Tracy Fisher

Kutz Camp Bayit 1 2006

(Tracy is on the right in the black shirt with the big smile.)

I received word a few nights ago that one of my former campers had died. At 18 years old, Tracy Fisher collapsed as a result of a blood clot that had traveled to from her leg to her lungs. This is the second time this year that a young person from the Kutz community has been lost. Kids aren't supposed to die. My campers are supposed to go on from high school, to college, and become adults. Tracy was having the time of her life at Missouri, taking advantage of every opportunity.

As soon as I heard the news, memories from that summer flooded my head. It was my first summer as an RA. I had the youngest cabin- B1 babies, as we affectionately called them. There was Matilda, one of my campers alter egos, Mushu, from one of the most memorable programs that summer, check in-check out with a giant fake phone...the list could go on forever.

Tracy was always smiling and laughing. She was in an elective I taught that summer where we learned songs from the NFTY bencher. Most kids took the class because they wanted to learn all of the songs they didn't know, that everyone else at camp already seemed to know. Tracy was the exception. She chose to take the class because she knew ALL of the songs with the hand motions to go with them. She could always be counted on to take the lead and be enthusiastic about anything. She had such passion for everything about camp, including plotting ways to sneak out of the cabin. Scheming with the other campers late at night, I would hear giggles and shushing as I walked around the cabin checking to see that everyone was where they should be. Towards the end of camp, she even managed to spark a campwide search when I couldn't find her in her bed. It turns out she was in another girls bed the whole time! I loved those girls like my own children, and feel honored that they have chosen to stay in touch with me. It has been an amazing thing to watch these girls grow up, from young high schoolers to young adults in college.

Bayit 1 formed a special community that summer. When news of Tracy's death began to circulate through facebook and e-mail, we were all reminded of that tight knit bunk we all spent a summer in. Pictures, stories, and love for each other and Tracy could be felt despite the fact that we were separated by states and even countries. I hope that the memories of Tracy from that summer and beyond keep us all smiling and laughing, just as she would have wanted.

Zichrona Livracha-May Tracy's memory be for a blessing...