everything and was about to tell us what she’d seen. But before she did she took a sip of her water and collapsed on the deck, poisoned. The kids then had to cast their guess for who killed Emma and Dean and why. The reality was, counselor Ryan was the culprit – he was fed up with being ‘frozen’ all the time by Dean, and then of course he had to silence Emma. The winners will be announced tonight.

More tomorrow…

July 11, 2007

The Skunk Freedom Movement

Sorry I’ve missed a couple of days – Kings Dominion and yesterday were both long, busy days. And what can one say about KD?

Yesterday a group called Leadership – Emma, Mike Hertlein, Dean, Lauren Friedman, Katy Rothenberg, Olivia Collins, Ben Max, Bryan Wagschal, Blake Richman, Patrick Morrisroe – went on a 10 mile hike and campout to ‘The Cove.’ In the dining hall, when some accomplishment gets announced, an ‘–er’ is sometimes added and sort of yelled by the other campers. For instance, if you have a good hit in archery, everyone yells ‘Sniper!’ These were the ‘Hikers!’

At breakfast, I got up from the admin table to get some more coffee. I had half a cup so I got up for a preemptive refill. At the same time, with my left hand, I pulled up my pants, which were a bit droopy. And at the same time I turned. And at the same time I intersected the legs of the two chairs nearest me. I went down. I took the chairs with me and landed belly down in the middle of the dining hall, arms out in a v. Before I could turn over the kids had all circled around and some people started yelling ‘Brownie! Brownie!” Brownie pulled out his imaginary sword and ‘finished’ me. The kids were really nice about it but not surprisingly the people at the admin table weren’t so kind. Jerry even pulled the ol’ ‘Walk much?’

By the end of breakfast, the skunk rumors had picked up. There was a definite location involved – a location where you could actually see the (baby!) skunk sleeping. Glenn said he would get a friendly trap ready.

After my ego recovered from breakfast I did some driving. I took our two French campers – Jeremie and Augustin – to D.C. for a tour. We had a great time. When we got back around 10, I heard from Girls Tents’ Jessie Courteau that the skunk situation wasn’t what we thought at first, and that the skunk, it turned out, was actually stuck in the pipe which, it turned out, is vertical.

So as it turns out I was up till 3 in a poncho (for spray protection) trying to fish a skunk out of a pipe. I made a skunk ladder, so it could dig it’s claws into something and pull itself out. No luck. Then I made a skunk fishing pole out of a broom and some wire. And after about half an hour more and several trips to the arts and crafts room for supplies, the skunk sort of stuck its paws through a noose I made, like someone being rescued by the coast guard, and let me pull. When it came out, I threw myself the other way so that I wouldn’t get sprayed, but it just looked at me, wiggled its way out of the wire, walked a bit, turned and looked at me again in an offended way, and then ambled off. It was awesome. Usually my attempts to save animals are ill-conceived and poorly executed. This may have been the most heroic moment of my life. I filled up the pipe with towels and stuck a little flag in it that says Skunk Freedom Movement. I heard the girls talking about it outside when I woke up this morning. For now the movement will remain anonymous.

At breakfast today, the hikers announced it took them 304 minutes to get to the cove . It was announced that the flag football superbowl will be held at Free Swim. Last year’s flag football champions, The Orange Crush - Bryan Wagschal, Jake Shapiro, Ian Lever, Ben Max, Evan Fisher, Ben Fink, and Jeff Curran - received their championship rings in a special ceremony.

So, on that note, and with short notice (sorry!) this is my last blog of first session (I’ll be back July 20th to 30th to blog about second session). I’m not sure I’m ready to get back to the real world but I’ll give it a try! Thanks for reading. Until next time….

Jodi

Faller. Blogger. Skunk Befriender.

July 8, 2007

Last night I realized I’ve forgotten to tell you that there are rumors of a skunk living at camp. A counselor claims he woke up to it staring at him on cabin night. Some of the tent girls say they’ve seen it too. For the record, the tent girls also say that once they woke up to a cow poking its head into their tent. The most exciting critters I’ve witnessed are the fireflies and the bullfrogs. Down at the lake at dusk they start lighting up/croaking and it is just gorgeous.

