Holocaust

Holocaust survivor and Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel has been in the news lately because he is once more a victim. This time the victim of one of our worst criminals in recent history, Bernie Madoff.

Madoff cheated Wiesel's foundation, and Wiesel personally, out of multi-millions.

Wiesel has responded with his usual wisdom and compassion.

This has reminded me of so many Holocaust survivors who spent their lives doing good - and continuing to remind us that, yes, the Holocaust actually did happen.

In the late 80s, when we lived in West Palm Beach, we worked with Holocaust survivor Robert Clary. You may remember him as Le beau on Hogan's Heros. He was a professional dancer at age 12 and a prisoner in the concentration camps at age 14. We met him years after his Hogan's Hero days, when he was speaking all over the country about his experiences as a child in the camps. Above is a picture of Robert Clary when he came to see us.

What an inspiration!

I hope when the last of the survivors is gone, that others will continue to remind us that, yes, the Holocaust actually did happen.

I plan to do my part.

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Women

There was a very sick joke going around a few years ago. It was supposed to be what O.J. said when he was frustrated with all of his (original) troubles.

Women! Ya can't live with 'em. You can't cut their heads off!

Yes, I know. I shouldn't have said that. But I've been frustrated of late dealing with a large organization and their reluctance to deal with - or even discuss - an issue that primarily affects women.

Then there was an article in The New Yorker about nursing mothers that got a lot of flack. (It seems that nursing your baby is what you're supposed to do but not in public and especially not in the work place.)

Then my granddaughter asked me for my thoughts about the Women's Movement in the 60s - since I was there. She needed it for a school assignment.

Last night she called to tell me that her presentation went well. Wish I could have seen it. One of her instructors reminded them that one of the fears in the early 60s was that - if women got the birth control pill - we would all run away from home and have affairs.

Here are some of the notes I gave my grand daughter for her presentation:

- My life was greatly affected by the Women's Movement

- The first woman writer who impacted me was Eleanor Roosevelt. She died in 1962. She didn't write about women's issues - she wrote about world issues.

- The big issue in the beginning of the Women's Movement was birth control. I had four babies but I didn't have to have them. I chose to have them.

- Work for women prior to the 60s was mostly in school, office, factory or hospital. And as soon as they discovered you were pregnant - you were done. Yes, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg went to law school but she couldn't get a job when she graduated because she couldn't type.

- My husband and I did not have a traditional marriage. We negotiated (read that "argued about") most everything. We loved, respected and needed each other. He thought I could do anything. And now I'm blessed with another man who "gets" me in a completely different way. How'd I get so lucky?

- One of my favorite Bible verses is Genesis 1:27 "God created human beings in his own image;...male and female he created them."

I just read yesterday that the majority of men who've recently lost their jobs are spending their time watching TV and working out. Women who've lost their jobs are spending time with the kids and cleaning the house.

Guess the pill didn't chase us away from home after all.


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We Can't Go Back to Egypt

When Moses led the Israelites out of slavery they had to spend some time in the dessert. Some of the people were always grumbling.

Why did you bring us out of Egypt to make us die of thirst?

In our family we call these people "The Back to Egypt Committee." Every movement has one. Always grumbling about the progress being made but refusing to offer any real suggestions to help move things along.

Our president made a terrific speech last night. Will this new plan work? I don't know. But it's the plan. Do you have some positive suggestions to help make it work? Let's hear them. Do you have a better plan? Let's hear it.

Otherwise, please try not to grumble when I'm around.


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A Walk in the Woods

As you know, my boyfriend and I walk at least two fast miles every day.

As you know, I'm not a Nature Girl. He is a Nature Boy. He walks with me through malls full of gaudy twinkle lights so I occasionally need to return the favor.

On Friday we drove over to the space coast to hike at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Located next to the Kennedy Space Center, this pristine area consists of miles of hiking and driving trails.

By the way, my bird watching (Power Ranger) friend loves this place. I like to tease her about it (bird watching) but I'm grateful she encouraged us to go. She gave us a bunch a maps with folksy handwritten notes all over them. Here's a sample:

Great to park behind dunes and walk or fish on beach. Ask which end is for nudists. I try to avoid that end.

We didn't go to the nudist beach either. We took the boardwalk trail. Then the Oak Hammock Trail, about a mile long, but we got lost so it was longer.

Then the two mile Palm Hammock Trail.

We saw two alligators - one small and one humongous - lots of birds and ducks - and a snake. The snake was lying across our path. It was big. I jumped back and yelled: SNAKE! It had just eaten something big because it had an unsightly bulge in it's middle. We threw a couple of sticks at it to make it move but it didn't so we walked (waay) around it.

