What a Difference a Decade (or Two) Makes
March 3, 2011 by Herzl Camp Admin, under General Posts, Letters from Staff, Where Are They Now.
By: Anna “Neener” Simon and Flip “Flip” Frisch
Ghostwriter: Stacy (Kaplan) Simon
Editor’s Note: Anna Simon and Flip Frisch became friends in the mid-’80s when they discovered they were the only girls their age who actually wore their tie-dye shirts at home. If you don’t know the names of these legends of legends, you were either born in the 1960s or earlier, or the 1990s or later. That, or you need to lay off the lem-lem.
Anna was a longtime camper, Ozo, Staff Member, Mama Ozo, Head Counselor (thrice, I believe), and as of recently, a full time staff member for Herzl. Her last summer at camp was 1997, as Camp Director. In short, there aren’t many people with a stronger tie to camp than Anna.
Flip was at camp for 19 summers. From Amanutie Cutie, to her most prominent role as Song Director, nobody had a bigger impact on camp for the last quarter of its existence than Flip. Her last summer was in 2002 as Teva Director.
When 20 and 30 somethings think of Camp, they invariably picture Flip on her guitar Friday Night. If you ask Flip about her most memorable time at camp, she’ll tell you that it was when she was live-in for the best N’Divim Group in the history of camp (1993).
Stacy the ghostwriter was Mama Ozo for the finest Ozo Group in the history of camp. She and her husband Jesse met at camp and have three future Chartreuse Buzzards.
This summer, along with Anna’s son Zach and Flip’s daughter Scout, they will both return to camp – Anna will be in charge of Community Relations, and Flip will serve as a Scholar-in-Residence. They hope to bunk together. If Anna requests Zach and Flip, Flip requests Anna and Scout, and Scout requests Flip and Zach, do you think they’ll end up in the same cabin?
When we compare their conversations from the last time these two worked at camp together to today, it might sound like this:
Anna then: “If we both bring up 4 white outfits for Shabbat, we can switch sometime during the summer and then we won’t ever have to wear the same thing twice.”
Anna now: “No one will notice if I wear the same outfit every Shabbat, right?
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Anna then: “I’m tired, but I don’t want to go to sleep and miss anything.”
Flip then: “Can’t we just sleep when camp is over?”
Anna now: “I’m tired. Let’s go to sleep.”
Flip now: “Let’s just try to stay awake until 8 this time, okay?”
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Flip then: “Marlene and Shelley are fun, but they’re so old! They’ve got to be at least, what, 30?
Flip now: “Hi, new Shelley.”
Anna now: “Hi, new Marlene.”
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Flip then: “Don’t walk in front of me, I may not follow, don’t walk behind me, I may not lead. Just walk beside me and be my friend.”
Flip now: “Go ahead and walk in front of me. I have no idea where this caravan is supposed to go.”
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Anna now: “Hey, the new doctor is my old camper!”
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Flip then: “Can I borrow your boom box to use during our flag song?”
Flip now: “Can I borrow Zach’s old high chair for Scout to use at camp?”
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Anna then: “Cabin 9 is so great – it’s small and cozy, and just 88 steps from the Central Haks. You can sleep late and run to flag-raising just in time for Oh Canada.”
Anna now: “Whoa.”
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Flip then: “I wonder if I should use Sun-In to make my hair look cool.”
Flip now: “I wonder if I should wash that grey right out of my hair.”
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Anna then: “I hope there’s a cute boy in Amanut!”
Anna now: “Boy, it’s cute how Zach enjoys Amanut.”
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Flip then: “Let’s swim the lake! Let’s see who can jump farther off the floating dock! Let’s try the new rock climbing wall and then ride our bikes around in the woods!”
Flip now: “Ow. My back.”
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Anna then: “I cannot believe we get to spend another summer together at Camp! It’s the best place on the planet! Let’s sign up to sit together for Shabbat. And go star gazing! And eat grilled cheese and tomato soup! Oh, and just so you know, I’m going to go to great lengths to avoid taking the swim test.”
Flip then: “I know. And I don’t ever want to grow up and leave camp and have to get a real job.”
Anna now: “Some things never change.”
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Flip’s packing list then:
baby bottle for Kool-Aid
flashlight
baby oil
two-piece bathing suit
alarm clock
shorts I can wear on a bike
book of favorite poems and quotes
Flip’s packing list now:
baby bottle for actual baby
nightlight
SPF 30
skirted bathing suit
two year-old
shorts i can wear in a golfcart
goodnight moon
Editor’s Note: For those who read the blog who are lucky enough to be at camp this summer, make it a point to introduce yourselves to these old ladies. I hope I’m going to that one!
