I learned today that my cousin Marc died on December 22, 2018 in New York City. I hadn’t seen him for over 25 years. Though I visited New York many times during those years we never ran into each other. Not that was a likely occurrence to happen.
There were family issues that existed as I imagine exist in most families. Marc marched to a different drummer as did I and my mother, and as do we all to the drum beats that end up separating us.
So what do I remember about this beautiful child? He was bright, he had wit, he was very mean, backbiting, a gossip, fragile and insecure. One afternoon after a day of doing what I do not remember we ended up in the kitchen of the house on Bennet Avenue having a heart to heart of sorts in which he tore into everyone in the family and I said to him “When I leave what will you say about me”?
Marc had a fine eye for art and design. Marc had style and grace. One party I remember he had at his apartment when we were all in Chicago, he served the best Pimm’s cup and was proud to point out a Max Gunther painting he acquired.
Marc married well and had beautiful children. Two sons, two daughters and beautiful grandchildren. All seem to live well and prosper. The last I saw any of them was at Marc’s brother Basil’s daughter Audrey’s wedding.
Such are our generations. It was Marc’s oldest daughter Elizabeth that brought my mother back from estrangement with her family after 25 years. Of course, she had no idea that she had a role to play but that is a story for another day.
Dear Marc, beloved cousin, I choose to remember you as we are here. Long before the wars began. You shall remain in my heart all the days of my life.
Sixty-three years ago on November 22, 1945, my father stood in the very small dining area in our apartment on Wightman Street in the Squirrel Hill district of Pittsburgh, PA with my mom, his sister, my Aunt Mitzi, her husband Herbert Gold and their son, my cousin Ivan, and his mother, my Granny B, Bessie Baringoltz.
There was much to celebrate but also much to mourn. World War II was over. Germany had surrendered May 7, 1945, and Japan formally surrendered September 2, 1945.
The President who I thought was much like G-d, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had died April 12, 1945. My father’s father my Grandpa B, Jacob Baringolts died June 28, 1945. It was a spring and summer filled with gratitude and sorrow.
So Thanksgiving came and the small family of Jacob and Bessie Baringoltz with my mother the youngest of the Kromelow Clan and my Uncle Herbert of the Gold Clan gathered in our little apartment on Wightman Street for the holidays.
My mother was an excellent cook. I’m sure the table was splendid with all the good food that I remember for Thanksgivings of my growing up and adult years, but I can’t tell you what was on the table that Thanksgiving. In fact, I remember nothing about the food.
What I remember is that my father wrote a poem for this occasion. I remember him standing in the tight dining area space raising a glass of wine and remembering my grandfather, his voice breaking as he eulogized a man he dearly loved, and President Roosevelt a man he truly honored and respected. Then he proceeded with the poem “Oh Thanksgiving, Oh Thanksgiving. On this Day it’s thanks we’re giving. Cause Hitler’s and Tojo’s goose is cooked. ” That is all of that poem I remember and though I looked through all of his papers I never found a copy of this poem he wrote for that occasion.
I am not sure why my heart goes back to that Thanksgiving so long ago. This is a different time. Different challenges. But given what happened just a few weeks ago at the Tree of Life Synagogue not far from where we lived in Squirrel Hill the fears of my childhood, Hitler coming to America seemed all too real.
In case we had somehow forgotten, we were starkly reminded that antisemitism was alive and well and living in the USA along with all the other anti-gay, black, Hispanic, Islamic, anti you name it festering like a boil on this nations behind.
The past two years where anger, division, death, and destruction have accelerated across this nation for all too many. Where allies are demonized and foes are revered. Where murder is condoned and the ego of one man above all must be appeased. Where the divide between the haves and have-nots has widened and cries of the needy are drowned out by the excesses of the greedy, despite this I still believe we have reason to be thankful.
The midterm elections happened. And though the war isn’t over and we haven’t rounded up all the bad guys and we haven’t won all the battles and truth, justice, the American Way and Apple Pie is just a bunch of words this year I can say, this is for you dad. Miss you all the days of my life and thank you for all you taught me.
About 4 years ago I started on a journey to discover where my Grandfather Meyer Kromelow came from and how the sir name came about.
Not long ago I had my DNA tested. I am 89.6% Ashkenazim Jewish, but who knew South Europe 7.2% most likely Greek, East Europe 1.1 % most likely Balkan, and 2.1% South Asia.
Some years past I had my mitochondrial DNA done that showed I was a descendant of N9A who came out of Africa some 65 to 70 thousand years ago and whose daughters pretty much traveled the path that marks my DNA up to the Middle East, Asia, Central Europe, moving on to Italy, China and Scandinavia. I had hoped I would discover some long lost relative through this link but that so far has never happened. Frankly, I didn’t think it would be any different when I had my DNA tested by My Heritage.
Then one day I got this message: The following is our conversation.
MyHeritage DNA Match with Mylan Hawkins
Adam Bershad
Oct 29, 2017,at 4:37 pm
Hello! You have a high DNA match to my grandmother. Where is your family from and what are your family surnames?
Hope to hear back soon!
– Adam
Hi Adam: My maternal Grandmothers’ families were Katz or Cohen her mother was a Fine. She came from Zhytomyr, Ukraine. On my maternal Grandfather’s side, we do not know what his birth last name was. When they came to America he took the sir name of the town where we think he was born. The name family name is now Kromelow.
What about you?
Mylan
Adam Bershad
Nov 1, 2017 at 10:59 pm
Hi! So my grandmother’s family came from Belarus and Poland. Actually, a few generations back, my grandmother’s great great grandmother was Perla Kromoloski. Pretty similar. I’m curious if the match could be through there. My doubt is that the match DNA wise looks way to close to be that distant of a match, and should be more along the lines of great grandparents.
Mylan Hawkins
Nov 2, 2017 at 3:16 pm
On my Maternal Grandfather’s side, we believe he came from kromolow zawiercie, Poland that was once part of the Russian Empire and where we believe the family name came from. Anyone in your family line with a connection to Chicago? My grandmother had a sister Naomi who married a Porwancher!
Adam Bershad
Jan 14, 2018 at 3:28 pm
Hm no Chicago! So you match 226 cM. You are probably looking at 3rd couins to my grandmother, which means you would share 2x great grandparents. I have all my grandma’s Polish side back to the late 1700s to early 1800s!
Adam Bershad
Jan 29, 2018 at 5:27 pm
Hi, could you tell me the names of your Kromelow family?
Mylan Hawkins
Jan 31, 2018 at 2:11 pm
My grandfather’s name was Myer, I do not have his brothers names. His grandfather’s mother was Carol or Caroline and his father was Irwin. One of my Kromelow grandparent’s daughters was my Aunt Pearl. Wonder if she was named after your grandmother’s Great Great Grandmother. The other children’s names were Harry, Abraham, Hyman, Leah, Theodore, Joseph and Ruth.
Adam Bershad
Feb 6, 2018 at 8:31 pm
I will look into this, I’ll message you back if I find anything, or if I have more questions. I will build you a tree on ancestry to mirror my tree. Basically, I will add your tree with the hopes of finding the connection (which is definitely there, we just don’t know where)
Adam Bershad
Feb 6, 2018 at 8:35 pm
Actually, the first question, of the people mentioned, are all of their last names Kromelow?
Adam Bershad
Feb 6, 2018 at 8:54 pm
Nevermind! I found info on them. Let’s see if I can put the pieces together.
Adam Bershad
Feb 6, 2018 at 9:25 pm
Sorry with all of the messages. So looking back and forth, it actually looks like you and my grandmother should be 2nd cousins! Now you said Myer’s father was Irwin. Where did you get that name from? I want to hear your answer before I make a hypothesis- Adam
Mylan Hawkins
Feb 7, 2018 at 8:08 am
Both my Aunt Pearl and my mother told me that Pearl’s oldest daughter was named after both of Myer’s parents. Irwin and Carol or Caroline. She was named Irwinna Carol. My Aunt Pearl married Albert Slatin.
Adam Bershad
Feb 7, 2018 at 8:31 am
Hi Mylan,
Thank you for getting back to me. If you would like to friend me on facebook please be my guest. My profile picture is me in Eagles attire. We could also email to share photos. I found your tree on this site with all of the photos. This one photo in particular of Hyman Kromelow looks EXACTLY like my great grandfather Casper Jay.
Here are the facts that I am putting together
you match my grandmother Helen Jay Bershad distinctly as 2nd cousins meaning you MUST share a set of great grandparents
We have 2 Kromelow matches on ancestry.com, who seem to appear in your MyHeritage tree who appear to be 2nd cousins once removed with my grandmother. Your Kromelow cousins match everyone on this side of my family including our cousins who changed the last name to Yellin.
Our surname was originally Jelen.
Since you must match my grandmother on her Jelen side and share great-grandparents, my grandmother’s great-grandparents were Ruwin Herszlik Jelen and Frymeta Jacheta Spiewak.
2 notes, your grandfather Meyer was born in 1873 or so, and my 2x great grandfather was born in 1877. The ages fit perfectly as them being brothers.
Irwinna could totally be named after Ruwin (though its pronounced Roovayn or Ruven, though it looks like Roowin)
Irwin is not a Polish name is it makes lots of sense. As for Carol, I am not sure. Frymeta Jacheta (pronounced Freemeta Yakheta)
doesn’t sound like Carol, so it could be a misunderstanding of another grandparent
Ruwin Herszlik Jelen’s grandmother was Perla Kromoloski, so its quite possible Meyer took her surname.
Let me know what you think!
