What's In My Trapper Keeper? Tracey Gold!

As you know, I loved the ABC show Growing Pains. Growing Pains ran from 1985-1992 and took place on Long Island which I thought was so cool because as you know, I lived there. I was a big-time Kirk Cameron fan and in addition to sending him fan mail, I must have hit up Tracey Gold as well. Tracey portrayed his brainy sister Carol Seaver.

Funny, two weeks ago I brought you a signed photo of the Gimme A Break! cast starring Nell Carter. Did you know that Tracey Gold was almost cast as the youngest daughter? The role obviously went to Lara Jill Miller. 
  
I loved the Gold sisters. Tracey's younger sister, Missy Gold, appeared on the TV series Benson from 1979-1986.  Tracey Claire Fisher was born May 16, 1969 in New York City. Tracey Gold and her and her younger sisters Missy and Brandy went by the name Gold. Their mom Bonnie married a hot shot Hollywood talent agent named Harry Goldstein who adopted the girls when they were small. They changed their name and shortened it to Gold when they got into the biz. Gold is a much better stage name and makes for some fun headlines.
 
Sadly Tracey struggled as a teen with anorexia. Her beloved older friend and Growing Pains costar, Joanna Kerns introduced her to an actor she worked on a miniseries with named Roby Marshall. The two married in 1994 and have four sons together, Sage, Bailey, Aiden and Dylan. Tracey made headlines back in 2004 when her SUV tipped over in a highly publicized DWI accident--she was held on $50K bail. Sadly her hubby and children were in the car. In researching for this blog post, I've learned that Tracey Gold wrote a bio called Room to Grow, I'll be checking that out soon if it's still in print. I really did like her.

MTV's Jersey Shore Is Very Long Island

I'm getting slightly off topic today to celebrate the second season or Season Two of MTV's Jersey Shore. One of my buddies from high school posted on her Facebook page today something about guidos from our high school as we prep for our 20th high school reunion. Her post reminded me of how much I hated GUIDOS growing up! As an Italian American I grew up in a very Italian American area on Long Island, New York -- in fact one of the cast members of Jersey Shore, JWOWW (Jenni Farley) is from my old neighborhood.


The irony of Jersey Shore, which has some Jersey folk up in arms, is that only one cast member, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola" is even from the state of New Jersey. The rest of the cast hail from New York and Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio is from Rhode Island -- I never knew Rhode Island even had guidos!

The idea behind the show, in case you have yet to catch an episode, is basically like MTV's The Real World only eight guidos/guidette strangers picked to live in a house ... work together and have their lives taped ... to find out what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real ...  These guys hook up (trying to avoid "grenades" aka ugly girls) party, smoke and drink and get into scuffles with each other and the locals.

They live for fake tans, hair gel, working out and battling on the dance floor to shitty music. It makes for great entertainment and although as I said, I am Italian and feel that, yes they are stereotyping us (I was never a guido) and they make New Jersey look less than alluring. I've been to the shore many times and the areas I visit aren't filled with fist pumping guidos with over-sized muscles and gelled hair.

I spent my youth avoiding guidos. I have never dated or befriended a guido. I worked hard to avoid purchasing anything remotely resembling something that could be considered "guido".  Yet tonight, I am so anxious to park my ass in front of our flat screen and tune in to MTV at 10 PM and LMAO at Jersey Shore Season 2 in Miami. I can't wait to catch up with my imaginary friends Snooki, The Situation, Ronnie, Vinny (my fave), Sammi, JWOWW, Angelina and Pauly.




  

Back To School & College Dorm Room Supplies

As August nears, you can sense summer is coming to a close. I know there's an entire month left, but the atmosphere changes somehow. Crickets and locus chirp and sing louder throughout the afternoon, the sun hits your yard a bit differently and the nights aren't as long.

It's around this time that we begin to see Back to School sales and circulars advertising everything from fancy pens and notebooks at CVS and Walgreens to dorm room delights from Bed Bath & Beyond. Bed Bath & Beyond even have a We Love College! ad campaign. Next to wedding registries, dorm room decor is probably their biggest money maker!

