Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"What a sigh is there. The heart is sorely charged." (Macbeth)

.....Yesterday, I had two appointments at the VA Hospital in West Palm Beach. Firstly, I decided to put my scooter on the lift attached to my car and use it there because my cane would simply not do for the kind of walking distances that  would be required . Secondly, I also determined to leave early enough so that I might be fortunate to get a parking space, always in very short supply at that facility.  Additionally, I needed to leave early so as not to miss my first appointment; sometimes an accident on the Florida Tpk. slows traffic to a crawl.  I did get there in plenty of time for my 11 a.m. appointment for an ultra sound procedure on my kidneys which my urologist wanted to see.  I did finally get a space to park my car--but it was in a space that was not really a space--if you get my meaning.  I lowered the lift and drove off in the scooter, which to tell the truth, was really a helpful aid--and also a little fun.  When my appointment time came I went to the place where I thought the ultra sound would be given, but the nurse sent me to a different location.  Thus, I scooted over there and when I checked in, the nurse asked if I had drunk 32 ounces of water!  No! I told her; no one told me I had to drink 32 ounces of water!  She also added (almost joyfully) that I had to feel the need to pee "uncomfortable."  I remarked that it would not be possible to drive for 40 minutes in that condition.  At any rate, I made another appointment and I will find a way to drink 32 ounces of water.  If it was my son, Bobby, 32 ounces of beer would just be a start for him.    

.....It was now about 11:15 and my next appointment was in a different building the whole of which was for PTSD patients.  Since I wasn't scheduled there until 1p.m., I had plenty of time to have some breakfast.  In the main lobby a Starbuck's "cafe" always had a delicious apple turnover, so I went there, bought it and then scooted over to the main cafeteria where I purchased a cup of coffee.  (I will continue with this monologue because, after all, this is my "journal" and I would be remiss if I did not recount the events of this day.) When I finished the uneventful appointment at the PTSD clinic, I drove over to the Emergency Room.  For two or three days I had a painful pain in my chest and I promised RH+ that I would have it taken care of.  Of course, the first thing done there was to have me take off my shirt and shoes and get into a bed surrounded by a curtain.  And to make this account as painless as possible, they gave me an EKG, a blood test, and an X-Ray and found nothing that could be heart related.  However, the doctor there told me he would like to have me admitted so that he could conduct a stress test in the morning.  I told him that there was no way that I could stay in that hospital overnight so far away from Delray.  Therefore he had me sign a release; which I did.  I dressed, got out of there, got in my car and drove home.  
.....I still have that pain in my chest, but the consensus is that it is a possible muscle pull contracted while lifting heavy luggage into the car on the way to the airport when we went to NY.  Consequently, I may never go to New York again.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

"Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest." (Homer)

.....So, there went my 86th Thanksgiving in a row for a new record.  Rho and I joined our neighbors, Lou and Annette for Thanksgiving dinner at a local Greek diner--one we usually don't frequent, and much to our surprise our traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings was excellent.  The turkey was right off the frame, the stuffing was delicious, the baked potato was large and just the right texture, the cole slaw was tasty and the diet coke was thirst quenching.  And now I have to get into practice for number 87 in one year's time.  

.....Yesterday, about 7:oo a.m. the phone rang as we were sleeping in our queen sized bed and it wakened and alarmed both of us.  (I mention "queen" size bed because my ex and I had to share a "double" bed for much of our marriage.) Well, to continue the story, at the other end of the phone line was Jackie Schillig on her cell and about to board a plane for Ft. Lauderdale from D.C.  One day in 1973, Jackie came into my English classroom and announced that she had been assigned to me as a student teacher.  Ordinarily I wouldn't want to be bothered, but Jackie was gorgeous, and stirred my benevolent genes.  Now, that was 37 years ago, and we have remained close friends since then even though time and distance have kept us apart.  Jackie was an excellent student teacher and she went on to a great teaching career on her own.  Jackie became very close also with all of my family, and especially so with Bobby and Robin.  