– Adam Bershad
Mylan Hawkins
Feb 7, 2018 at 2:34 pm
Adam: I remember my mother telling me that there were Yellin’s in the family. I can’t see your family tree is there a way I can get a link. This is really very exciting. You would be the same age as my 1st cousins once removed and second cousins. This is just amazing. Do you know where Meyer was born and who his parents were? I could find nothing on him.
And where is your family from. My grandfather Meyer had a brother in New York. I remember my grandparents going to New York for some family event.
Adam Bershad
Feb 7, 2018 at 2:59 pm
Yes! This confirms it then if you were related to Yellins! I’ll respond here, but let me know if you prefer messaging through facebook or email so we can share photos. I just accepted your request. My email is (blanked for Privacy) If I get your email I can give you access to my tree.
I am probably younger than that. I am just about 22 years old.
The Jelen family lived in Konicepol, Poland which was a small schtetl outside of the town Czestechowa which wasn’t so big either.
My cousin Matthew Jay and I have been able to gather records from this town from a site we pay for. We are looking to make another subscription to potentially find new records. They are always updating records and we haven’t been on in a year.
I can tell you what I know about this generation, there were many children
The parents are Ruwin Herszlik Jelen (1830-1896) and Frymeta Jacheta Spiewak (1834-1900)
Known children (through records, and now adding your grandfather)
Aron Szlama Jelen (1854-1919) —> married Chaja Blum (1855-1919) His children all came to US, to New York and Philadelphia. They all changed their last name to Yellin. He and his wife got sick in Poland and died there
Mindla Jelen (1855- unknown) —> don’t know anything about her besides she married what the records say Sanel Braun
Gitla Jelen (1858-1940’s) –> married Kopel Lewkowicz (1853-1936), much of this family died in the Holocaust. Those who survived moved to Australia. One of the survivors wrote a book. He passed away recently in the last year I think. (http://ljla.org.au/lewkowicz-berek-a-boy-from-bedzin/)
Perla Jelen (1862-unknown) –> married Moszek Nowak. no details on them besides having a son David
Meyer Kromelow (1873-1950) –> Your family)
Moszek Szmul Jelen (1877-1950) — my family. Married Hinda Pik (1874-1930). They moved to the US. First to New York and then to New Jersey, and finally settled in Philadelphia in around 1908 I believe. He changed his name to Samuel Morris Jay, as did the entire family change their last name to Jay.
My dad grew up in Philly so I came to Temple University to get back to my roots. I grew up in New Jersey, so not too far away. My grandparents still live here.
There are probably more siblings, and more details to the siblings we don’t know much about. The only family that we knew were the Yellins as they were in the area. I don’t personally know any of them but have recently gotten in touch through facebook. Of the younger generation (they are older than me, but I am the generation of their mother) they have a cooking youtube channel called Brothers Green Eats. (https://www.youtube.com/user/BrothersGreenEats)
Excited to learn more about your family!
– Adam Bershad
Mylan Hawkins
Feb 7, 2018 at 5:31 pm
Adam:
My email is (blanked) I have a blog https://aliceblue-loris-439070.hostingersite.com/family/ where I recorded what I knew about the families beginning to this point. You are the same age as several of my first cousins once removed children.
I have several close cousins who are very much involved with family genealogy and they are going to be blown away by this discovery. I lived in Philly ( well actually in Villanova on the Bryn Mawr border for a time) and spent a lot of time in New York. And I am thrilled the Eagle’s won.
Lots to talk about. I prefer email to this or you can message me on FB. too. So Let’s switch over to those forms of communication.
So it was. The search was finally to come to an end. Adam and his cousin Mathew Jay solved the line of inheritance and indeed we are all part of one big family. I am of the same generation as Adam’s grandmother Helen Abigail Jay who married Adam’s grandfather Jack Bershard. It was through following Helen’s father Casper G. Jay who had an uncanny resemblance to my Uncle Hy Kromelow that the link was made to a Great Great Great Grandmother Perla Kromolowshi who married Arron S. Jelen. Their daughter Malka Laja (Molly) married one of Perla’s relatives. maybe a cousin or an Uncle, Herszlik (Harry) Kromolowshi . They were Meyer’s parents.
I knew Adam had found Meyer’s line when he asked if he had been married before. Indeed I knew that to be true. Also in his family tree was a brother, Harry Lewis that I remembered came to Chicago to visit one summer.
The search for all the rest goes on. But at least we know how the name of Kromelow came to be. The big plus we discovered our extended family.
I hope one of these days to meet Adam and his cousin Matthew. Amazing what one can learn from a little spit.
The Buche de Noel became a Christmas tradition when we moved to Nevada in 1976. It was our first Christmas. There was just the four of us. No tree. Nothing particularity festive. But we did have a gas fireplace at the apartment we were living in on Skyline Blvd. I picked up a few bottles of Robert Mondavi Cab. a hunk of English Stilton. a nice piece of tenderloin for Beef Wellington and we set about creating our idea of an English Christmas with a French accent.
The Buche is a flourless cake that is actually easy to make but the ingredients require a lot of beating. I didn’t have a stand mixer so the next best thing is to have a stand-in mixer person. Both my sons, Ari and Kevin took turns beating the egg whites and egg yolks, for the chocolate sponge and helped with whipping the cream, but most of all licking the bowls.
After the chocolate sponge came out of the oven per instructions I covered it with a clean dish towel that was wet in very cold water and well wrung out. Once properly cooled I removed the dish towel, covered it with 2 overlapping sheets of waxed paper and flipped it on to the counter. I carefully peeled of the waxed paper from the baking process and spread on the whipping cream filling. Then rolled it lengthwise with the wax paper to form a long log and placed it on the serving plater. The Buche then went into the frig while we whipped up the chocolate coffee cream for the frosting. We decorated it with snipped holly leafs and berries from a holly bush that grew near our apartment door.
After dinner that Christmas we were invited by the parents of one of Ari’s friends who had a home on Skyline not far from where we lived for drinks, coffee and desert. We brought the Buche to be part of the dessert table. Our host was a pilot for Pam Am and most of the people there were also with the airline. Several were from Germany. They wanted to know what European Bakery I got the Buche at because as one guest said. “it certainly isn’t like the over sweet goop you get here”. Needless to say I felt very good about the way our dessert offering was received.
Since then the Buche has gotten a bit more elaborate. Filled and decorated with raspberries or cherries and dusted with ground pistachios. Once I did not have any good instant espresso coffee so I replaced it with Kahlúa and have made it that way ever since. The original recipe also called for dusting the sponge with powdered sugar before filling. I have never bothered with that, but by all means do it if you like.
The basic recipe came from Gourmet’s Cookbook Volume 2 I believe or maybe Volume 1. Books I was introduced to by my friend Joni Golden who was a fabulous cook. Our friendship began when our oldest sons were born hours apart and she was my roommate at Rush Presbyterian St. Luke’s in Chicago . She ask me “Do you put nutmeg in your spaghetti sauce”? Many of my best recipes started out in those books and as a matter of fact yes, I always put a dash or so of nutmeg in my spaghetti sauce.
I still do not have a stand mixer, but lucky me I have a stand-in mixer person. Each year since the Christmas of 1980 my Ever Love’n husband Ashton has taken over the duty of doing all of the mixing and since the boys are grown men on their own paths he gets to lick the bowl all by himself. This cake is always on the table at Christmas at our home or taken to friends for Christmas dinner. It is also always on the table for Ashton’s Birthday on December 30.
I do not bother with meringue mushrooms that often decorate this type of cake. But by all means have at it if your heart so desires. I also do not bother with cutting off a piece and sticking it back at an angle as is often seen in other recipes for Buche. But again.. Feel free if you are so inclined.
Please note: you do need a good sheet pan, the best semisweet chocolate, I like Ghirardelli and you will need brandy, my preference is Korbel’s and coffee liquor, my choice is Kahlúa. But if you can’t get or do not want any of that you can substitute the coffee liqueur with very strong coffee and just skip the brandy. The cake can be made the day before serving. You do need good refrigerator space to store the cake. Since we do not have an extra refrigerator and it is always quite cold in Reno at Christmas, I use the trunk of my car.
Buche de Noel
For the Cake
9 eggs separated
3/4 cup sugar
9 oz semisweet chocolate
4 tbs coffee liqueur
For the Filling
2 cups whipped cream
sugar to taste
raspberries or other fruit
1 tbs Brandy
For the Frosting
1 cup whipped cream
1 tbs cocoa powder dark
1 tbs coffee liqueur
sugar to taste
1. Preheat oven to 350.F. Oil a jelly roll pan, line with wax paper and oil again. In a medium bowl beat 9 egg whites with 1/4 c. of sugar until stiff but not dry. In a large bowl, using the same beaters, beat 9 egg yolks with 1/2 c. sugar until thick. (They should form a ribbon when the beaters are lifted). Melt 9 oz. of dark semi-sweet or sweet chocolate with 4 tblsp. of coffee liquor or strong coffee. Stir into beaten egg yolks and finally fold in egg whites. Spread batter evenly in pan and bake for 20 min. (The cake is done when it has pulled slightly away from the side of the pan and the center springs back when lightly press. You have to be careful to not burn the edges.) Remove from oven and cover the cake with a damp towel and cool. Loosen the cake from the pan. and if you wish dust the surface with powdered sugar.