As much as I hated returning to school after a summer of fun, I didn't mind stocking up on everything from new clothing and shiny notebooks in grammar school to extra long dorm room sheets to new backpacks in high school and college! Here are some of my favorite vintage back-to-school stuff. What did you love best?

Cool 1980s Lunch Boxes

In grade school it was uber important to show up to school gripping a kick-ass lunch box. Be it Smurfs, Snoopy or E.T. -- you didn't want to be stuck with one of those boring, run-of-the-mill, plain lunch boxes.

The Jansport Bag

In high school and college, it was all about the Jansport backpack. I'm not quite sure why. I mean, it was just a backpack, but it was truly an essential in both high school and college. I also loved LL Bean backpacks.

The Mead Trapper Keeper

If you've been following a long for a bit, you know how dedicated I am to the Trapper Keeper by Mead. I loved the way it held every piece of paper securely and fashionably. I had the red one one year and a blue one other years. I enjoyed slapping stickers all over them to personalize them a bit. I found this old commercial, check it out.

Round Ball & Crack An Egg On Your Head

This weekend my family met up in Virginia for a family reunion. Over dinner, I was telling my aunts about how I recently played "Round Ball" and "Crack an Egg on Your Head" with my three-year-old nephew. I remembered this as a little girl, but couldn't remember which aunt played those games with me.

They remembered! My Aunt Carol would play "Round Ball, Round Ball" with me which from researching had variations. Basically the way it goes is, you take the child's little arm and start with their hand.

Playing Round Ball, Round Ball

1. Using your pointer finger in the palm of the kid's hand, making a circular motion you sing, "Round ball, round ball, pull a little hair" then lightly tug on the child's hair.


2. "One slice, two slice" making soft chopping or cutting motions on their arm (as if your slicing up a loaf of bread) using you pointer finger.


3. "Tickle under there!" and you end with a gentle tickle under the child's arm.

Crack An Egg On Your Head

My Aunt Sue had her own relaxing game she would play with me when I was about 13. I never tire of this one. As a girl at camp, we'd often do this while waiting for dinner to be served. Here's how it goes.

1. Have the child or your friend sit in front of you with their back towards you.
2.Pretend to crack an egg on their head and sing, "crack and egg on your head and let the yolk drip down, let the yolk drip down, let the yolk drip down."
3. While singing about the yolk dripping down, you use your fingertips starting from the top of their head down to the middle of their back slowly giving the chills to your friend or child.


I found this demonstration video on YouTube of "Crack An Egg" and other fun activities moms can do with their kids while trying to kill time or before bed. Do you do any of these goosebumpy activities with your kids?

What's In My Trapper Keeper? Mikhail Baryshnikov!

Check out who I stumbled upon in my Trapper Keeper today :-)

Why it's Mikhail Baryshnikov! In 7th grade my friend Serena and I loved the 1985 movie White Nights which I told you all about back in this blog I wrote a long time ago.  I must have written him a fan letter and this was what he sent back to me. Enjoy!

Coca-Cola Mello Yello Redesign & Relaunch

Last night, the hubs and I stopped at TCBY for some delicious white chocolate mousse frozen yogurt. As always, I'm drawn to the beverage-filled display fridges. I love checking out the packaging, brands and selection. Sure I've worked in advertising for ten years, but the truth is, as you know, I'm the ultimate consumer. I notice newness and am overwhelmed with excitement over it. For example, last visit there, I noticed Tropicana canned fruit juice drinks were sportin' some very cool graphics! One thing in that beverage case really stood out though - MELLO YELLO! Unreal!

Now, hear me out, I don't "do the Dew" and am not really a fan of Mountain Dew or any citrus beverages such as Sprite or 7-Up, but you know me. I'm seriously down with the retro scene! This Mello Yello revival thrilled me so much, I had to Google and get the scoop. I haven't seen Mello Yello in ages. Help me out readers, have you seen it?

Apparently Mello Yello has had limited distribution and Coca-Cola has redesigned their packaging to give it a more retro feel and is relaunching the product in various cities. Mello Yello's ad campaign will focus on digital and radio ads. Seeing old items brought back to life makes me smile, you have no idea! This old-school branding that has me loving Coca-Cola.

