They harbor memories for years, for decades. Every summer there's that latent thrill. Something's happening up there in the mountains. Can I be a part? Then the children start to come of age and latency turns to consciousness. I know. I'll send the kids there. And then for months dinner conversations include village cheers, stories about stories, tales of super-tall, super-wide, super-funny strange and beautiful now-mythic counselors.This has been happening. There are more former campers and counselors, now in their late thirties and forties, showing up on check-in day with their own kids, the parents more excited (if that's possible) than the kids, than I can recount or document in this blog.
One I can.
Jeff Gold was here from 1972-77. He never forgot its impact on him. Now he's the managing partner at a law firm. But he's a camp guy deep in. He found me on the 'net and has been corresponding with me. Yesterday he brought his daughter. It was a big moment.
I asked him what he learned from camp. Here's his response:
1. I learned to appreciate that which I have.
Upon arrival in Camp in 1972, I met my bunkmates in cabin 15, two of whom were on scholarship. Each came from the inner city, and it was evident that they had little in the way of material means. Coming from middle class Long Island, I had minimal contact with those from different economic strata, and it was an eye opener. Looking back, my liberal political beliefs began forming that summer.
Over the next five years, I had quite a number of bunk mates (and tent mates) who spent two or three days a week on dialysis. I spent many hours visiting with them while they underwent the procedure. Today, I’m a regular blood donor, and should I pass prematurely, I will be an organ donor.
2. I learned to share.
Long before there was the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, there was the Brotherhood of the Traveling Rugby shirt (Red and Yellow) which Albert Szabo I wore interchangeably during the summers, and which we each took home in alternating years. Albert and I shared a lot of laughs during our Frost Valley Years. Only recently, I used the one Hungarian word he taught me while playing poker on the Queen Mary 2.
3. I learned about soccer
My first exposure to soccer was at Frost Valley. I played throughout high school and have coached both my daughter in the sport for six years and my son for eight. I doubt I ever would have played the game if not for Frost Valley.
4 I learned about the weather.
Thanks to Miles [Weaver], I can still tell a day in advance if it is going to rain. Myle also taught me about fossils and I actually found one on one of his field trips. He also taught me to fish.
5 I learned about competition and that I don't like lake swimming.
During [Olympics], and while on a bicycle trip to the Montreal Olympics. The summer of 1976 bicycling from Albany to Montreal remains one of my childhood’s best memories.
6 I learned to appreciate the moment
There are events in everyone’s life where time stands still, and if you close your eyes you can picture the event as if it was just happening i.e. their wedding day, the birth of child, etc. At Frost Valley and on the bike trips that I took, I had many such moments. I still remember the day, I spent in the woods as part of the CIT training. It was a wondrous experience being alone in the woods with my thoughts. In 1975, I remember seeing Tommy at a theatre in Wolfsboro NH, and knowing that my taste in music would never be the same. I remember eating my first lobster while on that trip. From my 1976 bicycle trip from Albany to Montreal, I remember my first concert at Saratoga Performing Art Center (Seals & Croft). It was a great concert, but I knew I liked the Who better. I have wonderful memories of the Olympic Village, of watching Israel play Spain in Soccer and of watching Olympic Volleyball, Field Hockey and weightlifting. I remember Tom Roseberry (Rosebud) being one of the funniest people I’d ever met. I remember eating clam chowder on Cape Cod while it rained outside, and I remember Provincetown.
7 I learned about the country and the world from the counselors and campers I met along the way.
I think the most important lesson I learned at Frost Valley is that everyone is different, and that different wasn’t bad. I met campers and counselors from all parts of the country and from abroad and came to appreciate the diversity.
8. I learned to appreciate music.
The first time I heard an Elton John song was at Frost Valley (“Daniel” and “Goodbye Norma Jean”). The first time I heard the "Piano Man" was on bike trip from Frost Valley. (The last time was at Shea Stadium last week. I learned the Lord’s Prayer made a great song. I saw my first live concert while on a bike trip. I learned that some guy lives under the streets of Boston, and that even though we ain't got money, love is important.
9. I learned to appreciate comedy.
I still crack up at the thought of “The Important Papers”, The Three Thousand Year Old Man, or the "Looks like Dog Poop – good thing we didn’t step on it" skits. I remember Robert Pollard letting me listen to George Carlin’s seven dirty words. From that day on, I loved George Carlin.
10. I learned that its important to have fun when you’re young
Because it will bring a smile to your face when you no longer are.
