A lofty goal

Today is the 50^th anniversary of the famous “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered by the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to over 250,000 people from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC. This speech is often referred to as a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. The speech has been referenced and televised so many times that I can no longer recall whether I actually watched it back then, when I was just a couple of years older than our grandson Joshua is now.

“I have a dream that my four little children will me day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.” This sounds so simple, but fifty years ago it was nearly impossible to imagine and unfortunately today we still have some distance to go. The dream has also not been fully realized for people who are different in other ways: different religions or ethnicities, different genders, different socioeconomic circumstances, different views from our own. There is still much work to be done to realize these dreams.

I have another dream. I have a dream that my four little grandchildren will one day live in a world where major illness is but a minor inconvenience. Unfortunately, this dream does not sound so simple. Yet, although we still have some distance to go, it does not seem impossible to imagine. If the citizens of the world could only figure out how to stop wasting energy resisting Dr. King’s dream, we would have the resources we need to realize this universal dream.

A few weeks ago I shared with you a piece written by our Sharon friend, Mark Weiner, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor shortly after my diagnosis last year. At 3:00 pm today, Mark is scheduled to be interviewed about his experience on the Salk & Holley Show on WEEI 93.7 FM radio in Boston. As part of this, funds will be raised for research at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where Mark was treated. The radio station streams line on www.WEEI.com , and call-in donations can be made toll-free at 1-877-738-1234 between 2 and 6 pm Eastern time. Mark must have been channeling my thoughts when he wrote:

So for those who can, how about donations of $18? 0r, multiples of $18. And each donor should explain to the phone operator the meaning of 18 - Chai - a donation of life for all those suffering cancer.  Now, if one person pledges $18, they'll call it a donation. If 2 people pledge $18, in harmony, they may laugh at the coincidence of 2 donations with the same odd number (odd but even), and if 3 people pledge $18, they may think it's an organization. But if 1000 people, yes 1000 people pledge $18, they may think it's a movement, a movement to wipe out cancer. (Arlo Guthrie, "Alice's Restaurant" - something like that)

[Some of you may be wondering why Mark talks about $18 or multiples of $18. If numbers are assigned to the letters of the Hebrew alphabet (the English equivalent would be A=1, B=2, C=3…), the total of the letters for the Hebrew word for life, Chai, is 18. So it is common for people to give charity in multiples of 18.]

Have a healthy and wonderful day!

Love,

Rebecca

UFOs?

We had a wonderful weekend. The weather was as lovely as promised. We had a quiet Friday evening in our apartment and the ten of us had Sabbath lunch at Simmie and Ronen’s house. Barry and I brought food from New York and, for dessert, Simmie baked chocolate chip bar cookies and a peach pie with beautiful peaches from Ward’s Berry Farm, a wonderful place right in Sharon. We sat outside for a while and the children played in the yard.

http://www.wardsberryfarm.com/

Eliana and Maya both had birthdays last week, so we had celebrations for them this weekend. By Sunday evening, everyone had to turn in early because Monday was the first day of school. We spoke with Simmie on Monday evening and both she and the girls had a very good first day. Yesterday was Ronen’s birthday. Unfortunately, this gets lost in the shuffle of their wedding anniversary and both girls’ birthdays (on the 18^th, 19^th, and 21^st of August), so I wanted to be sure to mention it here!

Barry and I took advantage of our free Sunday evening in Sharon to go see the new film called “The Butler” on the Lux Level at the nearby Legacy Place Theater. This is based on the true story of a man who worked as a butler in the White House for over fifty years, serving eight presidents through a period of much change for African Americans in the United States, from President Eisenhower in the 1950s through the election of President Obama in 2008. It was a very engaging, if somewhat a bit over-dramatized, story of a family who suffered much personal loss and upheaval.

Toward the end of the film, the main character and his wife are in their 80s. Based on all of the scenes from their younger years, his wife (played by Oprah Winfrey) had been a heavy smoker, and towards the end was on full-time supplemental oxygen, presumably for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. She is shown using the O₂ for just one brief scene and then she dies. As someone who has been on full-time supplemental oxygen for a number of years, I find these portrayals rather disturbing. First, they perpetuate the assumption made by people who don’t know me that I am on supplemental O₂ because I was a heavy smoker (a sort of “blame the victim” mentality; just for the record I have never smoked a cigarette in my life). Second, a nasal cannula is used as a code in films for a character being near death, which hopefully I am not. I have to admit that this portrayal has taken on an almost comic turn over this past year and a half, when my pulmonary problems were pushed to the back of priorities, relevant only to how they would impact my ability to tolerate the chemotherapy regimen. Still, my pulmonologist worries that one nasty infection could do significant damage, so I continue to try to be careful.

