Herzl Memories

I am back from Herzl and bring with me some great memories. I never went to camp as a kid, except 6th grade camp and that cannot even be compared to what I feel the growing up experience must have been at Herzl. I was constantly taken back while I was there from the memories that everyone shared and how even after 12 years (that is how long it had been for Alex since he was on staff) people were able to just pick up where they left off and have fun. It was a come as you are weekend where nobody had judgments about others and everyone could become a kid again.

All of that being said I did learn quite a bit and was able to experience things about Jewish life, upbringing and practices that I otherwise would have never been able to experience. I am going to do more of a highlights writeup as Alex has already done a play by play blog. Check his out at Random Ramblings

Friday
Herzl is located in Webster, WI so we had a little drive to get there but it was not bad at all. We hit a little bit of traffic from people escaping the city for the weekend. On the way we stopped at a place called the Drive-In for lunch. This started Alex's reliving of his past and as I am sure I will mention a lot through this update, I am so glad that I was able to experience such a large part of his past. This was a place that he had always stopped during his camp travels. We had some burgers and made our way to camp.

When we pulled into camp Alex started singing the Herzl song for me that they always sung when they got there. He was really trying to create the experience for me :) Alex and I, along with lots of others, chose to stay in what would normally be staff and visitor rooms instead of cabins. We wanted to relive the past but we also realized that we are older and not as resilient to heat. So we had a nice queen size bed and air conditioning. Some people did the cabin thing and as fun as it probably would have been...Alex and I are picky sleepers.

I got introduced to lots of people and we spent some time walking around the camp and seeing the cabins that Alex stayed in. Alex had his name all over the ones he stayed in and in the one where he was Papa Ozo he had a bunch of messages all over the walls from his Ozos saying how much they loved him and how great he was. It was wonderful to see all of that history and again made me appreciate that I could be a part of Alex's past. We also stopped at the Mercaz which is a place that services are done outside. It is a beautiful platform built out from a cliff overlooking the lake. I say cliff but that might be misleading, it is several hundred feet from the platform to the water. It was an amazing view and as with every part of the trip so far Alex had memories and stories to tell me. It was about at this time that I started to feel a little sad. Not sad about anything normal, I was sad that I did not have any experiences like Alex was sharing with me that I could in turn share with him. Everything I was experiencing was so wonderful and I did not have anything like it to compare to. So it was a little sad and a lot of happiness.

After the walk Alex and I got ready for Shabbat. We dressed in all white and did a traditional caravan walk around the camp to pick everyone up. Basically we start at a point in camp and walk hand in hand in rows of four to six singing songs and picking people up from their cabins along the way until we have everyone. It was a lot of fun and something that I am very happy to have experienced. I can read and be told anything about being Jewish and living a Jewish life but it is living the experiences that makes it real, true and meaningful. This is the way that Shabbat should be started. It is a fun time that leads to a day of relaxation. After we had gathered everyone together we lowered the three flags, one for Herzl, one for Israel and the American Flag. There were songs to accompany the lowering of the flags but I do not remember what they were. Right as the flags were coming down it started to rain so we didn't get to have services outside. It was a bummer but it still worked out.

Dinner was a little confusing at first, Alex did not tell me how things worked. I cannot blame him though, he told me lots about camp but there is no way to fill someone in on everything. It would take forever. Basically it was family style eating so one person from your table would go up to the kitchen window and grab the platters of food and bring them out. Same thing for drinks, someone would go grab them too. It was not difficult, I just didn't know what to do at first. We had Matzo Ball soup, chicken, challah, salad and some little potato things. Everything was really good and lead into another tradition. All the lights were turned off and we sang via candlelight. Yet again I loved that I was able to do this with Alex. His face was lit with excitement when we got to songs he liked and again there were stories to accompany everything. I loved it! After songs everyone split up to change before Oneg. Some people started up a circle of Israeli dancing that was fun to watch. It was a weekend of adults being kids again and doing what they had done so many years ago.

During Oneg everyone gathered in the Staff Mo and shared stories of their camping experiences or just funny stories about campers. This was one of my favorite parts. It was not only great to hear the stories and see everyone enjoying the old times but we were in a cabin on a bunch of old beat up couches. It just had the feeling of relaxation and good times away from the speed of normal life surrounded by people just wanting to have a good time. It is hard to explain but I am sure everyone has had the feeling before.

