I wanted to share a memory of my friend Isaac with you.
I have known Isaac and his family for going on twenty years. I knew him first as a little guy and then as a quiet and somewhat shy high schooler. I hired him a few times, to housesit, he did license management and wrangling for the team. He was always great. But the memories of Isaac I cherish most were the times he helped me run a summer camp in SF.
The thing about Issac was he had a mischief to him. He was always up for nonsense and Bob Camp was a lot of nonsense. There were rockets, fire, people be tied in knots and loads and loads of pranks. One year, I had bonus points for kids going up to Isaac to ask him what his favorite kind of dog is and then immediately ignore him and start telling him about their favorite kind of dog before he could get a word in edgewise.
My oldest, Hannah, by about this time had started counter programming Bob Camp and came up with a game she called ‘Capture the counselor’. This pretty much was just a rouse to chase Issac around the camp and I was never quite sure when it would happen but he was like a fifth Beatle running around the camp grounds with this big smile and his hair flopping all over with a pack of about 40 screaming girls chasing behind him.
But more than anything, Isaac was the calm center of our time there. He was in charge of the slack line, which for those of you who are not familiar with the band Phish, it is just a little tightrope tied between two trees. If you have never done it, it is pretty hard. But Isaac was the perfect height. One by one, the kids would hop on the line and put one hand on his shoulder and steady themselves. Then, as they got their balance, they would let go - and they were floating. They knew he was there if they needed him. This was the theme I heard over and over in talking with those kids these past couple of weeks.
I want to think of him that way always. All the kids he helped and the example he set. And if any of us get a little wobbly, all we need to do is put out our hand.