Take two sheets of waxed paper and overlap them on top of the pan then grabbing the pan with the wax paper in place turn the cake over onto the over lapping sheets of wax paper. Carefully peel off the wax paper from the bottom of the cake. Spread 2 c. of beaten whipped cream, sweetened to taste over the cake. Line the whipped cream with fresh raspberries (or sweet cherries, strawberries or peaches are nice too. Or what ever tickles your fancy.) and then roll the cake lengthwise into a long roll, by lifting the wax paper.
Now if you want to make a traditional Buche, frost the cake with a mocha butter cream frosting and meringue mushrooms. Or do what I do. Beat 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1 tablesp. of dark cocoa, 1 tblsp. coffee liquor and sugar to taste. Spread over roll making rough marks to resemble bark and decorate with raspberries or cherries and sprinkle chopped pistachios on the the log.
You can forgo the frosting, dust with powdered sugar and serve slices of the cake on raspberry puree and swirl chocolate sauce around the edge, with a garnish of fresh mint leaf. Since it has no flower it is a wonderful roll to serve this way for Passover. You could hide a small candy Easter egg in the cake at Easter and decorate it for Easter by using orange liquor in place of the Kahlúa. Just let your imagination take flight. The basic recipe lends it self to many variations.
Servings: 15
Yield: 15
Oven Temperature: 350°F
Cooking Times
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes
It started the way a loaf of bread rises.You put the ingredients together, you proof the yeast, you knead the dough and then you let it rest and rise. And rise it did.
This is how you do a March and a Rally.
Pick the date or join in another event Statewide, National..Worldwide.
Convene the team. We did ours by phone message FB message and email. We held one peace keepers meeting and two general March organization meeting.
If you are not a non-profit organization you will need one. It helps to have a 501 (c) 3 that understands how to be pro-active. We had PLAN (Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada) as our fiduciary and activist mentors.
Our March was a 1st Amendment event. If you are Marching for your 1st Amendment Rights that is what you have to tell your city. “We are holding a PEACEFULL 1st Amendment Event”.. In Reno you do not need a permit to gather for 1st Amendment issues, but because we knew we would be Marching down public streets that would need to be barricaded we got a permit from the City. The permit covered the March and our right to use the City Plaza for a Rally. Be sure you state what time you will be holding your event start to finish. We did not need to pay for our permit from the City*. However depending on how your City views your venue there may be costs involved.
Most municipalities have forms that let you know the information they need. Most are available on line or can be emailed to you.
We also needed a permit from the GSA (General Service Administration) because we were gathering at the Federal Court House. Contact your local GSA and they will send you by email or post or you can pick the forms up. Again there was no charge.
Organizing Resistance on the internet I am sure is much easier then it was in 1776. We primarily used Facebook to get the word out, but also had information that could be emailed to those who do not use Facebook, Twitter or other social media and urged our friends to call their friends who are still shy of computers.
We got some pre-March media coverage and we figured at most we would get 3,500 to 4,500 people. That would be amazing. We are a small town in a small population State. Getting that amount of people who just said they would come on Facebook would have been beyond expectations.
The weather leading up to the March was terrible; snow, icy rain and there was some fear that many would not show up if the weather was really bad. What seemed almost miraculous was on the day of the March we had a window between storms, it was very cold but clear.
I went down to City Plaza where the rally would be held to meet with the people who were setting up the stage. The City had set up barricades along our parade route that went from the Federal Building down to the Plaza. All was in order.
By the time I walked back to the Federal Court House a large crowd had already gathered. The peacekeepers and chanters were doing their job of organizing and keeping people engaged. Despite the bitter cold the mood was up-lifting. I had forgotten to bring gloves. A pair of pink glove mittens was given to me by a lovely lady. I will be forever grateful to her.
We had a sign making party before the March. People not only made signs for themselves but made extras to bring to the march for those who did not have one. The signage was impressive.
As more and more people arrived the front of the march had to move forward. It got so dense that the front was barely a block and a half away from the marches finish before it even started.
At one point my phone rang. A women who owns the Wedding Chapel across from the County Court House was concerned the March would interfere with a wedding she was holding. She wanted to know how long the street would be blocked and if the barricade could be moved.
There was one of Reno’s finest on his motorcycle in front of me. I asked the officer if he could help. He said he would check with the officer near the Wedding Chapel and let her know. Before he took off he said ‘I’ve never seen anything like this in Reno, ever’. I said “It’s quite a turn out. maybe 5,000”. “Oh no”. he replied. “We have estimated at least 10,000 and more keep coming”. I never heard back from the lady at the Wedding Chapel, so I imagine the dilemma of getting the limo for the wedding through was solved.
Our indigenous nations led us with drums and chanting. We shouted loud and clear. “Show me what Democracy looks like” and roared back “This is what Democracy looks like” and “Love Not Hate, makes America Great” among Women’s March Chants and joyously marched the short distance to the City Center where Voices Forward sang us in.
The crowd was all around the Place. People were looking down from the City Parking garage. It was awesome! Young families with babies in strollers, front packs and snuggles. Children sitting on their fathers shoulders. Young women and men. The Calvary had arrived. It just wasn’t the gray beards involved in this March.
The program at City Plaza was inspiring. You can read about all the details of how we put the march together here. Thanks to the Progressive Leadership Alliance Nevada whose team did the training for the chanters and peace keepers and who acted as the march’s fiduciary, everything went off with out a hitch. I can not tell you how much I love the planning crew. All did yeoman work, especial Bridget, Tanya, Jackie, and Bob Fulkerson, to just name a few.
The magnificent Shawna Hafen #biggestlittlemarch
The Reno March received great press coverage. here are just a few of the articles written about it.
A march is just an event. A protest only last so long. Some said well this is much ado about nothing. Forks on the hard core right even proclaimed “Everyone of those libertards will crawl back under their rocks in less then a week”. That didn’t happen. Out of this March has come a energized progressive movement that is becoming a force in our community and across our state. People are getting connected to what they can do in our community thanks to Jackie’s What Can I Do events.
New organization that include Indivisible, ACT, Organize for Action, For Nevada Future, Mass Unite, have spring up not in competition with but in concert to expand the base laid down by Working Families, ACTIONN, PLAN, PDA and the Democratic Party.
These are some of the highlights of what has happened so far.
Nevada is about to be the first state in more than three decades to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment – March 4, 2017https://www.washingtonpost.com/news…
Please print out this information. email it to your friends who may not have Facebook but plan on attending. Please be sure to click on the links provided. Just a reminder as we come down the home stretch: ALL member of our Reno-Tahoe-Truckee community and beyond are welcome and encouraged to come to the Reno Women’s March and to participate in it. Please take a moment to read about what this event is all about, in our About section on the Events Facebook Page. We are all-inclusive: women, girls, men, boys, families, sexual orientations, color, creed, faith and ages. EVERYONE. We welcome and encourage all to walk with us in peace on a very historic day.
On Saturday, January 21, 2017 you will be part of a global event that includes people across the United States and the World, and in more than 300 cities. Nothing quite like this has ever happened. You are taking part in this important moment in history right here in Reno, NV.
If you have never been at an event like this before there are a few things you need to know for the well being and security of you and any family members, young and old, who may be joining you. We trust that you will pay attention to any advisement’s meant only to ensure this, regarding weather, safety, potential counter protests, or other situations that may arise.
Please be respectful. We as a community are only thinking of all of you when we make these suggestions, and sharing our experience with you. Our intent is only to inform – and always to unite.
We will have a wonderful rally program with music provided by Voices Forward and speakers that represent the multifaceted culture of Reno’s vibrate community. You will have the opportunity to meet with nonprofit organizations and learn about next steps. How to get involved. This March is only the beginning. We look forward to seeing each and every one of you next Saturday.
STAY SAFE
We want all of our Marchers to know a few simple rules for comfort and safety. What to wear: Dress warm. It looks like we will have some snow the morning of the March. Wear comfortable shoes. A hat is a good idea.
Please do not wear a backpack.
Do not carry a big purse or bring any bags.
If you are carrying a sign or banner. A small purse or fanny pack that can be worn on the inside of your coat for your cell phone, ID cash etc. or a jacket or coat that has inside pockets for your cell phone, ID, cash etc is the best way to go.
Even if you are not carrying a sign or banner you want your hands free, so a small purse or fanny pack worn under your coat or jacket is the way to go. Be courteous to your fellow Marchers.
Do not block access to businesses along the route.
Do NOT LITTER.
Service Dogs of course : Unless you have a trained service dog please leave your best furry friend at home. Thanks for understanding.
We are not allowed to set up Port-a-Potties along the March route – There are public restrooms in the Hotel Casinos along the way and businesses if respectfully asked may also accommodate you.
Please do not bring a selfie stick
If you think the walk may be difficult please join us at the rally at the Plaza. You do not have to March to be a part of this event.
There will be Trained Volunteers to lead everyone in Chants and to keep everyone safe. They will set the pace for the March. Follow their instructions to the letter.
The Volunteer Peace Keepers will be wearing Yellow Vests.
Other Volunteers to help you and answers questions will have Pink Bandanas tied around their arm.
There will be trained Volunteers to guide you at the Plaza.
There will also be volunteers from many organizations to get your information for future actions and activities. They will have clip boards and be from PLAN, Planned Parenthood, For Nevada’s Future. Please sign up. Watch out for anyone who tries to get you to make inflammatory statements or engage you in an argument.Stick to the March. Do not engage with them.
Timeline for the March
1.The March will start at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday, January 21, 2017 in front of the Federal Court House at 400 S, Virginia Street. We urge everyone to get there by 9:00 a.m. So we can start on time.
