The “Best” of Memories

The “Best” of Memories by Robert Binder

(Written for the 1966 6^th grade class of Paul L. Best Elementary School and others)

The last time I saw a number of you, was at my Bar Mitzvah in November of 1967. We were already in 8^th grade and my parents had moved us to a larger house on the other side of Oak Park. I guess they needed a larger house when my youngest brother showed up after no children for nine years. The 2 bedroom, den and one bathroom on Ithaca had gotten to small that August 1965 and it took my mother about 2 years to convince my father that we needed to move. I commuted to Lincoln Jr. High School the last few months of 7^th grade before starting 8^th grade at Clinton Jr. High School in the Oak Park School District. This story however is about the “Best” memories that I have of attending the “best” school and living in that area of Oak Park.

I remember…. (just in order of remembering, not importance, )

Hot dog luncheons, (hotdog, celery, carrots, milk and that Twinkie), oh wasn’t it great that we could eat at school one day. Did we really go home for lunch the others days?

The paper drives to raise money so that we would be able to go to camp with the class.

The annual fair, playing ring toss to win a cane. You tried to win as many canes as possible. The time I asked a girl to go with me, for which I saved my allowance to buy her something.

Walking a girl home from school, carrying her books.

All those cute little girls, who were probably taller than I was.

Being a safety, that white strap sure made you feel more important.

Cub Scouts, a number of local kids were, we had meetings at homes and some at the school.

6^th grade (or 5^th) that my brother gave me chicken pox and I could not go to the overnight camp.

Carrying a pocket knife to school.

Carrying a brush (or comb) to brush my hair in my back pocket. I had a great brush with a curved end that I used to comb my hair back when we combed it back and then to the side when that was the style. No need for that anymore.

Puske’s (sp) store that you either rode your bike to or walked to for the penny candy, oh, the flavored bubble gum, the jaw breakers, the wax lips, mustaches, fingers, the candy cigarettes, the small wax bottles filled with sugar water…

The small streets around Puske’s.

Marching in the Best School band for the Memorial Day parade, down Livernois?

Box hockey.

Summer recreation at the school.

Winning 3^rd place in the 50 yard dash, not that that was that great, but it meant that there were only 2 faster than me.

Breaking my front tooth playing basketball in gym on the playground in 6^th grade.

The PA announcements and the one that we wish we never heard on November 22, 1963 about President Kennedy and that walk home that day.

Those long summers that never seemed to end, staying out as late as you could, playing hide and seek, riding a skate board with metal wheels, only to go home when it turned dark or your mother screamed down the block for you to come home.

Those winters when you got snowed in and did not have to go to school, ice skating on the street or in your back yard.

The streets by my house going away from the school: Rosewood, Ithaca(my street), Majestic, Manistee, Oneida, Seneca, Rennselaer, Geneva, and Scotia.

Knowing who lived in every house on the block on my side of Northfield.

The Ithaca kids from our class, Linda Lublin, Cindy Segal, Marla Applebaum, Neal Golden, Bruce Lowen and Rene Kaplan. There could have been more.

A few notes about the writer of these memories. As I stated before, we moved to the other side of Oak Park when I was in eighth grade. I graduated from Oak Park High School, Michigan State University and then California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco, California. I came back to Michigan in 1979 -1980 and lived in the city of Riverview, downriver, where I did my surgical training. I left in 1980 because of the unemployment (recession?) that was happening in Michigan at the time. I moved back to California, this time southern California and lived in Van Nuys, Northridge and ended up in Oak Park, California. My wife, Arlene, who I met when she was in 8^th grade and I in 10^th were graduates from Oak Park High School, as are our two sons, Matthew (24) and Seth(22), only they graduated Oak Park High School in California. They both graduated college recently. Matthew, a computer information systems major is seeking employment. Seth, a history major, is currently playing professional baseball in Israel. Our hope is that their lives in Oak Park gave our sons the “best” of memories.

