Wednesday, March 10, 2010, at 12:00 Noon, I am hosting my show, The Advocates on WVOX- 1460 AM, or you can listen to the program’s live streaming at www.wvox.com. One can call the show at 914-636-0110 to reach us on the radio.  My guests are Britton Manasco, and Dr. Lewis J. Perelman.

Our subject will be a two-part program: the role of government; what it must or must not do, what it can achieve, what if it fails, what are our best realistic hopes for the future and how these limitations or potentialities fit in with President Obama’s initiatives.

Britton Manasco is based in Austin, Texas and is executive director of the Liberated Minds Institute (www.liberatedminds.org), a think tank and research firm that focuses on raising the entrepreneurial and financial IQ of the young. LMI is a clearinghouse and an information resource, which draws on the best minds, models and tool-sets regarding entrepreneurialism and economic education for teens and young adults. Manasco also is a former journalist who has written for the New York Times , the Economist , Harvard Business Review , Far Eastern Economic Review , Business China , and Reason Magazine .  Britton Manasco, Founder and Principal, Manasco Marketing Partners ph: 512-301-4881; cell: 512-415-7936,

email: Britton@ManascoMarketing.com web: ManascoMarketing

His blog is Illuminating the Future and sign up for Elevation Quarterly

Lewis J. Perelman is a Washington-DC policy and management consultant. He received his bachelor's degree in mathematics and physics from the City College of New York, and went on to study space and planetary physics at Columbia University and Harvard University.  He later earned his doctoral degree in administration, planning, and policy from Harvard, where his studies focused on sustainable economic development.

Dr. Perelman has over thirty years of professional experience focused on the processes of innovation, sustainability, and resilience—as a consultant, analyst, author, publisher, and teacher.   His clients have included nonprofit organizations, businesses from small start-ups to major corporations, and public agencies from the local to international levels.  He has held senior positions in several research institutes and think tanks, and is currently a Senior Fellow of the Institute for Regulatory Science in Alexandria, VA.  Dr. Perelman has been author, contributor, or editor of 12 books and over 100 other publications, including his best-selling book School's Out.

Recently, as a consultant to several associations, research institutes, and public agencies, Dr. Perelman has been working on the needs for technology and infrastructure development related to energy, climate, and national security issues.

Meanwhile, the mission of The Advocates is to bring to the public differing views on current “public policy” issues. “Public policy,” therefore, is what we as a nation legally and traditionally follow.

One can find my essays on FDR and other subjects at https://www.richardjgarfunkel.com. All of the archived shows can be found at: http://advocates-wvox.com.  Next week WVOX will be devoted to its annual Saint Patrick’s Day forum and celebration, and on March 24^th, I will be talking with author Andrew Valentine about the “Power of Myth in our Culture, and how it Affects Public Policy Thinking.”

A Wedding in South Beach, Port Lucaya and Dancers from Finland

March 5, 2010

Richard J. Garfunkel

It was an uneventful flight from John F. Kennedy International Airport on Jet Blue to Fort Lauderdale. I alternated reading Dr. Steven Lamozow and Eric Fetterman’s book on FDR’s sickness and death and our personal television. Now that’s flying. We have rarely flown into Fort Lauderdale Airport, but it is much closer to Weston, our ultimate location, and we had to eventually return our rental car back to Fort Lauderdale, because we were going to fly to Freeport on Grand Bahama Island from there.

Meanwhile the airport was incredibly crowded with people returning from winter holidays and because some flights were starting to back up because of poor weather in the Midwest. This weather would eventually get to Tarrytown, our home town, and our neighborhood would receive over 21 inches of snow.

The lines for the rental car jitney, and the Avis counter were monumental, but Linda’s excellent planning included applying for an Avis Preferred Customer card. Did that come in handy! We not only got to the head of the line, but wound up getting a brand new Infinity. What a powerful car! We headed up to Weston on route I-595 and it wasn’t too long before we were comfortably ensconced in our suite at the Mizner Estates.

We were also able to attend the marriage of Barry and Jill Reed’s daughter Dahlia to Paul Levine, at the landmark Temple Emanu-El Synagogue on Washington Street in South Beach. It was a lovely ceremony and the bride looked beautiful and the groom was handsome and charming. The Reeds looked great and I was able to see their families once again. I had met Barry, who was originally from Mount Vernon, actually when I was in college. He was a good friend and neighbor of my old buddy Lew Perelman. But he had moved out of Mount Vernon to New City in our sophomore years at AB Davis High School, and I actually met one of his older brothers before I met him a few years later. The ceremony went well, the food was great and we were able to be home before 11 pm.  

