Keeping Up to Date: Barack Obama's Home Page

The word is out. I am committed to supporting Obama for president. No question in my mind that the upcoming election will be critically important to the future of our country. Until December 6 we will be obtaining signatures of registered Democrats to get Barack on the New York State ballot. Early in December his supporters will focus their energy on the State primary in February.

Clicking on the title above will take you to Barack Obama's homepage.

Thanksgiving Together

Thanksgiving is one of the very best holidays. It could be described as the “3 Fs” - family, food and football! Thanksgiving is a day that brings us together, to recognize and appreciate our good fortune, to enjoy each other's company, to watch the children become older and wiser as the older somehow maintain their youth.

(Click on any photo to enlarge it--especially with the family photo above.)

Enjoy the photos below. If you would like to add to our family blog but are not sure how to do it, email your text to me and attach any photos you'd like to share. I'll take care of the rest.

See you at Lauren and Eric's home to celebrate Chanukah in a couple of weeks.

Thanksgiving at Lesly"s & Lenny's Home

more to come . . .

and some more

Chappy Chanukah

Alice and I wish each of you a joyous celebration. Click on the 'Chappy Chanukah' title and join us in song.

Trick or Treat

Summer Nearing its End

Alice and I have have enjoyed a wonderful summer. Here's a handful of pictures that share our pleasures. Hope you have had a summer equally gratifying.

Some more Israel photos

These are actually the last five photos listed below.

A Gratifying Trip

Most of you know that Alice and I have made plans to visit Israel in the past. Each time she became uneasy with the idea and the trip was postponed. This time around, encouraged by our rabbi and knowing that many friends from temple would be joining us, Alice honored her longtime commitment. And it was an incredibly rewarding trip. We hope to have the opportunity to share some of our experiences with you soon. In order: visiting the Western Wall before shabbat, Rabbi Klein (we have much in common), shopping at Machana Yehuda marketplace, drinks at the King David Hotel, a quick bite at Nachlat Binyamin, planting trees, Alice playing with kids in an Ethiopian kindergarten, an intimidating reminder in Golan Heights, Southern excavations.

On Aging Gracefully

According to George Carlin

Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids? If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.

"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five! That's the key

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21. YESSSS!!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk! He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling. What's wrong? What's changed?

You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40. Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60 .

You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70! After that it's a day-by-day thing; you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80's and every day is a complete cycle; you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REA CH bedtime. And it doesn't end there. Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I 'm 100 and a half!"
May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!


HOW TO STAY YOUNG
1. Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them."

2 Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person, who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love , whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever Your home is your refuge .

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10.Tell the people you love that you love them , at every opportunity.


AND ALWAYS REMEMBER :
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

Need a pediatrician?

Somehow, somebody came across this discussion on a website used by Manhattan parents (to be):

A friend recommended Dr. Eric Rosenberg as a ped for db (we are moving to the UWS). Does anybody use him?
Toddler - Apr 10th, 2007 10:29am
o I did and he was great . Changed insurance so could not use him .I believe he no longer accepts new patients (or didn't 6mo ago)
- Apr 10th, 2007 10:30am
 OP - Are there other peds in this practice if we can't use him?
- Apr 10th, 2007 10:30am
 yes- never saw them though
- Apr 10th, 2007 10:33am
o he is great-one of the most popular in that group. i use hiltlebeital
- Apr 10th, 2007 10:30am
o He is cute.
- Apr 10th, 2007 10:31am
 np: lol, i agree. he's super nice too.
- Apr 10th, 2007 10:33am
 If he were a bit taller.... wow.
- Apr 10th, 2007 10:34am

Summer Fun: Sesame Place, Peewee Soccer and Alice's 60th Birthday

Celebrating GG's 97th Birthday at The Regency

What fun having the entire family--four generations-- together for another birthday celebration.

After Liberation, a Joyful Reunion

This article appeared in the April 15 Sunday edition of the Miami Herald


Inseparable: Pearl and Simon Gottesman met in 1940. They dated before the war, were separated during it, and reunited after liberation. They have been married for 61 years.
(In the Herald, there is a pre-World War II portrait of her family. Only she survived the Holocaust. The photo hangs in Marvin and Alice's home).

Posted on Sun, Apr. 15, 2007

After liberation, a Joyful Reunion

Simon Gottesman met Pearl Lax in 1940, not long after World War II began. He'd been keeping company with another young lady from Pearl's village when he spotted her.

''She was very beautiful and I loved her,'' he says. ``I said, `Next week I'll come again. Let's go to the movies . . . '''

''So we went,'' says Pearl.

Simon would have married her right then, but ''it was wartime, and her parents wouldn't let her. They said I would go away, and that's what happened.'' He was deported to Bor, a Yugoslavian labor camp.

For a time Simon was able to smuggle letters to Pearl. He never heard back.

''In 1944, they took her whole village, the Jewish population,'' he says. ``Everybody knew that.''

After liberation, each went to Prague, where the Red Cross posted lists of names.

'You'd go and ask, `Did anybody look for me?' It happened that she came to look, and we found each other,'' Simon recalls.

''Right away I recognized him,'' says Pearl, who ''went through hell'' in Auschwitz.

They headed for his village, where Simon found an older brother, one of three who'd lived. Three sisters perished.

''Either marry her or tell her it's over,'' his brother ordered. 'I said, `Pearl, we're getting married this Sunday.' ''

Simon borrowed a jacket. Pearl wore a suit. A friend sold a pair of boots and paid for the reception.

Pearl initially resisted.

'She said, `No! We are waiting for my father and mother to come home.' Meanwhile, I met this guy who said he saw when they killed them.

'I said, `If they come home, we'll make another wedding.' I knew they're not coming.''

For awhile, ''We lived like there is no tomorrow,'' says Simon. ``We were going out Saturday nights to parties. When we got papers to go to America, we didn't want to. When the communists took over, naturally we went.''

They settled in Brooklyn. Simon bought a relative's dairy store.

''As a parent, I was very strict,'' says Simon. ``I always wanted my kids to have school. I was deprived of it. I finished high school but when I got ready for college, there was a law that Jews could not go.''

They moved to South Florida in 1982, after Simon retired from a sweater factory. Here, as in Brooklyn, they live in a survivor-intensive community.

''They are our family,'' says Simon. ``We play cards together. We mingle.''

How often does the Holocaust come up in conversation?

He chuckles: ``Always.''

GG's 97th Birthday

We are looking ahead to another special day with Sonia--aka Sunny, Mom, Grandma, and GG. While we are planning a centennial bash, her ninety-seventh birthday falls on Memorial Day this year. While she may have never served in battle, who would have a problem considering her a veteran?

The best news is that the hospice service has removed Mom from its list of patients. Her health, a very great concern in the fall, has been very good throughout winter.

We will reserve the private dining room at the Regency and plan lunch for all. Please RSVP to Alice this week.

Hi from Ethan & Emmy