Camp Jingle Hymer Schmidt

Rochester has so many beautiful lakes from Lake Ontario to the Finger Lakes . . . so why don't we have a family friendly, waterfront, destination resort? A place where you can rent standalone cabins or a rustic suite in the main lodge. A place with highly trained camp counselors (a la Club Med) and kids activities galore. The kids can have heaps of supervised fun while their parents get massage treatments and facials, attend yoga classes, learn to salsa, watercolor, etc. There would be family activities, too, like swimming, ping pong, bingo, and arts and crafts. At night there could be bonfires and sing-a-longs. There could be outdoor cookouts and mess hall meals in the lodge.

I think it's time to resurrect the halcyon days of the Poconos and the Catskills right here at home -- especially since gas prices are through the roof. With our proximity to other major cities, including Toronto, it would be an easy drive for thousands of families.

Given the seasonality issue, it could house corporate off-sites in the winter months. Or bring in speakers of its own to drive off-season revenue.

I don't need Patrick Swayze to have fun. I just need time with my kids and some downtime for myself at a price I can afford.

My Treasure Chest of Love

My girlfriend Laura was in town recently from Delray Beach. We spent a little time viewing the permanent collection at the Memorial Art Gallery while the kids accompanied us on an animal scavenger hunt—looking for horse carvings, dogs in paintings, etc. We also went to see the hubby’s jazz band, The Steve Greene Trio, play at the Little Café and later saw his Podunk-punk band, The Chinchillas, play at The Cottage Hotel (a fun a little hole-in-the-wall). We inevitably faced the, “What do you want to do?” question for which Rochester has few fabulous options for repeat visitors (especially at this time of year). There are only so many times visiting the Pittsford “mega-Wegs” continues to have allure, the lakes are too cold to swim, the mountains are not yet snow capped for skiing, and the Maid of the Mist is docked for the season so why bother heading to Niagara Falls for the day?

We ended up late Saturday afternoon at Organic Alley, a fabulous local health market, which was having a holistic health fair. My girlfriend had a reading from an “intuitive,” while I sat on the floor praying to God, “Please put your words in this woman’s mouth.” I have a fear of mediums and spiritualists but this lady was spot-on in her dialog with Laura: not only nailing her raison d'etra but also giving her food for thought.

She then turned to me and asked, “Do you like to sing and dance?” and I wasn’t sure how to answer. I love to sing and dance but I’m horrible at both. I actually lip synch in church and, when I do sing aloud, people turn around to see what kind of mutant I am.

She said that my body was dancing and my heart was singing, “I have a treasure chest of love.” Laura and I started laughing. This woman proceeded to tell me that a) I work too hard, b) life doesn’t have to be this hard, and c) I need to focus on my talents—stop challenging myself further—and life will come much easier.

I came to work on Monday and immediately told my boss! Guess what, I’m planning on not working hard anymore . . . you okay with that?