Anyway, here's the scoop on Mello Yello! It's good to see they're back in the game--someone needs to compete with Mountain Dew.

Fun Facts About Mello Yello From Coca-Cola

• Released in October of 1979, great year by the way!
• Discontinued flavors include: Mello Yello Melon, Mello Yello Cherry and Mello Yello Peach 
• Rumor has it the drink was named after 1967 Donavan's song, "Mellow Yellow"
• In the 1990 NASCAR type movie, Days of Thunder, Tom Cruise's character drove a Mello Yello-sponsored sports car.

Enjoy Some Retro Mello Yello TV Ads

Pop Rocks & Soda Killed Mikey ...

Deadly combination of Pop Rocks and soda, yeah right!

Back in the late 1970s, I loved Pop Rocks. What kid didn't? On my way home from school, I'd stop at our local candy store and pick up a packet of the sweet, sizzling treat. I enjoyed the sugary tartness as my mouth fizzled in a cool snap, crackle and pop way. Pop Rocks was one of my favorite non-chocolate candy treat, next to the over-sized burger shaped gum packaged in a yellow plastic case resembling a McDonald's Big Mac.

At some point, rumors began circulating that the famous Life Cereal commercial star "Mikey, he likes it" died from an unfortunate accident downing a can of soda along with a package of Pop Rocks. It was unbelievable, how did it happen? Kids said that the level of carbonation from the soda combined with the candy could make your stomach explode. What an awful thought? It's crazy how rumors can create such issues, remember the spider eggs in Bubble Yum urban legend?

I'm sure you already know Mikey (John Gilchrist) is alive and well and was working in advertising. Here are some cool facts about Mikey, Pop Rocks and more...

• Mikey (John Gilchrist) starred in the Life Cereal commercials with his real-life brothers Michael and Tom.
• The Mikey Life Cereal ads ran were named one of the 50 Greatest Commercials of all Time by TV Guide.
• General Mills, the company behind Pop Rocks, took out full-page ads in over 45 publications to squash rumors that Pop Rocks were deadly.
• 50,000 letters were sent to school principals clarifying the playground tales of killer Pop Rocks!
• In 2000, Quaker poked fun at themselves and revived the classic Mikey ads with a grown-up version of the finicky eater. View the commercial below the original. It isn't John Gilchrist - the actor's name is Jimmy Starace.
• Mentos was the next victim of a similar rumor started in 2006 about a kid in Brazil who died who washed down some Mentos with a can of Coke. 

Original Mikey Life Cereal Commercials -- Notice the intense New Yawk accents on these kids?!




Reviving Mikey - All Grown-up in 2000

Weekend Retro Rewind | Bonnie Tyler Total Eclipse Of The Heart

Forever's Gonna Start Tonight

"Total Eclipse Of The Heart" was my summer of '83 song!

It's weird, when I think back to the summer of 1983, I think of Bonnie Tyler singing, "Turnaround bright eyes, Every now and then I fall apart" and "Once upon a time I was falling in love/But now I'm only falling apart/There's nothing I can do/A total eclipse of the heart" ... I remember it like it was yesterday. The emotional lyrics that meant nothing to a ten-year-old that summer. Didn't matter that I had no idea what Bonnie was talking about! I'd belt out the words along to the song every time I heard it blasting off my tiny radio poolside.

Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was released on March 5, 1983, yet it was my summer song. I never really get that. I mean why would that song still be so popular like four months later that one would remember it in the summer. A year later I was loving Bonnie Tyler's "Holding out for a Hero" on the Footloose soundtrack. I adored loving Kevin Bacon -- at that time he was my hero as Ren. At 11, I wanted nothing more than to dance my butt off to the Footloose soundtrack. Footloose was my movie in 1984. Seriously and I don't care about remakes, you know about me from my Karate Kid complaints.

What's In My Trapper Keeper? Video Blog | Gimme A Break!