For the next twenty minutes, whenever there was a vine on the path I yelled SNAKE. But then I finally calmed down.

This place looks like Florida looked a hundred years ago. Dolly Parton once said "There's no such thing as natural beauty." But this is natural Florida at its best. Everything around us was a treat for the eyes.

The cost? It's free. Let's hope it stays free and pristine forever.

When we finished our hiking and a beautiful seven mile drive, we went to a well know Florida Cracker restaurant, famous for rock shrimp, called Dixie Crossroads, and stuffed ourselves.

All in all, a beautiful day.


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The Reader

The Reader was one of the best books I've ever read. I love book clubs. If it weren't for the book club at my condo I wouldn't have read The Reader all those years ago. I'd never heard of it. It was an Oprah pick but I don't watch Oprah.


I wasn't expecting much from the movie. But we saw it last night and it was breathtaking. I hope either The Reader or Slumdog Millionaire wins the Oscar. They're both important, beautiful, heartbreaking movies that make us think about things we don't want to think about.

The book and movie The Reader bring out many issues but I want to zero in on three.

The character, Hanna, played in a terrifyingly vulnerable way by Kate Winslett, is deeply flawed.

When we first see her she seduces a 15 year old boy. He's a child - so it's abuse. We know that children who are abused (especially sexually) sometimes never recover.

So when you're watching the steamy sex scenes (that carry on for the first third of this movie) remember what's happening wounds this boy forever.

Second, there's the 600 people horribly murdered.

Third, and very important, there's her secret. Her secret destroys her.

Dr. Scott Peck in his book, People of the Lie, describes people who do evil. His first example in this book is surprising because it's about a traveling salesman who, all at once, becomes afraid to cross bridges. So he finds ways to avoid them. His behavior finally escalates to terrible proportions.

Is Peck saying that mental illness is evil? No. He's saying that denying who you are and where you are weak - pretending it isn't so - is evil.

Hanna's secret, her denial of her weakness, destroys her and almost everyone else in her path.


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Florida Governors

The cards aren't in yet on our current governor, Charlie Crist. Like almost every other state, Florida is in crisis. This usually brings out the best or the worst in our leaders.


Let's hope for the best.


I've pretty much kept up on all of our governors since the 60s.


I don't remember Ferris Bryant as governor but, later, he attended our church from time to time. He seemed like a fine southern gentleman.


Claude Kirk was a piece of work.


Likewise, Bob Martinez.


Bob Graham, who went on to be our senator, was an excellent governor. I still have several gold "Graham Cracker" lapel pins.


One of my favorites was Lawton Childs. An extremely hard working, down home kind of guy, Lawton Childs was noted for walking all over the state when he was campaigning - and other times as well.


Everybody knew him as "Walkin' Lawton."


Jeb Bush was a good governor and, in my opinion, positively the smartest Bush, including dad. While I didn't agree with many of his decisions, I thought it was sad that he missed out on being considered a presidential candidate because of you know who.


Above is a picture of a very young and idealistic Lawton Childs, along with a couple of other young and idealistic Floridians.




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The Most Loving Thing

Imagine that you are in your early twenties, newly married and out for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner. As you're enjoying a drink and watching the sun set you notice your parents (whom you're crazy about) coming into the restaurant. What do you do? You don't to spoil the dinner for your spouse.

Then imagine that your spouse sees them and graciously insists that they join you for the romantic dinner. And that the four of you end up having a wonderful time.

Last night we were enjoying our drink on the sidewalk when my Oldies ambled up to the hostess looking for a table. My boyfriend immediately went to them and escorted them to our table.

What a guy!

We had a fun time laughing and talking about silly things. Like old cowboy movies.

When Mr. Oldie was the vice president of a major international company, one part of his job was working with entertainers who were engaged to perform for this company.

He did not like this part of the job.

For the most part they were extremely difficult to work with. He has told me hilarious stories. One time they had a bomb scare and they had to evacuate the building but the internationally known singer refused to get off the stage. He finally had to physically take her arm. All the while she was screaming "Will I still get paid?"

Another demanded a luxury limo in a place where there were no limos to be had. Mr. Oldie was preparing to have one flown in when her agent convinced her that she was being unreasonable. She settled for a big Caddy with driver.

My Oldie is the only human being I know who had a little disagreement with Walter Cronkite - at the time when he (Cronkite) was the most trusted (and loved) man in America.

The sad thing is that he no longer remembers any of these things. But last night he was telling us how Gene Autry - The Singing Cowboy - was a really nice guy.

So I was grateful to reminisce at my Valentine's dinner with three people I love.



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