The Street will be blocked off at California Ave and Virginia. We will, because of the number of people expected, line up in the street and not on the side walks. Parade manages will be there to direct you. 2. The March will end at City Plaza approximately 1/3 mile from where it starts. There will be a rally with speakers and music performed by Voices Forward. There will be a number of non-profit organizations present so you can get information about what action steps they will be taking in the weeks and months and years ahead. There will also be Volunteers with Clip Boards who can sign you up for action steps you can take. The March is only a beginning for bigger and better organization. 3. Parking. Here is a guide to where to Park Downtown. http://newtoreno.com/parking-downtown-reno-nevada.htm
Pay attention to signs in private lots.
Do not park in a lot that is reserved for a business.
Not all private lots are open to the public on Saturday.
Metered Parking is still in effect on Saturday.
You have two choices. Park closes to the Plaza where we will end up and walk down to the Court House. Or Park closes to the Court house.
If you think parking will be a hassle.
Consider taking the bus. Buses to downtown leave from Meadowwood Mall as well as other places. Check out Bus routes here.
Tribal Drummers and Dancers weather permitting will lead off the March
Former Nevada State Senator Sheila Leslie will emcee the program that feature business and community leaders from all sections of Reno’s vibrant culture, including
Blessing offered by Janice Gardipe, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
Emcee: Sheila Leslie
Speakers (3 minutes each):
Felicia Perez, Reno Solidarity Network
Helen Fillmore, Washoe Tribe
Taslima Shams, College student
Nathaniel Phillipps & Monique Normand, PLAN Leaders
Verita Black Protho, local businessperson
Kimi Cole
Stacey Shinn, Gender Justice Coalition
Voices Forward (organized by Gloria Stanley, Miguel Stanley & Stan Prentice)
This is the timeline for the March:
8:45: People gather at Federal building. Peacekeepers take positions. Drummers to front of the march. 9:15
First chants (Monique/Nathaniel) 9:20
March Begins 9:50 Voices Forward performing as marchers enter plaza (SPEAKERS JOIN STAGE AND STAND IN ORDER OF SPEAKING)
9:55 Emcee (Sheila) begins program at Reno Plaza after song is complete
10:00 Blessing offered by Janice Gardipe, Reno-Sparks Indian Colony
10:04 Felicia Perez 10:09
Helen Filmore, Washoe Tribe
10:13 Taslima Shams, Muslim Student
10:21 Nathaniel/Monique Chants
10:25 Kimi Cole
10:29 Verita Black Protho
10:34 Stacey Shinn
10:38 Sheila Leslie closes w/action lap announcement
10:40 Voices Forward plays to 11 am.
We must vacate the Plaza at 11:00 A.M.
This promises to be a truly inspirational event. Thank you all for being part of this historic event. This is just the beginning.
As the road or skies carry you toward your fellow pilgrims,
may you sense the presence of those who travel with you in spirit,
whose hopes and hearts are tucked into your pockets,
who name your journey’s purpose as sacred.
May you encounter strangers-as-kindred,
and may that recognition of kinship bring joy to your journey.
Whether the faces in the crowd number in the dozens, hundreds, or thousands,
may you not only recognize yourself,
but may you also witness a dazzling tapestry of colors, languages, genders, ages, and bodies:
proud testament to and humbling display of our human family.
May the crowds be gentle, friendly, and patient.
If not, may the Spirit of Playfulness appoint you its momentary agent.
May you offer quiet praise for gestures of kindness.
May all bodies — vessels of spirit and soul — be treated as the gift that they are.
May the sturdiest of marchers make space for those who need more time,
more help, or a different means of moving.
May those bearing snacks share generously with others.
May you fuel yourself wisely, and hydrate.
In your hour of need, may you easily find a restroom,
and may it accommodate your body’s gender, size, and abilities.
May the line for the restroom be short.
If not, may you delight in the impulse to connect in ways mundane and profound.
Amid the heady flurry of selfies and hashtags,
may you remember the commitment that led you there,
and what will be required for the road ahead.
Gather it all up, blessed one; let it feed you.
Allow the crowds’ electric thrum to seep into you,
knitting itself into courage;
into holy boldness;
into fuel for the journey back, and for the journey forwar
Erika Hewitt is a Unitarian Universalist minister, a high-mileage wedding officiant, a yoga teacher, a writer, and a worship coach. She also serves as the UUA’s WorshipWeb Curator. Together with Becky Brooks, Erika is in the process of writing a book of theme-based ministry worship resources.
On January 21st 2017 all across the United States and indeed in other places on this planet, people will be marching in unity with the Women’s March on Washington.
On November 8, 2016 the United States of America elected as their President and Commander and Chief an individual that embodies the worst of humanity, a misoginist, xenophobic, vulgar, narcissistic, con artist, lier who is perhaps the lest qualified person to attain the office. He may be the impedes for this March but it is about much more than one person.
The Women’s March on Washington is about the integrity of American ideals. The fiber and the bone of this nation has been shaken awake to the fact that if, individually and collectively, we don’t get off our asses, we are ALL, not just women, going to be further marginalized by hateful speech, despicable actions and more dangerous legislation aimed at reducing our civil rights and personal liberties.
Over the past 6 years we have been witness to unprecedented obstructionism by our Congress and attacks by our elected officials both in Washington and in our State Houses. They have passed abominable laws against women, transgenders and access to the right to vote. We have seen all out efforts against Unions and working men and women and have watch our nation become paralyzed by grid lock.
This is also a wake up call to the fact that a foreign power has seriously compromised our electoral system. Evidence that Russia hacked into the DNC and Hillary Clinton chairman John Podesta emails, with the purpose of getting him elected President. We are left to wonder if in our lifetime we will ever learn just how insidious this breech was and how much damage was done.
Remember when he said he was going to drain the Washington swamp? One only has to look at who he is selecting for his advisors and Cabinet to see that he’s not draining the swamp. He has chosen to surround himself with a bevy of deplorables with little knowledge about the positions they will be responsible for or who are actually opposed to the agencies they will represent. They are in the main the dregs from the cesspool of cronyism.
What is on the line:
Our bodies
Our rights
Our choices
Our privacy
Our economic security
Our clean environment
Our public lands
Our health and well being
Our national security
Our standing among the nations of the world
Our free and honest elections
Our life, our liberty, our pursuit of happiness.
America’s future is in jeopardy. For all of these reasons millions of people in the USA and around the world will be marching on January 21, 2017.
This March serves as a point to rally, organize, mobilize and give notice to those who seek to co-opt the basic principles of of this nation, that we will not be silent.
Women’s Rights are Human Rights. Stand With Standing Rock. (because it’s not really over), Black Lives Matter. Climate Change is not a Myth. Aleppo is a Tragedy. Science Matters. Facts Matter, LGBTQ Rights Matter, A Free Press Matters. Net Neutrality Matters, We All Matter and we will not be marginalized.
The millions of American’s who work hard for their daily bread, who are of good heart, who are not racist or homophobic, or any phobic who voted for him because they truly believe he will improve their lives are, in the coming months and years, most likely to be disillusioned and become the angriest of all. It is they who bought the lies and the promises that will not be fulfilled. The jobs he promised are not coming back. Not the manufacturing jobs not the coal and steel jobs.In fact his policies could put many jobs in jeopardy.
There is little hope that the Republican controlled Congress will act to do anything to block his agenda. It will likely be business as usual, serving their own special interests at this nation’s expense.
It is therefore imperative that we make ourselves known to them. In the months and years ahead it is they we target. The viability of America depends on us.
The first statement is both true and false. Mrs. Clinton won the popular vote but not the Electoral College. The second statement may or may not be true. It’s a subject open for discussion. The third statement hopefully is false.
For the vast majority of America’s who cast their votes for Clinton the Electoral College is what rigged the system this election. Only in a Presidential election can the person who gets the most votes still lose. Is it time to rethink the Electoral College? Given the number of times the popular vote has been overruled we must seriously ask ourselves if the 12 Amendment is still serving us well?
Ronald Reagan said “Trust, but verify.” For those who feel there is a possibility that some devious actions occurred in certain areas of certain states, the only way to put the matter to rest is to audit the votes and do a recount. The Clinton Campaign did not initially feel a recount was warranted.
There have been numerous times when recounts have been called for in both local and national elections. In many states there is an automatic trigger. They are meant to ensure that the election is fair.
What the Clinton Campaign was reluctant to do Jill Stein, the Presidential candidate of the Green Party, was not. She called for recounts in three states and as of this date raised over $6 million dollars towards the current stated goal of 7 million dollars for the effort in a little more then 72 hours. The only question is why did Stein, a Third Party Candidate, whose name did not appear on all 50 states ballots and who only received 1.1% of the votes in Michigan, 0.8% in Pennsylvania and 1.1% in Wisconsin call for the audit? It was a ballsy move. One that puts her and the Green’s front and center.
If election tampering and fraud is discovered the United States will be confronted with a Constitutional Crisis of Epic Proportions. Stein will be lauded for exposing the failures of the system. The Green Party would stand to gain hundreds of thousands of new members and the opportunity to be a major player in future elections.
Four times in this nations history a candidate has been elected President without receiving the popular vote. In the case of John Quincy Adams vs Andrew Jackson, Jackson won both the popular vote and received more Electoral College votes but failed to get the 131 votes needed to be declared president. This was the only election decided in the House of Representatives.
Rutherford B. Hayes won the election of 1876 against Samuel J. Tilden by just 1 vote. Tilden received 250,000 more popular votes than Hayes. Many believe it was a compromise to get the Union Army out of the South after the civil war, thus effectively putting an end to Reconstruction..
