Camper Who Lives “2 for 10” Not So Popular With Bunkmates

Lake Huron, PA (July 31, 2015) –Super Senior boy Eugene Goldstein, 14, of Short Hills, NJ is not like any of his bunkmates in Bunk 29. He follows his own “2 for 10” mantra which very few campers can comprehend. His feelings represent the polar opposite of 99.99% of the camp community. For Goldstein, “2 for 10” represents getting through two long, tedious months a year at camp to enjoy ten wonderfully enthralling months in school.

There is a popular credo among people who love their summers at camp more than anything in the world: “Living 10 for 2”. Surviving ten months of the year for two months at their summer homes away from home. To people who live by this feeling, it is more than just a saying, it’s a way of life.

From the moment the last bell at school rings, Goldstein starts counting down the hours until he’s back at school furthering his education. To him, camp is just two months each year that he falls further behind his scholastic peers in South Korea, Japan, and Singapore. Most of his summer is spent daydreaming about an exam he aced or a term paper he’s going to write this fall.

Goldstein, whose nickname in school is “Gene ‘The Machine’ Goldstein” because of his rigorous study habits, has failed to hit it off with any of his bunkmates for the past six summers. One bunkmate, in particular, struggles with Goldstein’s way of living. Jake Bergstein of Merrick, NY has had a difficult time connecting with Eugene. “He’s a really nice kid. Don’t get me wrong. But he has this digital clock on his iPad that he keeps above his bed that counts down the time until camp ends. He puts it up the second he gets here. It’s like he’s in jail or something. So bizarre.”

Jake Silverberg who sleeps next to Eugene shares similar sentiments about his bunkmate. “He’s a good guy but at night while he sleeps he’s always yelling ‘I deserve an A, damn it!’ I don’t know if that’s a nightmare or a dream for him.”

Most of Goldstein’s day at Huron Lake is comprised of low intensity activities such as reading, computer programming, lanyard, and photography all of which he likes just enough to pass the time until it’s back to the beautiful ten-month death march that is the school year.

“As famous New York Yankees baseball team manager from 1996 to 2007, Joseph Torre once said, ‘Unless you have bad times, you can’t appreciate the good times,’” droned Goldstein, obviously reciting a fact he memorized in hopes of fitting in with other boys in the bunk. “That’s why I keep coming back. I need summer camp to put in perspective how truly wonderful studying, memorizing inane facts, and being constantly tested are. Only two more weeks of this, then I’ll have my face buried in the books for the next ten months! And when I get home, my mom’s going to take me to get my school supplies! I’ve got to sit down. I’m getting too excited.”