Joshua Disney Trip 2013

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A simple question?

Over the past few months Barry and I have been working on organizing our finances. Both of us have had numerous employers over the years, which have generated a large number of retirement savings accounts that are difficult to track and manage. A friend recommended a financial advisor and we decided to work with him. This exercise was largely motivated by wanting to make things easier for the one(s) left behind, but looking at it more optimistically, it has been an opportunity to assess where we stand for the coming years. Transferring all the accounts that could be transferred (since Barry is still employed by Mount Sinai, some of his have to stay put for now) has been a tedious process. But finally we are just about all set, having moved everything we could into one main account, and our advisor sent us a quick note with a seemingly simple question:

Would either of you have any objection to owning tobacco-related companies in your portfolios?

I am reminded of the Arlo Guthrie saga, “Alice’s Restaurant,” in which Officer Opie asks Arlo whether he has “rehabilitated himself” after having illegally disposed of a truckload of garbage. I think I need to be singing a few bars of Alice’s Restaurant in order to answer this question. The song was not really about waste removal, and this tale is not really about our financial accounts.

As all of you reading this know, although I never smoked cigarettes, I have struggled with pulmonary disease for over twenty years, and have been on full-time supplemental oxygen for the past five or so. To say that I do not wish to support tobacco companies would be an understatement. And yet, it is likely that there are other companies that are part of the potential investment portfolio that may be equally distasteful to me. Is it hypocritical to single out the tobacco industry? They are surely not the only ones who are potentially harming our health and environment. I struggle with fragrances but I don’t think I would object to cosmetic companies being included in the portfolio. Oh, but wait, are they testing those cosmetics on animals? I am, after all, a vegetarian, so maybe I should steer (no pun intended) clear of them as well. Where does it end?

Perhaps the bottom line is that there is no perfect answer. Here is how I responded to the question:

We would prefer not to include tobacco-related companies in our portfolio. We recognize that this one small act will not have a major impact on the world, but as someone who struggles with pulmonary disease (not related to tobacco, as I have never smoked a cigarette in my life), I am hard pressed to think about reaping financial benefit from the tobacco industry.  

So much to ponder….meanwhile, stay cool. It is as hot here in New York as it was last week in Florida!

  

Love,

Rebecca

Fun in the back yard!

Just received this terrific video from Dina and had to share. All this fun, literally in their own back yard! 

Love,

Rebecca

An amazing five days

I barely know where to begin….what an amazing five days we had!

With a couple of exceptions, the logistical details all went pretty well. We stayed in a two-bedroom two-bathroom unit at the Wyndham Bonnet Creek Resort, which is surrounded by Disney on three sides so a quick drive to the parks. There were a few glitches on the first day. First, as we left the airport in our rental car, the engine was making a terrible noise, and we decided to take the car back and exchange it. This turned out to be fortuitous because, for reasons we were never able to solve, our own GPS was not working, and the second car had built-in GPS.  Second, the local oxygen supplier seemed unable to provide the entire five days’ worth of supplies, so I found myself having to call every morning to arrange for more cylinders to be delivered. It came as no surprise when they delivered the whole weeks’ worth on the last day! Third, we arrived at Cohen’s Delicatessen only to discover that it had gone out of business. Note to self: never assume that restaurants you have patronized are still in business. Fortunately, there is a second kosher restaurant, Lower East Side Deli, and we were able to find our way there to pick up food. Joshua loved their fried chicken nuggets, and their chummus was really delicious.

Here is the list of the rides/shows we did. We are still working on our ratings, but I have put in bold the ones that were the biggest hits. Joshua doesn’t feel that he can pick an overall #1 – there are just too many contenders!

Monday 17 June – EPCOT

1.    Soarin’

2.    Living with the Land

3.    Captain E-O

4.    Canada

5.    France

6.    Innoventions East and West

7.    Spaceship Earth

Tuesday 18 June – Hollywood Studios

1.    The Great Movie Ride

2.    Muppet Vision 3D

3.    Studio Backlot Tour

4.    Indiana Jones

5.    Toy Story Midway Mania (Fast Pass)

Wednesday 19 June – Magic Kingdom

1.    Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

2.    Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin (Fast Pass)

3.    It’s a Small World

4.    Peter Pan’s Flight

5.    Mickey Philharmagic

6.    Enchanted Tiki Room

Wednesday 19 June (Evening) - Hollywood Studios

1.    Fantasmic!

Thursday 20 June – Animal Kingdom

1.    Kilamanjaro Safari

2.    Kali River Rapids

3.    Flights of Wonder

4.    Maha Raja Jungle Trek

5.    Finding Nemo

6.    Festival of the Lion King

The weather was a challenge. It was brutally hot, and by late afternoon the thunderstorms began. In some ways this was just as well, because we were exhausted. But it meant that we only went back for the fireworks the one time. And that show was incredible!

