October 7, 2005
Shabbat Shalom!
Did you know that computers are magical? Well maybe not magical but mystical…if not mysterious…..As I discovered
this week, 432 Madrichim messages magically or mysteriously appeared in another mailbox…I didn’t even know that
I had another mailbox…!!
Anyhow….apologies to those who did not receive responses…and here is some news which by now probably isn’t new!!
Love,
Eemah
Dear Eemah,
There's a guy in my residency who likes to find photos off the internet and post them with funny quotes. He found one off your website of you, me and Janine. You dressed as Uncle Sam. Must have been when I was in high school or junior high. I'm the chief resident this month (we rotate), so under it he put "hail to the chief." Pretty funny to walk into the ward room and see that.
How is sunny san diego? I'm hoping to come home sometime this year...just not sure when, yet.
Hope all is well. I'll talk to you soon.
Love,
Becky (Barth)
Hello and greetings from Sunny Chicago - well it's sunny today anyway.
I can't believe I'm coming up to 3 years since I left San Diego! I moved downtown last summer and I really enjoy city living. I've never lived in a high rise apartment building before - and I try to remember it's not a hotel (even though that's what I feel like I live in) I live close to the lake - even have a lake view. I try to go to the beach every week - sorry no boogie boarding allowed - and it even reminds me of home when the beaches are closed for ecoli bacteria (Instead of run off from Tijuana it's run off fromWisconsin!) Just goes to show you that the same problems are country wide!
I'm making friends slowly - Midwesterners are stubborn people - living in the same place their whole lives having the same friends their whole lives - so breaking into a group is tough! Any ideas or left over relatives here?
I love Chicago in the summer (winter not so much)!
Every weekend there is some kind of street festival.
Taste of Chicago starts this week, free movies in Grant Park start in 2 weeks, and free concerts in Lincoln Park start soon too! Just looking for someone who owns a boat to latch on to so I can spend my weekends boating up and down Lake Michigan. It's nice to have 2 baseball teams to cheer for (although everyone seems to be 1 or the other - never both) but I go to both ball parks - it's fun to cheer for teams that are winning and leading their divisions (or close to it anyway) In 3 years - I've never been to a home team game in Chicago that the home team didn't win.
I'm hoping that this will lead to play off tickets when the time comes!
Hope all is well with you - love to everyone in your family.
Karen Miller
Hello Eemah,
This is Dana Goodman…now living life as Dana Schlessinger.
I love your email updates.
I talk to Ross (now Yaar) and Robert and Amy Stevens occasionally.
Life is all good…we too have a relatively new baby…Shira Talia Schlessinger... 8 ½ months old…photo attached
We live in LA and if you have the time I would love to see you when you come up…since your next trip involves a wedding your schedule may not allow for a visit…let me know.
Big hugs and warm memories,
Dana
Boy, your mentioning the ice cream Zoo (at Farrells) reminds me of Jimmy Goldstein leaning back in his chair, onto the Emergency Exit and setting off the alarm one time when the Zoo was being delivered to our table…oh, about 25 years ago. Ahhh, memories.
Kay (Gordon)Abadee
Helene--
Well, you beat me to it! Yes, we were in Israel with our kids and had dinner with Ross and Dina Kobernick and Robert Strausberg and his wife. It was quite an experience. I had heard a little about their lives through the grapevine, but it was so much fun to see them in person. Yes, Dina is pregnant with their 10th child, and I think they are already grandparents.
Ross asked me the ages of my children over the phone before we met. I told him 10 and 7. When he and Dina came to our hotel, they had with them two children, 10 and 7. What a coincidence! I guess they have children of all ages!
Robert and his wife brought three of their six children -- 3 beautiful girls.
I would have recognized Ross anywhere, but not Robert. But then once we got to talking, there was no mistaking Robert. And fundamentally, their personalities are very much like they were all those years ago. Of course, your name came up in the context of all you do to help young people establish Jewish identities.
And since we've been back, we had Steve Kantor over for brunch to reminisce and see pictures of our trip. It was great to see him. As it turns out, his kids are close in age to ours and we plan to get together again soon. Of course, I'm sad about his marital situation.
Steve was wondering why we didn't know each other before Madrichim days. I reminded him that I didn't go to Hebrew School and was not Bat Mitzvah'd. And that to join Madrichim with you Larry Meyers gave me materials to teach myself to read Hebrew. He didn't know that.
Anyway, I am attaching a photo from our dinner in Israel at Paradiso, a kosher Italian restaurant in Jersulem near the Dan Panorama Hotel. Let me know what you think.
My mother did tell me about Morely Barsky. Very sad.
All the best to you and your family,
Susan (Susie Rose) Verner
Eemah – It’s always great to hear from you. I miss everyone. Hopefully we will get to San Diego in the near future and be there long enough to see more than just the family. I was just talking about Hebrew Camp with our new director of education. It’s fun to brag about the great days of CBI of yesteryear. I hope that some of that fire will re-ignite with Rabbi Citron. Talk to you soon.
Please send my love to David, Lani and Daniel.
Steve (Gross)
Hi,
I know it's been a long while since I wrote but I must say, I enjoy the updates. I just finished my 2nd year as principal of an elementary school (1st - 8th) in Beit Shemesh, close to the Strausberg family. Truth is I already am a grandfather. Our grandson is 18 months old while his youngest uncle is 21 months old. My hair has turned greyish for this stage of my life, but it probably would have happened anyway (seen my brother Todd in the last few years?) Not that these life events make me feel old - just more of a role model with more responsibilities. I guess being the first Mad Grandfather is something that requires some sort of statement. Well, here it is: You should all know, it will happen sooner than you think and it's WONDERFUL.
Nice visit with Susie Rose and family and then Eve Berry. Was corresponding for awhile with Genene Shenkman. Had a great visit with Steve Kantor last winter.
Shalom for now,
Yair (Ross) Kobernick
Hi Eemah! Some news from the J. J. Gass clan. Sophie and I and our three kids (Fifi and Roro are 6; Cot is 3) have moved to the Netherlands. We're living just outside Amsterdam, and I'm practicing at the Amsterdam office of a London-based law firm. Sophie lived here as a girl and speaks perfect Dutch, and the girls understand it pretty well (they'd better; they just started at a local public school last week). My Dutch is niet so goed, as they say over here.
I'm surprised at how many Jews there are. Amsterdam was a major center of Jewish life for centuries, starting with the influx of Jews from Spain and Portugal during the Inquisition, but very few survived the Holocaust. Before the war, something like one-third of Amsterdam's population was Jewish. The country's greatest soccer team, Ajax Amsterdam, is still thought of as a "Jewish club," and yesterday I saw graffiti by an Ajax supporter consisting simply of a Star of David and the word "Ajax." It seems that a lot of Jews have immigrated in recent years--my rabbi in New York was Dutch--and I unwittingly moved right into a big Jewish neighborhood. Our local bookstore carries books on "Sjabbat" and a children's book (in Dutch) on celebrating the Jewish holidays.
Julie (Epstein)gave birth to our beautiful baby girl, Rebecca Elise, on Monday, September 27 at 746am. Rebecca is doing great and Julie is recovering from her Cesarean nicely. Rebecca was born at 7lbs 12oz and 21". She has a whiff of black hair and blue eyes. Aaron met her yesterday, but he still doen't know who she is (he'll find out Thursday, when Julie and Rebecca come home... what? what do you mean she is staying???)
Stay tuned for further installments…So far I think we are up to October of last year (2004)
Love,
Eemah