Through the next week we enjoyed some sunning, a lot of tennis at the great Weston municipal har-tru courts, and some beach time in Fort Lauderdale. We walked up and down Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard, along the windy boardwalk in Hollywood, where all the French-Canadians hang out, and a wonderful antique car museum in Fort Lauderdale. The late Arthur O. Stone, who died at age 89 a few weeks ago, assembled a great collection of 32 antique, pristine Packards. They were marvelous, and some are valued in hundreds of thousands of dollars. If one likes beautiful automotive works of art, go visit the Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum at 1527 SW 1^st Avenue. Arthur Stone, who started his collection in the 1940’s, also was an avid disciple of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and has a whole room devoted to memorabilia dedicated to the world’s greatest leader.

We spent some time with our friends Barbara and Roland Parent. Barbara and I have known each other since our days at ABDavis/MVHS where she was the top cheerleader and I was one of her great fans. Roland, a former merchant marine officer, and a partner of a consortium of ship’s pilots at Port Everglades, is retired these days, and builds exquisitely accurate models of maritime ships. They are museum quality, and he has created another career building ships for grateful clients.

We all went out to dinner at the St. Tropez, a French Bistro, on Las Olas Boulevard. We enjoyed wine, onion soup, salmon, casseroles, and steak. After the food and drink we were all satiated and tired, so we bid a fond farewell and headed back to Weston. We also went to the insanely large and crowed Saw Grass Mill Mall. If one is really bored, and the weather in Fort Lauderdale is not for the beach, go there once. That is all.

Eventually it was off to Freeport on Grand Bahama Island. Fort Lauderdale Airport was now crawling with travelers stranded with the storms that inundated the northeast. We made our way to our 40 seat, DeHaviland DHC-8, 2-engine BahamasAir prop plane. I hadn’t been on a turboprop plane since a Convair 440 flight to Buffalo, in March of 1967, from Boston with various stops along the way. It seems that BahamasAir got rid of its all-Boeing 737 jet fleet in 1991 and now concentrates on local service within the islands and to and from the United States. Freeport is only 27 minutes and 97 miles from Fort Lauderdale. The flight was a bit noisy, but the weather was quite clear, and the flight was smooth and uneventful. Grand Bahama is the fourth largest island in the 600 island nation. It has about 46,000, residents and its three major population centers; Freeport, Lucaya, and West End Town.

Our time sharing is at the Taino Beach Resort which is located in Port Lucaya. Lucaya is an important tourist destination on Grand Bahama Island. It has beautiful beaches and contains several big hotels including the most popular, five-star Our Lucaya hotel chain made up of the Reef Village and Radisson hotels and the Lanai Suites located at Lighthouse Point. Count Basie Square in Port Lucaya provides regular live entertainment targeted at cruise ship patrons. Unfortunately Taino Beach is separated from Lucaya by the Bell Channel waterway and to get to the other side of the channel one must take a ferry ride around the bay. It costs $5 for a roundtrip, but it runs all day on the hour.

We checked in, had lunch, spent some time on the beach and we were eventually able to get into our rooms at 4:00 PM. We had a beautiful view of the resort, and the ocean from our balcony. We spent the week playing tennis, sitting at the pool and the ocean and meeting fellow tourists. We met people from all over the states and the world, including couples from South America, Canada, and Finland. We had a spate of cool weather, wind, and some rain, but generally the weather was good enough for tennis and soaking up rays on the beach. I was able to finish FDR’s Deadly Secret by Lomazow and Fetterman, which expostulates that FDR died of cancer and knew about it for years. They do an intensive medical review of FDR’s health, but their conclusions are speculation. I spoke to Dr. Steven Lomazow on the phone a number of months ago, and he denied that his book was politically motivated. But his co-author, Eric Fetterman is an editorial page editor for the New York Post, and I found their conclusions biased, politically slanted and in contradiction to almost all of the universally accepted evaluation of the last two years of FDR’s life and term in office. I also read an interesting book by Hal Vaughan, entitled, FDR’s 12 Apostles, about how FDR recruited Robert Murphy, and how Murphy assembled a staff of diplomatic spies that paved the way for our successful invasion of North Africa. It’s a good read, and it dovetails with one of my essays on General Mark W. Clark, who started his heroic WW II career by landing in North Africa in mufti (disguise) by submarine and small boat to meet with the Vichy French military leadership. It deals with Operation Torch, spies from all of the powers, internal French politics, the role of French Admiral Darlan, his assassination and our eventual landings in Morocco and Algeria. I also finished an interesting book, A Fine Romance, by David Lehman, which was given to me by my son Jon. It’s about popular Broadway and Tin Pan Alley music authored by Jewish song writers and lyricists from Irving Berlin to Jerome Kern, the Gershwins, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein II, and up to Lerner and Loewe and Leonard Bernstein.