Shabbat Shalom!
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Thanks for Last Night!
June 20, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Alumni.
By Alex Locke
Hey Anna, thanks for last night! What a blast!!!
So last night, Anna Simon invited a bunch of Herzl alumni over for a potluck, in honor of Flip Frisch and her daughter, Scout, being in town. It was SO much fun! First, as promised, I have to give a shout-out to all of those in attendance. Apparently, a lot of them read this blog, which I love. So, here is all of the people who attended:
Robyn (Friedman) Wetter, Stacy (Kaplan) and Jesse Simon, Jesse Zimmerman, Cory and Jenny Friedman, Hope (Frisch) and Jeremy Kalin, Rachel (Tolles) and Sam Rosen, Marlene and Jim Bukstein, Roni (Kornblum) and Mike Falck, Kim (Schneider) and Aaron Gelperin, Debra Fiterman and Alex Arbit, Jon Gilbert, (Jenny) Javitch, Alyssa and Barry Golob, and of course Anna Simon, Flip Frisch, Chad, and me!
My sincerest apologizes if I left anyone out or misspelled any of the names.
So, it was a great crowd. As everyone arrived, we were all catching up. Someone of us have not seen each other in MANY years… others get together on a regular basis. It was so fun schmoozing and chatting with everyone. At one point I commented on all of the occupations there… doctors, lawyers, politicians, IT professionals, camp directors, teachers, and several non-profit workers. It is so fun to see what people choose to do with their lives.
We all talked for a long time, mixing between the groups, going from one circle to the next. There was a ton of food there, though my only complaint is I wanted to know who made what. Next time everyone needs a little table-tent in front of their dish saying what it was and who made it. The curiosity of it all was too hard on me. lol
Eventually, those who were left, made our way to the grass. We sat in a circle, Flip busted out the guitar, and we had a little lights-out song session. It was great. Following that, it was time for Havdallah. Who does Havdallah every week? No one, which is why it was so nice and special. After that, we all helped clean-up and we were on our way.
Herzl is a magical place. You spend umpteen years there as a child and then as a staff member. You eventually go your separate ways, but eventually, it always brings you back together for a little potluck, song session, and Havdallah. It links you to these people forever and that is a powerful thing. On the drive home, Chad commented on how much he wishes he had something like this growing up. He cannot believe how close and tight people are, even after they have not seen each other for years. There was also a huge age range, but everyone was together as BFFs and it was so fun. Chad also commented that he wants to donate more money to Jewish camps because it gives kids who cannot afford it, the chance at a lifetime of memories. And that, is the power of Herzl Camp. Chad and I are going up for a weekend July 2-4, and I am so excited… as is he. He got his own Taste of Herzl last summer at alumni camp, but this year he will get to see camp in action. A full on, white filled, Herzl Shabbat. And while he is not a 10 year old boy, I already know that these Herzl experiences, will give Chad a lifetime of Herzl memories.
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NEWSFLASH: Herzl Alumn Sends Son to Camp!
January 28, 2010 by Herzl Camp Admin, under Letters from Parents.
By Anna Simon
Ok, I realize that there is nothing new and exciting about Herzl Camp alumni sending their children to camp for the first time. This has been going on for years. For more on this topic, read Andy Halper’s blog entry about a girl named Sue (Waldman) Roether [Editor's Note: Or stay tuned for a special guest entry this Sunday...]. I guess it was just a really big moment for me when I registered Z for Taste of Herzl this year. I actually got choked up when I hit the send button. It was such a weird feeling. I wasn’t sad that he was going to be gone for an entire week because I knew I could deal with that. I wasn’t scared about sending him someplace new because we have spent the last two summers at Herzl Family Camp. I was just so overwhelmed with emotion knowing that he will be able to experience something that had such a deep, meaningful and lifelong impact on me. Even though he won’t find my name etched on a wall anywhere, hopefully, he’ll feel my ruach and spirit within camp.
As a former Herzl camper and staff, I hoped Z would WANT to go to Herzl. But, I was cautious about how much I suggested or pushed it. We all want our kids to enjoy the same wonderful opportunities we had when we were young. And, so often we hear about the how Jewish summer camp was one of the most profound experiences of their youth when adults are surveyed. But, you can’t force your child to want to do the same things you did as a kid. And you definitely can’t make them like those things.
