camp kin
Page 2 Greene Cricket-Press Session II, 2012
It's more revelry than rivalry among camper siblings
More than 200 campers attended Greene Family Camp with siblings during Session II. The Greene Cricket-Press gathered them together for a group photo during dinner, July 26.
By BROOKE BENJAMIN W hen some campers arrive at Greene, they often are excited to leave certain things at home: chores, parents and even their own siblings. However, this isn’t possible for some kids, who must share their camp experiences each summer with a brother, a sister, or with brothers and sisters.
According to GFC senior assistant director, Stefani Rozen, some 250 people out of the 600 on camp this session are joined by at least one sibling. That’s about 42 percent of the entire camp population. The Greene Cricket-Press looked into why so many campers can’t seem to escape their family. Is it for the worse or for the better? Identical twins Maddy and Abby Johnson are Melachim campers. They’ve been coming to GFC
together for the past five summers. Their older brother, Tobin, didn’t come to camp this year, but he has for the four previous years. Maddy and Abby said they sometimes get along at home, depending on the situation, and that they often embarrass each other. But, being at camp together, at times, brings them closer together. Dallas natives Avery and Juliet Klatsky are relatively new campers to GFC. The older Avery is in Kohanim and the younger Juliet is
in Bonim. They both said they really like being at camp together. Avery said that having his sister around can sometimes help when he’s missing home. It also helps when his parents come up to camp mid-session to drop off Juliet. Avery said he treats Juliet pretty much the same at camp as he does at home. Being in different units, the siblings don’t see a whole lot of each other. But, when they do, it’s all good, they agreed. R
The brothers By HALEY DERDIGER
lee
Ben and Dan Lee cultivated their different talents at GFC and now work together.
Greene Family Camp is home to great talent over the summer. Perhaps none as great as a pair of brothers: Dan and Ben Lee. Dan, 27, and Ben, 24, are as close as any brothers can be, but they have many different interests. The guitar-playing Dan is a song leader at GFC, while the camera-wielding Ben is camp’s media-video guru. Both brothers said they started their arts careers here at Greene. Dan’s first year at GFC was on Kibbutz and it was there that he learned to play guitar. Ben’s first year was Kohanim 2 and it was there that he found his passion for video. The Lee brothers think it’s amazing to have a sibling here at
Mascot matchmaking By SAMANTHA SIMON Some people meet at camp, become friends, then fall in love and eventually get married. The same thing can happen to cabin mascots. Ashdod’s mascots are a pair of rubber medical gloves that are inflated, knotted off and have faces drawn on them. Their names are Stanley and Christina Glovehead. Their union was the result of an arranged marriage here on camp – in Hebrew, it’s called a shidduch. Stanley came into being while Ashdod camper, Arielle Klein, was in the infirmary attending to a bum knee. To make her feel better, a Camper Care team member blew up a rubber glove and drew a face on it. Arielle kept the glove and one of her bunkmates suggested that they call him Stanley Glovehead and make him Ashdod’s mascot.
Unfortunately, Stanley suffered an untimely deflating shortly after he was created, but two new Gloveheads were made in his place. Stanley returned, accompanied by Christina. She wasn’t made from his rib, or anything super biblical like that, but they did come from the same glove box! Anyway, Stanley and Christina were an obvious match and they soon were married in a proper ceremony with wedding attire and everything. But, yet again, Stanley deflated, so maybe it wasn’t meant to be. Christiana is a poor widow for the time being … . Other bunks this session also have mascots. Timna has a long-necked squash that came from the camp garden. It’s name is Gilbert, according to Zoe Grant and Sarah Shlamai. Arad’s bunk mascot is a Wiggles giraffe, according to Jade Gordon. They both have long necks, Gilbert and the giraffe. Hello? Somebody make them a shidduch! R
camp. Especially since they now live in different states: Dan’s in Oklahoma City; Ben’s in Austin. During Session II, Dan worked with GFC director, Loui Dobin, and Jonathan Dobin, on a new song called, “Father’s Day,” for the 2012 GFC CD. Megan Topelsohn, a Kohanim camper, thinks song session is fun and educational for kids. She has no favorite songs, but she loves Dan Lee as a song leader, she said. Niviim camper, Lindsey Berkowitz, thinks media-video is a fun class. She loves Ben Lee as a media-video teacher, she said. She’s learned a lot from Ben, like how to shoot an interview and analyze a film sequence. Who knows, maybe Dan and Ben Lee are cultivating the next generation of camp song leaders and film media pros this session? R
Christina Glovehead still fits into her wedding gown.