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The Kosher Top 10
Ways you know you went to
CAMP RAMAH IN THE POCONOS
- July and August were the 2
months of the year you were cool.
- If stranded in the
wilderness you would be fine because you know how to make a tee-pee fire
and melt chocolate on Pita.
- You own socks with someone
else's name on them.
- People know that when
you say Mayo, you are discussing a maintenance person and not a jar of
Hellman's.
- When you hear a particular
song on tha radio you automatically sing the corresponding Hebrew lyrics
from your Gesher play. In my case "M-m-m-My Sharona" will always
be "Ha-ha-ha-haTorah"
- You go to the marp for a
headache, you leave with an air cast on your ankle.
- Your proffered source of world news and current events is still last
weeks newspaper. Did you guys know that Flyers got Eric Lindros?
- Softball players know
that the second tree is fair, but only parts of the road are foul.
- You still feel it's totally appropriate to wear a batting helmet in
public. (this also applies to construction helmets Abes)
- You harass anyone you meet from the Scranton or Binghamton areas with
insane questions like "Do you ever go to the Long John Silver's on
route six? How about the mobile home dealership?" (this one is true,
a girl in my office is from Scranton and I constantly quiz here with
trivia like - name all the stores in the $1.50 movie theatre shopping
center in Eynon, PA?)
- Your idea of thoughtful gift giving is a Red Sox t-shirt .
- Appropriate bed-time stories for children are your own personal hook-up
stories.
- You can be identified by the scar that every Ramanik owns. It's on the
back of your upper thigh near where your butt begins and you received it
when you sat on a bench that had a protruding nail.
- You dreamed of a hot staff member doing
Hashkava for your bunk
- You've spent more than
2 hours in a Wegman's.
- You weren't surprised when your
clothes came back from Capra dirtier (and maybe wetter) when they were
when you sent them out
- Europeans are referred
to as Camp America
- All of your friends have at one
point hooked up, if it wasn't at camp ramah, it was at turkey trot
- People introduce themselves at camp by their first name and their
job title as a last name. For example:
Avi Wood, Donna Switchboard and Doodi Rosh Sport.
- At camp, "Gold Bonding" is an acceptable practice in
public.
- A meal consists of only pirogues.
- Siddur stacking and t'fellin wrapping are timed events.
- A cold shower in a stall with more than 4 people seemed natural.
- people de-brief about everything.
- The Salvation Army store is your chance to get a little attention
for novelty.
- You still chuckle when you buy hot food in turnpike service
station.
- You've made yourself rocky mountain toast for breakfast.
- You'd do anything short of murder to get your hands on a bag of
pizza bissli.
- If you receive a package that has food in it, you marvel in
your freedom to keep it.
- Otzar 15 minutes after the end of peulat erev is, like, something
you can't even fathom.
- (you can fill in this line) You've tried every
flavor of ____ at Jerichos
- Tylenol isn't something you take for a headache.
- You think the melodies of the Misery Choir of Death and
Destruction on Tisha b'av are great, but that the weird practice of
sitting on the floor on the bet am is a pain in the ass.
- You own ANYTHING with your own name on it.
- Resolving to make kashrut part of your life, you keep it for 3
days, and then rediscover your love for treif.
- No seriously. It's okay to swim in the lake.
- When watching Canoeing on ESPN2 you think "Pussies, why don't you
try Mon-Gap?"
- You have items in your
closet that you're still not sure where they came from (i.e.,
borrowed t-shirts, etc...)
- Your definition of a talent show is really a lip-sync
- You learned about disabilities by walking around camp tied to
another camper
- You quiet down every time somebody raises their arm
- Pretending to sneeze can get you into big trouble
- Without a doubt every summer you fell in love with
one of the CampAmerica Staff, primarily cause they weren't Jewish
- Quad parties were completely lame, that is until
either Orlow or Menkowitz jammed out some G-Love Album. Then people
got naked.
- You claim to have met G-Love
- You have hooked up with a Schaffzin brother
- You know Camp Lackawana, Pothole State Park, and
Steamtown Mall like the back of your hand
- You've gone way beyond kissing at Kissing Rock
- You still seek out the most beautiful people to
get a shabbos kiss, despite the fact that they are no where near your age
category
- Your overly familiar with the abbreviation CSR
- You hate camp Lavi
- You've stolen excessive amounts of candy
from the Chanutiah
- "Shabbat Morning" is synonymous
with "play sports, jump in pool"
- You had this creeping suspicion that
every woman rabbi, was a lesbian.
