Meeting Some New (to me) Cousins. . .

We had a wonderful, very long day yesterday. A 1^st cousin of Donna's, one she hadn't seen in 40 years, was in Newport Beach for a couple of days. Bob Brenner and his wife Linda are visiting from Osage Beach, MO. So we picked them up in the morning, about an hours drive from our house, and continued on to San Diego for the day to spend time with Donna's parents. Bob had just one request of something he insisted on doing; eating at a good delicatessen. They simply don't have any Jewish style delis in his area of Missouri.

Below is a picture of Bob and Linda seated at D.Z. Akins, an outstanding deli in San Diego before lunch arrived at the table.

I mention that this was before the meal because Bob ordered what seemed like half the menu. . .and ate just about all that he ordered. He's a thin guy but he polished off a chopped liver appetizer platter, a potato knish and a corned beef sandwich. And all the time he was eating, he was regaling us with stories of their life in Osage Beach and other communities in which they lived before moving there. While Linda had been raised in southern Kansas, the rest of us (Donna's parents, Donna, me, and Donna's brother Ron) had ties to Detroit and recalled many stories about family dating back to the middle third of the last century. Linda didn't get a chance to say much but was busy with the matzoh ball soup and, if I recall correctly, a sandwich. Once the meal was over, Bob was happy for the rest of the day and then some. He had gotten his deli fix.

The rest of the afternoon was talking, talking, talking. Oh, the stories and the memories. Resa and Sy (Donna's parents) had moved to southern California about 57 years ago, not long after Donna was born. I left Detroit in 1961 and have only been back a handful or so times since. But we shared stories of the city, of families, of events, of places that we remembered. Bob shared a few more stories than the rest of us but we got our share in. And then for dinner, we made sure they got to eat at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants because we just knew that it couldn't be matched in their part of Missouri. Of course Bob, having eaten so much for lunch, ate very little for dinner; all he ordered was a bowl of freshly made guacamole.

After dinner, we drove Bob and Linda back to Newport Beach, talking all the way, and continued on home. I know how much Donna enjoyed seeing this cousin she hadn't seen since she was a teenager. For me, it was a chance to meet a part of the Brenner family I had only heard about. . .and to make some new, very dear friends.

Everyone Has An Interesting Story. . .

This morning was my 476^th exercise session at the Delpit Cardiac Rehabilitation Center at the Torrance Memorial Medical Center. I started there about 3 months after my open heart surgery in August, 2004. After Phase II (the 33 visits paid for by Medicare), I moved into Phase III (paying for it myself) and I like to refer to the Center as my “health club staffed by cardiac nurses.” Over the past 3½ years I have made some good friends while exercising. In fact, some of the conversations with others while walking on the treadmill help make the time go by more quickly.

Occasionally, after my workout, I will join some of my cardio-friends downstairs in the cafeteria for a cup of coffee and more talk. This morning, as a couple of us were comparing notes, one of the guys said, “You know, everyone who exercises at the Center has an interesting story to tell.” And he’s right. We all have faced some form of heart disease or malfunction; that is our common bond. But we all got there by different routes and that is the source of the many stories. In sharing our stories with each other, we form a strong support group of people who have flirted with death but have survived to regain our health and live active lives. There is at least one in our group who is in his 90’s and still exercising regularly.

The results of my exercise regimen that started with the recovery from triple-bypass surgery are amazing. I am about 40 pounds lighter than I was back then and have better muscle tone than at almost any period of my life. I lost 4 inches from my waistline and my jacket size dropped from a 54 to a 48. And, I am not an exception among those who have survived cardiac “incidents” and decided that there was a lot of life still to live.

I truly value my cardio-friends and the time we spend together. For me, they are as much a part of my ongoing treatment as my cardiologist. They are a truly inspiring group of men and women.

Added Note: I can't figure out why the spacing of this post turned out as it appears above.

Flying Colors at a Deli – Banners 5

We spent the day yesterday with Michelle and Tino Julian, their 2 young daughters and Tino’s mother. Tino and my oldest son Bill became close friends when they both were freshman at Occidental College in 1985. Over the years, Tino has been a member of our family as well as his own and we often joke that he brought Michelle over to meet us and get our approval before he could marry her. We approved and he did!