So what's in my trust old 1980s Trapper Keeper this Saturday? Why it's an autographed photo of the Gimme A Break! cast. Gimme A Break was a popular NBC sitcom. The show had a pretty significant six year run from 1981-1987. 

The plot focused around the no-nonsense, but lovable Nell Carter who played a housekeeper and all-around house mom to a cop (Dolph Sweet) and his three teenage daughters, Katie (Kari Michaelsen), Julie (Lauri Hendler) and Samantha (Lara Jill Miller). I remember relating closet to Samantha as she was the youngest and closer to my age at the time.They added adorable cast members Joey Lawrence and little brother Matt Lawrence to the show which helped boost ratings I'm sure. 

So I'm guessing I wrote the Lawrence Brothers a letter and this was what they sent me in return.

Meet Justin Bieber's Rockin' Dad Jeremy Bieber

Justin Bieber's Dad Jeremy Looks Like...

I realize this post has nothing to do with the theme of my blog. I do my best to keep things retro and vintage, but I must tell you, the few blog entries I've made mentioning adorable teen idol Justin Bieber, were my highest ranking pages. I promise, I'm not doing this for the page views, however, I just had to share this with you guys.


You may recall my post last year about Justin Bieber looking like Dani Campbell's long lost son. Dani Campbell was the cute, stylish runner-up on Tila Tequila's MTV reality show, A Shot At Love. Well now I present you with his hot 36-year-old dad Jeremy Bieber who looks like someone, though I'm not sure who. Is it Vanilla Ice real name--> Robert Van Winkle? Blink-182 drummer and plane crash survivor, Travis Barker? You tell me...

Justin Bieber with dad Jeremy Bieber

Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker

Robert Van Winkle aka Vanilla Ice

Jeremy Bieber, nice looking, right?

More of My Disturbing Teen Diary Entries

So flipping through my old journals, I've come across some more disturbing 10th grade diary entries that I probably shouldn't share with anyone, but I will. Hey, we all need a little depressing drama once in a while, right?

December 4, 1988 (age 15)

I hate my brother. More than you will ever know.

I'm listening to the Cure today. I've been listening to the Smiths a lot, but needed a break. I want to hear Robert Smith's voice sing about his girlfriends and love and how everything turns shitty for poor Robert. I love him.

I can't wait until Xmas but I don't want to go to church. I refuse to go to church and nobody's gonna make me. No one. There is no g*d, wake up you crazy losers. If there was a g*d, there wouldn't be suffering in the world. People wouldn't hurt other people. A real g*d wouldn't let that happen. 

Why am I so weak? I cry all the time for so many reasons, I don't know anymore. I always cry and cry and cry.  Nobody wants to know me. They hate me so much. I don't care. I want to cry now just thinking about it. Nobody even wants to know me or talk to me. I hate the people in school.They're so immature. 


"'No' such a beautiful word to speak, such a frightening word to hear."

I honestly don't remember writing this, though I do remember feeling it. I Googled that quote to see if it was a song lyric, I guess I made it up myself. I dabbled in poetry in high school. I was that quiet, weird Gothic type kid that nobody understood or really knew. I felt like I didn't have anything in common with anyone and entering a public school suddenly in grade 10, not knowing anyone didn't help.

December 18, 1988 Sunday (age 15)

Ugh, I hate Sundays, especially Sunday night. I wish I could take a day off this week from school. I have to read and do a report on some horrible book... 

I wish I were skinny. I am going to the drug store to buy pills. I need to find diet pills and see if that will help.

To this day, I hate Sundays. I truly did hate school. Every minute of it. It's amazing that I graduated and enjoyed college after hating the majority of K-12 as much as I did. 

As for diet pills, 1988 began my unsuccessful love affair with OTC diet pills. They never worked. From Dexatrim to TrimSpa, I've tried it all. Prescription diet medications, on the other hand, were amazing. I'd drop 60. However, as you can guess, the problem was I'd gain it back as soon as I stopped taking the medication. Every prescription diet medication I ever took, became banned as soon as it began to work. Figures.  I think you can still find these meds (Phentermine/Ionomin and Tenuate) on non-USA drug-pushing pharma websites. I'd never mess with that nonsense today, so don't worry and drugs like Alli relies on one pooping which I'd prefer to stay away from.