- The greatest sports glory days of your
life can easily be summarized with the term "Ligote"
- You say you hated Rikudiah, but when you
hear the songs today, you can't help but busting out a Brown rikude move
- You must add a clap when hearing this:
"Mayim Mayim Mayim Hey Mayim Besasone"
- You still count in years in relation to
your Gesher Summer
- If every actor can be connected to Kevin
Bacon, Every ramahalumn can be connected to AJ
- Every hebrew word you know today is
attributed to after meal announcements
- Two Words: Mar Milone
- Getting even one pair
of matching socks returned in the laundry was nothing short of a miracle.
- The biggest adventure of a youthful summer was going to see how
chicken's are koshered
- Your memories of color war (Macabee-ah games) include learning
about Jewish holidays
- All of the kids you made fun of when you were little, were married
before you
- You celebrated the Fourth of July on any surrounding
day other than the actual Fourth of July.
- For two months, you lived in an
alternative universe where the clocks were turned back an hour at the
start of camp.
- No matter where and when you see a
Chipwich, it instantly brings back memories of camp and Chanutiah lines.
- It was the last time you really felt
Jewish
- You attribute the development of
your favorite characteristics about yourself to a small, Jewish,
overnight camp in Lake Como, PA.
Readers Comments: To submit your own comments to this
list, please send an email to
submit@bangitout.com
: and include the title in the subject header. Include your name and location to
get credit! THANKS
From Rachel Richter, Scottsdale AZ Camper 86-88, staff 90-93
Okay, you know you are a Poconos Ramahnick when you can claim being the counselors of at least one Shafzin, Relles (2) and Landsberg.
You think its cool that you were Gesher staff, not once, but twice.
You show off to anyone who knows Yossi Katz that he was your rosh.
You were a USYer during the year but a ramahnick during the summer, but then a USYer again for encampment.
The coolest people at camp worked in the kitchen, and you would hang out there as much as possible.
Every time you see Moses Port’s name in the credits of a TV show, you tell everyone in the room that you went to camp with him AND that you got Shabbat Shalom kisses from him.
You measured your worth by how many Shabbat-a-grams you received that week.
You liked being a staff brat and were envied by your friends because you could hang out in the grove and not get in trouble.
You liked being a staff brat and hang out with the staff during staff week!
You haven’t been back in years but you still envision sitting on boy’s campus looking out onto the lake when you want to relax your mind.
The first time you ever heard the word “Y’all” it was from a Rutstein girl.
You plan on sending your children there one day, even though you live closer to Los Angeles.
From Danny Rosenberg, Camper: 97, 98, 2000, 2001, 2003 and maybe even next year.
-You'll cry next year when its the youngest landsburgs gesher summer
-You get pissed when Sheryll says the upcoming words to the song after a play but when she doesnt you wonder why you dont know the words
-Tioga is a great filler for any pause in a song
-For the first couple of weeks after you get home sunday night is laundrey night and you insist on either getting it back in 3 days still dirty or take three days to do it
From Ephram Levin Elkins Park, (family camp '91 - Gesher
'03)
-The only time you ever cryed for joy at the end
of camp was seeing your gesher plaque go up on the
beit am wall, and finding all of your past counselors,
roshei edah, and heroes on the wall with you.
-your
CIT kids write you in as an influential tzevet member
on their end of camp evaluation forms.
From isaac galena , Kitchen Staff: 94-95'
-You got completely decked out for Visiting Day even though your parents weren’t coming
-You at one time thought Rikudi was Judy Brown’s last name
- The hear the word “Spiritual” and your mind brings up the Outdoor Synagogue at Friday night, sunset
- You’ve checked the Eruv with AJ
- There was always someone you considered your “Best Friend”, and someone who “Used to be Your Best Friend when you were in Nitzanim”
- You have a Ramapoly tshirt in your closet that you just cant throw out
-You still own a shirt from Starr Uniform
-You still wear that shirt from Starr Uniform
- You can close your eyes and still distinctly remember the dusty smell of Olam Sport
- Chances are, when camp ended, so did your religion.