Even though we all live in the Los Angeles area, it is a long drive between our home in Palos Verdes and theirs in North Hills. So yesterday was a day to visit and get caught up on all that was going on. Once there, we all went out for brunch at Weiler's Deli Restaurant in Northridge. And a fine meal it was. As we came out of the restaurant to head back to their house, I glanced up and saw a series of 4 colorful banners (or flags, if you prefer) aligned along the front of the building. Using my trusty cell phone camera, I got pictures of them to share as the 5^th in my series of banner posts.

These banners were an extra bonus added to our wonderful day!

One Year Old and Going Strong. . .

I started this blog one year ago today. My initial purpose was to write vignettes from my life and my family's history. I wanted to make sure my children and grandchildren would have some knowledge of what I like to refer to as the Cohanim, i.e. this particular Cohen family. But the blog seems to have taken on a life of its own and the 230 posts prior to today also contain a lot of reflection on daily happenings, especially as they relate to my relatively recent (13 years) love affair with acting. And I talked about things that struck my fancy "along the way" whether it be the beautiful peafowl in our neighborhood, colorful banners (or flags) neighbors hang in front of their homes, some of the spectacular or unusual views I would come upon on my daily walks, the books I've read, movies and plays I've seen, and even new fangled things like waterless urinals.

To celebrate this 1^st anniversary, a new banner graces the top of the screen. Although I took the picture on one of my walks, the banner itself resulted from an offer from blogging friend Eric Valentine and his wife Elizabeth. They are responsible for the actual design. Thank you Eric and Elizabeth for adding a touch of class to my ramblings. [Eric shares his own life experiences and writing at Scattered Chatter where he recently added his own new banner which, I suspect, has Elizabeth's mark on it.]

Those who may have stopped by for the first time in recent months might wonder about the title and subtitle of my online journal. I explained The Ancient One, Blessed Be He in the initial post on February 23 of last year and then added and posted about the source of Ruminations of a Cantankerous Old Curmudgeon in a March 15 post. One comes from my children; the other I borrowed from my father about 40 years after his death. In their origins, these phrases help keep me grounded as I move into the early stages of my 8^th decade on this planet.

As Year 2 begins, I thank all of you who have been part of the nearly 4,200 "hits" to the blog in the 1^st year. I hope you keep coming back and that some of your readers will stop by too!

Tonight’s Total Lunar Eclipse

There was a full lunar eclipse tonight that was, for the most part, visible here on the Palos Verdes Peninsula. I tried to get some pictures and offer up the following that start from the full eclipse and end when the full moon has just about returned. Light clouds made it impossible to get photos of the time leading up to the full blocking of the moon.

I had hoped for better shots but the light and rapidly moving clouds made taking pictures difficult. Maybe I'll do better when the next full lunar eclipse occurs in 2010.

Castro and Cuba in 1959. . .

This morning, shortly after the news broke about Fidel Castro stepping down, I received an e-mail from lifelong friend Gene Konstant recalling that we seen Castro in Havana in September, 1959. It was about 8 months after Castro came to power and a little more than 3 months before President Eisenhower broke diplomatic relations with the island nation.

Conjuring some very old, and I hope not too dim, memories offers some perspective. Gene and I have been friends since grade school when we lived on the same block in Detroit. It was a natural friendship since our fathers had been friends for many years. Gene was a year ahead of me in school and, as it happened, we both graduated from Detroit Central High School and went on to earn our undergraduate degrees at Wayne State University. We were both involved in student politics at Wayne and became involved locally with the U.S. National Student Association (USNSA)chapter as well as its Michigan Region. We attended several USNSA national conventions and I spent some time on the National Executive Committee.

As I recall, the 1959 convention was held at the University of Illinois. A delegation of Cuban students attended and, before they headed back home, they invited a delegation of American students to visit them in Havana. A little over 200 students were selected for the journey. We were to appear at one of the New York airports (I can't remember which) at a stated date and time from where we would be flown to Havana and hosted by the Cuban student association. Gene and I were in that group.

I remember a number of things about the trip, which was taken up with tours of various sites in the Havana area, meetings with the host students and a number of social gatherings. I also remember a reception at the Havana Hilton hotel where a young Fidel Castro greeted and welcomed the American visitors. I believe he shook hands with as many of us as possible. That was 48 years ago last September. As Castro stepped down today, he had been in power for 49 years.

