Volume LI, No. 3, November, 2010

Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums & Friends,

On July 4th we have a traditional quote for grace at breakfast, “We are thankful to live in a country where we choose our leaders with ballots instead of bullets.”  So even in the midst of a particularly unfriendly and ugly election cycle, we know it could be a lot worse.  And thankfully, this year’s elections will be completed very soon.  If you’ve followed the news, you’ve seen that Arizona politics is

Wisconsin Knows How to do Fall!

interesting, to say the least.  The campaign here has been long and really, really awful.  Having followed many campaigns, I have to admit that I can be a bit of a political junky….I actually like politics.  This year, however, at least in our state, it seems that Anger has held center stage for too long and in an entirely unproductive and destructive way.  And the only reason I bring it up here is that I think it can be especially destructive to our kids.  My kids and I recently watched our beloved Packers beat the not-so-beloved Vikings on Sunday Night Football (and there was much rejoicing).  During each television break, there were multiple political ads, and Anger was the star.  It was served in super-sized helpings. And this occurs at all hours on television and beyond.  If you drive any direction from our house here in Tucson you can read countless banner ads along the roadway, many of which express anger at someone.  There is very little in the way of debate….even in the debates!  I’ve been paying attention, and while I’m keenly aware of who is angry at whom, I have no idea what anyone plans to do to improve the situation.  That sort of information is apparently not as appealing as raw emotion—Anger is King. 

Anger is a natural emotion.  It can even be an effective motivator in someone with the maturity and self-awareness to harness it in an appropriate and positive way.  What we are seeing on television and reading in the paper and magazines is completely raw, unexplained, unexplored anger being expressed by adults who are to be role-models for our children.  So if they are unwilling or unable to clearly define what they are angry about and how they plan to respond to that anger, what can we expect from our children?  Our kids are being taught that it is adult to rage, and that rage is all you need.  Please.

So the answer to this conundrum?  I wish I knew, but I have 3 suggestions: 1) Celebrate the arrival of November 3rd.  Things will tone down (but not go completely away) then.  2) Turn the TV off!  That is the media that is most susceptible to this nonsense.  I know we probably sound like broken records around here, but that box causes problems.  It came with an on/off switch for a reason!  3) Talk about this with your kids.  They’re hearing it for sure.  Are they noticing the anger?  Maybe consciously, maybe sub consciously, maybe not at all.  But if they are, someone should explain to them that this is NOT how responsible adults should express and act on their anger.  You can talk a little about how television news is now designed as much to entertain as to inform, so it is important to be careful in deciphering what you hear and how you formulate your opinions while very loud people are trying to influence you.  At the very least, it makes for fascinating discussions, which is more than we can say for the election process in its current state….at least in our current state. 

Enrollment is really cooking!  We’re having a great Fall, and we have lots of interested new families as well.  Welcome back to the following “old timers” who re-enrolled last month: ARI LACKNER of Bannockburn, IL; DANIEL ENGEL and SAM and TAYLOR FRISHMAN of Buffalo Grove, IL: GRANT KIBEL and JERRIS KIRKWOOD of St. Louis, MO; BLAKE BERKOWITZ and JACK GOMBERG of Chicago, IL: ADAM “RUSH” CORTES-FERRIE, JOSH SOMMERFELD, and CHRIS TOMPKINS of Deerfield, IL; KENDALL FEARN of Williamstown, NJ; IAN JACOBS of Nashville, TN; AARON and DILLON KATZ of Salt Lake City, UT; SAM WETZEL of Northbrook, IL; SAM JAFFE, ALEX and ANDREW KARMIN, and LUKE SCLAMBERG and JEREMY SPARKS of Highland Park, IL; JAKE STEIN of Bellaire, TX; JARED MARGOLIS of Houston, TX; and after a summer’s absence, NATHAN REIFF of Wilmette, IL; Welcome aboard to the following first-year campers who will join us this summer: ETHAN GORDON of Buffalo Grove, IL; ETHAN GOMBERG of Chicago, IL; JOE BERNS of Highland Park, IL; and JACK REED of Nashville, TN.  We’re so happy to have you all with us.  You’re in for the greatest summer ever!!

We are also pleased to welcome back the following CIT’s for the 2011 summer: BRANDON AXE and JAY FELDMAN of Buffalo Grove, IL; JORDAN FINE, RYAN GERSOWSKY, and JOEY MARKS of Deerfield, IL; COKEY PLATANIAS of Glencoe, IL; JAKE BURSTYN of Highland Park, IL; JOEY RODIN and RYAN WAGNER of Northbrook, IL; DREW DAVIS of Riverwoods, IL; BRIAN BARLOW of Red Wing, MN; CHARLIE JONAS and JORDAN TAYLOR of St. Louis, MO; and BEN LEVEY of Milwaukee, WI.  It’s only November, and already our staff for next year is off to a phenomenal start!!

