"What can't be cured, must be endured" (Proverb)

.....I figure it's time to get busy again, and perhaps even be able to write another post to this unattended blog.  After all, since I last wrote something, a new prince has been added to the royal family, and being a Baron, I feel obligated to say a few words about "George".  His birth, I am sure, engendered much joy to our friends in merry olde England, but no more than did our great grandson, Prince Huston when he was born to PK (Princess Katrina Ross) in our own realms here.  Joy was spread throughout the Baron's offspring in Maryland, Virginia, Florida, California, Montana, and even as far away as Cuzzin Ruthie in Britannia.  Unfortunately, RH+ and I will be unable to attend Georgie's bris.

.....At the moment, I am getting only the last vestiges of my battle with bronchitis--a cough now and then.  It has been the worst illness I have ever suffered, but I suppose any illness will be the worst from now on.  Getting on in years, I have learned requires the strength to weather one illness after another.  It also requires wasting a lot of time in doctors' waiting rooms, as well as maintaining a decent health insurance policy.  If that is what President Obama wants every American to have, what's so bad about that?  If that is what Republicans are opposed to, then it certainly must be a good idea.  Can anyone think of a good idea the GOP has come up with in Congress since FDR's administration?  If so, cite it in a comment.

.....Here in Huntington Lakes there has been a show produced by residents every year since 1982, and this year the Board has rejected the only show presented to them.  I wasn't at the meeting when this happened so I don't really know who was principally responsible for this rejection.  My feeling is that when the residents have a show to put on, it should not be a matter for the Board to like or dislike.  The show is a vehicle for residents who enjoy performing, and for some who have bought homes here because of the opportunities available for them to be part of a group who do sing and act before an audience.  Since I have written and published 13 books, I decided I'd try my hand at writing a show, and so I have.  It will be a recreation and remembrance of the USO concerts of WWII with songs and celebrities of the era.  I am now waiting for an opportunity to bring it before the Board.  I hope that happens sooner rather than later. 

"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers..." (Henry V)

.....I just got a new edition of Time magazine with an image of a hood of the kind Trayon Martin was wearing on the night that he was shot.  And the title superimposed on this image is "After Trayon".  I haven't read the article as yet; I've been badgered sufficiently by the media--newspapers, magazines, and TV; especially TV,  and especially CNN.  And now it seems that this event, because of the verdict, has been turned into an issue of racial discrimination.  A white vigilante male, while his head was being bashed on the sidewalk, shot a black teenage male .  He pleaded self defense; the jury agreed, and so he was acquitted.  Now, suppose his head was being bashed against the sidewalk by a white teenage male.  Would he have been found guilty?  The prosecution wanted a guilty verdict based on second-degree murder?  Well, I thought that was pushing it a bit.  I don't think I could ever find a man guilty of that charge beyond a reasonable doubt, that would put a man in prison for life.  Perhaps the prosecution might have gotten a guilty verdict on the charge of manslaughter; perhaps not.  Who knows?  But the media climbed aboard the choo-choo of racism and blew that train whistle for all it was worth.  Racism? Hey, millions of Americans voted a black man for president.  Wherever racism is involved, it exists in the Congress of the United States.  If our president was white, would he be subject to the virulent kinds of mischief he's been subjected to since he has been President? For  certain, racism does exist in our country; it evolves from one ethnic group to another; from one culture to another, and it will always be that way--but that is why we are a country of laws, and if there exists a better system somewhere else, I'd like to know where that is.

.....from former student:

.....I re-read "Tailgunner".  Daughter had it for a few years.  I read the last half of the book first, from your low point in the VA Hospital after the War and all that followed.  What a life!!
.....I'm glad you're blogging, it gives us all a lift.   EBJ

"Refuse to be ill. Never tell people you are ill; never own it to yourself." (Bulwer-Lytton)

.....I'm still struggling to get this bronchitis out of my system before it turns into pneumonia...I've been using the nebulizer every day, but it doesn't appear to be doing much good.  I went to the VA Medical Center on Monday for some dental work, but the dentist (a Columbia grad) said it would not be a very good idea to do the work planned while I was suffering from this type of illness--so he sent me home.  I do have a 2:30 appointment with my doctor this afternoon, so tune in tomorrow and I will be able to give you an update.  Yesterday, I also went to my eye doctor because I could not drive my car with the distance adjustment that his colleague made for me.  He had ordered a prism for the left lens.  However it just made my distance vision much worse, and it was impossible to drive because I was seeing double and the white lines separating the lanes in the road seemed to be crossing each other so that I was not able to tell whether or not I was driving in the correct lane.  Well, we were there for 2 1/2 hours before it was discovered that the prism had been put into the lens backwards!!.  So much for medical training ( the ophthalmologist was a Cornell grad).