But the true highlight of this trip, with all due respect to the Disney folks, was Joshua. This trip was a unique and priceless opportunity to really get to know our grandson independent of the distractions of his parents, his sister, and his friends. We could see glimmers of a really terrific young man ahead of us. He was the best travel companion ever! He was a good sport about everything, was helpful and funny and flexible - everything you want a travel companion to be! When our return flight was delayed by a couple of hours, he was the one who said “let’s play cards!” and managed to pass the 2+ hours delay keeping us in good spirits. We were so proud of him!

We arrived home in the wee hours of Friday morning, exhausted but already talking about the lessons learned for the next trip. #1: need to go during a less oppressively hot time of year!

Somehow, on the first day, spent at EPCOT, we did not find any of the Disney World photographers, so we were not able to get a picture of the three of us in front of Spaceship Earth. But I took a picture of Barry and Joshua, and we do have the professional pictures from the three other parks, which I have posted here.

To say I am exhausted is an understatement. But I would do it again in a flash, and I pray I will have the strength and good health to realize that dream.

Love,

Rebecca

A Magical Week

There is so much to tell about our amazing five days, but sheer exhaustion prevents me from doing it justice. So for the moment, I will just share an image that captures the spirit far better than any words I can pen, and save the details for later.

Have an enjoyable first weekend of summer!

Love,

Rebecca

When you wish upon a star…..

A friend of ours who has children 15 or so years younger than ours planted an idea in our heads some years ago. When each child was young, their maternal grandparents took them, one at a time, on trips to Disney World. From the day Joshua was born, we hoped some day we would be able to do the same with each of our grandchildren. Two years ago, as Barry reached his milestone birthday, we thought quite a bit about those plans but opted instead to take the whole family to Florida. It was an amazing week, but we continued longing to realize the “one child at a time” concept. A year ago that idea seemed the most remote of possibilities. But over the past few months, as I have regained my strength and the oldest of our grandchildren has matured, we decided that there is no time like the present.

So early this Sunday morning, Joshua, Barry, and I will be boarding a flight from Logan to Orlando for what we hope will be four fun-filled days at Walt Disney World. We think we have every possible detail covered: flights, rental car, hotel, park tickets, hats, sunscreen. Following our usual philosophy that “everything that can go wrong, will go wrong,” I have made countless phone calls to the Orlando office of Lincare, my oxygen supplier, to ensure everything is in place. I have letters from my pulmnologist for both Jet Blue and WDW; the latter is not essential but following that recent news report I shared here about people with disabilities at WDW, we figured it couldn’t hurt to have all the bases covered. Barry has been studying the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2013 during every free moment from completing a grant application. Most importantly, we have matching t-shirts in four colors (red, light blue, navy, and green): even a small party should be color-coordinated, right? 

I don’t know if I will have time to post from WDW, and in fact I am not taking my laptop with me, although Barry will have his. I plan to stay in the “real world” (as opposed to the cyber world) while I’m there! Okay, I know, there’s nothing especially real about Disney World, but let me indulge in the fantasy! Either way I will certainly share the highlights and pictures from the trip when we return.

Since we will technically be in Orlando before summer starts, we are hoping it will not be unbearably hot. Have a wonderful weekend and a nice last week of spring!

Love,

Rebecca

One small step

Early this afternoon I had an appointment with one of the doctors who treats my pulmonary condition for a monthly injection of a drug called Sandostatin LAR (octreotide acetate). Barry had learned to give me the subcutaneous injections of Neupogen (filgrastim) that followed each cycle of my chemotherapy, but the Sandostatin is a bit tricky to mix, and must be delivered as an intramuscular injection, which taxes the talents of most of us mere mortals who lack medical training. In recent months when we have been spending more time in Sharon, we have been fortunate to have a good friend who is an M.D. and has done a terrific job with the injection when the timing was such that I needed to be up there at the time one was due.

We are in New York today but Barry had a full schedule after my appointment which will not end until the annual Mount Sinai Radiation Oncology Residents Dinner this evening. So he was able to drive me into the City this morning, but he could not take me home after my appointment. When I was done, he walked me outside and helped hail a taxi and sent me on my way.

Fortunately the taxi driver was very nice and talkative. He told me that I was his first fare for the day, so I could not resist telling him that he was my first taxi ride in well over a year! He asked a lot of interesting questions and we kept up a lively conversation all the way back to Riverdale. I hope my simple math was correct because I certainly intended to leave a generous tip.

For a 61 year old woman this may seem a small milestone. But I have been increasingly troubled about having to be so dependent for everything. It was really nice to do something on my own. As they say, every long journey begins with one small step.

Love,

Rebecca