A wonder to behold it was
With many faces bright . . .
From the start of Reunion II right through to the farewell hugs, we
rarely stood still – unlike ‘The Marvelous Toy’ that went pop
when it stopped
and whirrr when it stood still . . . and
that continues enchanting children of all ages.
With a live and recorded soundtrack featuring that delightful tune and
dozens of others – including one receiving its world premiere –
time-erasing scenes came into focus at every turn.
On trails and at tables, with songs and softballs, looking at candles
lit on Sabbath and others floating 40 years ago, we shared magic in the
mountains.
It seemed as though the ‘Play’ button had been pressed for a
dream-like weekend movie, with emotion-rich moments from past summers spliced
together with scenes from the first weekend of Summer 2005 -- featuring some
of the same people, the same T-shirt designs, the same jump-for-joy
enthusiasm.
It was real and it was on video. Blink
and the scenes blended.
The years have gone by too quickly it seems . . .
That surreal experience of watching
ourselves become ourselves was created by the video disc that Lenny
assembled
masterfully from 1948-65 chronicles Gerry Bucky filmed.
We saw campers and counselors who were as emotional and spirited as
those watching with shouts and sentimentality.
Something else was up there on the TV monitor in front of our reunion
lounge . . . something that wasn’t visible in any single scene and that
pulled into focus only later, only after an unexpected event the second
evening. We truly were watching
ourselves become ourselves – changing from adolescents into reunion
participants who now were doing what we did again.
This “back to the future” time warp emerged from scenes of us
sharpening softball skills, appreciating nature, learning to swim, relying on
each other, displaying creativity and competing with unbridled energy. Each of
those vignettes, every one just listed, is in the video and was re-enacted
last weekend. Then and now, we swung wooden bats while friends sat alongside
the field, tramped to Sam’s Point, jumped into the pool, learned about each
other and showed that competitive juices are a powerfully creative force. Only
an accordion was missing.
Our
eyes nearly popped right out of our heads
And we gave a squeal of glee!
The we’re-still-campers continuum was dramatized most vividly when Elyce
Wakerman
threw a curveball – not from the mound, but as she wrapped up Saturday
night’s songfest. Her change-up pitch, the unexpected event mentioned
earlier, was an interactive challenge that turned audience members into
performers . . . transforming seated alumni into rabidly intense competitors.
Our reunion entertainment director sprung a Color War-style surprise, splitting us into two teams to rehearse and present an SSC song she crafted to the melody of Love and Marriage.
Off we scurried to separate corners of the Nevele Tower – which suddenly resembled camp even more – to show that competitive fires still burned white-hot. Again, we behaved much as we had during real Color War – fierce, yet friendly, rivals . . . watching ourselves become our old selves.
Twenty minutes later, compressed-time versions of an SSC pageant glowed with choreography, vocal flourishes, animated gestures and even marshmallow-tossing. The resulting tie that our song-writing judge declared was as fair and balanced as . . . well, as just about everything we recall from summers down Sheldon Road.
Other high points included:
q Joan Weisenbeck, guitar in hand, leading us through The Marvelous Toy, a 1962 song by Tom Paxton that has been adapted in part for this column’s subheads. Joan husband, Stephen, and their three children watched the 1957-65 camper reprise her role as folk singing icon of SSC. (And yes, Paxton recorded his song before Peter, Paul and Mary popularized it.)
q The uphill stroll to the familiar Sam’s Point overlook, where early-ripening blueberries hung from bushes -- but not for long.
q Another pilgrimage to camp, where Steve Bucky, niece Debby Bucky Birrer and her daughter Lynne raised the U.S. flag as we pledged allegiance to it and sang God Bless America. That, too, was a replay of video footage shot when 48 stars flew from the identical flagpole.
q A softball game that included a home run by Ernie Gutmann, two hits to the outfield by Ralph Dannheisser, 67, and pinch-running by Annette Haendel Levine, a 1953-54 camper.
“We can go back,” exulted Lenny, who smoothed our time travel with flawless arrangements and the keepsake DVD that rolls along merrily with pop songs and camp classics appropriate to each year.
Steve Bucky, who Annette recalled as “just a little curly-haired
boy,” said over breakfast: “I’m amazed by the instant warmth and
friendship we all share after not seeing each other for decades.
My parents wouldn’t understand this.”
And so it went, wonderment flowing with the wine as SSC’ers tapped
into a wellspring of identity. We
embraced the past, wrapping arms around memories of special summers and the
people who share them.
Who else understands that magic?
None
of us knows just what it is
But we love it just like SSC!
- - AlaN