Adam’s camp story (of the century)

PART I

Camp is in my soul…

My parents, Mark and Fran, were married for six years when they took the job working at Camp Akiba in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania in the summer of 1976. Working at a camp was ideal for them because my father was a school teacher with the summer  off. They would pack up my sister Amy and I , close down the house, and head off to camp for the summer.

I was five years old that first summer, my sister was one year old. The routine I mentioned above went that way every summer for the next 14 years. Needless to say, I grew up at Camp Akiba.

Anyone who went to Camp Akiba will remember the sign that hung above the main road.

How true this sign would prove to be…

I remember camp being filled with love and friendship. I remember Cory, the first kid I met that summer when I was 5, we became fast friends, and it stayed that way all through out those fourteen summers. Back then we told each other in camp that we would always be there for each other, and to this day, we still are.

My father’s job at camp was Assistant Director. Through out the year he would head up different divisions. As a young kid, I recall the senior boy division adoring him. Being that he was also a musician, my father would organize a camp band that would perform together through out the summer at different all-camp events. For example, once a week there would be a broadway musical performed by campers,(think “Hair”, “Annie”, or “Cats”) and the camp band would play as the entire camp would file in to the rec-hall. I thought this was the coolest thing that I had ever seen in my young life…and it was.

Before I had even seen the camp band perform, I can remember the first time I heard them, or rather I should say, felt them perform. I was sitting down by the lake, just hanging out with a couple of other 10 year olds, when I heard the sound of drums. It was deep and primal, like it hit me in the chest or gut. I had to follow the sound. I left my bunk mates and started walking up the hill towards the rec-hall. As I got closer, I could now hear clearly what was going on, my Dad was rehearsing the camp band. I had seen this before, but it never had this impact, I never felt this feeling. I had to get as close to the sound as I could. I continued in to the rec-hall and sat down right next to the drummer, and that was it…I knew what I wanted to do. What happened to me that day was experiencing what I refer to as “the call of the drum”. To this day, whenever I hear a drum being played, I am drawn to the vibration.

Sure enough, within a few years time, I was the new drummer in the camp band! This was a result of the long-time drummer and my hero, Scott Rubin, attending college during the summer. This was a formative time for me, and it was a landmark on my Path To Rhythm, and it also gave me somewhat of a Rock Star status in camp…

The years went by, and the summers spent at camp were the best in my life.      My parents stopped working at camp the summer before I went to college, and I was off pursuing a career in music.  Through out my adult years I stayed in touch with camp friends and what had become known as “camp family”. My camp family was always there for me, these were friends of my parents who also worked at camp, and  in essence helped to raise me and earned the title “Uncle” or “Aunt”.

Part II

The official Camp Akiba reunion was held in 2004.

I was living in NYC at the time, and the idea of going back to the original camp grounds in the Pocono Mountains for a weekend was appealing to me. I had mixed feelings about attending the reunion, mostly just nerves and a little fear, but deep down I was ecstatic to be going back to camp. I had a pretty good feeling about this.

Sure enough, when I arrived at camp and saw that welcoming sign (the one mentioned above), I felt that familiar feeling of love and acceptance. It was truly a gift to be able to reconnect with old friends. I felt happy to be able to answer the frequently asked question, “Do you still play the drums?”, with a big smiling “YES“.

I was enjoying myself and I was amazed to see so many people and even meet new people that had been to camp before my time, or even after my time. You see, the reunion was open to anyone who had ever attended Camp Akiba, and there was over 500 people who turned out that day. That is why this next part gets good.

Out of all of those 500 people, I met some one who would change my life.

Tara and I first said hello while we were in line for the bathroom. We recognized each other, we attended camp at the same time, and we were casual friends back in the day. I saw Tara again that same night and sat with her at the campfire. The  campfire moments with Tara were timeless and magical.

Apparently Tara felt the magic too. We spent some time together the next day outside of the dining hall, and we exchanged phone numbers. We kept in touch after the reunion. A friendship led to a romance. We dated for three years. And then…

Being the romantic that I am, I surprised Tara by taking her on a trip back to visit Camp Akiba, and there, all alone, in front of the beautiful lake that we were both so familiar with, I proposed to her. And she said yes.

The rest is history, we were married on July 3, 2008. And we were supported with love from family and friends. Many of my Camp Aunt and Uncles were there, and that kid I met when I was 5 the first summer at camp? He sat as our witness and signed our marriage documents. And I can’t forget to mention that me and my Dad  jammed with the band and rocked the house!

True love found at summer camp.