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!