Letter to a Grandson at Camp Wigwam

July 31, 2021

Jack Horowitz

Camp Wigwam

Waterford, Maine

Dear Jack,

Your Grandpa Jerry strongly believed sleep away camp provides kids with an unparalleled opportunity to build self-reliance, self-confidence, and develop strong interpersonal skills. These days, camp is also an opportunity to detox from the electronic devices strictly forbidden at your camp.

As of this writing, you have just 10 more days of camp. How do I express my pride in what you’ve accomplished at a camp that seems tailor made for a 10-year-old boy who relishes being busy every second of the day, and who demonstrates enthusiasm for trying things he’s never done before?

A teacher friend of mine believes your summer at Camp Wigwam has been a reset for the difficult year you had, what with moving cross country to a community where you didn’t know a soul. That in itself would have been enough of a challenge, except that Covid made it even worse. You had distance learning one day, asynchronous learning the next, and then hybrid learning. The hybrid learning allowed you to go to school, until an adult in the school system tested positive, and then you felt like a prisoner in your own home.

I know you’re not crazy about swimming, but I’m very pleased that you passed your Red Cross swimming tests. No, you’re not ready for a triathlon, but then neither am I. At least you demonstrated the proficiency necessary for doing the fun deep-water activities, including getting out in a canoe with a buddy, and turning it over purely for the sake of showing that you’re capable of getting back in the boat.

You made good use of your camp’s beautiful waterfront, learning to waterski. Mamma was a super-duper water skier when she went to Camp Robindel, but she told me she didn’t get up the first time, and told you not to be disappointed if you didn’t. Of course, you did, though you felt it necessary to disclose that your skis were still tethered together.

I trust that what you called cliff jumping into icy cold water meant jumping from a high place, not an actual cliff of the type used by Brazilian cliff divers. You told Mamma that you don’t mind the cold water, but that your counselor told you that staying in the water for extended periods of time could induce hypothermia.

You’ve made lots of new friends, you appeared in a camp talent show (telling riddles with a younger camper), and you and your cabin mates won a pizza party for good performances on cabin inspections for weeks in a row. You have also begun learning lacrosse, and told Mamma that next year you will come to Camp Wigwam equipped with your own lacrosse stick.

Mamma also reported that you’ve gotten to know practically every counselor, asked them what college they attend, and where they’re from. Like your daddy and your Bubbie, you’re a natural networker.?

About the Adirondack chair you built at camp. . . Mamma says most of the kids leave their chairs at camp so they can sit on them the next season. You, however, love showing your family everything you’ve made at camp.?

Because you will be flying home to Philadelphia from Portland, Maine there’s no way your chair can go on the plane. If it turns out there’s room on a camp bus delivering campers to Riverside Station in Newton, I can get the chair and put it on the back seat of my car.?

Would it embarrass you if I admit that I still love looking at your baby pics, especially the ones with you learning to walk and ride your scooter? Call it an indication of just how much I love you.

I look forward to seeing you “down the shore” as they say in Philadelphia, come the latter part of August.

Love, Bubbie Bonnie