The last time this happened, George W. Bush vs Al Gore in 2000, Gore received 540,000 more votes. The nation held it’s collective breath as Florida and the hanging chads left the nation hanging in suspense. Enter the Supreme Court with its 5-4 decision that effectively ended the recount and declared Bush the winner. That was the only time the Supreme Court ever got involved in deciding an election.
By auditing votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania we will see just how secure our election process is. If tampering in those states is discovered we are faced with serious security problems that undermine the fragile fabric that holds us together. We are also faced with the dilemma of how do we correct a fraudulent election. It may not be as simple as just declaring the real winner over the person that was declared the winner before the fraud came to light.
The unthinkable happened.One by one the reliable blue states turned red. The pundits and the prophets were wrong. The data crunchers missed the mark.How could the 2016 Presidential Election turn out the way it did?
Millions of words have been written and millions more will continue to be written, masticated and regurgitate on the subject ad infinitum.
This is my take and these are my thoughts on how Donald J. Trump became President of the United States and Hillary Rodham Clinton did not. The how and why it happened is not really so hard to understand.
The Power of Fear
First and foremost, we all must look in the mirror and admit that many of us harbor prejudices and some of the ugly qualities that drove Mr. Trump to victory. We must admit that we allowed him to play on those prejudices and let Emotions and Feelings overtake Reason and Logic. It is the marketing ploy that gets us to vote against our own best interests or buy a product that we really do not need or want but convinces us we must have.
1. America is in Decline
Every election has campaign slogans. Let’s look at the refrains for 2016 and how they played out on the American psyche. The Trump message “Make America Great Again” plays off every one of the fears we have. It is wrapped up in subliminal rhetoric that hammers home something is seriously wrong; America isn’t great. We are losers. It implies we lost our standing in the world. As individuals we are diminished and we are left behind.
By inferring we are weak, impotent, not beautiful, not strong, not smart and certainly not a winner, our sense of fear is heightened. Now that we know we are in terrible trouble and our world is falling apart comes the follow up hype. We hear from Donald Trump that he will make our lives better. Don’t worry he alone will see to it that each of us can all be powerful, rich, successful, even beautiful. Believe me. Much like a multi-level marketing scheme that promises us riches if only we buy into it. Mr. Trump will “Make America Great Again” our enemies will be vanquished. We will have nothing to fear.
2. For many, Donald Trump embodies success
Trump is rich. He exudes a level of confidence and power that many want to emulate. He is a consummate salesman and his product is Donald Trump. Donald Trump alone can make it happen. His promise, “believe me folks” I will “make America Great” is something his supporters fervently believe . Many are the American’s that have been left behind or cut out of the economy. The are the Americans whose jobs gave way to automation or went to other countries. They fear, they feel powerless, they are in pain, they are angry. They feel they were left out of the recovery.
Even though he is a seriously flawed candidate with out a single credential that qualifies him to be President, his supporters will forgive every sin and ignore every shortcoming. They don’t care if he’s rude and crude or that he makes racist comments and disparages women and minorities. They believe his lies or dismiss them because he is promising that he can fix their lives. He feeds their hate and he feeds their hope. They believe his business experience will serve all of us well. Emotions and Feelings trump Reason and Logic
3. Hillary Clinton’s persona drowns out her message
Mrs Clinton wanted us to be “Stronger Together”. That requires that we are all participants in building something greater then ourselves. In other words it infers we all work towards the goal of making our lives better.It infers a team effort. It requires putting in something of ourselves for the greater heart and the greater good. It is a call to action that depends on cooperation, partnerships, shared vision, even compromise, as well as individual commitment to lift everyone up. Because of that effort “Stronger Together” we create a mightier nation.
Hillary Clinton is a flawed human being that has been tarred and feathered and investigated for the past 30 years. For those of us who supported her none of her many flaws mattered and working together is what we do to create a better future. She has always been a champion of the things that matter to us. We know she is competent. That she understands how our government works from the inside out and the outside in. We know she has the intellect, skills and the backbone to be a great leader and a great President.
But for those of us who did not buy into the message or do not like the messenger nothing she can say or has done matters. Many believe that she has committed serious crimes and is protected by a corrupt system. Many do not care that she is supremely qualified to manage the Ship of State or has worked to improve the quality of life for all Americans. To those who dislike her, her accomplishments are meaningless.
Even though we have come back from the worst recession since the great depression, employment is up, salaries are up, the market is up, many of us just feel down.
Mrs. Clinton isn’t making a lot of us feel stronger together.
4. The Problems with “Stronger Together”
“Stronger Together” didn’t make us feel better about ourselves, our jobs, our love life or our chances for a better future. It basically told us if we wanted change in the words of Gundi we had to “be the change you wish to see in the world”. For most of us life is about daily bread and we don’t have time for this “all together now Kumbaya” crap.
Even though we know at a intellectual level Hillary Clinton is more qualified, we do not believe she will change anything and we want change. We want to feel great. We want a champion who will make it happen. We do not want the status quo.
5. Cronyism and Bernie Sanders
The DNC and party cronyism is also partly to blame for Mrs. Clinton loss. There is a good possibility ifSenator Bernie Sanders had gotten the nomination he would have beaten Donald Trump. Sanders message went straight to the heart of the working men and women in the ever shrinking middle class as well as to young men and women who are also afraid of what the future holds in store for them. Sander’s message “A Future To Believe In”, his rumpled shirt sleeve, wild hair, in your face, anti establishment persona made so many Feel the Bern. When he failed to get the Democratic Party’s nomination many of his supporters, including energized first time voters were so disillusioned and angry after the caucus and conventions they never came back to support Mrs. Clinton. “A Future to Believe In” had disappeared, Consequently many voted for Trump. They could buy into “Make America Great Again”. They didn’t buy “Stronger Together”. Because it’s always… what about me and it’s the economy stupid.
6. Some Silver Lining
At approximately 8:45 p.m. CST, I knew that Mrs. Clinton had lost the election . I have been around the block a time or two when it comes to reading the electoral college tea leaves. With Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio all red, Wisconsin and Michigan tilting in that direction there was not a path to victory.
I had hoped in my life I would see a women elected President. I have been a strong supporter of Hillary Clinton for over 40 years. But at least the Cubs won the series for the first time in 108 years and Nevada went for Mrs. Clinton and elected the first Latina woman to the Senate, Catherine Cortez Masto. The Nevada legislature went blue again and all the questions I supported won.
It is small consolation that Hillary Clinton won the popular vote because even though more of us voted for her that does not count.
To Sum Up:
The Clinton Campaign didn’t have the message.
Many of Bernie’s people and the working class never felt Mrs. Clinton was their champion.
Donald Trump held up a bright shinny object and tapped into America’s augina.
Admit it. Many of us are racist, homophobic, xenophobic, misogynists and we vote our prejudices.
We are all special interest groups and vote our special interests.
America has become a Reality TV show fueled by 24/7 media, sex lies, video tapes and the FBI.
It’s the economy stupid. It’s always about jobs.
We allow our Emotions and Feelings to over rule our Reason and Logic.
We have a lot of work to do.
Now Donald Trump has the com. We will see how well he handles it. We will see how he delivers on his promises. We will see what America will look like when he is done putting his special brand on this nation.
We must come together. I am not sure Trump can bind up our wounds. I do worry about our children and grandchildren. I worry about what kind of America you will have in 10, 20, 30 years from now. Will that sun carved on the back of a chair used by George Washington that Benjamin Franklin spoke of still be rising or will it have set. I worry about America. Yes I do.
I am willing to give Donald Trump the benefit of the doubt and also enough rope to hang himself.
(I want to thank my son Kevin Hawkins for his help putting my thoughts together. This piece is longer then I planned. Maybe not better.. I so appreciate his advise, because he understands so much more then I do about the medium. I’ll attempt to be a better writer. Kevin I know you understand my sorrow and my pain. )
We had been planing this road trip for months and the day finally arrived. A beautiful clear September morning with just a hint of autumn in the air.
Captain Jack our hybrid Honda Accord’s trunk was packed to the max. The small trunk maybe the only drawback of this car. But you can’t knock the mileage. Our route was along 395 N to 31 then on to Bend. We had not taken this route before and I must say it is a fine way to go. The road less traveled through small farming communities that dot the high desert of eastern California and Oregon is mainly free of traffic affording beautiful vistas and mostly stress free driving..
We decided to pass up stopping in Alturas where 395 turns north and went on to Lakeview Oregon where we stopped for lunch at Jerry’s . Jerry’s is a chain restaurant, most of which were converted into Denny’s. This one is showing a good deal of wear but the staff was friendly and the short order cook, Maria, turned out an expertly rolled veggie omelet and decent pancakes eggs, bacon and sausage. The coffee wasn’t bad either. The menu also offered a fine assortment of Mexican beer and along with the usual condiments and a great variety of hot sauces.
Jerry’s Restaurant Window in Lakeview, CA
I found the window painting very interesting and wondered if this place was one of the stops for those going to or returning from Burning Man.
The town of Lakeview looks much like so many farm communities and if we were not eager to move on would be worth spending time to explore.
Street shot of Lakeview, CA
Note at least this time of year there is no water in the lake at Lakeview or in any of the lakes we passed on our route to Oregon.
Refreshed we headed on to Bend and to the Pine Ridge Inn where we had stayed last year when we went on to the Columbia River Gorge.
We really enjoy staying at this property, especially in a room with a balcony overlooking the river.
A little snack on our balcony overlooking the river at the Pine Tree Inn.
The rooms are spacious and nicely appointed and the staff friendly and accommodating. That turned out to be a big plus on this trip as a strange occurrence happened.
