FOR THE COVER

I did NOT mess with the colors. This is dawn at sea. I did however, mess with the flag.


There's Christa, welcoming her Granty for a quick visit and family dinner before the ship sails from Honolulu.

The last of the Home Improvements are underway and soon the landscaping will be just what Beth has dreamed of - 'ok kids, why don't you go on outside and play!'. And note the blue railing. This color is repeated in the window frames in back and on the doors. The other thing Beth dreamed of: a beautiful blue door. Fresh siding, more paint, plants etc. still to come.


Charis, cute as the bugs she is seeking.


Beth wearing her 12th hat - General Contractor.


Hi Caleb! He wanted me to be sure and have a picture of the walking stones.


The view from my favorite seat in their livingroom - downtown Honolulu. From the backyard you can enjoy views of Diamond Head.


Arriving at Maui.


Crystal Cruises. Come Sail Away.


Only slightly less freaky than the first one...


Stepping out onto the balcony from a deck 9 stateroom.


A storm 'over there'.


Yes, that is me in there lookin' dang formal I'd say. The guys are dressed up plenty snappy too - Bernie, Bill, me and Will.


Sailing into San Francisco heading under the Golden Gate Bridge, Again at Dawn(!). Notice the people on the very bow of the ship having their picture taken. It was far too cold and far too windy and far too early for me to even consider such foolishness.


Closer approach to the bridge with the city in the background.


I went straight from the SF ship's terminal to the airport and then flew into Boston. This was my large, modest yet lovely room with a great desk overlooking this view where I set up my computer, watched the town go by and could work in my pjs and dream of never getting dressed again.


Spring.


L&E's New England home.


Here is the wonderful story of the candlesticks from Les:

'My (and Phyllis's) mutual Aunt Ida told me that the candlesticks had belonged to her grandmother. Because Aunt Ida was born in 1888, that would put them at least into the late 18th century. Phyllis and I know that our grandmother, Sarah Weiner, brought them from Pavlograd, Ukraine to LA in 1906.

They were used for Phyllis's father Paul's Bar Mitzvah in 1908, and that of my father, Noe, in 1911. They were also used by our Aunt Ida for my Bar Mitzvah in 1962.'

I'm adding a bit. I heard these candlesticks were the only possession Grandmother Sarah brought from her ancestral home in the Ukraine and they have been handed down to the women in the family ever since.

This is Les, David, Arthur and Phyllis.


The Bar Mitzvah boy and his best friend.


Cheers! even for the guests who have to eat and run.


Sweet Sisters and the sister's husband.


Johanna and Carl marveling at L&E's wedding album. We were all so Young then but then we thought we were already Old. So old in fact that the bride and groom thought it was appropriate that they both wear gray suits for their wedding. Oh yeah.


Just after the Bar Mitzvah service. This is the Kiddish, the ritual blessing of the bread and wine.


The story of The Wine:

On the occasion of his son's birth Les immediately bought wine futures from among his favorite makers and then saved the wine for the purpose of drinking it at his son's Bar Mitzvah. I have followed this story for years and felt really privileged to be able to participate in such a happy and long awaited occasion. The wines are:

1989 Chateau Pichon Longueville, Comtesse de Lalande Pauillac Grand Cru

and

1989 Chateau La Lagune, Haut-Medoc Grand Cru


Susie and Ken.


How cousins turn into Grandma and Grandpa.


Susie, Ken, Les, Carl and Robert.


A family portrait.


The end of a perfect weekend.


I took Amtrak from Boston to NYC and couldn't recommend this more highly. The train travel itself resembled a real train system for comfort and ease of use on top of which the scenery was spectacular. This is arriving into NYC.


Leslie and Julie's loft in Manhattan. Fabulous In Every Respect.


Another view and there are many more rooms besides these.


The Manhattan branch of Redstone Studios. You go Julie.


Their building...


...and theirs is the floor just above the business, with the arched windows and their space extends to the end of the building. Every room has one of these fantastic windows. How fabulous is this!


Us at the gym. Julie is here doing all she can to make me realize how important fitness is to a long and healthy life and how important it is to Focus on a regular workout program and not be so Lackadasical about fitness and to Get With The Program. Ok ok ok...I'll try...


The view from their corner.


The one in the back is Boris. We went together to various dog parks a few times until I gave up going along on dog walks at all and just stayed home and read the paper. Now I can safely say my career as a dog walker in New York City will not be materializing.


The Flatiron building and the namesake of L&J's neighborhood.


Mostly we ate Julie's totally delicious food and it was a great treat for me - home cooking and I didn't cook it - and one night we went out to dinner.

The name of the restaurant is Honmura An. We ate omakase style and it was entirely fabulous in both choice of offering and preparation. Go There.


Gray's Papaya - my first stop on any visit to Paul and Gretchen's.


My dear friends and generous guides to the glories of NY NY.


We took a train out to the Bronx Zoo, my first time to visit there, and it was really worth the trip. I think the main distinction of this zoo is that it was among the first to make a committment to natural-like enclosures.


You can see the lions in the distance there. It was so charming the way the crowd of kids ran up to the fence yelling and jumping up and down 'the lions, the lions, the lions'.


His beak looked like the wood of the trees.


Hey big guy.


Who's watching who?


Flamingos...


Lemurs...


Vultures...




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