December 26, 1988 Monday (age 15)

Christmas was okay this year. I got an answering machine, Benetton perfume, $200 cash, a GAP cardigan, GAP gift certificates. "Nameless Guy" is coming over, I gotta run.

There was a time in the 1980s when GAP and Benetton totally did it for me. Family members would ask for a wish list and I'd say "Anything from the GAP or Benetton" ... "Nameless Guy" was my good friend. I had a crush on him, but he didn't like me that way. We once made out in his parent's basement and he stopped me and sent me home. Today he is gay and I'm totally cool with that. I'm just saying that may have attributed to him not digging me, but then again, most guys in general don't dig me (thank gawd I found one and held on to him!), but it's all good. 

Parachute Pants | 80s Fashions Gone Wrong

It's no big shocker that everything old becomes new again. It's hip to wear old-school gear. I'll admit I still love me some bell bottom jeans from the 1970s. 1980s neon colored fashions, ballet slippers, gummy bracelets and accessories can easily be purchased at any mall in America today. There is, however, one '80s fashion or clothing item I truly never want to wear again. I'd even take leg warmers over these suckers!

Parachute Pants

Yes, I owned several pairs. No, I'd never be caught dead in parachute pants ever again! I don't care if the grand prize at an '80s costume party was a real-live date with Corey Feldman or Jason Bateman. Okay, well maybe in that case, I'd squeeze into a pair for those two, but seriously...

Okay, for the younger readers who have no idea what I'm talking about... Parachute pants were made of nylon material and featured crap-loads of zippers perfectly positioned along the leg and backside. Parachute pants became really popular with break dancers because the nylon material made spinning on cardboard much easier than denim.

Weekend Retro Rewind | Human League Don't You Want Me

Today I was thinking of some of my favorite summers ever. I loved the summer of 1982. I loved this song in the summer of 1982. It's new wave/synthpop UK group Human League's "Don't You Want Me".  I knew all the lyrics and here it is 28 years later and I can still sing this song word-for-word.

As a little girl, I remember listening to the song and thinking of it as a story and feeling sad and wondering which person was in the right. The former waitress or the boyfriend who helped turn her life around. Did I mention I was only NINE! Yes, at nine I was that into a song on the radio where I actually imagined the singers as real people singing about a real issue. Cute, right?

Blog Vacation

Hey friends,

I'm visiting my mom for a few days and taking in some sun during the New York area heat wave while waiting to hear about a few employment prospects, so cross your fingers for me. My luck has been nonexistent since September 2009, so I'm not really counting on anything awesome happening.


I promise once I get back to the grind, I will stop by your blogs and say hello!


Enjoy the rest of the week!

Gummy Bracelets vs Silly Bandz

Gummy bracelets rocked in the '80s and are cool even today!

In my sleep-away summer camp diary posts, I mentioned having a love of gummy bracelets in the 1980s and one of my readers questioned this. I'm sorry to out her, but I just had to. She's a super cool chick from the UK and goes by the name, Girl Interrupted. Maybe you've been to her blog, A World So Small.


Girl Interrupted mentioned having never heard of gummy bracelets. Now, I'm cutting her some slack for two reasons. One she's seven years younger than me. This means, while I was sporting my armload of gummy bracelets in seventh grade, she was just a little five-year-old girl in kindergarten or something. Then there's the UK factor. Maybe gummy bracelets weren't big in the UK, although I'm sure they are -- those Brits are usually way ahead of us!

Gummy bracelets are plastic, stretchy bands which were very popular with girls around 1985/1986. They made a comeback in 2000 and are still cool today. Until recently, I was still wearing a few black gummy bracelets but they broke. I also loved gummy rings. Gummy rings were the same concept, only scaled down to fit your fingers. I would stack them and wear one or two.

These gummy bracelets are barbed wire, I loved 'em!

Please note gummy bracelets are not to be confused with gel bracelets which I'm quite sure are those bands which say LIVESTRONG and are cause-related. They are also not the same as friendship bracelets which were woven bracelets friends made and gave to friends. I'll blog about that another day.

