Dear Campers, Parents, Staff, Alums & Friends,
We know a lot of you have gotten a very stark notice that summer..and maybe even fall…is over. Our buddies in Colorado have already seen some snow on the ground, and of course, the folks back east had a very unfriendly visit from Hurricane Sandy in the last week. What
And this month starts our somewhat frequent trips to the airport and beyond as we begin our “off-season” reunion circuit. It’s gonna be a very busy one this year, with 9 reunions already scheduled, and at least 2 more that we’ll have on the calendar as well. Phew! Camp reunions are the best, so we hope you’ll all set aside the time and make the effort to come and join us. We know you get very busy in your “off-season” lives, and that’s great! But we just ask that you think about how you felt sitting around the campfire on your last night at camp. Remember that? Surrounded by your amazingly close and loyal camp friends? Sure…you remember. So, let’s spend a little time together this winter, and rekindle that feeling. Good times are a guarantee, guys, so we’ll look forward to seeing you at a Timberlane Reunion Near You! And those will include:
| City | Date | Time |
| Chicago | Sat. Nov. 3 | 12:00 pm |
| Milwaukee | Sun. Nov. 4 | 12:30 pm |
| Nashville | Sun. Nov. 11 | 3:00 pm |
| Houston | Sat. Dec. 1 | 2:00 pm |
| St. Louis | Sat. Dec. 8 | 3:00 pm |
| Cleveland | Sat. Dec. 15 | 3:00 pm |
| Columbus | Sun. Dec. 16 | 11:00 am |
| Dallas | Sat. Jan. 5 | 2:00 pm |
| Denver | Sat. Jan. 12 | 2:00 pm |
We have had one busy month! Camp’s enrollment is now more than 2/3 of the way full. If your son is hoping to join us this coming summer, and you have not yet had a chance to apply, we strongly recommend you do so in the coming weeks. This is some amazing enthusiasm!! Welcome back to the following “old-timers” who re-enrolled last month: SAM & TAYLOR FRISHMAN of Buffalo Grove, IL; JOHNNY GROSS (after a summer’s absence) and JOSH MEYER of Chicago, IL; WILL COEN and BEN REMIS of St. Louis, MO; DYLAN & GRANT KAUFMAN of Columbus, OH; ZACH ORLOWSKY, ALEX POBERESKIN, JESSE STOLBERG, JEREMY SUS, and CHRIS TOMPKINS of Deerfield, IL; JORDAN FISHEL, GAVIN GORDON, MICHAEL GORDON, IAN JACOBS, and TYLER JACOBS of Nashville, TN; NICK PAPPAS of Glencoe, IL; JOE BERNS, SPENCER & ZACH COPLAN, DANIEL FELDMAN, SAM JAFFE, and JACOB & MYLES ROSENSTEIN of Highland Park, IL; JONATHAN BLOOM of Bellaire, TX; JAKE MAZOW of Dallas, TX; MASON ROSENBERG, JOSH SPAETH, and BRANDON TUCKER of Northbrook, IL; and JOSH GLAZER of Mequon, WI.
And welcome aboard to the following new campers who will join us this summer: AIDAN MEASE of Tucson, AZ; JAMES LOVETT of Los Angeles, CA; JORDAN CASTLEMAN and JACOB IMBER of Glencoe, IL; MASSIMO D’AGARO of Northbrook, IL; and JACOB VINER of Nashville, TN. Y’all are in for one heck of a great summer!!
It is only November, but we’ve got a full slate of extraordinary CITs to tell you about. Welcome back to: ARI 
LACKNER of Bannockburn, IL; MICHAEL GROSS and ROSS SINAR of Chicago, IL; SAM KAHN of St. Louis, MO; MATTHEW JACOBS of Nashville, TN; MAX GLICKMAN of Deerfield, IL; DAVID RINGEL of Glencoe, IL; JOEY BURSTEN, BEN ROBERTS, JONAH ROSENBERG, and BEN SPIER of Houston, TX; DANIEL ECHT and BEN FELDMAN of Highland Park, IL; DAVID PAWLAN of Northbrook, IL; and AARON GLAZER of Mequon, WI. That is a seriously fun group of CITs, and with so much camp experience!! We will have lots more names of returning staff members in the issues ahead, so stay tuned!
In Denver PARKER DAWSON is a little homeless. He and his family have moved out of their house, but their brand new house (exciting!) won’t be ready for a few months. So if you see Parker on the side of the road, you’ll know why. In the Minneapolis area, COREY LENDWAY finished 7th for his age, and 52nd overall for all high schoolers in the World Archery tournament last month. Congrats, Corey!! In Brooklyn, JULES BLUM is wearing a cast on his hand after a skateboarding incident. We’ve got Bar Mitzvah congrats going out to ARI SINGER and DAVID TAMSKY in St. Louis. Ari celebrated last month, and David will celebrate this month. Some camp guys have been traveling around a bit to celebrate Bar Mitzvahs with friends, including DAVID HEIMAN and DANIEL FELDMAN of Chicago who were in Nashville to celebrate with TYLER JACOBS. DAVID HEIMAN was also in Nashville along with DAVID TAMSKY to celebrate ALEX FREEDMAN’s Bar Mitzvah. Sounds like a lot of fun times! And while we’re at it, congrats to ARI GORDON in Chicago who will celebrate his Bar Mitzvah this month, as will ETHAN TEICH. JOSH SPAETH is singing with his honors choir at a competition this month. MICHAEL GROSS is running in the Illinois State Cross Country championships this month. Wow!