He explores the history, personalities, the influence and the connection of their style of music to the popular culture and to other important musical giants like Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, and Hoagy Carmichael amongst others.

We had loads of fun with a wonderful couple from, Heinola, Finland. We struck up a conversation on the beach and we learned that Jari and Sirkku Kovalainen were celebrating their 25^th anniversary in Freeport. We learned all about Finland, and we found out that the Kovalainens were great amateur dancers who loved competition and looked for venues to dance everywhere they went. We both danced with them at the Count Basie Square in Port Lucaya and at the Wednesday Fish Fry along the beach. They were great to watch, and they received plaudits and huzzahs from all of our fellow tourists who got a chance to see them in action.

Jari and Sirkku are youth leaders in Finland, they have grown children, and their dancing has kept them in excellent shape. They, like us, are great fans of Dancing With the Stars. They love American movies, and I recommended that they see The Red Shoes with Moira Shearer, a 1948 cult film classic about ballet. We ate with them at the China Café and Pisces at Port Lucaya. I also introduced them to American-style egg salad, made with chopped onions and mayonnaise. I think they liked it. Jari is an avid stamp collector, and that has been an interest of mine for over 50 years. So we talked about the world-wide interest regarding postage stamps, and what we both collect. I gave him some of the American stamps, which I always carry with me and I promised to look for some of my old Scandinavian issues which I could part with and send to him in Heinola. All in all, we had much in common. By the way, they communicated quite well in English. I cannot say that I was able to retain any of the Finnish words I learned, but it’s tough to teach an old dog new tricks. Coincidently we met a young woman who was wearing a Block Island sweat shirt, lived in White Plains and often shopped at our friend Becky Keating’s shop, the Beachcomer, on Block Island. She is also a former nurse at the White Plains Hospital, where the Keating’s son is an emergency room doctor.

So after two weeks of following the sun, we packed up, said our goodbyes and headed off to the airport with our driver. By the way, one of our drivers, Jayson Scott actually lived in Mount Vernon, and his daughter plays on the championship Mount Vernon women’s basketball team. What a small world. After a 20 minute ride to the airport, we went through security, customs, and eventually boarded a Delta twin engine medium sized jet for New York. The jet holds 76 passengers, was half full, and we were able to stretch out in the emergency row seats. It was a civilized 2 hour and 16 minute flight back to Kennedy. We landed a long way from the terminal,  had to deplane on the tarmac, and entered the airport through a basement door, but our luggage slid into the carousel immediately, We found our ride, and our driver negotiated the Friday night rush hour traffic and we returned home to the deep snows that smothered Watch Hill the previous week. But it looks like an early spring, and our timing to Florida and the Bahamas enabled us to miss the worst of winter’s most recent blast.

President’s Day

2010

Richard J. Garfunkel

Nigel Hamilton is the author of a new book entitled, American Caesars: Lives of the Presidents FDR to Bush. As Hamilton said; the greatest of these Caesars — as the Roman historian Suetonius would have called them — were the first four.

“In FDR the United States found a leader not only committed to rescue America's foundering economy by “bold experimentation,” but when war came, to use America's new industrial arsenal to defeat the empires of Japan and Nazi Germany. He was also a great war leader — patient when battles did not go America's way, but proving himself a great generalissimo in directing the war's political and military strategy without interfering (as Churchill was wont to do) with its prosecution on the ground. It was FDR, after all, who personally chose General Dwight D. Eisenhower to command the D-Day invasion — the largest amphibious invasion in human history, and the making of a great future president, who would keep America out of foreign wars, while maintaining America's global leadership role throughout the 1950s.”

I became familiar with Nigel Hamilton by reading his very interesting 1992, book on John F. Kennedy, Reckless Youth. It was a very controversial book and was never particularly liked by the Kennedy family. Much of it dwelt with JFK’s relationship with his mother, his early years of fragile health, his first college year at Princeton, the Harvard years, his affairs, especially with the alluring Inga Marie Arvad, his heroics in the Pacific, and election to Congress.