Not a fan of the shapes. Even if I was 11, this wouldn't appeal to me.

Today, rubbery gummy bracelets have been replaced by silicone bands known as Silly Bandz which I'm personally not a fan of. I don't like the thinness of the bands nor do I like that they are grouped together in corny genres. Kids love them, don't get me wrong. I just don't dig the idea of dinosaur, sea creatures or pet shaped bracelets. For example, the only Silly Bandz I like are star-shaped. I would want to own a few of these but only 1 star comes in a 12 pack for $2.99. I would need to stock up on several packages of Silly Bandz just to get a few star bracelets. Not cool.

Today's kid has replaced the gummy bracelet with Silly Bandz.

Months ago, my bloggie Facebook buddy Rainy Day Saver tweeted me asking when I would blog about the Silly Bandz craze compared to gummy bracelets, so there you go. My opinionated 2 cents.

What's In My Trapper Keeper? Drew Barrymore! Video Blog

Today on "What's In My Trapper Keeper?" we sneak a peek at a very cool autographed picture of Drew Barrymore. I wrote to Drew when she was in E.T. I believe by the time she wrote back she had already appeared in Fire Starter and Cat's Eye.


Check me out with my signed picture of Drew Barrymore!

Bagels, Coffee &The Sunday Paper

Newsday, Long Island's favorite newspaper.

The other day Bossy Betty blogged about her love of reading the newspaper.

When I think of newspapers, I think about how I wrote for the school paper in high school and college. I think about my days as a kid reporter for New York Newsday. I think about how today I no longer read the paper because I typically tune into news radio, TV news and the web-based news.

These days, an actual newspaper is almost as vintage of a memory as the Cosby Pudding Pop ads and The Rubik's Cube. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but seriously, here's what I think of when I think of the newspaper...

From about the age of 16-25, Sunday mornings were the same in our house. Dad would pick up bagels and the Sunday Newsday (Long Island's newspaper) while mom brewed the coffee. I remember the blue and white tub of Breakstone's whipped butter sitting on the table. I remember the smell of coffee, although I typically opted for orange juice. We always had a carton of Tropicana on hand for Sunday breakfast. I remember the warm bagels in the brown bags. Bagels so warm, the crumbly Breakstone butter would melt into tiny pools amongst the doughy goodness. Heaven.

Breakstone's was a Sunday bagel breakfast must-have back in the day.

Sorry, I lost my focus. We were talking about newspapers, right? Once my sesame bagel was oozing with melted butter, I'd reach for my favorite section of the Sunday Newsday newspaper.

In my earlier paper reading days, my favorite part of the Sunday paper were the comics. The comics were colorful and I loved following The Lockhorns, Family Circle, Garfield, Born Loser, Marvin and more. In high school, I always grabbed the entertainment section to read about celebrities and music.
In college, I think I was either hung over or simply not home, I don't really remember Sunday mornings.
In my early twenties, in addition to the entertainment section, I scoured help wanted ads in the business section.
The end.

Teen Diaries |The Camp Blue Bay Diary Entries of 1985 Part II

If you're tuning in today, but weren't here yesterday, simply scroll below to see Part I or click here.


This is Part II of my exciting 12-year-old diary entries from sleep-away Girl Scout camp in East Hampton, New York. Not a whole lot of excitement went down according to these diary entries. Mostly a log of what I ate, seriously! My comments are in parentheses.  

I apologize for the lack of any real drama. The only scandal was that someone stole from some of the girls. I didn't even go into detail about it. I also recall my nerdy self and some other girls telling on some chicks who brought wine and cigarettes to camp. They were promptly sent home along with the thieves. Why this isn't in my diary, I don't know. I guess as a kid I thought a diary was for logging my food like a young Weight Watcher or something??? Duh!

Friday, August 16, 1985
Happy Birthday Joey! (That's my brother, and August 16 is his birthday -- he turned 9 that summer.)

I slept until 8:30, then I washed my hair. For breakfast I ate 2 boxes of Froot Loops. (Wow, exciting!) 