REUNION NEWS: We had such a great trip to St. Louis last month.  The weather could not have been more beautiful, and everyone was so enthusiastic and supportive.  On Friday, October 15th, we attended a fund-raising event for Camp

for All Kids, and that was fantastic!  Our own impartial judgment was that MARSHALL and MICHAEL STRAWBRIDGE, two of our CFAK kids from St. Louis, were the hands-down stars of the night.  Both boys spoke about what their experiences at camp have meant to them, and all they have learned in their summers at Timberlane, completely wowing the assembled group.  We were just amazed, and very very proud of those guys. The event raised $75,000 for CFAK, which is awesome.  We also want to thank our St. Louis area parents who volunteered their time to put this event together, including Emily Coen, Jill & Ben Crane, Amy Garland, Renee Sigel Hearst, Barbara Kahn, Sharon Remis, and Michelle Strawbridge.  You folks are amazing!

The next day we held our St. Louis reunion, and the premier screening of the 2010 Reunion Video.  To help with the premiere, RYAN COHEN – video producer extraordinaire, drove in from Chicago, and JEFF MELROSE – camp-guy extraordinaire, flew in from Florida!!  Both Ryan and Jeff attended the CFAK event on Friday as well as the reunion, which was so much fun!  While we were in town,  we saw lots of new kiddies, had fun showing Mike Breen around my home-town, and just had a blast!  Thanks to everyone there for making our weekend so enjoyable and productive! 

Upcoming reunions are listed below.  We mail out invitations about a month ahead of time with address and RSVP information, so please be on the look out for that when the reunion near you is coming up.  Our Tucson reunion will be in February, and we’ll let everyone there know well in advance.

City	Date	Time
Chicago	Saturday, November 6th	12:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Denver	Saturday, November 13th	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Houston	Saturday, December 4th	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Nashville	Sunday, December 12th	12:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Dallas	Saturday, January 8th	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Milwaukee	Saturday, January 22nd	2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Just a quick reminder to all of our campers, parents, and staff.  If you have not yet completed the online questionnaires we asked about after your session at camp ended, it’s not too late.  You can use the links below to do that, and it only takes a few moments.  We thank you in advance for your feedback.

Camper Questionnaire: http://forms.camptimberlane.com/camper-survey.html
Parent Questionnaire: http://forms.camptimberlane.com/parents-survey.html
Staff Questionnaire: http://forms.camptimberlane.com/staff-feedback.html

In St. Louis, JASON GARLAND is a tackle on his football team.  GRANT GARLAND is playing soccer and scored a goal in a recent game.  BEN REMIS is playing tennis and having fun.  He also got to see Rick Riordan, author of The Lightning Thief.  WILL COEN is playing tennis and missing camp.  We know the feeling!  SAM KAHN is playing tennis and staying busy with school.  RYAN GARLAND is playing soccer and swimming on a swim team.  JERRIS KIRKWOOD is at a new school, and playing football.  RYAN HEARST is hanging out and recently went boating on a lake outside of St. Louis.  DAVID TAMSKY is hanging out with friends.  BEN TAMSKY is playing hockey.  LIAM and JACK O’MALLEY are doing a lot of bike riding.  JAKE FLOM is playing soccer.  LEE GOODMAN is busy with photography, Boy Scouts, and working on his website.  MAX GOLDENBERG is on a swim team.  MICHAEL STRAWBRIDGE is recovering from a sprained ankle, and getting ready for wrestling season.  MARSHALL STRAWBRIDGE is into Karate, and competed in a tournament in Columbia, MO.  GRANT KIBEL is playing soccer and lacrosse.  JON KIBEL is playing soccer, refereeing soccer, and played in the state finals for his school’s varsity lacrosse team.  JACK LYNCH is playing soccer.  TYLER GELLMAN is playing soccer and played in a tournament in Rockford, IL.,  IZZY MCKENZIE is working hard at school and is experiencing camp-sickness.  A few “old-timers” attended our reunion, including ANDREW LUX, GABE GRAND, and RYAN MILLER.  Gabe played American Legion baseball last summer, and is playing basketball now.  Ryan is a defensive end on his football team.  The Chicago area finds JAMES & WILL BOSHES on a school trip to Washington, DC recently.  Bar Mitzvah congrats to JOSH SOMMERFELD who celebrated last month, and to ADAM SHERMAN who will celebrate this month and then go on a trip to Israel! Last month, BLAKE BERKOWITZ, BEN CHESKIS, DANIEL ENGEL, TAYLOR FRISHMAN, DREW MITCHELL, MILES PADZENSKY, ZACH ORLOWSKY, and ADAM WASSERMAN got together to see “The Social Network.”  In New Jersey, KENDALL FEARN is playing basketball and emailing his camp friends a lot.  He was also nominated by his math teacher to visit Princeton University for a leadership conference. 

