All I can think of is that scene in Troop Beverly Hills where they're all "camping out" in the hotel telling ghost stories and one of the girls is all "Give me my golden aaaaarm" and now I really need to know which writer ripped off the other one or whether this was a story that was simply in wide circulation in the 90s and somehow I never heard it!
OMG, I have never seen Troop Beverly Hills, and this golden arm story was COMPLETELY new to me. So curious if it was in wider circulation—I'm probably an outlier, because I only went to sleepaway camp one time, so I'm sure I missed some prime campfire/ghost story times.
I *bet*. Josh did camp as a kid, and then was a counselor for years, so he knows tons of those songs and I have practically ZERO frame of reference, LOL. I should look for more kids' books set at camp and try to bone up.
Did he go to those strange East Coast camps that last all summer, the kind Paula Danziger wrote about? You know, There's a Bat in Bunk 5, etc. Out here camp is like two weeks, tops. I've always found it hard to imagine those summer-long ones. I don't know if anyone does those anymore or if the insurance costs too much now...
Josh and I should have a sing-off, see if we have any matches!
He sure did! The one he went to is still open, and generally has two three-to-four-week(?) sessions, but a lot of kids go for both sessions. I had no idea that all-summer camps were an East Coast thing! I grew up in the lakes region in Maine, so there were TONS of them, some super-expensive, some less so. I think NOW they're pretty much all super-expensive, sigh.
I worked at a summer camp here in Cali for six years... And we had a ten week run every summer. It felt like FOREVER... Especially because some parents happily enrolled their kids for multiple weeks...🤪
Reading these comments at the end of a long day is so great.
Honestly, DREAM SEQUENCES?! Truly, Lael was running out of ideas and publishing was SUCH a different beast in the 80's! I want flashbacks next chapter...
Flashbacks seem ENTIRELY possible, especially given that we still haven't gotten the full story about Rowena???
Also, I know we have a significant time difference, but I'm writing this at 4:30am & your comment says you left it 3 hours ago, so my back brain is CONVINCED you left it at 1:30 even though my front brain KNOWS that isn't right, hahaha. Clearly I'm not fully awake. (Also, I do realize that back brain/front brain are not technical terms, they're totally household terms for... uhhh... gut vs logic, kind of? But also we use 'back brain' to describe when we feel like we're processing something, but aren't quite ready to articulate the thought? While I know that everyone must have their own household terms, sometimes it absolutely blows my mind that anyone ever knows what the hell I'm talking about.)
All I can think of is that scene in Troop Beverly Hills where they're all "camping out" in the hotel telling ghost stories and one of the girls is all "Give me my golden aaaaarm" and now I really need to know which writer ripped off the other one or whether this was a story that was simply in wide circulation in the 90s and somehow I never heard it!
OMG, I have never seen Troop Beverly Hills, and this golden arm story was COMPLETELY new to me. So curious if it was in wider circulation—I'm probably an outlier, because I only went to sleepaway camp one time, so I'm sure I missed some prime campfire/ghost story times.
AHA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Golden_Arm
(I can never resist a quick Google, sigh.)
The Golden Arm is the original scary campfire story, it's probably been around since campfires were invented, how did you two miss it??
shockingly enough, i had VERY few friends until high school, hahahaha
I had few friends, but I was a Girl Scout and went to camp for YEARS. I have the weirdest collection of songs in my head from that.
I *bet*. Josh did camp as a kid, and then was a counselor for years, so he knows tons of those songs and I have practically ZERO frame of reference, LOL. I should look for more kids' books set at camp and try to bone up.
Did he go to those strange East Coast camps that last all summer, the kind Paula Danziger wrote about? You know, There's a Bat in Bunk 5, etc. Out here camp is like two weeks, tops. I've always found it hard to imagine those summer-long ones. I don't know if anyone does those anymore or if the insurance costs too much now...
Josh and I should have a sing-off, see if we have any matches!
He sure did! The one he went to is still open, and generally has two three-to-four-week(?) sessions, but a lot of kids go for both sessions. I had no idea that all-summer camps were an East Coast thing! I grew up in the lakes region in Maine, so there were TONS of them, some super-expensive, some less so. I think NOW they're pretty much all super-expensive, sigh.
I worked at a summer camp here in Cali for six years... And we had a ten week run every summer. It felt like FOREVER... Especially because some parents happily enrolled their kids for multiple weeks...🤪
I've never heard of it either!! But I was also not the kid who got invited everywhere.🤭
The internet will never be perfect, but I will always appreciate it for allowing me to find my kindred spirits, heh.
Sheltered childhood, lol. And Troop Beverly Hills is cheesy and wonderful and a very reliable comfort watch!
I will add it to The Watchlist, LOL!!
Reading these comments at the end of a long day is so great.
Honestly, DREAM SEQUENCES?! Truly, Lael was running out of ideas and publishing was SUCH a different beast in the 80's! I want flashbacks next chapter...
Flashbacks seem ENTIRELY possible, especially given that we still haven't gotten the full story about Rowena???
Also, I know we have a significant time difference, but I'm writing this at 4:30am & your comment says you left it 3 hours ago, so my back brain is CONVINCED you left it at 1:30 even though my front brain KNOWS that isn't right, hahaha. Clearly I'm not fully awake. (Also, I do realize that back brain/front brain are not technical terms, they're totally household terms for... uhhh... gut vs logic, kind of? But also we use 'back brain' to describe when we feel like we're processing something, but aren't quite ready to articulate the thought? While I know that everyone must have their own household terms, sometimes it absolutely blows my mind that anyone ever knows what the hell I'm talking about.)