The Dream Lives On and On
July 10, 2009 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Lindsey (Gordon) Rose
The dream could have started one year earlier for me had I not chosen to get a bay window seat in my new bedroom that my parents were building (circa 1987) What were they thinking negotiating a box of wood with me over a summer at HCwith my friends? And what was I thinking for choosing the window seat? Clearly I wasn’t – but while I spent that lonely summer staring out my beautiful new bedroom window and then glancing back at my gorgeous framed poster of Andre Agassi above my bed, there were much bigger, better and more interesting things happening at HC. I heard what I missed from my friend Dawn Davidson (Zouber), and albeit a year later than it should have been … my dream finally began in 1988.Of all of the years I spent at camp, that year holds the most vivid memories, many of which set the stage for me coming back for more HC adventures each summer.
- Cabin 7 was my first Herzl home: Anna Simon was my Ozo- she rocked. Still does. Susie Greenberg was my counselor. She was the same height as all of her campers, so she fit right in. We loved her.
I passed the swimming test on the first try (whew) though I was convinced I was going to get swimmers’ itch every minute I was in the water for that test.
- I was in awe of and in love with the fact that we sang songs about bunches of bananas and tying kangaroos down (sport) after lunch. Ruach was in the air at all times.
- I convinced myself that I saw Rosemary run into the Ozo mo one night carrying a lantern and a bag of cookies she’d nabbed during a kitchen raid.
- Favorite Funny Cabin Memory: Lori Charney was chewing a piece of gum on her top bunk that fell into Shira Frailich’s hair on the bottom bunk. Lori had to cut it out with a scissors because it was stuck so badly. Shira was mortified. Lori felt terrible but couldn’t control her laughter (neither could the rest of us). Being a good friend, she cut a chunk of her own hair out to make Shira feel better.
- Favorite cabin bonding activity: Using shaving cream to shave my legs along with other cabin mates on the front stoop of the cabin—I love that nobody ever questioned dozens of teens shaving off their leg hair and letting it float freely throughout camp grounds.
- The (old) tennis courts were starting to fall apart but Jessica Rivas and I played on them as much as humanly possible in the three weeks we were there.
- Grossest shower moment: Going into the West Haks one day and seeing a pile of poop on the shower floor, and questioning whether it was human poop or one of the random camp dog’s poop. It magically disappeared within minutes of my discovery (no doubt the good deed of some poor Ozo that summer)
- Josh Stein from Kansas City was my summer crush. Or maybe that was 1989?
- Lauren Berman and Danny Kaplan were mama and papa Ozo, and to me, they were so dreamy— like John Trovolta and Olivia Newton-John from the movie Grease. But they actually did get married in real life!
- Final banquet was better than any prom I ever attended later in life.
- I dropped a pair of my sunglasses over the mercaz one morning (oops).
- I lived for eating melty Twix bars from Chanut during Minucha.
- I loathed every time I accidentally got a wiff of the camp garbage truck.
- I was mesmerized by Barry Golob and Paul Schraber’s 12 Gates performances each week. They are legendary.
- I cherished the special after-dinner Shabbat singing sessions.
While I will never be a camper again, these experiences and memories will live with me forever and constantly put a smile on my face. I hope my children and their friends feel the same way one day after they’ve experience their own dream. This August, hundreds of Herzl alum will have a few days to re-live their own Herzl dreams, looking back at your own journey, why would you want to miss this opportunity? Please sign-up today to be there in August to enjoy every moment as if it was your first. Shabbat Shalom!