.....Jackie was in town to attend her friend's wedding and she asked if she could come up to see us for a few hours.  It was about 11:30 a.m. when she called from Publix, our supermarket, and asked if there was anything she could bring us that we may have needed--like a loaf of bread, a bottle of milk, or a carton of water bottles.  We assured Jackie that we were not living in poverty, and to get her ass up to our apartment so that we could all go out to get something to eat.  Which event shortly happened.  When we returned from the local bagel & lox emporium, we spent a couple of hours chatting and reminiscing.  I gave her a copy of my autobiography and a copy of "Paternoster in Condoland Vol.I", my blog--or as I like to consider it, the journal of my life here since 2007 when I first started to write it.

.....Jackie's visit was wholeheartedly welcomed, and to continue with no shortage of visiting guests, we will be joining my cousin, Gary, from Chicago at Maggiano's this evening along with his daughter, Michelle, and her husband, Yoniv.  I certain that even they don't read my blog, along with Jackie, and I am sure they couldn't care less about this shameless omission in their mundane existences.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

"And we shall never meet the Twain" (NRR)

…..Yesterday, Time Magazine had an article about Mark Twain’s new unexpurgated memoir, “Autobiography of Mark Twain,”  at the No.2 spot on the New York Time’s best seller list.  I did not know that he had written his memoirs and I was honored to think that we both had written one—although his memoirs are published in three volumes with just the first one 744 pages compared to my 375.  It’s hard to believe that he did three times as many things to write about as I did.  He also hired a stenographer to get his words down on paper, while I had the advantage of my computer, which I did not have to dictate to.  (And hopefully I will be forgiven for ending a sentence with a preposition. Winston Churchill, when told not to end a sentence with a preposition, replied, “This is the kind of arrant nonsense up with which I will not put!”)  At his death on April 21, 1910 he stipulated that his memoir was not to be published fully for 100 years while I published mine as quickly as I was able to after it was finished. According to the article, Twain was concerned that he had “unchained” himself and that the book would be too full of acidic opinions against the “follies and wickedness of his times.”  These included his rantings against the institution of slavery, the gluttony of the age, and the Spanish-American War. He described the American soldiers in the Philippines as uniformed assassins. He also fulminated against the criminal malfeasance of the business world.  Because of these views, it is needless to say his popularity in the polls would not be something to be proud of.

…..According to Mark Twain, because of the many indelicate views he voiced, he opted to “speak from the grave” .Right from a page of his manuscript (in TIME) I was able to decipher his writing and he had this to say: “I speak from the grave rather than with my living tongue, for a good reason; I can speak freely.  When a man is writing a book which is to be read while he is still alive—he shrinks from speaking his whole, frank mind; all his attempts to do it fail; he recognizes that he trying to do a thing which is wholly impossible to a human being.  The frankest and privatest product of the human mind & heart is a love letter…”  Ah, ain't that the truth!

….And  I found Twain's views to be true while I was writing my memoirs.  Indeed, I neglected to write all my frank views about people, the times I was living in, and life in general.  I also did not think about the idea of having my book published 100 years after my death so I, too, would be “speaking from the grave”.  The probability is that the book would never be published and that my manuscript would gather dust in someone’s attic.  Who knows whose?  I also did not write my memoir as Twain suggested a memoir ought to be written; and that is, the writer should not be concerned about time lines, but that he should promote his ideas and his memories in any order that they occur to him.  Hmmmmm.  That would have been a help to me; there are many memories I have had since I published my memoirs that I didn’t recall while writing it.  Also, Mark Twain used that as his pen name; he was born Samuel Clemens.  I forgot to use my pen name, the Baron.  It’s too late now.  Besides, I couldn’t come close to 744 pages and then two volumes after that.  I really shouldn’t complain—I just got a check of $33.99 for royalties!  Twain is not going to collect anything, being that he is in the grave.  At least I am financially better off than he.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Cuando en Nueva York, presione uno para el español y dos para el inglés.