Admin’ers Mark and Emma and I watched the sunset last night, just above the basketball courts where the kids were having their Saturday night dance (Thanks to Harry Potter Day, it was a ‘Yule Ball’.) The CIT’s (Counselors in Training) ran it and did a great job with lots of great music – way to go Spanky! I helped Mark and Glenn make soft pretzels for canteen and as I walked back up the hill after dusk the younger cabin girls were strolling down the to bed, singing along loudly to Journey’s ‘Don’t Stop Believing.’ I felt like I was back in the eighties for a second! Anyone with me out there? We admin’ers leaned on the wall of the courts and I got to watch the kids do some organized games and then share some dances. There were several conga lines. It was the kind of thing that made you wish you were the kids. But I was also pretty happy to be there as an adult. When I came to camp this year I thought it would be a bit bittersweet, in that I’d spend a lot of time thinking about when I was here before – two of the best summers I’ve ever had. But it hasn’t been that way at all - it’s just turned out to be another great time.

During the dance, Nick Kracov from Boys Tents came and sat with me for a while and we talked about writing. The kids often ask thoughtful questions about writing and it’s always cool to hear about their creative interests and how articulate they are about that stuff. Sometimes at night the tent kids are allowed to gather on the porch after the younger ones have gone to bed and we all sit together and talk. Last night after the dance, we tackled the controversial topic of milk vs. soy milk for a good ten minutes. These nights are another one of my favorite times, because you can hear the cabin kids turning in for bed all around the central field, and see a few kids and counselors making their way home with their flashlights, and meanwhile you are just shooting the breeze about soy milk, and skunks, as if there were all the time in the world.

I don’t know if I mentioned this but there has been a boy run on yoga: Matt Jaffe, Ben Fink, Josh Schwartzman, Evan Fisher, Alex Fang, and Alex Goldstein have all joined. From what I can gather, this is in response to some of the girls showing people around camp the Tree Pose (balancing on one leg with the other one bent), and the news that we get to put lavender lotion on our hands at the end. Now the boys are running around the camp saying ‘Namaste’ (yogi for ‘peace’) instead of hi.

Little Riley has started paving the way for meal announcements. Before Glenn starts talking, Riley comes to the middle of the room and talks really loudly for awhile. The amazing thing is that the kids quiet down for him. But this is pretty normal – you often see the older kids taking time out for the younger kids around camp. They’re always helping them with stuff and the girls give lots of hugs.

The big talk today is King’s Dominion tomorrow. I’m sure we’ll come back with lots of material. Often that material involves the younger kids trying out the Scooby Doo for the first time.

Until then…

July 7, 2007

Last night was campfire and hike night. The younger kids hiked to ‘the haunted house’ in a field behind the lake and listened to stories. According to the trail guides/counselors, the family who lived there got evicted and that’s why the house is haunted. A spooky voice came from out of nowhere saying “Get a good job so you can pay your rent!” Seriously scary - :) - made the kids laugh. The older kids hiked to the river and swam. The kids reconvened by the campfire by the lake, did skits (C is for Cookie was a particular favorite), and made s’mores for canteen. Doctor Reifman came down to eat with us – we discussed the s’more being possibly the best food ever invented.

Saturdays go at a different pace at camp. The breakfast bell rings late and kids amble to the dining hall in a leisurely fashion. After breakfast this morning, there were ‘services’ basically group reflection time - led by the girls’ tents. The theme was friendship. The girls of Cabin B read a story they wrote. There were readings from Danny in Cabin 3 and Liza in GMart, among others. The kids sang a few friend-y songs like Lean On Me and then the counselors launched everyone into today’s special activity – Harry Potter Day.

Hagrid, Hermione, and Harry led a sorting hat ceremony in which the campers were divided into Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. There are games of Muggle Quidditch, Golden Egg, and Wizards, Trolls, & House Elves going on throughout the day. I believe counselor Mike Hertlein is the golden snitch. I helped with canoe races down at the lake, in the sun. So in addition to the poison ivy I smell bad. Hannah Rosen, Bruce Packal, and Seth Dorman were especially impressive when they insisted on finishing up the race even after the other team had finished – I’m hoping extra points go to Slytherin for team spirit.

Glenn and Sonya’s little son Riley continues to wow campers on and off the ping pong court. Kids, especially girls, are constantly popping up to hug or high five him. We also have a few visitors today –kids trying camp out for a day. Cabin girls Alyssa and Jordyn immediately took the girls under their wings, explaining that they were ‘pros’ and could tell them everything they needed to know about camp. Thanks girls!

Special announcement: Sammy Friedman made it to the semi-finals at the local USTA tennis tournament. Rock it Sammy!

