Dorinda, The Quiet One…At Least Back Then
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
Dorinda Dohner (not to be confused with Debbie Downer) and I go so far back during our weeks at Camp Woodland Altars that I can scarcely remember just when we first met. She was two years younger than me so it is likely that we shared a lodge camp in 1983. We know from photos that she has that we were at lodge camp together in 1984. But it was not until our days in Eco-Adventures in 1985 and (as she appears above right) 1986 that we finally became friends. Read the rest of this entry »
Rob Bradford was certainly one of the nicest guys in the whole elementary school. In fact, he was probably a little too nice for the likes of me. But that notwithstanding, I went through periods of time during my days at Fairbrook Elementary when Rob and I were the best of friends. In fact, I’d say that he was probably about my best friend during our fifth grade year in Mrs. Owens’ class, where we had become the two resident chubby boys. And with the short similar names, people were always getting us confused with each other. 
The culmination of the fifth intenational Sons of the Desert convention in Valley Forge (actually King of Prussia), Pennsylvania came on the evening of Tuesday, July 29, 1986. This final banquet was quite a memorable one as it involved not only a recreation of Toyland from the 1934 Laurel and Hardy film Babes in Toyland, but featured celebrities from the original film itself! 
The fun of the fifth International Sons of the Desert convention in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, continued on Monday, July 28. Time had virtually stood still for me and the days really had no meaning at this point. True to the anthemic song of the Sons, I in fact was ‘having the time of my life’ amidst all the friends, both new and old, camaraderie, memorabilia, films, purchases, events, autograph gathering, scholarly overtones, and of course heavily social undertones.