.....We are finally back in Florida after a week in New York which wasn't the best of times according to my recollection.  We are not used to the cold weather; most of the time it was in the high 40's or low 50's.  I once played golf in the 50's, and I thought it was balmy and the coming of springtime, but this time it seemed as though we were somewhere in the North Pole--with no escape nor penquins.  Except for the times that we stopped at the Celebrity Diner, I was being starved.  Saturday night at the reception for the Bat Mitzvah girl, Ally, the food was doled out buffet style.  Except for the potato pancakes, the food was hallucious--at least according to my palate, although most of the guests formed long lines to get at it.  But finally the time came for us to get home.  And that's another story.

.....We had a 3pm flight on Jet Blue, but it was about 12:30 when we returned the car, a Nissan Sentra.  Don't buy it.  Going through security verged on semi-insanity.  Because I have a pacemaker, I had to be patted down.  Well,  the patterer  searched every part of my body stealing at least 15 minutes from my reading time.  I didn't  know the problem; if everyone had to be patted for this length of time the lines would have reached out to the tarmac. I even saw them patting down an old lady in a wheelchair.  Besides, I was wearing a U.S Navy cap with a couple of important medal replica pins, and a pair of wings attached to it. And, I don't suppose I could have been mistaken for a member of the Muslim navy.  And, besides, I did not carry a hoofah pipe.  Hey, use some judgment, guys.  We finally made it home, but not before stopping by Nathan's in Boynton Beach for some good American hot dogs.  


.....One thing I did learn on this trip is that I cannot trip any longer.  It is too taxing; not only for me, but for RH+ as well, what with the packing and unpacking and the lugging of luggage and getting transportation to pick up a rental car and driving through unbelievable traffic for those hours on a Monday, and then returning the car and getting transported back to JFK and waiting two hours before boarding, and add to this, sleeping in a strange bed, and all the other taxing events of the week--and traveling for us is now forbidden.  And another problem is that I can no longer walk very far, or safely with simply a cane--which means, perhaps, that I may have to swallow deeply and opt for a walker (heaven forbid).  But then there's Omar who wrote, "The moving finger writes, and then moves on; nor all your piety nor wit shall lure it back to cancel half a line, nor all your tears wash out a word of it."   (There's a lesson to be learned there.)


.....However, there is still tomorrow, and I'm thinking I'll have something to say about Mark Twain's memoirs compared to mine.  It's spectacular. Stay tuned.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

The Big Affair in New York in the Cold!

.....Just received an email from cuz Ruth all the way from England lamenting that there is "a gap" in her life.  It poured guilt into my day because the gap occurred because she hadn't seen any posting on this blog for awhile and she was concerned that something was wrong across the Atlantic.  But that is not the case.  The fact is that I am writing this on the hotel's guest computer in New York.  We came here last Tuesday to attend a Bat Mitzvah of Rho's granddaughter, Allyson.  On Thursday I was forced to don a tuxedo in order to take family pictures at the temple.  I could not button the top button on my shirt, so I had to make my tie ride up as far as possible.  We were there a couple of hours taking pictures.  I hope I didn't spoil any of them, because I have never been taught how to smile.  Once in a while I laugh at a joke but that is a rare event. 

.....To back up one day, on Wednesday we went to the Roosevelt Field mall.  That location is the noted as the one where Lindbergh took off for his flight across the Atlantic, and there is a plaque there to commemorate that event.  I was not really able to wander around the mall with my cane, so Rho had to locate someone who was able to get a wheelchair for me, and after a while she succeeded as she usually does when she tries something.  The primary reason for going there was to have something to do, and so we did do something--we had lunch at the food court.  I had a hot dog which wasn't so hot, and she had something Asian.  Then she decided she had to have her nails done, and so we shortly found a salon where I waited while she was nailing it.  Since she had something she wanted, I decided it was my turn, so we stopped at a kiosk and bought a bag of dark chocolate non-paraiels (Since I don't know how to spell it, I just stuck a bunch of vowels in it--I'll check it later. There is no dictionary in New York).

