A very special thank you to Irene Drantch, Camp Kinder Ring director, for giving me the opportunity this summer to reconnect with camp on so many levels. It may be 40 years since I last spent a summer at camp, but I feel like it was yesterday!
Monday, August 8, 2011
2011
After the dinner the ceremonies took place and Ricky Posner became the torch bearer for 2011. Ricky and my kids are best friends and I drove home knowing that the connections continue through generation after generation!
A very special thank you to Irene Drantch, Camp Kinder Ring director, for giving me the opportunity this summer to reconnect with camp on so many levels. It may be 40 years since I last spent a summer at camp, but I feel like it was yesterday!
A very special thank you to Irene Drantch, Camp Kinder Ring director, for giving me the opportunity this summer to reconnect with camp on so many levels. It may be 40 years since I last spent a summer at camp, but I feel like it was yesterday!
Last day at Camp
Ilise and I drove up to camp on Sunday for what was to be the last visit this season. It was an incredible day filled with re-connections, nostalgia, laughs and tears! Sunday was Opening Ceremonies for the 40th Olympics Games. Every year one person who signifies what Kinder Ring is all about becomes the Torch Bearer. Nobody knows (except the 3 or 4 people who make the decision) who will receive the highest honor Kinder Ring gives every year. For the past 39 years each Torch Bearer gets invited back to camp to participate in the ceremonies. Yesterday about 20 of the torch bearers were there and Ilise and I were fortunate to be invited to the dinner honoring them. Each previous winner spoke about what Kinder Ring meant to them and I wish everybody who ever thought about sending a kid to camp could have been there. So many of the comments centered around life-long connections and friendships. As I sat there I thought about how so many of these people have touched my life. First and most significant was Mike Baran!
Mr. Baran was my Jewish school teacher 50 year ago and taught me my Bar-Mitzvah lessons. He is a holocaust survivor and talked last night about how after the horrible years of the war, he came to America seeking a new life. The Workmen's Circle (who runs the camp) took him in and helped him become a teacher. He has touched the lives of thousands including my children (who he also taught Bar-Mitzvah lessons to!)
Another winner was Steve Gutstein, the first torch bearer in 1971, my last summer at camp. Steve talked about the people in the room who he has known for his entire life, including me. As a young boy he was my counselor and one day he borrowed my basketball, which somehow got lost. Our running joke for the past 45 years is how he found it finally after all these years!
Eric Roth was another torch bearer. His connection comes when he was a counselor and groupleader and had both Andrew and Danny as his campers. Now he has 3 of his own children in camp and he is on the Board of Directors of camp, a role I had over a dozen years ago. Next was Marc Zelmoniwicz, a friend of my kids whose parents were both my friends as young children in Queens. They started dating in camp in the 70's and now all of their kids have spent all of their years at camp too. We met as young children because our parents were all good friends!
And finally was Lauren Friedlander, the teen girls groupleader this year. Lauren was my colleague on the trip to Florida and the spirit of what Kinder Ring is today!
Mr. Baran was my Jewish school teacher 50 year ago and taught me my Bar-Mitzvah lessons. He is a holocaust survivor and talked last night about how after the horrible years of the war, he came to America seeking a new life. The Workmen's Circle (who runs the camp) took him in and helped him become a teacher. He has touched the lives of thousands including my children (who he also taught Bar-Mitzvah lessons to!)
Another winner was Steve Gutstein, the first torch bearer in 1971, my last summer at camp. Steve talked about the people in the room who he has known for his entire life, including me. As a young boy he was my counselor and one day he borrowed my basketball, which somehow got lost. Our running joke for the past 45 years is how he found it finally after all these years!
Eric Roth was another torch bearer. His connection comes when he was a counselor and groupleader and had both Andrew and Danny as his campers. Now he has 3 of his own children in camp and he is on the Board of Directors of camp, a role I had over a dozen years ago. Next was Marc Zelmoniwicz, a friend of my kids whose parents were both my friends as young children in Queens. They started dating in camp in the 70's and now all of their kids have spent all of their years at camp too. We met as young children because our parents were all good friends!
And finally was Lauren Friedlander, the teen girls groupleader this year. Lauren was my colleague on the trip to Florida and the spirit of what Kinder Ring is today!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
SLEEP
Wow did I catch up on sleep last night - I crashed and slept like a baby. And good thing since I started working out with a trainer this morning. It's nice to have a guy who's my age and gets what that means!!
Heading into the city tomorrow for some meetings and lunch and coffee with work colleagues. Looking forward to seeing people and taking the day off of enjoying the summer by actually doing something semi - work related.