(This was written after I heard that the Paul L. Best Elementary school class of 1966 was having a reunion. I later found out that it was on the same weekend as the Ferndale High School Class of 1972. That's 35 years out of high school. It would have been great to see my classmates. Oak Park is not having their next reunion until 4o or 5o years..... ouch. I thank the organizers for letting me relive the memories.)

Pictures Of Israel By Matthew

A few pictures of Jerusalem and a sunset somewhere in Israel.

My Little Jewish Boy In Israel....

Just a select few from the nearly 800 pictures that Matthew took (or were taken of him) when in Israel.

WoW!!!!!!

It was late last night and I decided to check my gmail one more time. I have google send me any articles written about the Israel Baseball League . It is called google alerts and it works great. Well there were 3 alerts. The first one was by Brian Blum in his blog This Normal Life that I have been reading for years. Brian settled in Israel and is raising a family there. He is originally from California. I do not know him personally, however, a week or two ago I emailed him and told him about the IBL and Seth and thought that he might want to take his children. I have no idea is he even received my email. I read his blog, looked for anything about Seth, nothing there, and was glad he got to go there with his children whether I had anything to do with it or not.

Next the third alert caught my eye. It said ' LA 'boys of summer' take to the diamond in Israel
The Jewish Journal of greater L.A - Los Angeles,CA,USA
At least that's the hope of the new Israel Baseball League (IBL). With six teams, three stadiums and a 45-game schedule, IBL is ready to play ball, ...' . I thought could Seth be in this article. There were two recent articles in the Los Angeles Times and the Daily News about LA players, and Seth was in neither. So I clicked on the link and WoW!!!!!, the image that you see above. The link above takes you to the whole story. What a surprise! I got Arlene up to look, emailed the link to some family and friends, downloaded the picture, printed 2 copies, one on glossy paper and then went to bed. I got up early this morning to go to the deli to see if they had the paper in. Agoura Deli did not get theirs in so I went to Brents Deli in Northridge and they did not get their shipment either. Guess what I will be doing at lunch. The most asked question by friends and family has been where can I get his baseball card. The answer is I do not know. I searched the IBL web site and nothing there. I emailed Seth, however, it is Friday there (everything closed) and he probably will not be able to get to the library to use the internet to at least Monday. Until then.

Matthew's Trip To Poland and Israel

Matthew has recently returned from Israel. He went with Birthright Israel. The group that organized his trip was March of the Living International. This trip goes to Poland and Israel. This is the description according to their website.

‘In Poland you will witness the destruction of European Jewry through visits of concentration camps. It is an opportunity to remember those who were murdered and honor those who survived. You will also immerse yourself in historic Jewish sites which showcase the richness of Jewish culture that once prospered in Europe.

In Israel you will experience the natural beauty of Israel, meet Israeli peers and connect to your Jewish heritage in ancient, beautiful and modern sites in Jerusalem, Massada, Golan Heights, the Galilee, Tel Aviv and more. Your trip will allow you to learn first hand about life in Israel and participate in lots of fun activities such as: hiking, jeep riding, floating in the Dead Sea, enjoying Bedouin hospitality, camel riding and so much more. You will make friendships and memories that will last forever.’

When asked if he had a good time on the trip, he said he had a better than excellent time.

Hopefully, he will download the pictures from the trip soon and maybe I will be able to put some on this site or link to them.

Matthew has now rested after the long trip and has started his search for a job. He graduated from the University of the Pacific in May 2007 with a degree in computer science. Job offers accepted. Prior to going to Israel, Matthew was working a contract job that ended before he left.

Update to ‘The Mystique of “5”

Just thought I would add an update to ‘The Mystique of “5”’.

http://robertbinder.blogspot.com/2007/06/mystique-of-5.html

Seth has been in Israel since the end of June. http://www.israelbaseballleague.com/main/

He started the first game of the season at shortstop, and yes, was wearing the number “5”.

A week after that first game we watched it on KCET TV, a PBS station in Los Angeles.

Sometime before the second game he hurt his wrist and was out for a week. He came back to pinch hit and play 3^rd base one game. The next game he started at 3^rd base and finally got his first hit. We know that there will be many to follow.