Of course, of interest to our family, were the generous quotes from Linda’s cousin, Ensign Frederic W. Rosen (later Lt. Commander, USNR retired) from Georgia. Below Fred talks about JFK:

“I never quite understood, Kennedy being from the Boston area, whey was he was there (Charleston). His job, when I arrived there was on the Commandant’s staff, breaking codes. In other words, when a batch of messages came in, in code, there were a group of five letters or whatever, and instead of breaking that out by hand there was a typewriter that did it for you, and he was sitting there, hunting and pecking on the typewriter putting those codes in, getting the English out of it. And that was his primary job.” Page 462.

Of course, at that time, he was “cavorting” with Inga, who the FBI was tailing. They thought of her as a spy, and it seems like they were hoping to catch him colluding with her in espionage. They were disappointed!

Lieut. Commander John Bulkeley, of New York City, was the hero of the Philippines. He was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor and personally decorated by President Roosevelt for evacuating General MacArthur and his family off Corregidor and to Mindanao, 600 miles across open sea, patrolled by the Japanese Imperial navy. His heroics were chronicled in a best seller, They Were Expendable, and given a ticker-tape parade up Broadway. In his personal meeting with FDR, he also sold the president on creating a large force of PT Boats and wanted permission to start recruiting, “the fighingest, most aggressive, most eager men.” Both Kennedy and Rosen, who were thrown in together in a cryptography unit in Charleston, SC, answered the call for sea duty after being inspired by Bulkeley.

Even though Jack Kennedy was quite frail at the time after spending two months in a naval hospital, he desired some “real” action. Bulkeley wanted 50 men out of the1024 young Ensigns who had stepped forward to volunteer. Bulkeley and his staff settled down with his staff to interview volunteers. Of course it was always debated how Kennedy, with his medical history was chosen. Fifty years later, Bulkeley revealed that he had lunch with Joe Kennedy, Jack’s father. They met at the Plaza Hotel on 59^th Street in New York City. Kennedy, who was just fired as ambassador to England by the president had a lot of bitter things to say about his old mentor. But he did indicate some thoughts about his son Jack.

“Kennedy said that his son was a midshipman at Northwestern, and that he thought Jack had the potential to be the president of the United States. Joe said he wanted jack to get into PT boats for the publicity and so forth, to get the veteran’s vote after the war. Joe wanted to know if I had the clout to get Jack into the PT Boats. And I said I did, and would interview his son the next time I was at Northwestern. If I thought Jack would measure up, I would recommend his acceptance, I told Joe. Mr. Kennedy seemed quite pleased and said he hoped Jack could be sent someplace that- wasn’t too deadly- as he put it..” page 504.

In 1944, he went halfway around the world for the Normandy invasion. Bulkeley led torpedo boats and minesweepers in clearing the lanes to Utah Beach, keeping German E-boats from attacking the landing ships along the Mason Line, and picking up wounded sailors from the sinking minesweeper USS Tide, destroyer escort USS Rich, and destroyer USS Corry. As invasion operations wound down, he got command of his first large ship, the destroyer USS Endicott. One month after D-Day, he came to the aid of two British gunboats under attack by two German corvettes. Charging in with only one gun working, he engaged both enemy vessels at point-blank range, sending both to the bottom. When asked, he explained, “What else could I do? You engage, you fight, you win. That is the reputation of our Navy, then and in the future.” Bulkeley stayed in the navy and retired as a Vice-Admiral.

Of course, there is much, much more. Many have criticized Hamilton’s book and his inferences, but I knew Fred Rosen for over 30 years, and for one thing he was an upfront guy who would never embellish anything. If he said it, it was true. Fred stayed friendly with Jack Kennedy up until his death. He was the only other PT Boat captain who was invited to his wedding at Hammersmith Farm in Newport and was later invited to the White House for a personal tour on March 14, 1962. He represented the PT Officer’s Alumni group, Peter Ter, and returned to the White House to present to the president a Steuben glass model of his boat, PT-109. The model always remained on his desk and one can see it today at the Kennedy Library in Charleston, Massachusetts.

Maybe Hamilton was right. The first four presidents, in what we know of as the post-war era of the presidency, were larger than life. Maybe it was a simpler time when people were willing to go along with leadership and see what played out. I haven’t read his book yet, and I have many others in front of me, but I have been inspired to re-read, Reckless Youth. Too bad Fred Rosen is long gone these past nine years, I would have liked to asked him a few more questions.

