Archive for the 'Family' Category

Why Aren’t You Hooked on “24″?

dd January 19th, 2007

True confessions - I’m a “24″ junkie. Completely and devotedly addicted. I can’t wait for my adrenaline rush of non-stop heart pounding excitement and suspense with each new episode. Now, that the season has started and my withdrawal is over, I can’t wait for the new rush each Monday when I get to watch my “tivo’d” new episode.

Honestly, is there anything on TV that keeps your undivided interest like “24″? It’s James Bond on steroids! And, what else mirrors the real world as well even if imperfectly? For example, is the show’s second black president a precursor of the real thing?

So, I’m wondering why I’m having so much trouble hooking my wife. Now, admittedly, she gets sucked in to very few TV programs. “Dallas” and “American Dreams” come to mind. But, come on, “24″ beats the pants off these, doesn’t it? So, I’m asking myself:

  • Is it a male-female thing?
  • Is it an anti-violence thing?
  • Is it a “I don’t want to see problems that are too close to the real world - e.g. terrorists” thing?
  • Am I missing something?

It would be a lot more fun if I could have a partner to watch with me. Guess, Jack, Chloe and I will just have to try harder.

Share This

The Walker Stampede at the Selfhelp Home

dd January 14th, 2007

We spent our final afternoon with Aunt Zelda today attending a concert at the Selfhelp home - a really wonderful assisted living/convalescent home in Chicago. Previous posts have described our mission here - time will tell how successful we’ve been.

The concert featured a superb baritone opera singer accompanied by a very able pianist performing Broadway show tunes, old time favorites and a couple of opera pieces. The full house of old-timers ate it up. I learned that when attending such an event, the audience and performers have to be prepared for the occasional loud declarations like, “Doesn’t he have a marvelous voice?’ or “Look - the place is packed”. These usually occur when the baritone is about to hit a high note or the pianist is in the middle of a particularly difficult passage. The boisterous declarers are of course completely oblivious to any effect this may have on the performers, who I must say handled everything quite gracefully.

The most thrilling part of the afternoon came at the end of the concert when the M.C. announced that cookies, coffee and tea would now be served in the dining room. You have to imagine a room of seniors, some who had seemed semi-comatose during the concert, suddenly rising, grabbing their walkers and making a charge that would make Ben Hur proud. Stand back and get out of the way.

Share This

My Aunt Zelda - Sharp as a Tack at 98

dd January 13th, 2007

What a complicated person my Aunt Zelda is. At 98, she is the sole survivor of the 13 Diskin children, of which my father was the 13th. She has just been relocated (”temporarily” she says) to the convalescent wing of the Selfhelp home in Chicago. stuff on self help home. She has serious macular degeneration which has left her nearly blind. She has balance problems, complicated by vanity and not wanting to use her walker. She has fallen numerous times, but she is unbelievably mentally acute. She remembers multiple phone numbers and has neither short nor long term memory loss. She looks great for her age.

Her biggest problem now and for her entire life is indecisiveness. “Should I get married?” She never did to the chagrin of her many suitors, despite being quite attractive and charming. “Should I move to assisted living?” She had been living by herself in a nice apartment in Chicago until 3 weeks ago. She still wants to go back she says “to think about her next move”. My cousin here in Chicago who is a doctor says she shouldn’t spend antoher night alone there. “Should I move to Detroit to be closer to my mother, sister, nieces and other parts of the Diskin clan?” She never did, but still thinks about it.

Yet, she has lived a remarkable full life. She became a singer, philosopher, psychologist - all self taught. She made many friends - young and old. She saved and invested money wisely - all from the salary of an executive secretary.

We had a nice visit with her yesterday at the Selfhelp home. It’s a wonderful place, although as you can imagine, not all of the residents are in the greatest shape. The dinner we had with my aunt, a woman who can’t hear well and has some dementia, and another woman who hears and sees but has periodic episodes of angry outbursts was both comical and heart wrenching. The good news is that my aunt is well enough to move to an apartment on the assisted living floors, where the residents are generally in good mental condition.

