Being lucky enough to have shared 15 summers with you at Walden, I have a wealth of memories. So when I tried to think of the best one with which to pay tribute to you, it was not so easy—until I remembered back to 1975, my Bunk 11 summer.

I had finished a pretty rough year at school and had just gotten into trouble at camp. You took me to what was then the middle office and gave me a legal pad of paper. You told me to list all the good things I had done the past year on one side of the page, and all the bad things on the other side. And then you left.

I sat in there for some time and unfortunately, the list I made was much longer on one side. When you came back I handed it to you, but you didn't look at it. You told me it was enough for me to see the lists; that you didn't need to. But you did ask me how I felt about the two sides, and what I thought I would do about it.

And I must say that from then on, the two sides became more balanced and eventually, the weight completely shifted to the good side. So I thank you for your guidance on that day. And I thank you for sharing your wonderful Walden with me—then and now—for it still remains the one place I want to be when summer comes.