Since I wrote “5”, Seth was given an award at the senior scholar-athletic awards luncheon. He won the Andrews Family Award for Academics, Athletics and Leadership.

Something else that I did not put in Mystique is that Seth was a two year captain of the baseball team. In his junior year, he shared this with 2 seniors and in his senior year he was the lone captain.

Just thought i would throw is some older post from an old blog.... some things are the same, but most have changed....

Summer Update...Monday, 3. July 2006, 11:13:27
July 3rd...., Arlene at work, Matthew still in bed late in the morning (nothing unusual), I took the day off, Seth in Ohio..., the summer has been sort of busy for us... this is the first weekend we have been home.....

Two weeks ago, I attended the Western Podiatry Conference/Seminar at the Disneyland Hotel, Arlene came with, though not to the meetings...she did lots of walking as usual, we did not go to Disneyland..., did go to an Angels baseball game, stayed at a Crown Plaza, very nice rooms and the cost for the 3 days was the same as one day at the Disneyland Hotel... also while down there we saw Michael and his family (Sheryl, Jared, Brandon & Haley), had dinner and spent some money at Steve & Barrys.... if you have not gone to one, look it up and get there, bought a baseball jacket and a University of Michigan coat for my father, no Michigan State coats here in California, each coat and everything in the store is under $8.98 at this store, Seth bought me a coat in Ohio for $5.98... Michael's boys hair is getting longer and they are getting taller... Haley is a year out from her Bat Mitzvah.., at the seminar I saw 18 of my classmates that I went to professional school, how come they all seemed to be older ....

Last weekend was a very busy one, we, Arlene & I, went up to the wedding of the son of our next door neighbor, it was in Sacramento, we went up on Friday, stopped in Stockton, had lunch, went to the University of the Pacific, walked around, took some pix... with the digital, did not see Matthew, he was busy doing???? something...,see Photos, and then went up to Sacramento and checked into the Doubletree hotel... Arlene went to the gym to use the treadmill and I went to look for people from the wedding to find where the out of town dinner would be... it was 105+ in Stockton and Sacramento and I was looking forward for the outdoor ceremony the next day.. the wedding was very nice, see Pix of Arlene & Matthew afterward in the room... however...

Prior to the wedding, I got up early on Saturday morning and drove approximately 40 minutes to Fairfield California to go to temple, I know, hard to believe, but I wanted to see a Rabbi I knew, that I haven't seen for many years, since the boys were young, I knew him from Michigan where he lived for a few years... his name is Rabbi Steve Vale, he has a small congregation in an area near Travis Airforce Base where he served as a Rabbi in the Airforce....it was a conservative service with a twist, the twist was that everyone got to read, in English translation, and then there was a discussion, as part of the service,... I stayed after while everything was being put away and we talked of family, his and mine, had a great time and then I had to get back to Sacramento for the wedding...

So what else is going on....
-Seth has stayed in Ohio and is playing baseball and working, see prior post..., in August he will be going to New York City to stay with Uncle David and friends of his before he starts school in September...his senior year...
-Matthew is home for the second of three mini semesters during summer school, taking an online class and will go back for the third summer part at the end of the month, and will stay for the fall, hopefully to graduate in December...
-I will be going to another seminar in August in Las Vegas, I know, just a little warm there, will spend the week and see my parents and friends there... hopefully Arlene will get off and join me....

until next time... Robert

Trying........

*it has been a 'trying time', whatever that means, with arlene out of town (in Michigan) for the past week plus, matthew at school and las vegas and seth in Ohio playing baseball and now working, he stopped in to Michigan to see his mother... to top it off my dsl was not working at home...(digital subscriber line...someone recently asked me...