This got me to thinking about how seeing a person using supplemental oxygen in public is still relatively rare, and then the comedic side stepped in. I should start an organization called UFO: Users of Full-time Oxygen. If people think we look like space aliens with our nasal cannulas and weird equipment, we might as well have a catchy name, right? Our logo could be spelled using latex tubing; the nasal piece would form the F. Perhaps we could persuade Oprah Winfrey to be a celebrity spokesperson for our organization, since her first initial is an O, the chemical abbreviation for oxygen. I think I may just be on to something big here.

While I am amusing myself, and perhaps some of you, with these ideas, in all seriousness, after the fall holidays I have an appointment set up to begin an exercise regimen to start trying to rebuild some of the strength I have lost during these many relatively sedentary months. I am hoping this may also help make me a bit steadier when walking, although I suspect this problem is not so much a matter of weakness but due to a combination of an impact of the tumor on my balance and the neuropathy (“pins and needles”) in my feet caused by the vincristine I received during the first few cycles of chemotherapy, which has never abated.

We have a quiet few days now, but on Thursday evening we are heading up to Tanglewood to see a live taping of the National Public Radio show, “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me.” A few months ago we went to a live simulcast in New York City that was shown in various locations around the country. But a few years ago we went to an actual taping in New York and it was great fun. Mayor Bloomberg was the guest that evening; we do not yet know who will be on this week, but it is guaranteed to be a fun evening. We will be at home in New York for Labor Day because we are headed up to Sharon for Rosh Hashana (Jewish New Year) after Barry teaches his class next Wednesday morning, and we try not to drive back and forth more than once in the same week!

Have a nice week, all.

Love,

Rebecca

A powerful film

We went last evening to see “Fruitvale Station,” a film that was first shown at this year’s Sundance Festival and received fine reviews. It retells an incident that took place in the early hours of January 1, 2009, using some actual film footage captured on cell phones. A young unarmed man, along with some friends, were stopped by the Oakland, California, Bay Area Rapid Transit police. During the commotion that ensued, he was shot in the back by one of the officers. Tragically, he died in a local hospital shortly after he was wounded. The BART police officer was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, claiming that he thought he had pulled out his Taser rather than his gun, and served one year in prison.

I am somewhat embarrassed to admit that, unlike Barry, I was not familiar with this event, and had not read the reviews before going to see the film, a somewhat last-minute decision on our part. It was an incredibly powerful movie that seemed to be a realistic portrayal of a young man who admittedly had his share of problems but was sincerely trying to pull his life together and be a father to his young daughter. Because I did not know exactly where the story was going, I am in a good position to say that the movie did an excellent job of building the feeling that this young man’s life would not have a happy ending.

There has been much discussion during the ongoing New York City mayoral campaign (we are being bombarded with commercials, and the primaries are still a few weeks away) about a New York Police Department practice known as “stop and frisk.”  Many people believe that the policies put in place over the last few years have been largely responsible for the drop in major crimes in The City. But recent reports have indicated that only 10% of the people who are subjected to “stop and frisk” are actually arrested for crimes. That seems to suggest that many completely innocent people, who perhaps are simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, or have similar characteristics to an actual perpetrator of a crime, are being stopped and frisked by the police. It is difficult for those of us who are not the objects of such things to relate to how this must feel. This film felt up-close-and-personal, and although I certainly appreciate the kinder and gentler New York that allows us to enjoy The City without the fear of rampant crime, learning of this incident is giving me pause.

Not wanting the entire evening to end on such a troubling note, we went over to Noi Due for dinner. There is nothing as comforting as delicious spinach lasagna!

Glorious weather is predicted for Sharon this weekend. We look forward to spending some time outdoors with the grandchildren.

Be well, all!  

Love,

Rebecca

A brief postscript to my last post

My father (may he rest in peace) played the violin from early childhood, and as a young adult he played with the St. Louis Symphony until his family responsibilities forced other career choices. Growing up, I was exposed to quite a bit of classical music, and studied classical piano for many years. The name Jascha Heifetz was very familiar to all of us kids; he was always the person to whom other violinists were compared. So when I found the video of his performance of the Tchaikovsky violin concerto, I just had to share that. In my haste to post this morning I had left out this detail.

From the depths to the heights

What a wonderful day we had!

