Julie Victor, Barbara Cottman Jackson and Ellen Foley volunteered to be mentors to senior Girl Scouts of Southeastern Pennsylvania at Camp VIP in Summer, 2002.

For three days, we lived in withering temperatures of about 100 degrees with intermittent downpours. Truth is, we had more fun that the real Girl Scouts. Our job was to share our life experience with teenage Girl Scouts, called VIPs, in an effort to expand their life dreams and enjoy the company of women.

Barbara and Ellen were newcomers to this experience and we were assigned to a tent with Julie. Who knew that six months later we would be friends!

Well, everyone in the camp knew that first night. Barbara announced by tentlight that she was a jazz singer. She sang while Ellen danced and Julie, about 20 years our junior, laughed until she cried. This egged the old babes on. We soon became know as the "party tent."

We were finally lulled to sleep by the firefly light show twinkling as if it were Christmasin the large firs encircling our tents. It was breathtaking. Barbara mentioned something about snoring. Julie and Ellen said they could sleep through anything.

They were wrong. Very wrong.

They later diagnosed Barbara with sleep apnea and fled to another tent. They did discuss sleeping in Julie's new SUV with the air-conditioning on but were afraid the Head Girl Scout might not be amused.

In the morning, Julie and Ellen discussed with Barbara how concerned they were about her welfare and how to get help for an obvious sleeping disorder. And that's when it all started. We haven't stopped expressing grave concern about each other's obvious flaws and potential shortcomings since.

In truth, we are all convinced that our meeting was providential and, as Barbara says, all our lives have been changed for the better since three such different women came together to share their special talents and learn from each other.

Click here to read Julie's version of camp.

Click here to read Barbara's version of camp.

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