That Nicole is such a pain. She must have got in a lot of trouble! (Ooooh I wonder what she did, I wasn't much for details I guess.)

Nikki's lipstick smells so bad, almost like doody really. (Keepin' it classy as always!)

I can't wait until Tuesday at 10:30 (I skipped ahead to find out that was the last day of camp.)

I hope I get a lot of mail. It's 10:22 am and my two towels are wet so I don't know what I'm going to do, I don't have another one. Lisa's singing in the tent, "I'm leaving on a Jet Plane." We all danced. 

OK, good night. 


Saturday, August 17, 1985
9:00 am I just came back from breakfast, I ate two boxes of cereal and a brand muffin. (YES, I said "brand" muffin, ha ha! I also now know why I've always had a weight problem, my daily carb intake was so high even as a pre-teen. Wow! Sugar cereal every day at camp!)

Nancy is a very big, big jerk. She HATES boys. Man, she is weird! OK I have to go now. 

Evening Entry:  We made a big hole in the ground at the beach tonight and a lady helped us make potatoes and meat under the sand in tinfoil, it was really cool. It took so long though. (It took so long, they sent us to the mess hall/cafeteria to eat dinner!) We ate turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes at the Anchorage. (I believe that was the name of the dining area.)

I almost had to run laps because I sang the wrong song at dinner but lucky for me, Andy the counselor forgot! PS I got two letters today. One from Mom and one from Serena (she was my best friend in 7th and 8th grade.)


Sunday, August 18, 1985
Happy Birthday Mom! (My mom's birthday is on 8/18 and I felt bad missing both my mom and brother's birthdays while at camp.)

Everyone keeps telling me I look like a girl-Corey Feldman. I'm not sure why, but this did happen a few times, I honestly don't think I ever looked like him.

Nicole was in trouble for taking something. They searched my bag and everyone's bag to see if anyone took Tent 6's stuff. (I remember this vaguely, some girls were stealing and when they found out who it was, those girls were sent home.)

Went rowing with some nice girls who were helpers in Highlanders. For breakfast I ate 2 hard boiled eggs and 2 slices of toast. Now I'm so hungry and it's 12:09 pm.

Ally LOVES Sean Astin!

I miss my mom. I can't wait to go home. 

I like Lisa so much. She's so nice. I cried before because Laura's Grandma died and she was crying so bad. 

Everyone is singing. I'm in the kitchen. Stef was here before and we cooked bread, cookies and eggs. I didn't eat it though. I slept at rest time for a half hour!

YEY! We didn't have to swim today. No more swimming or boating EVER!

The next few pages I created an entire "Who's Who" of camp complete with drawings and descriptions. So crazy! Check it:

Photos and descriptions of each camper!

Monday, August 19, 1985 
Got a letter from Mom. we had a counselor hunt and found only two. Here's what I ate:

Breakfast: 2 boxes of Cap 'n Crunch, slice of toast.

Lunch: 2 pieces of tuna melt and bread with butter

Dinner: 2 hot dogs, chips and watermelon

In about 2 minute we go to the final campfire. I'm all packed and ready to go. I can't wait!!!

Tuesday, August 20, 1985
I made it one whole week! I'm going home in about 2 hours!!!!! It's 9am and I'm so hungry. We have brunch at 10. Our tent is all empty and laced up. I'm going to miss everyone except Andy the mean counselor. 

I AM GOING HOME!!!!!!!

All the kids are taking pictures. Andy braided a lot of the girl's hair. I'm waiting for the bus in the parking lot. Nikki is crying her eyes out AGAIN!


I really am going to miss everyone. It's now 12:44 and I'm on the bus. We all said our final goodbyes. I stole a box of Cap 'n Crunch for the ride and Rachel just gave me a marshmallow. Page gave me a friendship bracelet. At brunch I ate 2 boxes of Cap 'n Crunch, 1 egg, potatoes, 2 slices of toast.

 Allyson LOVES Sean Astin!!!!! (No shiz!)

Just so we're straight, THIS was the Sean Astin I loved.