.....I really don't remember what we did on Friday except having a very late lunch and I waited at the beauty parlor for RH+ to have her hair done.  But I do remember what we did yesterday; in the morning we went to services at the temple to hear Allyson do her Bat MItzvah thing.  She didn't do a bad job reading her "haftorah"--a section of the Bible.
In the evening we attended the reception and, truthfully, I never ever heard music so loud as it went all night long--with the same beat--it never stopped and all the kids were on the dance floor jumping up and down thinking, I believe, that they believed they were dancing.  In order to escape the mind bending decibels, I removed myself the quite of the lobby until Rhoda came and dragged me back inside to perform the candle lighting ceremony.  The food was pretty good, except that it wasn't a "sit down" meal; it was a buffet and the lines at each station were quite long before you could grab a plate.  It was about 12:30a.m. when we got back to our room at the hotel.  I flopped onto the bed and watched a football game--and eventually I went to sleep.  This evening we are heading to Renee's to finish off the buffet leftovers.  Tomorrow we are going home, and hopefully this blog is free of errors and boredom.  But at least it will close the gap that Ruth was complaining about.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Comment on the Comments


.....Regarding PB's comment on the previous blog posting:  Phil is certainly right about Russ Feingold former Dem. Senator from Wisconsin. He was defeated by Ron Johnson, a Republican Tea Partier.  And one wonders about the brain levels of the people of Wisconsin who voted for this guy.  It's mind boggling.  Just see if you would vote for this man...well maybe some of you would...until perhaps you knew a little about Sen. Feingold.  What is happening here is a recurrence of the Cromwellian Interregnum in England when the monarchy was abolished and Oliver Cromwell & Puritans ruled the country after Charles I was executed by them.  Of course, the Tea Party Puritans would not execute Obama.  Or would they? And how about this Puritan:


Ron Johnson has called scientists who attribute global warming to man-made causes "crazy" and has said the theory is "lunacy". He has said the source of the climate change is "sunspot activity or just something in the geologic eons of time". (So just exactly who is crazy?)


Johnson believes marriage should be between one man and one woman and he supports the present military policy of "don't ask, don't tell". (Nice and conservative. Status quo...Don''t touch.
He opposes research funding for embryonic stem cells. Johnson has stated he disagrees with it morally and also eliminating funding would help balance the federal budget. (So what if we don't find cures for deadly diseases? We're moral)
Johnson appeared in Madison, Wisconsin at the Tea Party rally for Tax Day, April 15, 2010.He attracted the attention of the Tea Party movement when he gave two emotional speeches at Tea Party rallies. According to The New York Times, he said he "did kind of spring out of the Tea Party" and is glad to be associated with it.
Johnson has been called "a political blank slate", because not only does he have no legislative voting record, he has also never previously run for political office.
As of November 1, 2010, he had contributed $8,238,465 (64%) to his own campaign. (Ah! Our new governor beat him silly. He spent $32,000,000)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

"Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I'm free at last." (MLK Jr.)


…..Many Tea Partiers--not all-- appear to have a distorted view of  who is entitled to individual liberty.  They claim that only “true” Americans ought to benefit from  its blessings.  Of course, the implication is that they are the true Americans and  that immigrants and other groups that are not like them are a threat to economic prosperity or national security.  Naturally, for them, freedom for these groups ought to be restricted and freedom for certain individuals no longer is a universal practice.  Liberty then becomes a privilege of the few.  However, in my view, the founding fathers intended that freedom is an inalienable right for all.  Thus, the really “true” Americans are those who still believe in that.

…..According to: Aziz Rana, an assistant professor of law at Cornell University, and the author of "The Two Faces of American Freedom", "…  In order for the Democratic Party to regain the trust of the American people they…” …must clearly explain how securing liberty rests on exerting democratic control over mammoth private companies -- by employing government to reduce the size of banks, to roll back corporate privileges and to ensure that the public has a greater say in the most important decisions. Today those social movements that articulated this vision of freedom are largely demobilized and it rests primarily with the Democratic Party leadership to carry on their aspirations

 .....The question is whether Obama and those around him still believe in these values, and whether or not they will aggressively pursue them against the fearsome opposition of the conservative right, corporate interests, and the wealthy few.