.....Jumping now from health problems (I'm 89 and up)-- to show biz talk, I've been doing a lot of thinking about the show I have been conjuring up--that is a reprisal or reincarnation, or reproduction or remembrance--or whatever you want to call it of a WWII USO concert with musical numbers of the 30s to 50s.  I plan on calling the show, "43!" (Yes, with the quotation marks and exclamation point.  Yeah, yeah, I know--the movie "42" about Jackie Robinson, but his show is titled after his uniform shirt number, and my intended production is titled after a year in WWII.  So, you see, there is a difference.  During the show, the audience here will be considered a conglomeration of members of the Army, the Navy, the Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the Marine Corps.  With that idea in mind, the audience will perforce suddenly all become actors in the show's cast.  Naturally, they will participate in a few of the show's "patriotic" songs.  There will be a Master of Ceremonies, and to break up one vocalist after another, we will have jokes and a couple of skits.  There will also be WWII numbers of duets and trios.  The set will have a USO theme.  None of this will happen until the Board of Directors hears about and approves it.  That will most likely occur in August. 

.....and another former student--now probably 70ish.

.....Seriously, though, reading your blog makes me miss you very much -- and it brings tears to my eyes. I'm once again reminded of what a significant influence you have been in my life. I suspect you'll never really know the extent of that influence, because, like most meaningful things in life, it's not about a moment, a word, a specific gesture or occasion, but the sum total of your "being" and my "being" connecting over time. 
.....Doc, you thought I was someone special when no one else did -- least of all me. You saw potential in me that I didn't believe I had. And because of your belief in me, combined with the example of excellence you set, I stored away somewhere in my psyche all those moments, those conversations, those looks over your glasses that made me feel you could almost see inside me. And time and time again over my life -- sometimes consciously, sometimes not -- I have revived them, wondered at them, reveled in them. It is, after all, the amalgamation of the people and events in our lives that shape who we become. Yes, as you say, it is always a choice we make. But those of us with rich resources tend to make better choices. Thank you for being one of the rich resources in my life.

With all my love,   FS

"Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds..." (Shakespeare)

.....There has been a show here in Huntington Lakes every year for the past 30 years produced by the residents.  I have had the good fortune to have performed in several of them.  Most of the shows have been "book shows" meaning that they were shows performed on B'Way; shows such as "Fiddler on the Roof", "My Fair Lady", "Showboat", and etc.  When there were no book shows there were "in-house" shows written or just put together by a resident.  However, this year the condo Board has rejected the only show that has been presented to them.  Consequently, residents who are interested in performing on the stage of our theatre are left showless.  Since I have been furious about the Board's intransigence about an "in-house" show, and so I decided to "write" one myself.   I have never tried to write a musical, but I thought of an idea for one, and I have been working on it.  This musical will be a reproduction and remembrance of the USO concerts for troops in WWII.  The songs of that era will be revived and residents who sing will be introduced as the vocalist who made the song popular.  I plan to do more than have vocalists one after another, however, but I don't want to go into it right now.  It will be a top notch show, I assure you.  I am a professional. 

 

.....Now, in spite of the fact that my good British "cousin" has admonished me, after a fashion, about publishing letters I have received from former students (see her comment in a previous posting), I will, nevertheless continue the practice of publishing them here for the reasons I have discussed in a previous blog.  This one is from one of my very first students whom I first met in the 9th grade at Sea Cliff H.S.--a year or so before we went into the new North Shore H.S.

 

Dear Dr. Ross,

 

I am so happy to receive your e-mail.  You are so precious to me.  I have always adored you.  I  have never told you that you turned my life around when I was a very unhappy Freshman at Sea Cliff HS.  You were never aware of the harassment I endured at the hands of a former, very jealous BFF.  I begged my parents to take me out of SCHS---but it wasn't possible - so I stayed and tried to make the best of it.  I always vowed to "get even"by coming out on top and with your encouragement and support I did.  I was terrified when you interviewed me for the position of Editor-in -chief of the Viking View---even more terrified when I was appointed.  But with your wonderful confidence, we succeeded. 

 

 I love you so much,   (BK)

I Didn't Even Know she Was Jewish!

 

....I learned something recently that stunned me. It's about a woman I loved--though never met. 