The staff is very caring, there are tons of activities which my aunt enjoys - Shabbat Service, music, lectures. My aunt has made tons of friends, despite her feeling that there are too many German Jews there. The German Jews came to America 40 years before the Eastern European Jews like the Diskins and the perception among the new-comers was that they looked down upon the “greenhorns” from the shtetls. The German Jews were urban and sophisticated by comparison. But, we met several wonderful residents including Henry a handsome blue eyed German who was a stain glass maker and teacher. In his family, he and his brother were the only survivors of the holocaust.

Our mission for the rest of the weekend is to keep reinforcing how nice the Selfhelp home is and how much better off Zelda would be if she could stay here permanently - she is on the waiting list for an apartment. Wish us luck!

Share This

No More Vampires in Our House

dd December 31st, 2006

Not that I was too concerned anyway, but we now have an impenetrable Garlic barrier. My wife during an unusual “gotta clean up this house” urge, was tidying up the shelves near our side door. Thereupon sat a bottle of concentrated garlic, which I used last summer to mix with water and spray our backyard. Works wonders against mosquitos, honestly. Well, the bottle ended up falling on the floor, breaking open and spilling its odiferous contents all over the floor. Oh, and we won’t be worrying about mosquitos inside for a good while either. She felt badly, but shit happens. I think it’s sort of humorous.

Share This

Losing Yourself in Your Work

dd December 26th, 2006

Jake eating form the pan Here’s a guy who loves his work. In fact, you could say he dives into it! Jake — our part lab, part golden — is a great asset when it comes to cleaning up pots and pans. He really eats up this work.

Share This

My Kind of Day

dd December 26th, 2006

Dim Sum CartCasino RoyaleI love Christmas day. I look forward to it for weeks. Why? There is NO TRAFFIC! There’s also NO STRESS. There’s no old family tensions to deal with either. After all, we’re Jewish. So, I get a chance to do my 3 favorite things:

  • go to our favorite Chinese restaurant (Dim Sum for us)
  • go to a movie. Today we saw the James Bond flick - Casino Royale. It was rip roaring entertainment.
  • sorry, this one is private :-)

Share This

Rachel’s Legal Now

dd December 30th, 2004

(credit to my wife Barbara for this blog idea. She has her own reminiscinces.) Our daughter, our little baby girl, turned 21 yesterday, It’s so hard to believe. It just seems like yesterday, I was “catching” her in the birthing room at Washington Hospital Center.

In addition to being a gifted artist, Rachel always had a way with words even as a young child. Here are some of her more memorable quotes. (I think she takes after me a bit here as I too was “renowned” for some of my childhood bloopers):

These next few are all at age 5:

  • “Plaeses leve the toth but give the cash”
  • “He probably sexed in bed”
  • Me: ” Rachel, how can we get you to sleep in a bed again?” Rachel: “My trick is to bribe me with some gum.”
  • Barbara: “Schnizzy died”. Rachel: “Now, can we get a cat?”
  • “Let’s get 2 dogs so they can lay babies together.”

Here’s one from around age 8 that she wrote to me. What you won’t be able to see is the wonderful drawing that accompanied the explanation:

“HOW TO SHOOT BASKETS”

PLACE YOUR FEET PARELEL, THEN BEND YOUR ELBOWS, AND

IF YOU’RE RIGHT HANDED, MAKE IT SO YOUR RIGHT ARM IS

A COUPLE OF INCHES HIGHER THEN YOUR LEFT HAND, AND IF

YOU’RE LEFT HANDED DO JUST THE OPPIST. THEN BEND YOUR

KNEES, AND WITH WHAT EVER HAND YOU WRITE WITH,

PUSH UP WITH HAND, AND AT THE SAME TIME REALES THE

BALL AND JUMP!

AND TADAH YOU MADE A BASKET!

GOOD JOB! HOW DOES IT FEEL TO

HAVE MADE A

BASKET!

CONGRATULATIONS!

HARAY!

Share This

« Prev

Close
E-mail It