- You really never had a clue what th Friday Night Dvar Torah was about, primarily because your mind was preoccupied by the tranquil lake view and the person you wanted to date; Oh , and you didn’t understand a word of Hebrew.
- You dreamed of dating a babysitter
- You made lists of hottest people in camp, to this day you still remember
- You had to have gotten into at least three or four fights over some sordid summerfling, that now you look back on with complete embarrassment.
- You’re still teased daily for a bad dating decision made in Chalutszim
- You refer to Ramah as “The One Next to Lavi” when meeting religious Jews
- Chances are one fifth of your age group ends up going to JTS , some go to Israel and find Orthodoxy, the others go on to random colleges, pledge SAMI, do Junior Year at Hebrew U, only to later meet and marry a gentile.
- Its an unspoken rule, the most annoying people in your bunk, must go on to become Conservative Rabbis.
- You did Nativ
- You went to Akiba, or attended someone’s prom there
- You have no clue what the following days are: ShivaAser B’Tamuz, Hoshana Rabbah Shavuot, Succos, Chol Hamoed, - guess what, neither did your camp shiur teachers.
- You invited your entire age group to your Bar/Bat Mitzvah, Sweet16, Prom, house in Margate
- You know every tune to benching, every song on Shabbat, every word in tefilah, but yet never actually said/sang any of them outside the confines of Lake Como. And never thought anyone did.
- You now work in a Jewish Non-Profit Organization and live in Philadelphia, simply cause you never want camp to end.
From Ami Monson , Machane Ramah Staff BRAT: '75-'80,
Camper: '82-'89, Staff: '91, '94
- You know you are a Ramah Poconos Alum if evertime you hear the theme music from TAPS, you start singing "Rad Hayom"
- You know you are a Ramah Poconos Alum if you wake up in the middle of the night in disgust, from a recurring nightmare about landing on CHEVEL or SHERUTEEM on the bunk Nikayon Wheel. (Who wants to touch your bunkmates used bathingsuits ?)
- You know you are a Ramah Poconos Alum if you still get excited about who is either the Rosh Edah or Counselor for Gesher for the upcoming summer, and you feel a little jealous
- You know you are a Ramah Poconos Alum if you still set up a bag of sand with a lit candle in it on Tisha Baav, and then later on when it is dark you kick it so no one can see where there going
- You know you are a Ramah Poconos alum if when you hear YO YA at Bar Mitzvahs and other functions, you can only think of Judy Rekudi teaching the dance on the Porch of the Chadar Haochel
From Robyn Harwood , Machane Ramah Alumn SUBJECT: strange stranger emails
A person finds it completely suitable and acceptable to email or get in contact with someone they have not spoken to or seen in 6+ years, because they have camp in common.
From Paul Ufberg
, Machane Ramah Alumn
My girlfriend and I were looking for a jewish web site in New York. I stumbled on "bangitout." When I told her about it she laughed -- "everyone from YU knows about it." Those Stern girls are always one step ahead. Now we bang it out together!!!
Keep up the good work!! B'shana haba B'Miami!!!
From Seth
Galena, Machane Ramah Kitchen Staff '94
- James the Baker got stabbed in broad daylight, and by dinner time
everyone completely forgot about it
- Friday night was good for one sole reason: If you made eye contact with
anyone of the opposite sex, you then
had full rights to kiss them, a "shabbat shalom"
- You get teary eyed when you think about Kissing Rock mainly because a)
you never got kissed there b) you have no idea where it is
- There is no better food in the entire world than that babka at Shabbos
morning Kiddush
- Going out with someone in camp for 2 weeks is equivalent to dating for 2
years in the outside world
- Ther was one guy who would tell you stories that were so unbelievable, you felt
like you were reading a Danielle Steele novel. Then a few years later you
realized they were Danielle Steele's novels.
- Last names like Schaffzin, Relles and Sussman are legendary
- Adam Auerbach is the most underrated guitar/hockey player of all time.
- Camp Lavi is the bane of your existence
- Staff Week was a microcosm for the entire summer. If something was going
to happen, it was going to happen then.