 

I didn’t even know she was Jewish

 

.....She was called the most beautiful woman in the world. A Jewess who hated Fascism & Nazism yet dined with Hitler & Mussolini. She invented a way to prevent radio signals of allied submarines from being jammed. We know it today as WiFi. Even today the Navy uses this technology .  In 1933,  a beautiful, young Austrian woman took off her  clothes for a movie  director. She ran through  the woods, naked. She swam in a lake,  naked, pushing well beyond the social norms of the period. The movie was called "Ecstasy".
.....The most  popular  movie in 1933 was King Kong. But  everyone in Hollywood was talking  about that  scandalous movie with the gorgeous, young Austrian woman.
Louis B. Mayer, of the giant studio MGM, said she was the  most beautiful woman in the  world. The film was  banned practically everywhere, which of  course  made it even more popular and valuable.  Mussolini  reportedly refused to sell his copy at  any price.
.....The star  of the  film, called Ecstasy, was Hedwig Kiesler. She  said the  secret of her beauty was "to stand there and  look  stupid." In reality, Kiesler was anything  but stupid. She was a  genius. She'd grown up as  the only child of a prominent Jewish  banker. She  was a math prodigy. She excelled at science.  She was married six times. She became a big Hollywood star.   Her film name was Hedy Lamar.  What a life!

 

.....I am still suffering from acute bronchitis.  I can't shake it, even though I am taking nebulizer treatment.  My nurse, RH+ reminds me that it will take time because I am not 17 anymore.  As if I have to be reminded.  I have absolutely no desire to leave this house.  I am very comfortable just staying here without going anywhere.  Can't go anyway--it pours rain every day.  The one good thing that I can say is that I really can walk pretty well with a cane now without having to use that ugly walker like a nursing home resident.  And to keep busy, I am working on developing a show...I will direct it.

More about it later.

  

"I see my reputation is at stake; my fame is shrewdly gored." (Troilus & Cressida)

.....It's been a long, long time since Father's Day when we started out to drive to New York; a big mistake of course.  But we did plan to honor the invitation to Rhoda's nephew's wedding, and since I did not want to fly ever again--we took to the car.  It was about then that I contacted acute bronchitis which is still plaguing me in spite of all the steroids and nebulizer treatments I've been taking.  So, I imagine that when you reach my age it takes a lot longer to get well than it did when I was 20.  I was 20? When was that?  But this illness is not the only problem that I have been occupied with.  I was seeing double while driving with the distance glasses I had been wearing, so when I went to the eye doctor a few days ago, he had a prism put into one of the lenses, so now I see triple.  Reminds me of a joke.  "Hey, Doc, I see triple when I open my left eye".  So the Doc replies, "So, don't open it.  $20 copay, please."

.....In the previous post, Ruth Grimsley wrote in a comment that I should avoid publishing "encomiums" about me from former students.  I could understand why she would advise that, and her reasons deserve merit.  However, I did respond to that in a comment of my own, which if you fail to read it, here is what I wrote:

(Ruthie, dear: I feel that I must document the greatest part of my "legacy" which is the 30 years I spent in front of a class full of teenagers most of whom were reluctant to be there and certain that they were to be bored. This blog is a diary which, hopefully, my descendants may read one day; and I trust that perhaps some neighbors are reading it now, and will get to know me better than they do now with their perception primarily of me as a WWII veteran with some medals which they never heard of. I prefer them to know me through the eyes and minds of my former students who are in their 60s and 70s, and who remember me in special ways. These ways are significant in the story of my life; so why should I neglect and hide them?)


OK, So the following is not from a student, but from a colleague, a teacher and coach of great intellect and skill:


Dear Cleverest One of All,

.

The Doc Rosses of the world are truly humble, and do not always recognize the inter-generational positive effect they have on the world. You should be aware that your influence upon your students will be felt long into their own lives.  Your example of courage, persistence, and honor was so important in a school full of jaundiced time-servers.

 One of the greatest gifts we can transmit to students is an appreciation of great literature. Your enthusiasm and acting skills brought outstanding authors to life. While Shakespeare was your forte, my favorite was the way you did Robert Burns, complete with an accurate Scotch burr. I was never careless with praise, and never gave a damn about what anyone thought of me, so when I say that you were the only GREAT teacher I ever met in the public high school system; you can take it to the bank. More important, you were a Renaissance Man, whose interests and skills went far beyond the academic. Your daughters are only one of your great accomplishments, although that would be enough for you to have lived your life very well, indeed.

 

Incidentally, I've written a show.