Only a few weeks ago the Mount Vernon Community was shocked by the tragic death of George Bochow, Jr., who was a friend to many. I had known that his mother, Mary, had been ill for quite some time, and I am sure that the sad news regarding George was a great blow to her, as it was to all who knew George. I met the late Dr. George Bochow and Mary Bochow, his wife, on the playing fields of Mount Vernon. Along with her late husband, Mrs. Bochow was an important part of not only the Mount Vernon community, but the athletic fields, playgrounds and gyms of Mount Vernon. Where ever the young Bochow children played, their parents were there giving support to them and the teams that they played on. It is too bad that other parents didn’t follow their lead. I remembered their example quite well, and when my son played sports at Solomon Schecter, the Recreation League, and White Plains HS, my wife Linda and I made it our business to support his efforts and support the White Plains’ teams that he participated with. Our society should take a lesson from their commitment to their children and the importance of being close to our children’s lives and activities.

Richard J. Garfunkel

The Journal News 2-10-10

Mary M. Bochow, 89, passed away on February 6, 2010. Predeceased by her husband Dr. George Bochow and her son George Jr. Survived by her 5 children Beryl(Norman) Hay, Alyson (Gary) Cohen, Michel (Peter Francese) Bochow, Brian (Donna), and Gregory. Also survived by nine cherished grandchildren and four great grandchildren. She will be fondly remembered by all who knew her for her kindness and selflessness. A memorial service will be held at Yannantuono Funeral home on Friday February 12, 2010 at 7pm. In Lieu of flowers, to honor Mary's spirit of giving, donations to a charity of your choice would be appreciated. YANNANTUONO BURR DAVIS SHARPE FUNERAL HOME 584 Gramatan Avenue Mt. Vernon, NY 10552 914-699-4010 www.yannantuonofh.com

Chinese New Year 4708

February 6, 2010

The Year of the Tiger

It is always cold in early February here in the northeast. Up here on Watch Hill, which looks down on the wide, frozen Hudson River, it can be especially windy and bone chilling in the winter.

In the Gregorian calendar, Chinese New Year falls on different dates each year, a date between January 21 and February 20. This means that the holiday usually falls on the second (or in very rare cases third) new moon after the winter solstice. In traditional Chinese Culture, lichun is a solar term marking the start of spring, which occurs about February 4.

This year, 2010, the holiday period begins on the first day of the lunar New Year, February 14^th. We wanted to hold our annual party next week, but because of a coming three day holiday, too many people had plans to leave for parts unknown. Bowing to reality, we scheduled our annual Chinese eat-a-thon to Saturday, the 6^th.

This year, according to the Chinese Zodiac, is the Year of the Golden Tiger. The Tiger is the 3^rd sign in the cycle of 12 animals that makes up their Zodiac. The Tiger is the sign of courage that legend tells us wards off three household disasters; fire, thieves and ghosts. On this day one should be happy, to have a smiling face and refrain from quarreling and being critical. The Tiger, being a beautiful animal, is feared and revered equally. It symbolizes, in many Asian cultures, courage, power, passion and regal strength. In the celestial sense of Feng Shui, it is one of four animals which include the Green Dragon, the Red Phoenix, the Black Tortoise and the White Tiger. The Tiger is the female counterpart to the male dragon. The ancient Chinese sages saw in the markings of the Tigers forehead the Chinese character “Wang” or “King.”  In the days of Imperial China, the dragon was the insignia of the Emperor, and the Tiger was the military emblem of the emperor’s greatest, most fearless, and victorious commanders. The Tiger also represents earth, while the Dragon represents heaven. The Tiger is a natural born leader, who is courageous, passionate, daring, active, and self-assured. The Tiger can be optimistic, passionate and independent, along with this independence often comes rebellion and unpredictability.

Alongside the 12-year cycle of the animal zodiac, there is a 10-year cycle of heavenly stems. Each of the ten heavenly stems is associated with one of the five elements of Chinese astrology, namely: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. The elements are rotated every two years while a yin and yang association alternates every year. The elements are thus distinguished: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, etc. These produce a combined cycle that repeats every 60 years. For example, the year of the Yang Fire Rat occurred in 1936 and in 1996, 60 years apart.

The Chinese character for “Yin Earth” represents a field or a garden. It is associated with the quality of moderate, peaceful, intellectual, charming and charitable kind of person. People born in a day of “Yin Earth” are often moderate and harmonious and slim.

People born in the Year of the Tiger are straight forward and uninhibited in nature. They will never give up no matter how frustrated they become. Quite often they love competition, cannot pass up a challenge, appear cool and are unpredictable. Some people born in the Year of the Tiger are gentle and full of sympathy. Among some of the well known personages born in the Year of the Tiger are; Queen Elizabeth II, Mary Queen of Scots, Marilyn Monroe, Tom Cruise, Agatha Christie, Diana Riggs, Jodi Foster, Norma Shearer, Charles De Gaulle, Dwight Eisenhower, Tony Bennett, Tennessee Williams, Alec Guiness, Rudolph Nureyev, Marco Polo, Beethoven, Isadora Duncan, Renoir, Karl Marx, Hugh Hefner, Chuck Berry, and Mel Brooks.