We decided to have dinner at the Cascade Lodge Brew Pub across the road from the Inn. The beer was fine, the food ok and our waitperson was interesting. He had a goodly amount of tattoos visible on his arms but the one that caught my attention was a very large eye of Horus. If you believe in such things the eyes of Horus is supposed to protect you and keep you healthy. Probably a good thing to have when working around rowdy crowds. All in all it was a very pleasant experience.
At the Cascade Lodge Brew Pub
Tip: It’s a good idea to have a flash light with you because the way is around a round about and the lighting isn’t all that great great. Fortunately Ashton always thinks about these things and we had several with us including a very spiffy small red one with a very good light in my purse.
About the strange occurrence. Of course I was dreaming. I heard a noise and got out of bed. There was a note pinned to the inside of our door in a scratchy handwriting. The note read to the effect that we were making to much noise and what were we doing in that room. I took the note off the door and tossed it in the waste basket and went back to bed wondering how someone got in the room while we were sleeping. Suddenly I was wakened again and this time when I got out of bed I saw man standing by the door. He was perhaps in his late 60’s, gray hair, stocky, wearing tan pants and a blue and white checked shirt. He insisted we were in his and his wife’s room and we needed to get out. I called out to Ashton to wake up and help get this person out of our room. Ashton woke me up. A very strange dream indeed.
Or was it a dream. Could I have been out of my body confronting a ghost?
The next morning we had a light breakfast that is provided by the Pine Ridge Inn and packed up our bags and went on our way. Now it is my habit to check everything before I leave a room. I checked the closet, bathroom and all surfaces to be sure we didn’t leave anything behind. Ashton had also checked the closet. We were sure we had all of our belongings. Oh but did we?
Our next stop was Port Angles, WA and the Olympia Lodge. Our route took us along US 97 to US 26 on to I5 north and then on to US 101. All of these road are beautiful but the truck traffic can make it white knuckle driving as much of the road is 2 lane.
We stopped in Sandy, OR for lunch at the Sandy Family Restaurant, where they serve breakfast all day. The trip from Bend had been pretty stressful so it was good to take a break. Ashton had an omelet stuffed with bacon and cheese and all sorts of goodies along with hash browns that were nice and crisp on the outside. I settled on just scrambled eggs and sliced tomatoes. Nothing special but no complaints. Our waitperson was a pleasant lady that kept the coffee coming and we had a comfy booth with a view of the beautiful flower plantings that are arranged up an down the street.
Missed opportunities was taking pictures of those beautiful flowers and the amazing views of the ocean along 101 on the way to Port Angles. If we ever pass that way again there are so many places to explore and we will stop at Hama Hama Farm Store and Oyster Saloon.
The Olympic Lodge is conveniently located along the main route into Port Angeles and an easy drive to the center of Port Angeles and the Black Ball Ferry.
Lobby of the Olympia Lodge
Our room faced the golf course and had easy access to the back door and to our car.
There is a mini mall with a Jimmy Johns sandwich shop next door and Joshua’s Restaurant and Lounge on the opposite side.
Our desk clerk gave us some dining suggestions and really wasn’t enthused about Joshua’s but we didn’t feel like driving anymore so we thought we’d risk it. We have had worse.
It doesn’t matter where you eat in Port Angeles, everything seafood is going to be fried. We both opted for oysters, the serving size was generous and they were not bad. They make their own pies and we took a piece of peach pie back to our room and heated it up in the micro wave. A very sweet way to end a long day.
Bright and early the next morning Ashton asked “Did you see the garment bag”? “Didn’t you bring it in from the car yesterday”? I asked. That garment bag was no where in sight. Not in the room not in the car. How did we miss it? We both checked the room at the Pine Ridge Inn. But somehow we must have left it behind.
I called the Pine Ridge and the front desk said nothing had been turned in by staff but she would check and call me back if they found it. Sure enough 10 minutes later we got the call saying they had located it in their lost in found, but no one knew who had put it there since the maids always report found items to the front desk. Was it that ghost? Thankfully they Fed Ex’d it back to Reno.
We went back to Joshua’s for breakfast and decided to go into Port Angles to try and find some shirts for Ashton since all of his shirts were in the missing garment bag.
The Black Ball Ferry to Victoria from Port Angeles
Our reservation on the Black Ball from Port Angles to Victoria, B.C. was for 12:45 with a check in 1 hour earlier. We got there 2 hours early and that turned out to be a wise thing since it afforded us the opportunity to both board and depart the MV Coho early and breeze through Canadian Customs.
Shopping Center next to the Ferry
Believe it or not there wasn’t a single store in the shopping center that had so much as a t-shirt for sale.
There was some interesting art and jewelry and we had time for a decent Bloody Mary at Smuggler’s Landing.
There is not much in the way of decent food on the ferries these days so it’s best to eat before taking off.
The crossing was uneventful. The water as calm as could be and we sailed through Customs and were on our way in no time at all to the Oak Bay Beach Hotel. We stayed at the original about 28 years ago and this new incarnation is dazzling. My only regret is that we didn’t book 2 nights. The hotel is a short drive from the ferry dock to the town of Oak Bay that is one of the most charming communities on Vancouver Island, B.C.
When we arrived our room was not quite ready so we decided since we had not had lunch to go into the Snug Pub for a bite. The Pubs design and interior is reminiscent of the old hotel and English Pubs with white walls and wood trim a long beautiful bar and a warm clubby feeling. Since the day was sparkling we decided to dine on the terrace overlooking the gardens and the sea.
View from the Snug pub
We shared an order of excellent poutine and a wonderful seafood chowder along with a glass of local Chardonnay and beer that was recommended by our server. Let me say that the B.C. wine industry has come a long way and it goes without saying that the Canadians know how to brew good beer. Instead of texting us that our room was ready desk staff came to our table with our keys and information about the hotel. The service is impeccable.
The rooms are spacious and tastefully furnished. There is a small refrigerator and micro wave as well as dishes, glassware and silver. The bathroom is fabulous with a deep soak tub and separate shower. There is a fire place. There are plenty of plugs for all your electronic devises. The wifi is included. In short all the comforts of a home away from home.
After getting settled in our room we drove into the Village of Oak Bay in search of shirts and found ourselves in the middle of a Street Fair. There are many interesting shops to explore and some nice dining options but believe it or not there wasn’t a single mens store in the town. Nor were any of the Fair Vendors selling mens T-Shirts. One kind lady at a dress shop I popped into told me that the last men’s store had relocated to downtown Victoria over 3 years ago.
We were really to tried and not all that hungry to go out to dinner. Instead we snacked on some fine cheese and Italian salami and a fine bottle of wine we brought with us for the trip. Just as a note you can bring in 2 bottles of wine per person into Canada with out a problem. I took an absolutely decadent bath in the soak tub and a shower for good measure.
Next morning after an excellent nights sleep we went down to The Dinning Room for an equally excellent breakfast.
Breakfast the Oak Bay Beach!and spent a little time exploring the gardens and public rooms. The David Foster Foundation Theatre is also located in the Hotel. Next time we come we will make it a point to be there for Tuesday Movie night.
I could live at the Oak Bay Beach. I’m already planning our next stay.
Tofino and the Wickaninnish Inn was are next destination. The drive takes you along Hwy 19 to Nanaimo where we stopped and grabbed a bite to eat for the road at a Tim Horton’s, Canada’s answer to a Dunk’n Donuts, Einstein Bagel, Sandwich shop and Starbucks all in one and found a Thrift Shop to fill in Ashton’s missing wardrobe. Did I happen to mention that everyone in this part of the world is extraordinarily helpful, nice and kind? Then it was on to Hwy 4 across the center of Vancouver Island. It is a spectacular drive. Cathedral Grove is a major attraction. It was packed with cars so we decided not to stop. There are plenty of other opportunities along the route to take in the magnificent old growth forest that is still left.
The Wickaninnish Inn is a high end luxury lodge considered one of the finest in the world. Our room was spacious with a cozy gas fire place and a spectacular view of Chesterman Beach. A long with the bathrobes you are thoughtfully provided with rain jackets, rain pants, umbrellas and binoculars. They get bout 203 days of rainfall on average rain in Tofino.
The view
Surfing is the big thing in this part of B.C. and it doesn’t matter if it is raining, snowing or the sun is out the surfers are waiting for the waves.
The Bar Scene
We planned on dinner in town at the Wolf in the Fog. The restaurant has 2 stories and was pretty well full when we arrived. We were seated in the ground floor bar that is dominated by large TV screens running surfer films. It’s a fun place with decent food and friendly servers. Pretty much par for the course. Everyone in Canada is nice.
We arrived in sunshine but the next day we had rain. We went to the Pointe Restaurant for breakfast to check it out as we also had dinner reservations there that evening. Let me say that the food at both the Pointe and the Driftwood Cafe is excellent. In fact the tasting menu dinner complete with wine at the Pointe was the best we have ever had.
Ashton enjoying champagne and chilling out by the fire.
Thanks to the valet service Ashton’s one nice shirt was also ready in time for dinner. Again the staff and the service here is impeccable.
We took the opportunity to just spend the day relaxing by the fire, watching the surfers and sip champagne. It was a perfect day topped off by that sumptuous 6 course meal. And because this trip was part of my Birthday celebration I received lovely happy birthday notes from the staff and this at the end of our meal. It came with several pieces of marvelous chocolate truffle bites. But we ate them before i could snap the picture
How can you not love a place like this that see to every detail?
The next day the sky was still over cast. But the air was sweet and we took some time to check out the art work and sculpture that graces the property.