"A little learning is a dangerous thing...drink deep..." (Pope)

.....Well I got to my blog after being asked to sign in--which I haven't had to do in a very long time--and I started clicking on things I have not seen to this day!  One of the clicks landed me on a page with 42 unpublished comments from various former posts.  Most of them were from somebody named "anonymous" and since I do not know anyone by that name I deleted all 42 at one click, and started to write this post. There is not much I can say at this juncture in my life except that at the moment I am sick with bronchitis and I have to use the "nebulizer" with medication four times a day.  So, in order to give my readers (hah!) something to read, I will repeat some comments I have received on occasion from former students.  I cannot help it if it seems as though I am bragging or something; OK, so I am bragging or something.  But seriously, I started writing this blog some years ago so that my grandchildren would know more about their grandfather than some grandchildren know about their grandfather after he has passed away. I'll just do one comment today:

.....Sept. 17 2001
I owe it all to Dr. Ross...Shakespeare (Hamlet in particular), Beowulf (read with gusto in its lyrical Old English), and Freud (for dummies).  The roots that started at North Shore H.S. have blossomed.  I married an Englishman...and look forward to our bi-annual pilgrimages to Stratford-Upon Avon's Royal Shakespeare Theatre and eagerly anticipate the next great Branagh adaptation (my favorite is still Henry V).  I have become a writer of children's picture books...in verse, having been a poet since the 4th grade it seemed like the logical thing to do.  I too was wide eyed with wonder and hung on every syllable in Dr. Ross' class.  There seems to be quite a few of us who were able to climb out of the DARK PIT...INTO THE LIGHT, thanks to the love of "higher thinking" drummed into us by Dr. Ross.  The problem is...the rest of the people we have to deal with on a daily basis are still in the dark.
BARBARA BURTIS 1977

.....Well, there you have it.  Thanks, Barbara.  Actually, I'm having problems remembering many of my former students, and that is a shame--I'm not proud of it.  I'm proud that former students remember me--I cannot name a single teacher of mine in high school.  That was James Monroe HS in the Bronx; it no longer exists.  Neither do many of my students.  Neither does my memory.

Never again! Ever! Come to Florida (Ross)

....I'mfinally back home and I may never leave here again.  We shared driving all the way to New York and back, and we came home exhausted to the max.  In addition, I developed acute bronchitis and it's a bitch.  I have to use the nebulizer four times a day, and of course, I'm taking anti-biotics.  But you don't want to hear about this, so I'll change the subject.  We left here on Fathers' Day and on the 19th of June we arrived in Washington one day late.  This happened to be our 30th Anniversary.  We were late because we got into a raging rainstorm a few miles north of Richmond, and so we had to stop for a hotel before getting to DC as we were supposed to.  Anyway, we all got together for dinner at PJ Chang's for what happened to be a sort of Anniversary celebration the following day.  Sons Joel and Bobby were there, Barbara and Michelle their lovely gals; grandson Adam and new wife, Tucky, as well as granddaughter Hannah and her boyfriend (forget his name).  We had a great time that night.  And I loved seeing my sons looking so well, and apparently very happy with the life they are leading.

.....As far as the wedding in NY is concerned, we took up residence at a Ramada Inn in Rockville Centre.  I wasn't impressed.  Expedia claimed it was a bargain at $768.  It wasn't.  On Sunday we donned our wedding gear--I in a tux (which I shall never wear again), Rho in her gown.  We were supposed to be at the temple at 6pm for family pictures but because of poor directions, we never arrived on time.  The wedding was a "posh" affair that included the loudest band on the planet.  There was not one slow dance when couples over 30 could dance together.  No.  Every "dance" involved jumping up and down and waving your arms in the air.  If you did not participate in this "Simon Says" dance routine, you would apparently be thrown off the floor or led to your table by a waitress.  All I could do was sit at the table all night because it is very difficult to dance up and down and wave your arms while holding on to your walker at the same time.  And since it was a "kosher" wedding, the servers kept coming around with kosher hors-doevres to shove in my mouth.  Another kosher wedding? Never again.

.....On Monday we went out to dinner with Renee and Jeff, Rho's daughter and son-in-law, and started the trek home on Tuesday with a stopover in DC.  The reason for that was to see Huston, our great grandson, but Mom Katrina was in Kansas and could not get back to DC on time for us to see him because Grandmother Hudgens died and PK, Max, and Huston had to stay for funeral services.  It was a huge disappointment.
In conclusion let me say that RH+ was a heroic figure all the way.  Because of my disabilities she had to lug all the baggage out to the room getting in and out to the car leaving.  In addition, she did most of the driving.  I never felt so helpless, and I promised myself never to break any more hips.