Heading back up to camp on Sunday for the day with Ilise!!!
Heading into the city tomorrow for some meetings and lunch and coffee with work colleagues. Looking forward to seeing people and taking the day off of enjoying the summer by actually doing something semi - work related.
Heading back up to camp on Sunday for the day with Ilise!!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
The Magic Kingdom and the ride home
The last day of the trip was spent at the Magic Kingdom - the original theme park in Orlando. It's still got it even though many of the attractions are over 40 years old. It's hard not to go on It's a Small World and the Haunted House even if the thrills at some of the other parks clearly are better than these classics. Everyone had a spectacular day there even with the knowledge that we'd be leaving the park at 10 and going right to the bus for the 23 hour ride home. We left the park at 11 PM Saturday and pulled into camp at 9:30 PM Sunday night.
Along the way we encountered buffet dining in North Carolina (where the idiot at the checkout charged me the senior rate) - a savings of a whopping 49 cents - even though I clearly wasn't even close to the senior age requirement. OK, maybe I was close but he didn't know that. After spending a week with 32 15 years olds at theme parks I figured I looked much younger. Lunch was at that personal favorite - Kentucky Fried Chicken - which goes by KFC so maybe you'll forget the F stands for fried! Trust me, after you take one bite of the chicken you know its fried!
And then the big debate was if we should stop for dinner on the GSP or the NYT (for those of you not familiar with tri-state area roadways - tough). We ended up going all the way to Hopewell Junction and ordered Sunny's Chicken Parm sandwiches and pizza - the staple food for every person who has ever gone to Kinder Ring! It was just as bad last night as it was 30 years ago! But it was food and at 10 PM after sitting on a bus for 23 plus hours that was the only qualification.
After a long hot shower it was off to bed only to be awakened this morning to those wonderful words - Good morning campers, it's a beautiful Kinder Ring morning. And it was, like every Kinder Ring morning is. Breakfast in the dining room and then my trip report to Irene and it was time to come home.
I got home at about 12:30 and Ilise was waiting in the driveway for me and I couldn't have been happier to see her! Cali was at the vet because after today Cali is no longer able to have little Cali's so our reunion won't take place until tomorrow night. I'm thinking she might not be too happy to see me then but I'm going to blame her new status on Ilise. Wasn't me - I wasn't even home to take you to the vet!!!
Along the way we encountered buffet dining in North Carolina (where the idiot at the checkout charged me the senior rate) - a savings of a whopping 49 cents - even though I clearly wasn't even close to the senior age requirement. OK, maybe I was close but he didn't know that. After spending a week with 32 15 years olds at theme parks I figured I looked much younger. Lunch was at that personal favorite - Kentucky Fried Chicken - which goes by KFC so maybe you'll forget the F stands for fried! Trust me, after you take one bite of the chicken you know its fried!
And then the big debate was if we should stop for dinner on the GSP or the NYT (for those of you not familiar with tri-state area roadways - tough). We ended up going all the way to Hopewell Junction and ordered Sunny's Chicken Parm sandwiches and pizza - the staple food for every person who has ever gone to Kinder Ring! It was just as bad last night as it was 30 years ago! But it was food and at 10 PM after sitting on a bus for 23 plus hours that was the only qualification.
After a long hot shower it was off to bed only to be awakened this morning to those wonderful words - Good morning campers, it's a beautiful Kinder Ring morning. And it was, like every Kinder Ring morning is. Breakfast in the dining room and then my trip report to Irene and it was time to come home.
I got home at about 12:30 and Ilise was waiting in the driveway for me and I couldn't have been happier to see her! Cali was at the vet because after today Cali is no longer able to have little Cali's so our reunion won't take place until tomorrow night. I'm thinking she might not be too happy to see me then but I'm going to blame her new status on Ilise. Wasn't me - I wasn't even home to take you to the vet!!!
Friday, July 29, 2011
Aquatica and Islands of Adventure
Two days have gone by without any updates. It's because I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. This every day a different theme park gets very tiring. The last two days have been the best - the weather and the parks just keep getting better. The water park was just plain fun - water slides, floating rivers and a wave pool among other things. Islands of Adventure with Harry Potter rides and Spiderman were the best attractions I've ever been on - simply fabulous. Dinner and movies last night, Mystery Sleuth dinner tonight - the body can only take so much good time! Tomorrow we sleep in a little and then the one that started it all - The Magic Kingdom. Not even going to think about the 24 hour bus ride home after a full day at Disney. Much more to come when I am awake!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
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