First of all, we sorta missed the boat with this one, and we apologize to all y’all.  In Denver, HITCH & CORRIE HITCHENS welcomed their son, LIAM HITCHENS to their happy household way back on August 19th.  Everyone is happy and healthy, and Liam even made it to a Colorado Rockies game, and watched them blow their playoff chances.  In St. Louis, CHARLIE JONAS is playing hockey and lacrosse.  In the Chicago area, RYAN COHEN is now shooting video for RAM Racing, which is organized by alumnus Paul Rosenblum (who happens to be Eddie’s,Jono’s, and Joey’s dad).  ALLI DOYLE has relocated to Wellfleet, MA – on Cape Cod -- where she is working backstage at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors theater company.  AMY EIDSON is in Wilmington, NC, and recently had her first intercollegiate horse show of the season.  She will actually organize and host a horse show this month.  Mooresville, IN finds a busy Jones Family. HANNAH JONES is playing varsity soccer and her team won sectionals and was on the way to regionals…last we heard.  EMILY JONES is a freshman at Indiana, and in addition to her full course load, she is working at the Scholars Inn Bake House, which is a restaurant in Bloomington owned by camp alumnus, Lyle Feigenbaum.  FLETCHER JONES has a job in the pharmacy at a hospital in Indianapolis.  HEATHER WRIGHT is working as a Marketing/Education Outreach intern at Stone Soup Theatre in the Wallingford area of Seattle. She’s also Props Master for their fall production and will also be Assisting Director for their children's production of "A Child's Christmas in Wales." MORGAN ANDERSON is living in Savoy, IL. taking classes and working at Champaign Country Club.  Nurse VICKI SETZER has joined the ACA and plans to attend a camp nurse symposium in San Diego this winter.  In Wausau, WI., JAKE “BIRDMAN” POURCHOT is doing a lot of running, and has organized a marathon runners’ club at UW- Stevens Point.  He’s also been biking a ton, and fitting in some school and working as a math tutor.  DIANA CORDONA is in Bogota, Columbia working as a data analyst for Columbia’s central bank.  KATHY LEVERTON has finally arrived back home in South Africa after leaving camp, traveling around the US and Europe, and hanging with lots of camp folks including JUSTIN LOWRY, CHRIS BARRON, and DESI HEINEN.  She is back to work at the climbing gym she worked at last year between camp summers.  JEREMY “JEMS” TODD is back home in New Zealand, and is trying to counsel himself through his camp-sickness.  He is also returning to school to complete a degree in business, and is working as a mentor for kids.  He writes, “Part of my decision to get involved is no doubt based on having had such a positive experience at Camp working with kids.”  No doubt he’ll be an excellent mentor for some lucky kid in New Zealand!  In the “old-timers” department, JARED KAPLAN is a freshman at the University of Texas, hanging with MAX HOFFER and having a blast.  SCOTT BREEN is living in Washington, DC, in his senior year at Georgetown.  He recently took the LSAT and is awaiting acceptance at Harvard Law or some other acceptable institution. 

BRAVO TO OUR NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS: Jerris Kirkwood - 11/1/1997, Jake Pourchot - 11/1/1988, Ben Kuhn - 11/2/1996, Ryan Schwartz - 11/3/1995, Zsolt Abraham - 11/4/1990, David Fine - 11/5/1992, Jordan Herz - 11/6/1993, Izzy McKenzie - 11/7/1995, Jordan Taylor - 11/9/1995, James Boshes - 11/13/1996, Brett Zaslavsky - 11/13/1998, Noah Kraus - 11/17/1998, Holden Rosenthal - 11/17/1996, Max Goldenberg - 11/19/1998, Ben Spier - 11/19/1996, Asa Hiken - 11/20/1997, Emily Jones - 11/20/1991, Jack Rosenthal - 11/20/1998, Jonas Monieson - 11/21/1999, Jake Sprintz - 11/25/1994, Dougie Moss - 11/27/1992, Adam Sherman - 11/28/1997.

We’ll write you again in a month! Have a great November, everybody!!

Benches up,