Hmm, what else to say? One thing I was reminded of at lunch from my camp days is how aware the admin. staff is of what’s going on in kid life – way above and beyond what one would expect. We seem to know about every crush, loose tooth, whatever. We sit at the table and talk about what the kids are up to, a lot. Possibly this is because our lives aren’t very exciting. But it’s nice to feel like – even as a person (me) who’s not really in charge of that stuff- you know a bit about what’s going on with just about everyone and can jump in to help when needed. It’s nice to be in this place where you know every kid you see.

We’ve been getting nice comments on the blog, so thanks a lot. The kids are constantly making us smile and my hope is that a bit of their infectious goofiness reaches parents on here. Until tomorrow…

July 6, 2007

It rained all yesterday afternoon and the camp went mellow for the rest of the day. The counselors planned some rainy day activities for everyone and then the kids had movie night with popcorn in the dining hall.

This morning the sun was out again. At first free swim several campers joined in on Hugs Not Thugs Or Bugs, the yearly camp competition for Most Hugs in an Enclosed Area. This year we had 638 hugs.

At lunch there was a competition between girls’ and boys’ side for who had the longest french fry. I don’t know why but this french fry is called a ‘loomster’ - apparently this originated at a fast food place in Sugarland, Texas, which makes it no less confusing. Sarah Tishman looked to be the winner at first showing, until the boys regrouped and came back with Seth Morrisroe’s winning loomster. The girls were devastated, and the boys cheered.

I stopped by girls’ tents to do some interviews with Maddie Lawrence (camper since 2001), Tori Seltzer (2001), Jessica Littman (2001), and Jess Courteau (2007). Here are the questions I asked and a few of the answers:

What is the thing you most wish you brought to camp, but didn’t?

Tori: More sweatshirts.

Maddie: Face wash.

Jess: More friends from home.

Jessica L: Nail polish.

If you’d tell other people to come to camp, why?

Tori: When you make friends here you have a more open, laid back relationship than you might have with friends at home.

Maddie: You make really good friendships. My dad and one of the guys (Sam) he went to camp with are still best friends. And Sam and his wife met at camp, too.

Jess: It’s fun and a great experience.

Jessica L: The people here are amazing and you make long lasting friendships.

What kind of person do you think benefits most from camp?

Tori: A nature person

Maddie: I think any person would. Unless you don’t like hanging out with other people.

Jess: Everybody but germophobes!

Jessica L: Someone who has trouble making friends, because it’s easy making friends here. Everyone talks to you.

What was the thing you were most nervous about when you first came to camp? Did that change? If so, how?

Tori: I was scared because I was little and I thought I’d miss my parents. But once I made friends that changed.

Maddie: Sleeping in tents. I’m used to it now. And Tori’s here to protect me. I also wanted to make a good impression on the new people.

Jess: I was afraid of not being accepted because I’m new, but I feel okay about it now.

Jessica L: Leaving home. But having my older brother here helped.

What’s your biggest piece of advice for a new camper?

Tori: Don’t worry about trying to outdo people.

Maddie: Definitely be yourself. It sounds cheesy but it’s true. When you’re yourself, you know the friends you attract really like you.

Jess: Just be yourself and have fun.

Jessica L: Try to be friendly the first day, so you make a good impression.

That’s all for today. Thanks for reading and for the nice comments about the blog!

July 5, 2007

Finding Love At Camp TT

Over the years, Camp TT has produced many strong relationships – many friendships that last over the years, and even a few marriages. But last night, for the first time ever, a marriage occurred on site. Yes, I am talking about the marriage between Noodles and Cheese that occurred last night at Cheesy Skit Night. The ceremony was performed by the boys of Cabin 8. Ethan, as Noodles, looked wonderful in a skirt and veil. James as Cheese, was dashing. Ben did the honors of wedding the happy couple, and it all concluded with a song about love from the musical Rent, during which a few of the boys, including Julz, Louis, and Corey, moved through the crowd, towels flowing in the air behind them, bringing the campers to unparalleled heights of emotion. Ratings for the night were given out by the judges as follows, from lowest to highest: Ant, Anteater, Hawk, Liger (a mythical cross between a lion and a tiger), and the top, Cheese. The girls of Cabin G (alias Gmart) had an especially memorable competition for Miss Cheesiest. Bridget (Miss Swiss) juggled, Sarah (Miss American) played basketball, Jenna (Miss Goat) tap danced, Rachel (Miss Bleu) did a song and a joke, Julia (Miss Cheddar) did gymnastics, and Melissa (Mozzarella) did a card trick. The competition was mc’d by Nicole, and the song was written by Liza. The Boys Tent enacted a West Side Story-like tragic love skit, complete with romantic latin music. The part of the gorgeous Maria was played by Nick. Maria’s two dueling brothers, Esteban and Paco, were played by Evan and Blake. Patrick narrated, and there were supporting roles for the others. I still don’t know what it all had to do with cheese. Part of the admin staff – Emma, Dennis, and I, got in on the action with a sundae-making demonstration in which I was Emma’s arms. Most of the sundae ended up on Emma’s head and all over her face instead of in the bowl, but she was a good sport.