Saturday
Saturday morning started with breakfast, showering and then heading late to services which started late. One thing about the weekend is that nothing started on time. Not that it was a big deal, we all wanted to relax anyway. It was just funny that not one planned thing started when it was supposed to :) The other great and obvious thing is that everything was optional. There was no pressure to do anything you didn't want to. Although I think most people did just about everything which ended up leading to some pooped out people, Alex and I included. Anyway we went to services which were pretty normal. It was, however, my first time seeing a Torah reading. I have been to many services before but never one where the Torah was read. The only time I had seen it was on Alex's Bar Mitzvah tape. So that was a great experience as well. Again it was raining so services were indoors, but literally right when they ended the sun came out! :)

We took another walk around the camp and watched some people play Ultimate Frisbee, I am pretty sure that is what it was. Again Alex had stories to share about this. Then it was lunch time already. We had a picnic lunch outside and as people were finishing all of the different Ozo groups sang their songs from the years they were at camp. It was funny watching people try to remember their songs and even more impressive when they did and sang them all the way through. I know Alex had a great time doing this because he was laughing the whole time. We then split into two teams for Bikkurim. Basically it was a marathon of events throughout the camp that the teams had to split up and do. As the coordinator of Bikkurim was telling people how things were going to go down he said the word "announcements". Now apparently when someone says announcements at camp they get carried down to the water and thrown in. As soon as he said it everyone yelled "ANNOUNCEMENTS" and about 4 people picked him up and took him over to a hose and sprayed him down. I am glad they did that because I didnt want to walk down the the beach lol.

After Bikkurim everyone was hot, sweaty and tired. We took a water break before kickball was going to start and half of the people took naps and the other half played kickball. Alex and I of course choose to go lay down for a bit and shower before dinner. It was just what we both needed to pump some energy into us. After dinner some people did a quick show called "12 gates"...I am still confused on this one but it was funny to watch for sure. I guess no matter what I cannot understand everything in a weekend :) We then headed to the Ulam (small theater) for an evening program that Alex had come up with. We played comedy sportz, had a sing off and Aleph You Too. Basically for that one your team has to be the first to bring whatever item the judge calls for up to him. It got a little dirty and there were some bras being thrown at Alex. Good times!

It was just getting dark so it was time for Havdallah, which is the closing of Shabbat. It was lead by the 1999 Ozrim. It was all done by candlelight and accompanied by singing. This again was one of those moments where I just felt so involved with everyones past that I got a little sad. Everything about the weekend was such a great and treasured memory. We then followed another Herzl tradition by going to a bar call Pour House. It was a pretty small place but once people got into it we were all out on the dance floor and come on...who can beat three margaritas for $10.50! Small town life for ya right there. After that we went back to camp and had a bonfire. I saved the day in the beginning because I was the only one who brought a flashlight to get things going and after the fire was lit the flashlight was used by Aaron (he played guitar) so he could read his music. Alex and I took a little trip over to the Mercaz to watch some stars and then we realized how insanely quiet it was. It was then that Alex said that one of the bear sightings he remembered when at camp was spotted on the beach. We got a little spooked headed back to the fire for a second before turning in for the night.

Sunday
Sunday ended the trip and since we were up so late at the bonfire we slept in past breakfast. We packed up the car and headed over to Chanut to buy some Herzl shirts for memories sake. I spent a little more than expected but what the hell, the memories will stick with me when I wear my shirts :)

I wanted to get pictures of all the plaques that Alex made and all the notes that Alex's Ozos wrote to him while he was at camp so he would have something to remember his experiences by. The camp is getting a huge makeover during the next two years so most of the cabins he was in will be tore down. We took some time and went around to all the cabins so I could get the shots. This is another reason I am glad we came, those memories would not have been there in the next couple years. It made me very happy to get all the pictures for Alex. I know he will want to look back on them sometime.

That ended camp. We said our goodbyes and headed out. I guess this did end up as a play by play but that is because everything from the weekend was a highlight. Like I said above, I did learn quite a bit and was able to experience things about Jewish life, upbringing and practices that I otherwise would have never been able to experience. I am so glad Alex was able to share everything with me. I had a wonderful time and cant wait to go back again. Hopefully in a couple years we can make it happen again!