Hanging On, by a thread

Morris Rosen: in memory of my dear grandfather

Morris Rosen, 1887--1952, immigrated from the Ukraine to the UNited States after being denied entry into England, ostensibly because was tubercular. This diagnosis had no basis in fact; it was a religious/ cultural bias against Jewsh people, who were said to be carriers of TB. Arriving in the United States, he working in the gament industry as a presser. He met and married Rose Handelman. The couple had two children George and Frank, the former became a physician, the latter a lawyer. Grandchildren they had too; George and his wife Beate Caspari fathered Paul Peter Rosen and Siusan Joan Rosen; Jack, who died at the very early age of 49, married Thelma, and the couple also had two children, Frank and Bobbie (Barbara). Today the family lives on in great grand children.

Morris was a loving sweet grandfather and I vividly remember his powerful embrace that expressed his love in a physical manner as well as in Yiddish. I wished I could speak to him now and show him what his loving union produced.

The photograph shows Morris and his beloved wife Rose in Canterbury Connecticut at my parents home. Not many years after this photograh was taken, Morris died of a heart attack.

To the Ends of the Earth, to Okeanos: Ambition Thwarted

Alexander the Great's ambition was to travel to the end of the earth and to behold the endless ocean, Okeanos, the river that encompassed the world.

Eater Beware: the hidden rot

Fala the Scottish Terrier: remembering

Fala, our handsome scottie, was selected by his "older" sister Kate as a companion. Visiting the home of Pat Gilmore, a breeder of Scottish Terriers in New Jersey, young pups were brought to Kate to see how she would interact with the little guys. Kate was alone at home when I was teaching at Brooklyn College and Harold was working. A year old, and uncaged, she expressed her distress by chewing on various objects, as, for instance, White Fang, a novel by Jack London about a dog. She also took a fancy to redesigning our Victorian furniture and chewing on wood panelling in the house. Our vet suggested that she proably would change her behavior if she had a companion, such as a cat or a dog. We opted for the latter, and chose a scottie because it would "speak" the same language. Among the pups presented to Kate was a sturdy handsome little boy. He did not take flight when Kate stood over him; he held his own. As Fala matured Kate taught him all the doggie lore that she knew and then the two together expanded their horizons. Though their temperaments differed--Fala was more laid back, Kate more inquistive--they found common ground and played with each other affectionately. When Fala died, Kate uttered a startling unforgetable howl of mourning. She never repeated that heart-rending sound again, but she did search for Fala, carefully investigating a huge field where the two often played and walked together. "Wiggy" as we often called Fala was remarkable.

In the Beginning: Unknown, Becoming, Revelation

The Beginning: January 1, 2009