We also went to the Driftwood Cafe for another delicious breakfast. Our server told us they had to take out a window to get this piece of driftwood that makes up the bar installed.
All to soon it was time to go off for our next adventure.
On our our way to Mills Bay to catch the ferry to Brentwood Bay we stopped at the Turtle Beach Cafe in Port Alberni. The hamburgers are hand made, the coffee is decent and the artwork and signs are a kick.
The Bentwood Bay Resort and Spa provides comfortable accommodations and is almost adjacent to the ferry. The view is lovey, the restaurant has more then decent food and the staff is top drawer. Three major reason for us staying here. One. Butchart Gardens,, Two: Sidney. And three.. It would be a delightful place to live.
As we drove around the area we spotted a number of places where you could purchase fresh eggs and other locally raised farm products. The eat local slow food movement is alive and well and living on Vancouver Island.
Butchart Gardens is one of the must see attractions just outside Victoria and close to Brentwood Bay. We visited the Gardens on a Sunday. Perhaps not the best day to go as the place was really crowded and some of the visitors were a little rude as they angle for the best way to take a picture.
The Japanese Garden
There are several dining options but if you want lunch, tea or dinner at The Dining Room it is wise to make a reservation. We shared the Saanich Organics field greens Toasted almonds, compressed apple, and Farmstead feta salad that was the best I have had in a long time. I had the Crispy boneless Cowichan Valley chicken thighs Farro tabbouleh, cucumber yogurt Pickled beet and carrot slaw and Ashton had the Wild salmon and spring pea turnover and Fingerling potato crisps along with a carafe of Pinot. We also shared the best Tiramisu with Salted caramel mousse and espresso anglaise and had an excellent cup of coffee. Food among the flowers is always very special and all in all it was a very fine lunch.
There is so much beauty to take in here. Is it worth it. Yes..but it is pricy and the fact of the matter is there are free or far less costly garden venues you can visit.
View from our favorite table at the Beacon Landing Bar and Grill
Sidney is just down the road so to speak from Brentwood Bay and a favorite of ours. Lots of development has taken place since our last visit but the Beacon Landing Bar and Grill was still serving up fine fare.
Giant sized oysters done to perfection.
As you can see my fried oysters were giant sized and i can attest they were delicious.
We have talked about spending more time in Sidney and did a little looking around to see what type of long term rentals might be available. It was apparent that we would most likely need a realtor to help with that as we didn’t see a single sign for rent or for that matter even for sale.
Ashton suggested that we return to the states by taking the Sidney Ferry to Anacondas that would take us through the San Juan Islands. The ferry leaves at noon and it is a must to make reservations as well as arriving there early. Since we made the reservations at the last minute we were lucky that a spot was open.
Don’t expect to find any decent food on the ferry. It is best to have an early breakfast if you are planning on returning State side from Sidney. The ferry terminal has a shop that does offer some better food options as well as the usual kitsch.
The ferry made a stop at Friday Harbor and I made a mental note to plan a trip that allows us time to spend a day on the island.
We arrived in Anacondas late afternoon very hungry and immediately went in search for a place to eat. We found a gem of a spot at the 5th Street Bistro located in the Majestic Inn and Spa.
Main course at the 5th Street Bistro
Lucky for us the dining room opens early and though we were the only ones there we had a wonderful three course meal very reasonably priced with a fine bottle of Washington State wine and very good service.
The one big mistake we made on this trip was not staying over night in Anacondas. Instead we push on to Portland. I-5 is always crowded and is especially so between Seattle and Portland. Driving at night with the heavy truck traffic can be a challenge.
I had made reservations at the Best Western at the Meadows and I’m sorry to say it was not a good choice. Next time we will plan to stay over night in Anacondas and drive to Salem.
Best Western does offer free breakfast that frankly can be skipped and free wifi. But both those can be found at other properties for a comparable price.
On the last leg of our journey back home we stopped for lunch at White Horse Coffee & Tea, in Sutherlin, OR. We found this place by happenstance. The cafe is filled with tchotchkes, meme posters cover the walls and cases and a concrete seahorse dragon leads you around the drive thru. Plus you can buy lots of gegaws, coffee tea, t-Shirts etc. and probably for the right price even the place.
The owner is an interesting gentleman that likes to share his history. He fixed us decent double shot lattes and we split a BLT on very good rye bread and a side salad. It is always a treat to find places like this on the road less traveled.
Our last stop was at the Del Rio Vineyards and Winery They make a wide variety of reds and whites including a nice rose’. Of course we had to get a case. The place is low key, the staff is friendly and it was fun meeting a fellow Yelper who also was there that day sampling all the good juice being poured. A trip to Oregon’s Wine Country is a must do.
I do not know who Colin Kaepernick is outside of the facts that he comes from my community, he’s a football hero, plays for the SF 49rs and is a man of mixed racial heritage that was adopted as a child by a white family and has ever since supposedly lived a life of privilege.
Recently he did something totally unacceptable. No he didn’t rape any one. He didn’t steal any thing. He didn’t take a life. His sin was that when our National Anthem was playing he did not stand. He sat it OUT. His sin.. He SAT DOWN.
OMG.. This guy makes millions. He’s our hero he owes us. He needs to be our shinning example of what it means to be not just a football hero but an American ideal. YOU DO NOT SIT DOWN WHEN OUR NATIONAL ANTHEM is played.
So it has always been. Our heroes need to be be GODS because.. They can not be anything like us. We need them as examples to be what we imagine we are like and when they are not like what we want in our image we get to KILL them or at lest disown them and Bitch, Moan and Complain about how badly they let us down. It is very hard for us to except that one of our heroes held up the mirror and made us look into it.
Perhaps we should start at the history of slavery in the United States., or by looking at our national anthem and ask ourselves if it really represents the America we are today and the America we want to be? Perhaps you need to consider the third verse. The anthem was written in a time when slavery was how life was in these United States. Black lives did not matter. Black lives and indentured servants were chattel.. property..not to be counted.
Admittedly we do not sing this when we sing our national anthem but there is nonetheless something very chilling and certainly no longer in step with who and what we are today.. Or is there?
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore
That the havoc of war and the battle’s confusion
A home and a country should leave us no more?
Their blood has wash’d out their foul footsteps’ pollution.
No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave:
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave.
I have a confession to make. I have sat DOWN. I have folded my arms and crossed my legs and bowed my head silently disapproving what I felt was wrong with my country. And I have also marched. I have loudly protested and have done everything I could to try to make this nation live up to the land of the free and the home of the brave. At least as far as I thought it should be.
BFD. Have you used that right lately? I would like to think that some of what I worked for moved us forward. The Civil Rights Act 1964, anti-Vietnam, hell anti war.. The Voting Rights Act 1965, plus a lot of policy tax law and stuff with the FDA and the EPA and fracking and Roe vs Wade. And I’m still working on healthcare and burning my bra.
Tell me when your hero didn’t get up for the national anthem, what have you been working for to make America the nation we want it to be for one and and all? Tell me out side of somebodies idea of patriotism that you have been feed, have you been doing really to make us one nation (indivisible under God) with Liberty and Justice for all.
I do not say the pledge with “under God”. I did’t learn it that way.. and frankly I can’t say it that way easily. I guess you could burn me at the stake because you are all shocked over that. . Just by way of history. This is the Pledge.
Much is at stake in our nation. Perhaps we will never know all the things that caused a football hero, the idol of many to make such a profound statement as to risk the ire of his adoring fans and creating a fire storm that demands us to examine once again what it means to be a patriot. It demands we also take a look at our national anthem and put it in the content of the times it was written. Maybe we need a new one?
Beyond the action of the man, what is important is that we are having a conversation that goes well beyond his action. Black on Black.. White on White.. Green on Green. What difference does it make. It’s all bull plucky. We all bleed red. We are all one tribe. We are all family.
It is time when we become grown up enough to SIT DOWN to stand up
for what we really are about. Go look in the mirror. Ask why you are upset about this. Is this what is really important? You are on a crank about some guy that earns an obscene amount of money for tossing a ball in a stupid game and who is your hero and he let you down..WHY? Or.. what is important is the fact that we really have serious problems? Now tell me please because I am just asking .. beyond this guy who so disappointed you.. let us sit down and talk.
As I said when I started this. I have no idea who Colin Kaepernick is. But I do know this.. he will probably carry a heavier cross then you will ever know. It’s the one we lay on all our hero’s when we feel they have let us down before we nail them to it.
We all have a vision of America. It is a blind men and the elephant. story where every one has their 2 cents to put in. America is so much more then anyone. It is a living breathing slogging to the light praying to save the earth, the air and the water rising above all odds and needs to be so much more then what any poor mortal ever envisioned. To be continued.
The rituals of life, the ties of family and friends, these gatherings to celebrate are the very warp and woof of the cloth that holds us together. So it was that thanks to my daughter in law Tracy’s insistence our granddaughter Amelia was called to the Torah. The ceremony was held on Saturday, May 7th 2016 at 10:30 in the morning at Temple Beth El.
It goes with out saying that Amelia also had to be up for the task. Willing to study and undertake with serious dedication the challenge of learning not only Hebrew but chanting her portion of the Torah and writing her Bat Mitzva dissertation on what that portion meant. This is a big deal. She is now and forever a part of the living Torah.
When Amelia was just a few months old her parents had a family and close friend gathering for her Simchat bat or naming ceremony. I brought the Tallit that my father wore at his Bar Mitzva to wrap her in and she wore that again now as a young woman on this special day.