It’s raining today, so it looks like we may miss our Trout Pond outing. Camp is very mellow for Free Swim – some kids are playing ping pong up near the dining hall. Apparently Katie and Lauren have set a ping pong volley record as I’ve been typing.

I’ve missed dippies for two days in a row due to a personal poison ivy problem that involves a long hike, lots of water, and the wrong bushes. Apparently, according to nurse Sue, I’m the only one with a poison ivy problem. I’m 31. That means the kidsters are better at avoiding poison ivy than me. Yep.

I had a nice talk with one of the counselors, Patrick (who’s going for his masters in journalism next year), about how much you come to care for the kids when you’re a counselor. It’s cool to watch these people in college guide their campers around like ducks when we’re out at an event, they’re so gentle and careful. I still think about my former campers all the time, and often ask Glenn how they’re doing. I saw one of them a few years ago when I visited. She was a teenager by then, and I was worried she wouldn’t remember me, but when we saw each other our eyes lit up. Your campers definitely touch your life.

In yoga this morning, Taylor, Hannah, Jordyn, counselor Darcy and I did a bunch of downward dogs and some relaxing. Hannah wants the hand massages at the end to last longer – go figure!

Lunch bell going. Hasta luego.

July 4, 2007

This morning, in honor of the 4th, Emma Hully’s English flag went missing from the flagpole. It resurfaced during today’s lunch duel between counselors Brownie and Greg, when Greg came running into the middle of the room with it wrapped around his shoulders. As the kids chanted USA! USA! Brownie vanquished Greg with a bunch of slow-mo maneuvers and laid the English flag over his inert body. The entire lunch room erupted into the Star Spangled Banner to celebrate. Emma wants everyone to know the flag was returned to her unharmed.

I was surprised everyone was so peppy after our big night out at the ballpark in Winchester last night– one of my favorite camp nights: a ballgame and fireworks. The weird thing for me, and I think this is true for campers as well, is that you remember almost every outing from camp, even years later. I realized this as I was driving in and thought about this ice cream parlor, I think it was Tastee Freez, that Jerry drove us to once when we won cabin inspection. I remember everything about the Tastee Freez, as if we’d gone on a million trips there – and it surprised me for a moment when I realized it happened only once. A lot of days at camp feel like huge days - that’s what I’m trying to say. Winchester Royals night feels huge. It feels huge when the older kids go to the theater. It feels huge to have a skit night (tonight’s variety: cheesy). When I was a counselor we’d sometimes stick around on our nights off because we didn’t want to miss that stuff. How often do you get to feel that way – that every day is a big event? Not that you’re asking, but now every day for me involves a cup of coffee, a laptop, and a comfy chair. Zzzzzz.

Taught my first couple of activities to some very talented young writers in the afternoon. They wrote from the perspective of an inanimate object somewhere on camp. Hannah was a lightbulb who electrocuted herself so the people below her could see – a ‘selfless act’, she called it. Jordyn was a tree being tickled by the grass. I wish I had room to put them all. In yoga today, we (Reece, Katie, T, a couple of brave adults, and I) stretched, roared like lions, practiced our balancing poses, and put lavender lotion on our hands to pamper ourselves.

A curly haired boy named Mike keeps going to give me high fives when I see him and then psyching me out and rubbing his head instead. Does this child sound familiar to anyone out there?

Later potaters…

July 3rd, 2007

It’s a chilly day at camp today and we (at least the adults at my breakfast table) are loving it. When I think of camp I think of this kind of weather – sunny, with cool nights. I know it can’t always be that way but that’s what I remember. I curled up in my sleeping bag last night and slept like a log, which – with no air conditioning at my place in D.C. yet - hasn’t happened at all summer!

