The Armando Legend Continues

While Armando and I were driving to some basketball game last winter/early spring I asked him if he could narrow down his 40 years at Camp Stella Maris into three specific statements or memories.  He gave me that Armando look, the one that says what the heck are you talking about, and we continued on our journey. He never answered, but it did give me food for thought.  It makes it even that much clearer that his length of service is extraordinary for sure and that to try to narrow it down would take away from his lengthy impact on CSM.

Armando has just begun his 40th summer at CSM.  My 12 summers pales to his 4 decades but his impact on Camp  Stella Maris has been exponential.  Anyone who has attended CSM in recent memory knows about, has seen, or gotten to know Armando in his role as the patriarch of Camp Stella Maris.  Those of us who were with Armando “back in the day” are many, but none the less impacted.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Armando since the summer of 1990.  This was my first year at CSM and the beginning of his 22nd summer.  I had heard about him from the other counselors but nothing that they had told me even scraped the surface of the kind of person he was and his tremendous impact he would have on me and on all things CSM.  

First and foremost he has a tremendous memory and he remembers things and people in such a personal way that to just chat with him about days gone by always is a lot of fun.  He has been there through boys weeks and girls weeks, he worked on the farm with Joe Morsch, was there at the beginning of boys and girls sharing the camp together, and he has seen more programs, more skits, more bonfires, attended more staff meetings, more masses, more Prime Times (well, maybe not), known more staff members, and done more lost and found laundry than you can even imagine.  If there is ever anything you need to know about anything that happened in the last 40 years just ask.......he knows!  In addition to his knowledge of camp history he has stories that are legendary at camp.  He has managed to keep them alive and give them a life of their own.  Campers remember these stories for years and I have talked to more than my fair share of parents who attended camp who remember every detail of each camp story and more importantly, the story teller!

Armando has done just about every job you can do at camp.  He has been the summer camp director, a counselor, a rover, an area director, holdover director, the leadership coordinator, day camp worker, and served as the sounding board for every single summer camp and executive director during his four decades at camp.  His perspective, knowledge, and experience has proved invaluable to to the ongoing development of camp and camp life.  He has taken campers to the hospital, picked up supplies for the store, lined all the fields, driven the luggage truck on Sundays, and handed out security passes when parents arrive with the kids.  He has taken out docks at the end of the summer and mowed the grass.  I am sure I am leaving something out, but I am equally sure that when he reads this he will encourage me to either add or subtract something.

The impact that he has had on the thousands of kids over his stay at camp is magical.  There are few, if any, youngsters who had made camp their home away from home who do not have fond memories of Armando, Tiz, the Old Trout, Mondo, or as he prefers to be known, The Legend.  He has played games, laughed while sitting on the bench in front of the store, helped those who were homesick, led the Morsch Cheer in the dining hall of the Big House, and had has pictures taken with a great many staff members and campers. He has been the MVP of every camp game, and even invented games unique to camp.  These kids have loved him forever and he in return has loved them back.  He cares deeply for them and when the day comes that he no longer makes camp his summer home he will be missed.....for a long time!

He has legendary status at Camp Stella Maris with the staff too.  When pre-camp begins and Armando arrives on the scene he is like a magnet. He knows the inside scoop on the staff and what happens on the weekends.  They are convinced that they can do nothing without him finding out.  The staff has  always gravitated to him like a moth to a flame.  The flame can get hot sometimes and as a leader of the camp community you must be prepared to get some advice from him about how things are SUPPOSED to be done if something did not go the way it was supposed to go.  Always done with love, his leadership role has been unquestioned by all of us who worked side by side with him.  It is hard to imagine what camp might have been like without his leadership and direction. There is a cabin names for him, and rightly so.......but what he has done for camp will probably last even longer than that cabin.

For me personally, my fondest memories of Armando will be related to the development of the most significant friendship in my life.  The times that we have shared have been substantial.  We shared a crazy summer sleeping in the White House with Tim Delaney, lived upstairs with Provo and Inso across the hall, gone out with the Northern Christian Leadership Conference for ice cream,  and laughed and laughed about crazy, funny stuff that is only meaningful in light of the camp experience.  Away from camp we have travelled together for years on the AAU Basketball circuit, ate his Dad’s restaurant, gone to Disney together, and shopped at malls and Nike stores up and down the east coast.  Countless hours together for sure.  I KNOW I can count on him no matter what.  We have travelled life’s path together for over 20 years, and I am am thankful the times we have shared, the people that we can both call friends, the CSM experience, and for all the laughter that we have shared.

CSM is a better place for having had Armando in its fold the the past 40 years.  As he begins his 40th anniversary summer I wish him well and hope that he has a few more years left to give to the Place Where Memories Are Made!  I treasure his friendship and I thank God each and every day for bringing him into my life.  I may even create some kind of an activity using my favorite beads to commemorate his years at CSM.....he loves these kinds of activities! 

The memories that I have of my life with Armando are substantial and PRICELESS.

Armando is what camp is all about.

Armando is my best friend.

He is indeed a living, breathing, legend.

Teacher Recognition Day

Where to start?  In the course of my lifetime I have been blessed with many people, from many walks of life who have played an important role in helping me to learn.  I am a fan of learning and each and every person who took the time, gave of their talent or wisdom to help me get to the place where I am today I continue to recognize and express my deepest gratitude.

My mom and dad were amazing!  They taught me that being adopted is very special.  They told me that they CHOSE me from a whole nursery of babies.  This gift of learning has helped me to appreciate even more that home is about the people who love you and care for you......no matter where they come from.  Respect for others, hard work, the love for learning, and being strong in the face of adversity were all part of the learning from my first teachers.  Even though they are both gone now, I still have many fond memories of what they taught me.

School teachers.....starting with my dad....were stage two of my learning.  I learned how to share, how to be quiet when others were talking, how to listen carefully to instructions, and how to be a responsible citizen.  I did not always make this easy for them, but they were relentless and never let me off the hook.  I had some amazing and memorable teachers in primary and high school and college who I loved.  I cannot even imagine what I would have become if not for them.  They helped to create my love of reading, my interest in history, and my general love of learning for learnings sake.  My dad, my first teacher role model, was creative, knowledgeable about his area of expertise, fair, hard working, and honest.  I watched him do what he did, watched his interactions with the students, and came to want desperately to be a teacher just like him.  I still remember when I was in third grade when I as asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, and the answer was a teacher.  This never changed.

Teaching colleagues were crucial in my learning curve when it came to being a classroom teacher.  From the minute I started teaching there were those fellow teachers who made suggestions, gave me a willing ear when I needed to talk, and told me when they thought I was making a mistake.  Some of my most memorable learning took place in the faculty room, where we talked strategy, philosophy, and methodology.  For over three decades there were fellow teachers who were amazing and very talented, and who were more than willing to share with me.  I learned a lot watching them work, observing them as they interacted with their students, and had a great time when we celebrated together often on Friday afternoons during happy hour.  I loved them and miss them, but they are in my heart and mind each and every day. 

I have also had the the pleasure to work with hundreds of young people who I taught, coached, or spent time with during my twelve summers at summer camp.  They taught me about music, technology, God, and food.  Each day was a new exciting and amazing adventure.  Their honesty, their perspective, their desire to be make a difference, and their work ethic always amazed and impressed me.  I loved the kids who made such an impact on my life!  I am thankful for all they taught me.

Richard Bach said that “If you have stopped learning you are dead.”  I have always found this to be an axiom to live by.  On this day of teacher recognition I want to just say thank you.....to each and every person who teaches others.  We are better because of you and grateful for all that you do.

Happy Teacher Recognition Day!