That’s where Family Camp comes in. I’m grateful that we had the opportunity to attend it twice (and we’ll definitely be there again in August). Of course, from a selfish standpoint, I wanted to be in the one place in the world where I feel totally free, relaxed and safe. But, I also wanted Z to experience a little bit of the magic of Machaneh Paradise. Plus, the idea of sharing a cabin with Ann (Fiterman) Miller and her son made it even more appealing! We had other friends join us too…friends who did not attend Herzl and wanted to “taste” it before sending their own children. Family Camp was as much of an introduction to Herzl for Z and his friends as it was an opportunity for all of us to begin to let go of the reigns and let them discover camp on their own. As the kids became more comfortable in their surroundings, the parents relaxed a bit and let them run around with friends and the staff. At some point during that first summer, Z turned to me and asked if he could be a camper.
There are so many things I want to tell Z about camp, but I’m holding back. I want him to bring home his own unique and personal experiences. When that bus pulls into the parking lot in June after Taste, I will be anxiously waiting to give lots of hugs and kisses and then sit back to listen to everything that he has to say about camp. Maybe he will give me a list of what he learned at camp. More likely, he’ll share stories and sing the 2010 Ozo Song. It won’t be until much later in life that he will realize what he really learned from being at Herzl.
So, my camp friends, here are just a few things I learned from being at Camp:
- It is possible to be responsible and have ruach all at the same time as demonstrated by Danny Soshnik
- When it rains, go puddle jumping. Sometime during the mid-1980’s, during the all-camp color war, called Bikkurim, it started to pour (um, I mean Heavy Dew as it really never rains at Herzl Camp) just before the camp relay began. Staff could have just moved everyone inside to play rainy day games but they did not. Instead, they started an all-out mud-puddle-jumping extravaganza complete with shaving cream. It was the greatest day ever. I have since learned that in every bad situation or rainy day you can truly find a ray of sunshine.
- Attitude is everything and it is highly contagious
- Nothing compares to having Shabbat services outdoors
- Tan is not the same as white
- Grilled cheese together and tomato soup – what more do I need to say?
- Stepping back to understand the big picture is important
- Being with family at camp is precious, truly…especially when your brother, Jesse, is the co-director (with Beth Shapiro) of Nilakot and gives you a pair of funky, granola pants (yep, I still have mine)
- Community is crucial
- The Northview Drive Inn has the best blueberry shakes…ever
- Toran wheels are really beneficial
- Having a colleague at work as cool as Matt Lipschultz, Tommy Hoffman, Adam Chall and Marcy Simon just makes the job better
- Camp is a frame of mind
- It’s ok to laugh at yourself every once in a while
- If you are wearing a tie dye shirt you are on the tie dye team
- Spotting a bald eagle soaring in the sky is a gift from G-d
- Little things do count and should be celebrated
- Every time I read the word Bikkurim or announcements, I have to sing the songs that go with them
- Treat the earth with respect and keep it clean, even if you don’t get a t-shirt for doing it
- 12 Gates is funny even if you have no idea what they are singing about
- Never mess with Jesse Zimmerman or Ben Gray at camp…ever
- You can lose gracefully
- Flip Frisch’s voice makes me think of and feel Shabbos at camp
- Nicknames stick even after camp
- It’s not ok to jump on a table and yell loudly when there is a bat flying around in the (old) chadar, Barry Golob
- It is ok and highly encouraged to put potato chips on your sandwiches…thank you Stacy (Kaplan) Simon
- Talent shows are awesome
- Singing and dancing during breakfast is a fantastic way to get your day started
- That it is ok for Debbie Minkin or anyone else to break into song or dance at a moment’s notice
- You absolutely MUST sing the Herzl song every time you drive into camp
- Gaga is just plain fun…for everyone
- Flag songs are funny any time
- You have a lot to learn from people both older and younger then yourself
- Eating a freeze pop can make even the smallest bump or bruise feel better
- The Herzl Camp staff and Ozrim are some of the hardest working folks in the universe
- Once a camp friend, always a friend
- There is magic at Herzl
And, finally, here are a few things that Z would like to learn while at Taste this summer (in his own words):
- To canoe by myself
- To be ok with being away from my parents for a long time
- To walk around without getting pine needles in my sandals
- To make a 6-string lanyard
- Make new friends
Shabbat Shalom Everyone!