As you all know, I am not a particularly avid baseball fan, but yesterday was a glorious day, and with seats in the shade it was quite comfortable sitting outside and, of course, eating peanuts. I do not know how those folks in the sun do it! Anyway, having recently seen a couple of minor league (Pawsox) games, even I could tell the difference. These guys are quite a bit more expert at throwing, hitting, and catching the ball than their minor league counterparts, so it does make for more interesting watching. Still, the score was rather paltry: the Mets scored 1 run in the 4^th inning and the Atlanta Braves scored 1 in the 7^th, after the Mets pitcher appeared to be rattled by having hit the previous batter in the jaw and watching him fall to the ground. Neither team had scored any additional runs by the end of the 9^th, so the game went into extra innings. I was getting a bit nervous because we had those tickets for Lincoln Center at 8 pm, but we agreed we would stay for one more inning, and leave even if the game was not over. Then, after a relatively quiet 9 innings, with 2 out and 1 man on base in the top of the 10^th, the Braves batter hit a ground ball that was bobbled by the pitcher, who then threw it to first base. The umpire called the batter “safe,” but it was clear in the instant replay that he was actually out. Unfortunately for the Mets, the new rule that will permit the use of the instant replay will not be in effect until next year! Then the Mets manager put in a new pitcher, and on his first pitch, the Braves batter hit a home run, bringing in 3 runs! We left at the bottom of the 10^th inning when there were 2 Mets players out, and from the parking lot we heard that a third man was out, so the Mets lost 4 to 1. Despite the loss, we still had a good time.

(Thanks to Barry for proofreading and helping me rewrite this in recognition of my ignorance of the game).

Other than one brief stretch leading past the cut-off from I-87 to the George Washington Bridge, the traffic moved smoothly back to Riverdale, so we had plenty of time to stop at home and prepare for the concert. It was very nice to see/hear a performance of Mozart Symphony 36 (the “Linz”) because we had examined that piece in one of my music classes in the spring. But the highlight of the evening, and I am certain the reason why the concert hall appeared to be completely filled, was Joshua Bell playing Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. The program said that he was playing a 1713 Huberman Stradivarius violin. But ultimately even an obviously incredible instrument and the outstanding acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center need truly expert hands. Watching him play this incredibly challenging piece of music with such beauty, Barry and I both had the same reaction: it seemed almost surreal, simply impossible to believe had we not seen it with our own eyes. Just inspiring. Really.

The highs and lows of this day found me waking up this morning with my favorite old Billy Joel song on my mind, “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant,” with the line “from the high to the low ‘til the end of the show for the rest of their lives.”

The rain has moved back in today, but they say it will be short-lived, and predict a beautiful weekend.

Love,

Rebecca

A pleasant surprise

It has been many weeks since Barry and I ordered tickets for two concerts in the Mostly Mozart Series at Lincoln Center this summer. We selected those two based on dates that work for us and music we wanted to hear, although if you had asked me just a few minutes ago what was on the schedule for the next concert, I guarantee I could not have told you. Having ordered the tickets on-line, I receive an e-mail “reminder” a day or two before the performance. We have tickets for the Wednesday evening concert this week, and I just received the reminder.

We’re delighted you’ll be joining us soon. This email contains some important information about your upcoming performance. If you have any questions not answered here, please write to us atcustomerservice@lincolncenter.org  g at 212.875.5456ve us a call (10:00 am–9:00 pm).
Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra Louis Langrée, conductor Joshua Bell, violin Wednesday, August 21 at 8:00 Avery Fisher Hall, Columbus at 65th Street (directions)
The Program MOZART: Symphony No. 36 ("Linz") TCHAIKOVSKY: Violin Concerto   Pre-Concert Recital Prior to this evening's performance, there will be a pre-concert recital by Francesco Piemontesi, piano, at 7:00 at Avery Fisher Hall. Performance Length This performance is approximately one hour and forty minutes long, with one intermission.		No Late Seating This performance begins promptly on time and there is no late seating. Please allow yourself extra time to pick up your tickets at will-call if needed.  Information for Guests with Disabilities Please visit our page on accessibility in Avery Fisher Hall. For additional information, please contact our Programs and Services for Persons with Disabilities department at pspddepartment@lincolncenter.org or212.875.5375. Donate Your Ticket Can you no longer use your ticket? Consider converting it into a tax-deductible contribution to Lincoln Center. Contact our Customer Service department at 212.875.5456 for details. Restrictions may apply.