Temple Beth El is a beautiful and welcoming synagogue. The Cantor Manny Silver and the Rabbi Allan Tuff are exceptional mensch. There is something in my DNA, maybe the product of generations of the daughters of N9a that responds to the rituals of the service that date back a thousand thousand generations. The reminder of Rabbi Hillel’s words “What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn”. That is in essence what it means to be called to the Torah.
The Sabbath service both in English and Hebrew so familiar was by its familiarity tender and moving including a special rendition of the Hallelujah prayer sung to Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah. Ari, Tracy, grandparents Logan and Bernadette Nichols, Uncle Kevin Hawkins and Godfather and cousin Eric Kromelow and I were all called up on the Bema to be part of the service. Ari and I each did the blessing before and after the reading of the Torah. Logan, Bernadette, Kevin and Eric all participated in open the ark where the Torahs are kept and Eric helped with taking off the Torah covering as well as putting it back on for the walk around the congregation after Amelia had read her portion.
Special moments: Ari speaking to his daughter, his voice filled with emotion about her fearlessness.Not being afraid to take on a new challenge or project.
“To my daughter Amelia on your Bat Mitzvah.
Amelia, I am so honored to be your father. Words cannot express how much you have changed my life and how much you mean to me. Love is not big enough of a word to embrace my feelings for you and how much I care about your future and well being.
When you were just a little girl I would always tell you that my job as your parent was to keep you happy healthy and safe.
Well, I will never stop doing that job as long as I live as it is a job well worth doing.
There are so many moments in your life so far that I remember and cherish and all of them so wonderful:
Our father Daughter Dances, every time I dropped you off at school and picked you up to see your smiling face, your first time at Disney World, when you refused to go up to Chip and Dale. When you would tell me that’s Right Daddy! To put me in my place, when you would dress like Dorothy in Wizard of Oz, our first Cubs game together, your first roller coaster ride where I learned you were fearless, the first time you saw snow and jumped headfirst into a pile of it, your first steps, or when you called Dr. Sash to tell him you were finally potty trained! And now to see you growing up and playing softball, studying for your bat mitzvah, on the stage in lead roles, always doing your very best in school, These are all just some of the moments in time that we shared and they will never be lost, and they are my life’s most precious moments.
I am proud of you in so many ways, from the way you treat everyone you know with respect and caring to the way you always tell the truth and talk about your feelings. You will always be the better me, and every time I look at you I am reminded about what is good in this world.
Above all else Amelia you have shown me that you are not afraid: not afraid to make new friends, not afraid of a new school, not afraid to try sports you have never played, not afraid to lose, not afraid to make mistakes, not afraid to learn, but most important of all you have never been afraid to just be yourself.
Again, Amelia, I am honored to be your father, because it has been and will always be an honor to watch you grow into a woman and to continue to see you be the wonderful person that you are. It is indeed a wonder to watch the Spirit of a child grow into the Soul of a woman and I will always love you and be here to keep you happy healthy and safe.
Love, your Dad”
Tracy speaking with warmth and humor about how cautious Amelia was when she was little.
“Dear Amelia:
I noticed very early on in your development, that you approach life with caution.It was interesting to watch this when you were just about a year old.Watching how tentative you moved and played compared to your friend Elle who was climbing and falling…..she seemed to be fearless.It seemed nothing would get in her way.I remember you girls liked to crawl up the and down the stairs in the townhouse…..she would crawl to the top of the staircase then bounce down on her butt while you sat at the top of the stairs waiting for me to carry you down. If she wanted off the bed…she slid down.You sat on the bed crying until I picked you up.
At such a young age, you were analyzing each move contemplating the outcome.It was at that time that I decided it would be my responsibility to challenge you to take risks and swimming lessons seemed like a natural start. You approached your first dip in the pool cautiously (yet enthusiastically) and over the 8 week session, you learned to float on your back, kick your legs, even mastering what seemed to be the scariest…holding your breath under water.You were so proud when you dunked your head under the water and held your breath for the first time.
The next scary challenge was jumping off the side of the pool into the deep end.You stood at the edge of the pool and I stood in the water (toes barely touching the bottom) and then I said, “Now Jump!”You were dead against it.I tried coaxing you in every way imaginable, but you weren’t buying it.You just stood there while I begged you to jump.I even thought a little reverse psychology might work.I said, “Well, if you don’t want to jump, then lets go play in the shallow end forget the deep end with the big kids.” That didn’t work.You happily walked away from the deep end to go play on the steps in the shallow end.
So we swam and played in your “comfort zone” for a while longer then we went back to the deep end to give it another try.This time you agreed, but not without setting some rules. You told me exactly where to stand, to grab your hands as soon as you jumped into the water, and to not let you stay under too long. A lot of necessary preparation, but it was worth it.You jumped. The look on your face when you came up from under the water was pure excitement!You giggled and said, “Again, Again!” And you jumped off the edge again, and again and again until you were not afraid anymore.
Amelia, as you grow, every new challenge you conquer is preparing you to navigate life’s uncharted territory.My advice – don’t let fear get a hold of you. Step out of your comfort zone. Remember, it’s better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all your life.Yes, life can be scary.You will have to take chances without knowing the outcome. And that’s o.k.You should live your life fearlessly never afraid to follow your passion.
And each time you take a chance and succeed, you are sure to experience that same feeling of excitement and accomplishment as you did when you jumped off the side of that pool for the first time.And by the way, that quality you have “thinking before your act” will serve you well.You should always try to be prepared and have a plan.
And as your spiritual awareness awakens, please remember to listen to the voice of your soul. It is now that the needs, yearnings and feelings of your spiritual inner self should emerge. On your life’s journey, you should always seek meaning, fulfillment, connection, and inspiration. There is no doubt that you possess the courage, the confidence and the intelligence you will need to dive headfirst into the pool of life. And if you ever have doubt or your courage starts to waiver, don’t worry.You are a lucky young lady – you are loved.Few things are more beautiful in life than having family and friends that love you.People that support and care about you.Your Mom and Dad love you so much – we will always be in the deep end ready to catch you”.
But of course the star of the day was Amelia. Posed, smiling, if she had a moment of nerves it never showed. Standing before us a beautiful young woman who analyses and thinks about all the options before moving forward and willing to embracing a world of opportunities. She didn’t miss a beat. Her Hebrew chanting of her Torah portion was impeccable and her dissertation of its meaning was delivered with equal perfection.
“My Torah portion, Acherei Mot, is mainly about the rules that guide us to be the person God says we should be. Some years, it is combined with another portion called Kedoshim which is the holiness code. The Torah says “you shall be holy, for I the lord your God am holy”. These laws were given to us so we could form a holy, thriving society of individuals with similar standards. There are 613 laws in the Torah (the most popular being the Ten Commandants.)Laws are an essential way of life, and without them many things could go wrong or become dangerous, and there would be no order. It’s important to remember that the whole purpose of all the laws is to do acts of kindness and make peace with one another.
This portion of the Torah starts with a story of Moses’ brother, Aaron, whose sons had died in a mysterious fire for not following a law correctly. Why do we need to have these laws that lead us to be holy? Is it to go to wherever you go to follow God and that’s all?The reality of being holy is not just saying that you are involved in a religion. Being holy is being a good person with morals, and being involved in society by helping others. This has taught me that even though helping people may sometimes not seem like it is the most important thing at the moment, in Gods eyes, it is always the most important.
I started studying Hebrew almost exactly one year ago. When I began learning Hebrew, I didn’t know how to read or speak it at all. I started with learning the letters then how to read, and eventually I was able to do what I’m doing today.
With Cantor Manny
What also makes my Bat Mitzvah important is my mitzvah project, As a teen ambassador with an organization, C3 For Change, I raised nearly $5,000 for breast cancer research.The money will support the research efforts of Dr. Jean J. Latimer at Nova Southeastern University’s new Cell Therapy Institute.This project hits close to home for me since my family has a history of breast cancer – my great grandmother was diagnosed when she was 60 years old, and my grandmother and aunt are survivors both living cancer–free for over ten years. In May 2015, my mom was diagnosed with a rare form of breast cancer.She is thriving and doing well thanks to the marvels of modern medicine.My goal is to continue to support breast cancer research and awareness – next focusing on an educational outreach project. I’m working on a children’s book that will educate young students about cancer through the tale of a healthy human cell called “CeCe the Cell.”
On this special day, I want to thank my family and friends for helping and encouraging me at all times, my Rabbi and Cantor for re-introducing Hebrew into my life, my Nana and Papa for making my lessons a priority, and my parents for guiding me through my bat mitzvah. My Mom and Dad have always supported me whenever I try something new and they both know how to motivate me to do my best.I’m thankful that I can always count on them to be there for me.I Love you both!
Thank you everyone for coming to my service, I appreciate all of you and I’m grateful for your support. Shabbat Shalom”
It goes without saying that such a milestones as this requires a good party to celebrate such an achievement. Off we went to get prepared for the big night and what a great event it was.
The Bat Mitzvah Party was held at the Sea Ranch Lakes Beach Club, a lovely venue on the ocean.
Before the festivities got into full swing
Amelia called up family and friends to light the ceremonial 13 candles. Each candle was accompanied by a special poem.
Lighting the Candles
Amelia gets carried around the room in a chair.
It was quite the party. The day before Ari made his special marinade for the rib eye steaks that were served. They were delicious as was all the food that Toni Lampasone from Wine Watch prepared.
It was wonderful seeing Amelia with all of her friends just having a grand time.
So many special memories of this wonderful day and evening. I hope to add more pictures as I receive them.