- You would constantly salute Camp Morasha on your way to DJ's/Jerichos
- You know Steam town Mall, Starr Uniform and Rubin's deli is where you
will eventually end up at some point on your day off
- You've played video games at Top-Dog for hours
- Shabbos was made up of playing sports, eating, playing more sports, and
then always ending up sitting on some girl's sleeping bag
- Games like Capture the counselor, Capture the flag, and full room ga-ga
were taken way too seriously
- U prayed to Hashem that Shmira would be with someone you liked
- You chuckled during staff week when they gave you a speech about public
displays of affection, mainly becuase you knew your campers were going to
be doing much more than you
- The Question of "Can You Fool Around on Tish Ba'av?" was a
completely valid sincere question
- You had pictures posted above your bed, all of the same people,
just in different arrangements
- You couldn't stand those Israeli songs when you were sitting in camp,
but you find yourself humming them 10 years late (.....Talmud Torah
Keneged Colam!) (
- You parents probably met at Camp Ramah, if not, you told people they did anyway
- There is one person that you at one point hated in camp that is now your
best friend
- There is someone you are thinking about now whose first name is Rachel,
but you can't remember her last name
- You memorized your lines for your gesher play more seriously than your bar mitzvah parsha
- No matter what the camp play was, all sets oddly resembled a scene from "Pocohontas"? (bottomline: Blinkoff is da bomb)
- Avi Orlo was the frummest person you have ever met in your life
- You know the hebrew word for "strike" from staff softball games
- You currently have a shirt/dress sitting in your closet, that at one point was your "goto" shabbat outfit. It was pink. You have never worn it since, but you would never dare to throw it out.
- You absolutely cannot be considered a true Machane Ramah-nik unless you have the following bullet points on your ramah resume:
a) your parents and grandparents went to Camp Ramah, as well as your in-laws and their grandparents
b) you went to every single year of camp, went to Pilgrimage, went to NATIV, and are still called to come back to camp as a rosh something. Plus you were held back a year (Chaluztim '90) so you have a claim of being there longer than anyone
d) Held office in USY regional/national board
e) Staffed a pilgrimage, summer thing
f) went to JTS, but in the middle of your last year, decided that you "must" make aliya and enrolled in the conservative yeshiva. But you of course came back to camp for the summers, just so people can say, "Hey, didn't you make aliyah?"
g) Knew 80% of the graduating class at Akiba Hebrew Academy for the past 10 years
h) Were one of the leads in your Gesher Play
i) You own a rainbow-brite coat-of-many-colors tallis and bag, which has an Artscroll siddur tucked away inside
j) You speak Hebrew with a Philadelphia accent
- your CD collection was small (tape mixes were still hot) but it included, G. Love and Special Sauce (menkowitz knows him), Live (your fav song is Iris), early Dave Matthews (you thought he was Jewish) , The Reality Bites Soundtrack (And you say, I only hear what i want to), 10,000 Maniacs (Sarah Veder singing in Gesher Play), Mighty Mighty Bosstones, and the entire Debbie Friedman / David Broza collection
- Your nights out of camp can be summed up in 3 words: LAKE COMO INN
- You cried during the last Rad Hayom of the summer, as well as every havdala service concluding shabbos. (you can still say/sing this! Start now)
- The second any meal started you sent your waiter in to the kitchen to get a second basket of bread, You had to beat the lines.
- You miss getting yelled at for running out of the Chadar Ochel after benching (birchat?)over the sound system. "Na La'shevet!"...."Yasher L'Tzrifim"
- You know to fake sneeze when they say "Zechus" as well as all the other gestures that make birchat fun. (what was wrong with banging the beat on the table?)
- Every person considered "funny" back in camp days (i.e. they always were in the play, always winning the talent contests, always in trouble), has replaced their camp audience with: Stand-up Comedy. They have at least one joke that is about going to Jewish summer camps. It's dirty.
- You know what you wore the first day of every year of camp. (you picked it out 2 months before camp started, how could you forget)
- the first time you ever felt compassion was when you saw someone your age stand up for mourner's Kaddish at Friday night services
- No matter if it's 1960 or 2003, you can spot an Israeli staff member a mile away. Just look for MC Hammer.
- You know what and where the Geniza is.
- As a camper, you dreamed of being in Gesher for one reason: having a porch.
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