When I read the e-mail I was incredulous. I have no recollection whatsoever that we were going to see such an amazing program tomorrow evening! On the one hand, it continues to be incredibly frustrating that I still retain so little these days. But on the other hand, looking on the bright side, I have now had an opportunity to relive the pleasure of planning to go to this concert, sort of like Bill Murray in the 1993 movie, “Groundhog Day.” So now I am really excited about the concert tomorrow. And this is a good thing because we are going to an afternoon Mets game at Citi Field in Queens (almost assuredly the last game we will see this summer), and then driving back to Riverdale to dress before heading to Lincoln Center. Knowing that we are in for such an incredible treat will definitely help me find the energy to do all that! 

I will look forward to sharing this wonderful day with you.

Love,

Rebecca

A busy few days

I just looked back at the blog to see where I left off. Last Thursday, before we left for Sharon, I was all excited about having posted new pictures of our four grandchildren to the blog. That feels like a million years ago!

Our drive with Eliana and Maya up to Sharon went very well. They took turns playing games on an electronic device and we talked about all the things they did at Camp Grandma. I have to say I am truly impressed with Ronen’s Mom’s energy and good spirits, as she seemed none the worse for the wear when she brought the girls to Riverdale Thursday morning. We stopped for a nice picnic lunch, and I am happy to say that we even managed to keep them happy with only moderate amounts of unhealthy foods.

We took the girls home to their parents, who had a very nice few days on their own but were elated to see them. I spent Friday morning doing some things around the apartment, and in the afternoon Simmie invited me to come with the girls and her to play miniature golf (Barry was working). None of us had ever been to this particular place, although Simmie had heard good things about it. It was easily one of the cleanest and well-kept miniature golf courses I have ever seen, but (and you knew there was going to be a “but”) it was absolutely not handicap accessible. Quite a few of the holes had steps, sometimes many, and like so many miniature golf courses, to quote an old Allman Brothers song, “ain’t but one way out, baby.” So between my slow ambulation and a very-determined-but-a-bit-young-for-this-game Maya, we had to let the people behind us go ahead a few times. But we finished the course, and Simmie even won a free game by landing the ball in the correct slot in the ball return.

We had a nice Friday night dinner at Simmie and Ronen’s, an old Moosewood recipe that is a family favorite called Rebaked Potatoes. After synagogue on Saturday morning we went to Dina’s house, where the six of us and a friend of Joshua’s had lunch. We ended up staying for the whole afternoon, most of it spent outside on a truly glorious day with sunshine and low humidity. Ella was determined to finish the latest Lego kit we had bought her, Olivia’s House, and Joshua’s friend also got into working on it, all outside on a folding table. By the end of the afternoon we had completely finished it – all 695 pieces! Simmie and Ronen and the children dropped by on their way home from another friends’ house where they had eaten lunch, and stayed for a while. Dina and Aaron live on the corner of two streets that lead to the homes of many of their friends, so on a nice day they are never alone.

After Sabbath, Barry, Simmie, Dina and I went out for ice cream. We enjoy going doing this every now and then, sort of like old times for our family. We went to a really good ice cream parlor called J.P. Licks. There are places closer to Sharon but none can hold a candle to this one, and they even have some very good dairy-free choices for those who need them. If you happen to be in the Boston area, check it out at http://www.jplicks.com/ .

On Sunday we went to see the Pawsocks, the minor league team for the Boston Red Sox, with Joshua and family and a few friends. This was their last home afternoon game of the season. We have been to see them a number of times and they have lost every game we have seen, until this Sunday, when they beat the Buffalo Bisons 3 to 1! They do a lot of cute things for the fans at these games. Joshua’s birthday is coming up in a few weeks, so Dina and Aaron arranged to have birthday greetings to him on the monitor. We did not know exactly when it would happen, but somehow when it did I managed to snap a picture of it!

But I fear all this baseball talk has created, or more accurately, reawakened, a monster in Barry, who just bought tickets for an upcoming Mets afternoon game. Reluctant as I am to say this, it is actually not a bad way to spend an afternoon, as long as the weather is good. Our seats are in the shade, the people-watching is fun, I can eat peanuts (which I enjoy but never do anywhere else), and because I am not emotionally invested in the teams I can just relax and enjoy. What’s not to like?

I know I had something else in mind that I wanted to share, but for the life of me I cannot remember what it is. Hopefully it will come back, and I will do it then. Meanwhile, try to get outside a bit and enjoy these last days of summer.

Love,

Rebecca