Meanwhile, many confuse their Chinese birth-year with their Gregorian birth-year. As the Chinese New Year starts in late January to mid-February, the Chinese year dates from January 1 until that day in the new Gregorian year remain unchanged from the previous Gregorian year. For example, the 1989 year of the snake began on February 6, 1989. The year 1990 is considered by some people to be the year of the horse. However, the 1989 year of the snake officially ended on January 26, 1990. This means that anyone born from January 1 to January 25, 1990, was actually born in the year of the snake rather than the year of the horse. Many online Chinese Sign calculators do not account for the non-alignment of the two calendars, using Gregorian-calendar years rather than official Chinese New Year dates.

Traditionally the color red is worn on and during the Chinese New Year to scare away evil spirits and bad fortunes. Red is a bright and happy festive color, which is sure to help bring the wearer a sunny bright future. It is considered lucky to hear a songbird or a swallow or a red-colored bird. One should not greet a person in their bedroom, and therefore even the sick should be dressed and be seated in the living room. The use of knives and scissors should be avoided because their use may cut off good fortune. No borrowing or lending should be done on the New Year and the use of off-colored language is strictly forbidden. Good luck is encouraged, by opening doors, windows, switching on lights at night to scare away ghosts and spirits, and candy is eaten to insure a “sweet year.” One also will avoid bad luck by not buying shoes, pants or having a haircut. It is said that on the first day of the New Year one should not sweep the floors or buy any books!

According to custom, the entire house should be cleaned before New Year’s Day. On the eve of the New Year’s all cleaning equipment should be stored away. Shooting off firecrackers on New Year’s Eve is the Chinese way of sending out the old year and bringing on the new. One should open all their doors in windows to allow the old year to escape forever. If one cries on New Year, they could be cursed to cry throughout the year.

Despite all of these forebodings, we did celebrate another edition of our annual Chinese New Year’s fandango. On a cold clear night here in the lower Hudson River valley, all our guests arrived safely and without much of a problem. Like last year, the threat of snow, was on the lips of every meteorological forecaster, up and down, the east coast.

It was clear all week, but a storm started to brew in the south and predictions for a massive storm to hit Maryland, Washington and points north was all over the media. But all the experts were hedging their bets, and most thought NYC would get, at the most, between; 3-6” of snow, and whoever lived above the Cross Westchester Express, Route 287, would probably be spared. As the fates would eventually determine, we lucked out and whole Metropolitan area was hit by nary a flake. On Saturday, we were well prepared for the coming feast. All of our guests were given culinary assignments and came through well. Meanwhile the party was called for 7:30 PM and by 8:15 almost everybody had made their arrival. We served the appetizers downstairs, and the main courses and desserts upstairs.

Amongst our repeat guests were Linda’s old Barnard classmate Abby Kurnit, who is semi- retired from teaching in the chemistry department at Pelham High School and her husband Jeff, who is a professor City University of New York. They brought homemade fried rice. They both are Life Members of the Village Light Opera Guild, and over the years we, along with the Adises, have seen many of their fine productions.

My old buddy Mount Vernon buddy Warren Adis, who is a professor at Iona College, and his wife Mary brought a Chinese pasta dish. They have made every Chinese New Year’s party that we have held. We have traveled often to the New York museums with the Adises. Warren and I met in the third grade (1952) in Mrs. Krohn’s class at the William Wilson/Traphagen School in Mount Vernon and have had many adventures that included being at the NCAA hockey finals in Syracuse in 1967 when our two schools, Cornell and Boston University, collided for the title. Warren met Mary, who was an English gal, born in India, while he was traveling in Europe after his service in Vietnam.

Sol and Linda Haber play tennis with Linda and me in our weekend indoor games. Sol, who played basketball at Yeshiva of Flatbush, long after Warren and I were through shooting the roundballs in Mount Vernon, hits an excellent serve and a potent forehand. Sol is a dentist who specializes in oral surgery and Linda, who is by training a CPA is in the real estate business in Westchester County.  Linda prepared an Asian inspired-salad. This year, their neighbors, Herb and Marian Schoen, were not skiing and were able to make their first experience since 2006. They brought brownies.

