A Summer Away From Home

(This post is what I wrote for the 2010 Mogen Av Yearbook.

Please ignore the sappy camp stuff.)

Sigh. It’s been a long hot summer. I always wondered why the locals complained so much about summer in Miami. I’ve been through hot weather before, but nothing like this. Every day, in and out, it’s hot. If it’s not hot, it’s dark. Oh, or it’s raining. It does that too here. But don’t think that rain breaks the heat. No siree. It just brings humidity. Yay! So much fun!*

But who am I kidding. I shouldn’t be complaining about this. I have much bigger things to complain about- camp for example. I know what you’re saying; there goes Friedman again complaining about camp. You complained before you came to camp. You complained in camp. And now you’re complaining out of camp? My answer to that, my friends, is yes. For summer this year is a Summer Away From Home.

Ok, ok, it’s not so bad. I am sitting in a nice cool air conditioned room typing on my laptop on Friday afternoon. (Almost sounds like the dog house.) Not to mention the big (now empty) plate of nachos that my wife made for me sitting on my side. [Wife interjection: Just for your information: I do NOT pamper him like this all the time. It’s just the times he gets all sad about camp that I feel semi-bad for him, just enough to make him nachos.] I have no bunk that’s waiting for me to scream at them that they aren’t showered, no line up to be on time to and no hill to get my suit dirty while walking down to the meal tonight.

Truth is, it hurts. It really does. Spending so many years in Mogen Av (save for one said year) really took a toll on me. In a good way. Really. I have a hard time getting up every morning only to go outside and see that everybody is at camp and I’m on my way to work. L I wish it didn’t have to be this way.

I did have an opportunity, however, to come to camp at once this summer. Ahh, the good times came rushing back; the feeling is indescribable. It’s like when the music comes on after the 3 weeks. Or when you won field day, but more importantly that it’s over. It’s like when you just finished cleaning your bunk and now you can go outside to play with your friends who were waiting for you. It’s that feeling of relief that you know just won’t last and you don’t want it to ever end.

I never really appreciated camp so much. That is until this summer. When the school year was out, I kept on thinking that the fun part of the year was here. It was time to go home to camp. But it didn’t happen. Coming to camp for one day just isn’t enough. I need at least one month.

OK campers – this is where you come in. You need to call, email and write to Chini to have him give me a bungalow next summer. I don’t mean you should bug him or annoy him. Don’t call him more than once a day, but let it be clear that this is what you want. Because next year, I don’t want to spend my Summer Away From Home.

*I actually love the hot weather. I thought the summer heat would be much worse and honestly I have no problem having this weather all year round. But for purposes of making this article interesting, I used my artistic license to stretch the lie, errrrr, truth.