Yes, the camp food really came from train wrecks...
Got an email from a fellow camp alum who lives in L.A. and we got together for Fresca and cookies and sharing photos. Until reading my book, she'd forgotten all about the promises of heated bunks and the fruit cart that came around before bedtime, neither of which existed. But she does have proof that the camp food included provisions from train wrecks. Seems she took home a souvenir which is still tucked away in a box in her parents' home -- a 30-year-old dented can of green beans stamped "salvage." I haven't seen any of those on ebay.
She also remembered a bunkmate who chewed gum in the shower because she hated the taste of shampoo and the summer we stayed on Standard Time, so it'd get dark earlier and perhaps help the younger campers get to sleep sooner. Makes sense -- this camp deserved its own time zone.
She also remembered a trip to the Montreal Olympics in '76 (I opted to stay back and clean the bunk, of all things) complete with last-row stadium seats for events like the javelin throw. To top it off, a bunch of kids got lost on their last day and, with cell phones not yet invented, ended up taking a cab back from Canada. I forgot to ask who paid for that...
She also remembered a bunkmate who chewed gum in the shower because she hated the taste of shampoo and the summer we stayed on Standard Time, so it'd get dark earlier and perhaps help the younger campers get to sleep sooner. Makes sense -- this camp deserved its own time zone.
She also remembered a trip to the Montreal Olympics in '76 (I opted to stay back and clean the bunk, of all things) complete with last-row stadium seats for events like the javelin throw. To top it off, a bunch of kids got lost on their last day and, with cell phones not yet invented, ended up taking a cab back from Canada. I forgot to ask who paid for that...