G

We have had many strange, unexpected, and wonderful reunions with members of Gerry's extended family in the last year and a half since we went to Israel Seeing his Aunt Esther and his cousin Cookie (Esther's daughter), and Eric (Cookie's husband) was among these pleasant encounters.

Back in 1985 when we were still living in Hong Kong we were surprised to get a call from Esther, the widow of Gerry's maternal uncle Ben. She had been traveling in China, and as such trips often did, hers ended with a few days in Hong Kong. She called us out of the blue and we were excited and happy to meet her. We took her to a German restaurant, which we forgot, but she had safely tucked it away in her memory, as she reminded us. From there we lost touch but fortunately Gerry's cousin Harold, when he learned we were going to Florida, said we should call and gave us the address.

On the night of our arrival we first went to the home of Cookie and Eric. Cookie (officially Judith but that went by the wayside when she was very young) and Gerry are practically the same age but they had never met before — California and Florida were a long way apart when we were young and poor. We had a very warm welcome and were given a great dinner and there was lots of animated conversation.(Some of it about the Anti-Saddam War, then going on; we were on different sides.).

Gerry and Eric had lots to talk about, particularly on computers. Eric, although retired, runs a home business in which he buys and sells rare coins, dealing mainly through eBay.com. He is also an author, most recently of the book "How To Tell a Funny Story". It has good advice in it and a lot of good jokes.

We had an especially nice after-dinner treat: Eric and Cookie are friends of first-quality retired musicians. We went to a nearby residence where about two dozen other people were gathered and were treated to a recital by a very fine chamber group of a pianist, a cellist, and a violinist, followed by a piano duet, and then by the an opera aria. We were delighted. The only one of the musicians whose name we remember is Daphne Spottiswoode, who still plays professionally, as shown in the newspaper clipping.

The next day we got a real chance to talk with Esther. She showed us around her new home, which she has lived in for five years. She is now approaching 90 and back when she was 85 she decided she should give up driving. She says, and we feel for her, that she "felt like my knees had been cut off." She, as so many of our older friends went from a life of independence where they could get up and go when and wherever they wanted to a much more restricted life.

She moved into what we think is a very nice retirement community, gated, with medical staff on duty, and an active social world. A big part of the reason for the latter is that she is a natural born organizer - a take charge person. As said, at nearly 90, she is one of the most active people on the residents committee.

In her appartment Esther had one particular treasure that we especially admired. Esther served as principal of an elementary school for over 25 years. When she retired she was given a sculpture made of copper that is a minature of her office. The sculpture was true to many details of her real office, including representing the tchotchkes that decorated it during her tenure. We'd be proud to have anything remotely like it.

Another reason to be proud — or is it jealous — is that three months after we saw her she had a letter printed in the New York Times . That is a pretty big achievement. Lots of people write letters to the Times, year after year, and none of them get printed.(Gerry is one of them; but, to blow his own horn a bit, he has had a letter printed in the International Herald Tribune , which is owned by the New York Times.) Aunt Esther's letter was in support of keeping the Head Start Program as strictly a Federal program. We like what it tries to do — help kids who comes from homes where parents don't read to them -- but feel that all elementary education should be under State control and there should be no Federal involvement. We came across her letter two months after seeing her when we were in Arizona and happened to pick up a copy of the New York Times.