In case you hadn’t heard, our very own JACK GOMBERG, of Chicago, was recently a featured talent on the Nickelodeon show “Figure it Out.” Jack and his friend were on the show because of their amazing feats of gymnastic/circus stunts on the Giant German Wheel. We watched, and it was amazing! You gotta see it!! If you want to have a look, here’s a link to the episode. We’ve had some recent visitors to Tucson, which has been great. DREW DAVIS took a look at the U of A as a possible consideration next school year, and DEBBIE PURCELL was in
town from Denver for a job. Debbie helps conference organizers arrange care and activities for the children of their conferees, and she worked an event in Tucson. In both cases, we went out for what Tucson does best…Mexican food!! MAX WEINTRAUB is a Junior at the U of A, and apparently he is studying roller hockey. Max plays in a league here, and recently his game was refereed by none other than “old-timer” TOMMY WASZCZAK. DAVID ARTZI is a freshman at the U of A and this semester he had an internship with the athletic department assisting with football recruiting. In Houston, BRIAN BROCHSTEIN has been accepted to Indiana University for next fall. All the way from Canada (eh) is news from JEREMY SUTTON. Jeremy was on the McGill University baseball team, and after a rough start, his team went on a huge run that landed them in the Canadian college baseball quarter finals where the magic finally ran out. On the west side, HEATHER WRIGHT is in Seattle working and looking into schools so she can get her K-8 teaching certificate. On the east side, MATT RODIN is in Boston and directing The Boston Conservatory’s “Backwards: A Miscast Cabaret” as well as writing a lot of music…and dodging hurricanes. Y’know, no big deal.
THE JUICE
A special section from Michael Breen
My earliest memory of camp is of my mother horribly, horribly, horribly embarrassing me. Horribly.
(Note to parents: assuming you’re reading this please let this serve as a cautionary tale).
Now, up to that point, the most embarrassing thing my mom had done to me was tell my 4th grade crush that if I was a girl I would have been named Elizabeth (note to moms of 4th graders: don’t do that).
Anyway, the year was 1996 and my parents and I were on our way to the parking lot in Chicago to drop me off for the bus to camp. I was wearing the perfect outfit to make new friends: neon-green Umbro shorts (Umbro was the Under Armour of the nineties. Also, neon was cool back then. Don’t ask why) and a Michael Jordan t-shirt (for those born in the new millennium, Michael Jordan was a basketball player—please see the May, 2012 Juice for details). I also had a mushroom cut, which was THE hair style of the nineties. Imagine having a full set of hair, but drastically buzzing off the bottom half of your hair to make your head look like a giant mushroom. I have no idea why we though this looked good.
So, while saying goodbye to my dad, I see my mom sneak onto the bus where some old-timer campers were already seated. This couldn’t be good. She comes off the bus and gives me a big thumbs up. Also not a good sign. After a long goodbye filled with never ending hugs and kisses I finally got on the bus and understood what my mom was doing there earlier. Now, I love my mom and I know she always has my best interest at heart. But, I had no idea what her rationale was for putting a sign on a window-seat in the middle of the bus that read, “RESERVED FOR MICHAEL BREEN.”
Oh. Dear. God.
I. Was. Mortified.
I quickly pulled the sign from the seat and sat quietly, anticipating a summer of being ridiculed with no friends whatsoever. I could hear them now:
“Hey look, it’s reservation boy! Did your mom reserve your place in line for trampball?” 
And then, something wonderful and unexpected happened. I get a tap on my shoulder and I look up to see a boy a few years older than me (with a mushroom cut).
“So, you’re Michael Breen,” he says with a little smile, “I saw your sign. Nice to meet you. I’m Zach Marks. This is my third summer at camp.”
And you know what, we talked to the whole bus ride up. Zach introduced me to his older friends, told me all about the dos and don’ts of camp, and attempted to teach me Euchre. And you know what, in a weird way my mom helped me make my first friend at camp (note to parents: yes, this had a happy ending, but I still advise against making a reserved sign for your son)
So, this month I want to forgo wheezing the juice from this past summer. Instead, I want you all to take a moment and wheeze your memory of the first friend that you made at camp.
There, I bet you didn’t even have to think about it. I bet you remember his name, where he is from, and are still friends with him to this day. And the reason we all remember that first friend so vividly is because that friend served as proof
Proof that you could make new friends.
Proof that your first summer would be awesome.
Proof that someday you would be the first friend for someone else.
Proof that Timberlane is the type of place where you can make your first friend, of many, many to come, with great ease.
I don’t think Zack even knows he was my first friend. So, eighteen years later, I just want to say, thanks buddy.
-Michael Breen
BRAVO TO OUR NOVEMBER BIRTHDAY BOYS & GIRLS: Jerris Kirkwood - 11/1/1997, David Fine - 11/5/1992, Jordan Taylor - 11/9/1995, Zachary Zlepper - 11/9/1999, Sebastian Garza - 11/10/2003, James Boshes - 11/13/1996, Jim Drew - 11/14/1959, Noah Kraus - 11/17/1998, Noah Foster - 11/18/2001, 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, Adam Sherman - 11/28/1997, Norm Dudek - 11/29/1935, Sebastian Acuna - 11/30/1987, Julian Baliani - 11/30/1998, Mari Cottrell - 11/30/2001.
We hope you all have a great November! We’ll be seeing lots of you very soon, so we’re really pumped for that. And we’ll write you again next month.
Benches up,