Back again were John Berenyi and his wife Eileen, who hail from Connecticut. John has been a frequent guest on my radio show, and we are working on a sustainability and resiliency initiative for the City of Mount Vernon. The Berenyis brought olives and grapes for dessert. As it turned out, Rosalie Siegel did graduate work with John’s wife, and Linda Haber knew the Berenyis when they all lived in Manhattan. Neil Goldstein, the former head of the American Jewish Congress, and now the Executive Vice-President of the Israel Energy Project has been a guest on my radio show, The Advocates, http://advocates-wvox.com , returned with his wife Laura and they brought a delicious bottle of plum wine.  As it turned out, Abby Kurnit knows Neil’s wife, because they taught at Pelham together for many years.

Rosalie Siegel, who is also a Mount Vernon gal, and a former flat mate of Linda’s from Barnard, works for the Port Authority, came with her long-time companion Jeff Tannenbaum, a financial writer. They brought assorted egg rolls and three books regarding FDR, the WPA and Frances Perkins. Another old friend Paul Feiner, who is the Supervisor of the Town of Greenburgh, stopped by for his fifth visit over the past six years,

My friend Rosemary Uzzo, a top-notch educator from Yonkers, who spent 35 incredible years working for the Yonkers’ Board of Education, and is getting her PhD, was able to return after her first visit last year. Rose brought scallion pancakes. Another return couple were Allegra and Larry Dengler from Dobbs Ferry. Allegra is the Co-chairperson of the Greenburgh Office of Energy Conservation, and her husband Larry, a lawyer is a trustee of their village. They also brought brownies.

Two regular attendees, who returned after a year’s hiatus, were Wally and Ronnie Kopelowitz. Wally is an ophthalmologist whom I met many years ago on the tennis courts of County Tennis. They live in Great Neck, and Ronnie is a lawyer and a NYC judge who sits in Brooklyn. Wally is a long-time tennis rival, who punishes his opponents with his wicked baseline slices. They brought kosher chicken and egg plant dishes. They love to travel, and they have finally finished their long re-modeling of their home.

Corinne Levy, one of Linda’s tennis friends, and her partner, psychiatrist Bob Schulman came up from Irvington and added dumplings and tofu to our appetizers. Robin Lyons, another former Mount Vernon resident, who lives in White Plains, was able to escape the ravages of 18” of snow, at her daughter’s house in Princeton, NJ, brought lo mein. Robin, returning after a year absence, is the widow of the late George Lyons, a very dear friend. George was one of the leading experts on baseball in America, and had a remarkable collection of baseball memorabilia that featured unique and rare game-worn baseball jerseys. He also was the eldest of the four sons of Broadway columnist Leonard Lyons and is the brother of Jeffrey Lyons, the movie critic. Debbie Rubin, a regular guest, whom Linda knows from Barnard College alumnae events, again joined us after a year’s absence and brought chicken.

Michael and Marci Shapiro also joined us after a year’s absence. Michael is a lawyer with Carter, Ledyard & Milburn in NYC, which will be eternally famous for giving FDR his first job as a lawyer. It was there in 1907, that FDR predicted to his fellow juniors that he would be elected to the New York Assembly, then be appointed assistant secretary of the navy, and be elected governor of New York. His legal friends, who were quite accustomed to his breezy manner and thoughts on various topics, were very impressed with his frankness. FDR eventually left Carter, Ledyard in 1914, while he was serving as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. His next job was with Fidelity & Deposit Company of Maryland, and there he hired Marguerite “Missy” LeHand. Marci teaches in the Edgemont schools, and their son Ben, who is a talented teenager, plays a great game of tennis. The Shapiros brought bok choy.

Among the few newcomers this year were my old political buddy and friend from White Plains, whose kids went to high school with our children, Kevin Moran and his companion Val, who was a year behind me at MVHS brought string beans.

Last, but not least, were first time guests, Art and Susan Zuckerman. Art and Susan do a great radio show on WVOX devoted to travel, and they combine their show activities by being expert tour guides of NYC.  They specialize in talking about the hidden stories of NY and they brought a DVR about their visit to the Discovery Channel. It was all about the hidden tunnels of Chinatown which were used during the Tong crime wars of the early part of the 20^th Century. The Zuckermans also brought authentic shrimp and beef with black bean sauce from Chinatown. I have had the pleasure of being a guest on their radio show, and Art will be a guest of The Advocates this Wednesday, the 10^th, which can be heard at 12 noon on 1460 AM radio or live-streaming on one’s computer at www.wvox.com.

