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| third from left: Katie |
I have no precise figures for this, but I'm going to guess that 20% of the campers here this session - perennially the largest session - are children of former campers and staff or nephews and nieces or even grandkids. I get a sense of this as my own former campers & counselors come into the dining hall at check-in with huge smiles on their faces and even nostalgic tears: weeks of telling their own Frost Valley stories now give way, for the children, to the kids' own experiences, first hand. And typically these kids quickly
get the FV magic, and can explain it for themselves - no longer needing mom or dad's version. It's a subtle thing to see, but palpable. Yesterday, Melissa Rubin, who had been a counselor in Pokey for three summers back in the 90s, dropped off Anya, who is - you guessed it - in Pokey-Totem. Circle game. Melissa was thrilled and also a little jealous as she left and contemplated the drive home alone. Parents wait years for this and then - pow! - it hits them. They've passed it on.
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| Anya, at right |
Jeff Hamilton was a camper here and remembered me quite well. Had he a flood of memories as we chatted. He and his wife dropped of THREE children: Emma, Katie and James. Katie is in cabin 43 where the counselor (and VC of Lakota) is my daughter Hannah. Jeff was thrilled about this coincidence and Hannah reported that when he brought Katie to the cabin yesterday he couldn't stop telling the stories. The generations!