It’s free swim now, which means the kids are either swimming, playing games in the field, or relaxing around camp. The air is full of hooting and hollering (right now someone’s chanting Purple Nurples, the name of one of the flag football teams), are kids talking in the shade, a few girls are playing music low. A few things to report in the meantime:

Over ninety kids joined Hands Across Camp yesterday at free swim.

Last night was Boy Band Night. Each cabin was assigned a band – from the Backstreet Boys to the Beatles - to lip sync to onstage in the gym. Spirits were high as the girls of Cabins A &B took the stage as the Backstreet Boys, giving out high fives, generally working the crowd, and buttering up the judges. The boys of Cabin 1 followed with some verbal conflict that erupted up into a dance off, then mellowed into a slow, sensitive rendition of ‘This I promise you’ by N’ Sync. The Cabin 4 Boys, as The Village People, had the entire gym on their feet doing the YMCA. But it was the Boys’ Tents rendition of ABC by the Jackson Five that caused a wave of hysteria reminiscent, I’m told, of the famous Camp Tall Timbers band 2 Fresh with their smooth style, fresh dance moves, and natural stage presence.

This morning I had my first yoga class– joined by Hannah, Jordyn, and Alyssa, who amazed me with how much they already knew (Alyssa said she wanted to come to yoga because she believes in the universal laws of attracting good things. I was like, wow, that is seriously zen.). A few others have signed up, including one bold boy – T, who says he does yoga with his mom. I’m also doing my first writing activity for the kids after lunch. We’re gonna walk around camp and try to find some unique ways to write about setting. Eventually we’ll put together short stories for the camp newspaper. Life is good.

Well we’re off to see a Winchester Royals baseball game tonight (they’ve been losing since I was a counselor and apparently –according to the counselors at dippies this morning - that’s still the case), with fireworks to follow.

We grown ups are singing Close To You in the office as I’m finishing this up. My new mission is to start interviewing campers about what they want to broadcast on this blog. Hopefully will have some good stuff on that tomorrow.

Namaste!

July 2nd, 2007

It’s been ten years since I was a counselor at Camp Tall Timbers but I think, like most campers, I’ve always wanted the opportunity to come back. This year, Glenn agreed to let me give it a go. Since I left camp I’ve become an author, and have always been able to draw from my experiences from those days for some of my funnier stories. Now I’ll be teaching creative writing to any of the kids who have an interest, and trying to record what the days are like for anyone at home who wants a play by play of camp life. Only bear with me, because it’s hard to keep it short when there’s so much going on!

I arrived at lunch yesterday, and walked into the dining hall feeling a little intimidated by a big group of strangers…which I know is how it is for most kids on their first day at camp. But, just like for new kids, the atmosphere is so friendly that the intimidation falls away almost instantly, even if you’re a shy type. The lunch room was full of excited noise - camp jokes, chants. A couple of the counselors got up and did a little skit that got the kids fired up and cheering. During announcements counselors congratulated campers on things they’d accomplished that day -- and everyone cheered, for each kid, no exceptions. It was great to see everyone get so genuinely excited for each other. A week into the session already and everyone seemed to be falling out of their seats to get to the next thing (maybe that’s because the next thing was rest hour – ha!).

Last night was cabin night, where each cabin group goes off to a different part of the camp to sleep out under the stars, cook their dinner over a campfire, and have group bonding time. The kids came strolling home this morning half wrapped in their sleeping bags, full of gossip: a skunk tugging at one of the tents last night. Flag raids. The usual. Still, a bunch of kids managed to show up for dippies: a tried and true group of early risers who get up at first bell and jump in the pool together. We all jumped off the diving board – swam to the other side of the pool, and jogged up to breakfast. I’m gonna try to make it every morning during my visit. Old dippies die hard.

A few kids: Momo, Abbey, Ashlyn, Reece, Taylor and Casey were sitting with me while I wrote this. We discussed baby blankets, whether they are cool or not (apparently, they are) and Abbey and Ashlyn’s giant orange cat named Blue. We were joined by a few of the older girls, Hannah, Lauren and Rummer. Some of us admitted we have picked our toe lint. I asked the ladies if they had any messages to broadcast on the blog today. They said they want everyone to know that they are sitting next to the famous person (that’s me, apparently – ha). And they want people to know camp is ‘funktastic’. I’m a little out of the loop but I gather that’s a good thing.

More tomorrow.

Xo,

Jodi