As I write about these memories from my college years, it occurs to me that not many of us have the opportunity to meet someone who has had the kind of impact on history that Castro has had. He has been one of the most polarizing figures in this hemisphere over the past half-century. Without being political, I can look back nearly 50 years and know that I had a rare opportunity and I still smile when I recall some of the places we visited in Havana and the wonderful welcome we received from the Cuban college students. I suspect Gene was smiling too when he sent me that e-mail this morning.

The Best Bosch I’ve Read. . .

City of Bones by Michael Connelly is only the 4^th of his Detective Harry Bosch books I've read, but, for me, it was the best so far. It isn't his most recently published mystery, but it was a spellbinder. It starts with a dog finding a bone in the Hollywood Hills and it follows many twists and turns until the final, unexpected moment of the story.

Once again, Harry Bosch is an all-too-human protagonist. And he is a solid, honest, good detective. He will not settle for "easy" answers that might cast a better light on the LAPD. As in other Connelly novels, Bosch's gut instincts are as good as his detecting skills. The bone, it turns out, was that of a child and had been in the ground over 20 years. This alone makes the case interesting and the path to a solution a rather twisting one. Obviously, I will not provide details; that would make it less of a read for others who might seek out City of Bones. [As it happens, I found it at our local Costco warehouse store.]

I will say that this Connelly effort fell into the I-can't-put-it-down category for me. It started as one of my "morning walk" books and was finished less than two days later during dinner hour because, well, I just had to get to the end. I am a relative newcomer to Connelly and Harry Bosch but I will continue to seek out the rest of the novels in which this likable detective plies his trade.

The Bucket List

We went to see The Bucket List this afternoon and I was very pleasantly surprised. From previews and trailers, I expected to laugh a lot at the antics of Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. I was not expecting anything more than a comedy filled afternoon. However, this Rob Reiner directed movie was a lot more than film humor.

Much to my surprise, The Bucket List was a very intelligent, thoughtful, well-written movie. While very funny, it also dealt sensitively with issues that cross the minds of all of us, especially those who have reached septuagenarian and beyond status. The humor was not insulting or offensive. Nicholson and Freeman were outstanding. They truly seemed to enjoy working together and their interactive timing was absolutely marvelous.

All of us, not just the characters, can learn a bit about living life to the fullest and not crawling into shells when the remainder of our future is defined in starkly finite time frames.

A Disturbing Tale, Yet True

I have long been a fan of John Grisham's legal thrillers. His first written, but second published, A Time to Die was his finest novel in my opinion. Now I have finished his first work of non-fiction, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town. The book is painstaking in its detail and it has to be a true story because if it were submitted to a publisher as fiction, it would probably be returned as being too implausible.

This is a terrifying tale of a legal system gone awry. And the fact that the wrongful convictions were eventually overturned, thankfully before a death penalty execution could be carried out, is of little solace. As Americans, we take great pride in the rule of law and the importance of those accused of crimes having fair trials. It is depressing and reprehensible when the system fails and when those responsible for the miscarriage of justice refuse to apologize or admit their errors after massive evidence led to a reversal of earlier convictions.

I found this to be a hard book to read because Grisham's laying out of the facts makes it so clear that the wrong men were on trial. But it happened. And it reminds us that we have to remain ever vigilant to protect the rights of the accused and to be certain that innocent people are not convicted and incarcerated (or worse, put to death by the state). It is also an important book in its laying bare the inadequacy of the rights and protections provided to indigent defendants.

Hit #4000 - All in the Family?

This site received its 4,000th hit at 5:26:33 p.m. PST this afternoon. It came from a Mindspring/Earthlink address in Brooklyn, NY at 8:26:33 p.m. EST (the sender's local time).


I do believe that this milestone stayed within the Cohanim; I am fairly certain it came from the original blogger in the family that many know better as either Oxypoet or BillyBlog.


If that was you Bill, thank you for being #4,000 in 17 days short of The Ancient One's 1st blogiversary. (OK, I shouldn't invent words, but I sort of like that one.)


And, as I was writing this, hit #4001 arrived. That one appears to have come from my friend Eric Valentine, aka Scattered Chatter from an ISP out of Guelph, Ontario.


I am sure if I am wrong about the sources of these hits, Bill and/or Eric will let me know.


Anyway, thanks to all who have stopped by and contributed to so many hits in less than a year!