Monday, November 8, 2010

Veterans' Day and Heroism

This Thursday is Veterans’ Day and I am reminded about something I have thought about for many years and on many occasions; that is, the concept of "heroism". Webster defines heroism as "a heroic act especially in fulfilling a high purpose or attaining a noble end." A friend upon introducing me to a grandchild recently told him that I was a "war hero". I never cared for that designation, and I told the youngster—a teenager-- that the true heroes were not the survivors, but those who fought and didn't come back. The fact that I was awarded medals does not make me heroic; they simply document the quantity and quality of my service in WWII.  People tend to make heroes of "warriors" when actually heroism abounds in the lives of ordinary people--people with the moral virtues and courage to accept and meet the challenges of life, people who aspire to greatness, who attempt to “fulfill a high purpose”, people who change our lives and ultimately the lives of others.   Sir Edmund Hillary didn’t say the mountain was “too high.” Lincoln didn’t say Emancipation was “too controversial”. Both found themselves in conditions demanding  indomitable  courage.   They aspired to greatness, and they achieved it.
In Aristotle's “ Ethics" he defines the moral virtues--such as "courage"--as being in a "mean state" between two vices--one of defect and one of excess. Consequently courage is a virtue; foolhardiness is a “ defect” in that it involves a lack of sufficient fear, and cowardice is a defect which is an excess of fear that prohibits action. So, by this philosophy, who is the hero? Certainly not the person who is without fear. It is the person who has an excess of fear but who overcomes it in order to change his own life and perhaps the life of another--or many others. My heroes are Joan d'Arc,  Julius Caesar (who went to the Senate in spite of dire warnings), Lincoln, Einstein, the Wright Brothers, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, and Drs. Salk and Sabin.

A full life offers many opportunities for heroism. In New York on 9/11 the firefighters knew their job was dangerous, and for certain when they entered the towers to rescue people they were not without fear. The fire was their antagonist, but they pressed on to “fulfill a high purpose” with nobility and courage. They were heroes. No matter what your job or situation happens to be, life deals you a hand; if you don't leave the table, but stay the game, you too can be a hero. A soldier in battle, faces death at any moment; yet he knows what he must do. If he sees a grenade thrown at his buddy's feet and he throws his body on it--it's an automatic act; fear or fearlessness does not enter into his action. It is something that he must do. And those who were never in battle, find it impossible to understand. Thus if we attempt to find  heroes in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan—then what is the “high purpose” that we are trying to fulfill? And what is “the noble end”? (World War II had it; Vietnam did not). That is what the families of the American dead will be asking. And if I were fighting in those wars, I would be asking the same thing.  And my answer would be “There is no high purpose; nor is there a noble end.” And insofar as my being a "war hero" to the grandson, I've done more heroic things in my life out of uniform rather than in it.

Thursday, November 4, 2010

"The insolence of wealth will creep out." (Samuel Johnson)



…..Today in Florida we have a newly elected governor who spent $73 million dollars out of his own big pocket in order to buy an election!   That’s right—73 mil.  I hope he has enough left to buy himself a decent meal; or if not that, a toupee.  More money was spent in this election than any other that I can remember.  Many candidates had corporate donations to spend on media spots in order to get elected.  It appears that in American politics  in the 21st Century one cannot get elected if not wealthy.  Consequently, I don’t believe we have a Democracy any longer in this nation.  Corporate greed is leading us more and more toward a plutocracy.  According to Webster, A Democracy is:

 a : government by the people; especially : rule of the majority b : a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.

…..Now, anyone reading this must come to the conclusion that the “supreme power” is not vested in the people any longer—it’s invested in the wealthy politicians who will vote for any legislation that does not operate against their financial station and which does not affect the financial interests of the corporations and individuals who contribute to their election funds.  Consequently, once more, I believe that we now are governed by a Plutocracy.  If only the wealthy can afford to run for public office, are we not more a plutocracy than a democracyThe masses of the American people go to the polls like sheep to vote for candidates they had no opportunity to choose.  They were chosen only by the vested interests in the political party to which they belong.  Oh, quiet!  I know that I don’t know what I’m talking about.  It’s all in my imagination.