*so i had time to do some of those things that you want to do but never seen to have or want to have time to do.... such as clean the pool and pool filter... clean up the backyard, go thru those piles of mail/ads/medical info/journals/ and other stuff that gets in the pile to do later.... i even found an online seminar (when the dsl was briefly working) for free (savings of about $200) that i earned 12 cme credits..., washed the cars or at least the car wash did...,
*stayed up late, watched to much tv, sports etc... even watched hsn and bought something for arlene... no not the sex videos, more on that later... something even i should use... of course no one will tell her since i did not tell her yet....
*as for in Las Vegas, Matthew went with a few friends (guys) from Stockton... drove late at night to get there early the next morning to pick up Penina (recently 21 year old) who flew in from LAX... my parents were running a boarding house, bodies all over the place... who probably slept most of the day and partied at night,...heard that one, the one with the curly hair had a little to much beer to drink.... and to be consistant with that schedule they dropped one of the guys at the airport in LV at 12 midnight and then drove back to Stockton for Matthew to get to class that morning at 9am... Penina left the next afternoon...
*in Ohio, heard that Seth has had 2 baseball games which they won, no word on whether he got a hit or even played, this league is a wood bat collegiate league.... and today he started work..
*on Sunday, i went to Gary & Renee Glickmans house for a pre Memorial Day party, BarBQ, had a boca burger, chili, potato salad and other stuff to make up for the food that i did not eat this past week,... (ate mostly a big salad (all sorts of veggies) that i made earlier in the week and added tuna fish to)....was good food and nice to have someone to talk to....
*on Monday, i actually went out to dinner, other that fast food... Maria's Italian Kitchen, had my favorite... Chicken Picatta... mine is better, and minestrone soup... very good, a little pricey...
*which leaves me to now...sitting in my office typing this where the dsl works, (i was told that the dsl was to be fixed at home, but i have been told that before...) waiting before i go for dinner and the traffic eases, yeah right, and head out to the airport to pick up Arlene...

Away

Wednesday, 24. May 2006, 22:49:42

Arlene has been away in Michigan visiting her father, sister and family,... Seth also came in from Ohio... where he will be for most of the summer, playing baseball...what else...., he will be staying in Lorain Ohio and will be working somewhere at the college..Oberlin College.... back to Michigan... I was thinking today and talking with a patient and remembering things... a few things came up.... no particular order... the milk man.., used to deliver the milk to a box in the back of the house that opened from the outside and from inside of the house, guess that was what the box was for good in the winter so the milk would not freeze) (no problem when we lived on Greenbriar since the milkman lived next door... or was it to crawl thru when you were young.... another was the laundry chute that went from the bathroom to the basement where the laundry was... no basement here, just a box in the bedroom....was also good to yell down stairs and drop stuff down when your brother looked up.... the 3rd thing i was thinking about was gas prices (while driving to work today and seeing the $3.49 price...having only been around for 51+ years, sorry mom, how come i can remember $2.49, $1.49, $.49, and even $.19 which is the cheapest that i remember paying on 8 mile road in Oak Park, there was $.17 not to far into Detroit but i did not trust that station.... just think you could fill up the car from the change that you found in the sofa..... Hopefully will be able to post more now... my dsl was down most of the last month, comments welcome, sharing with others welcome, check out the different areas, blog, photos, links and about...

Gas again+

Friday, 12. May 2006, 22:46:34

corner shell station now at $3.49.....regular....
cheaper in las vegas... temperature to get up to 100....
-arrived in las vegas to see the ma & pa... went out to dinner and then arlene and my dad went out to get more food, guess they think that we will not have enough food... went to a resturant named Jason's, they have a nice little salad bar, feel like i do not get my money's worth (or my mother's in this case), seems that i can only go thru once... so how come it looks like i went thru many more times???

Ouch!!!!!!

Thursday, 27. April 2006, 17:53:36

local gas prices at Shell..... 101 freeway & kanan rd....
regular.... $3.33\gallon
92 octane.... $3.59\gallon

Getting Started....

Thursday, 27. April 2006, 08:34:30

found this site and thought i would give blogging a try.... so be patient and give me some time to figure out the ins and outs of the site.... add some thoughts.... links.... pictures.... etc.... thanx... robert

About

Name:

Robert Binder

Location:

Somewhere lost in California

Occupation:

podiatrist, husband, father, computer repair, chief bottle washer, photographer.....