Update To The September 1991 Binder Family Newsletter

In 1991, I wrote the following:

As was mentioned above, ISADORE & HELEN Binder moved out of Michigan in May 1991. They sold their condo, most of their furniture and excess baggage and headed to California to visit their children and grandchildren. Their first stop was in Huntington Beach to see their new grandson, Jared Adam Binder. After leaving there they moved north in their new Plymouth Vanagon to see the rest of their children, In Los Angeles and Agoura. Following their stay, they once again headed out on the road with no home and set sails for the Silver State, Nevada, specifically Las Vegas Upon arrival in Los Vegas they started to look for a place to live and started to contact a number of people they knew that lived there. With this new freedom, they were out to start a new life. Within a week, they found residence and began to start setting up a new household. The stores in Las Vegas were glad to see them and their money. With their children and grandchildren only 5 hours away by van, they were on their way. THEN in August, Sunny was having a little chest pain and went to the hospital only to find out he needed to have a bi-pass surgery. Six were done and he was out of the hospital in one week. Recovering now, Helen & Sunny are taking everything in stride.

Flash forward to August 2007.

The senior Binders are on the move again. This time making it one more time heading west to California.

A few months ago they made the decision that is was time to move out of Las Vegas. They put the house up for sale. What seemed like a long time became very short when the house sold and the buyer wanted them out in a month. That started a process where they had to sell, donate, throw out and decide which of their belongings were going to make the trip. They enlisted Michael, Brandon, Arlene, Matthew and myself. Michael and Arlene went twice and I went three times. Matthew went with me the second time and stayed the last week and drove them to California. They moved into their new home in Chatsworth on August 20th.

To welcome them here, the weather has been over the 100 degree mark, just like in Las Vegas. The stores also have been glad to see them, just like their prior move.

They also have visited the doctor. This time just for check up and checking in with a new doctor. My father has also visited the VA for the same reason.

When I left their home this evening, they still have a lot of unpacking, organizing and rearranging to do. The phone and cable are in and they are waiting for internet to be hooked up.
It will take a little longer as we try to get everything in order. Matthew & Arlene has been over a few times. I have stopped over either at lunch, after work, and on the weekend in an attempt to help. It is just going to take more time.

When Seth gets back from traveling, it will be the first time in years that all the Binders will be living in the same state.

It has been awhile....

since I have posted. We have been busy and I hope to get you up to date asap...

Hallelujah!!!!!!

Well, here it is! What we have been waiting for. Now he just needs to find a job. Offers accepted.

I even smiled.

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.