We supplied the Tsing Tao Chinese beer, other soft drinks and libations, plus egg rolls, dumplings and lo mein.. Linda made sweet and sour meat balls, along with an excellent minced beef dish with hoisin sauce and pickled ginger in lettuce wraps. She also made a minced chicken wrap and an Asian salad. For dessert we had oranges, grapes, fortune cookies, and brownies.

In keeping with the red theme of the holiday, we had red and white plastic plates, cups and plastic utensils made setting up and clean up very easy!!  We had our usual Chinese decorations and candles lit at the front door to lead our guests to our home.

Finally after four hours of culinary debauchery the party ended and everyone escaped into the chilly, but clear air. By the way, “Happy New Year” is conventionally thought to mean in Cantonese, Gung hei fat choi. But that really means, “Congratulations and be prosperous.” In reality the Cantonese saying for “Happy New Year” is Sun nin fai lok. So either way, thanks for coming, we had a great time so let’s look forward to a better year than the last!

The Super Bowl of Eating is Tomorrow!

February 6, 2009

Richard J. Garfunkel

Recent prognostications about eating tomorrow forecast that 30 million pizzas will be consumed by fans of both the Colts and the Saints, along with the casual and curious, chow down with their buddies while watching Super Bowl XXXXIV.

With all that in mind, while Linda and I were watching another DVR recorded episode of “Have Gun Will Travel,” which featured Paladin supping on fine San Franciscan cuisine, I decided to make my culinary choices along with my football pick.

Therefore, before I get into my football crystal ball, my culinary choices are the following:

Hot Dogs- Nathan’s Coney Island, Brooklyn (1916) Yonkers

Pizza- Johnny’s Mount Vernon (since 1942)

Hamburger- Nat’s, Elmsford, NY, Prince George Hotel, Manhattan

Seafood, The Black Whale, Anna’s, Lobster Box and others on City Island, the Bronx

French Fries, Bethany Beach Boardwalk, Delaware, the Farm, Brugge, Belgium (1000 ce)

Chowda in a Loaf of Bread, Alioto’s. Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco (1925)

Oysters and Cherrystones, The Union Oyster House, Boston (since 1826)

Popover’s, General Glover’s Inn, Lynn, Ma., (since 1957), Popover Café, Manhattan

Steak, Maloney and Porcelli’s, Manhattan, Bern’s in Tampa, Fl (1956)

Onions and Tomatoes, Peter Lugar’s, Brooklyn (1887)

Pastrami, Katz’s Deli, Houston Street, Manhattan (since 1888)

Brisket, Leshin’s, 27^th and Broadway (out of business)

Pacific Rim Cuisine, Dish of Salt, Mid Manhattan (out of business)

Lamb chops, Keen’s Chop House, Manhattan (since 1885)

Lobster, Smith and Wollensky, Manhattan, any place in Newport or Maine

Tortellini with Bolognese sauce, Barbetta’s Manhattan, (1906) Ernesto’s White Plains

Veal parmigiano sandwich- Albanese’s, Eastchester, NY (out of business)

New England Clam Chowder, Any food bar, Quincy Market, Boston

Manhattan Clam Chowder, Thwaits, City Island, Clam Box, Cos Cob, Ct (both out of business)

Dim Sum, Empress of China, Grant Street, San Francisco

Chinese food local, Lum Yen, Mamaroneck, Hunan Village, Yonkers

A turkey dinner, The Washington Arms, Mamaroneck, NY (out of business)

Bread- Onion board, Zabar’s, Manhattan (1934)

Triple-Decker Sandwich, Jack and Marion’s, Brookline (out of business)

Greek food local, Santorini’s, Sleepy Hollow

Rye bread, Alters, Tarrytown (out of business), Moishes, Manhattan, Chester Heights, Mt. Vernon

Gazpacho, Columbia Cigar Bar, Sarasota, Fl, Marfil Café, Madrid, Spain

Alaskan Stone Crab legs, Joe’s Miami Beach, (1913) Tale of the Whale, Ocean City, Md

Roumanian Steak-Wilsker’s, County Center, Yonkers (out of business), Sammy’s, Manhattan (1976)

Roast Beef Wedge. Knopf’s Deli, the Circle, Mount Vernon (out of business)

Melon- Hand Melons, Saratoga Raceway, Saratoga Springs, NY ($8-10 per slice)

French Onion Soup- Brasserie, Manhattan, (1959)

Chicken Pot Pie- Durgin Park, Quincy Market, Boston (1942)

Pickles, Guses, (1915)  Pickleman, Manhattan

Roast beef- Downing Square, Manhattan (out of business)

Best Deli in LA- Brents

Best Deli in Palm Springs- Sherman’s

Olives- King David’s Palace, Jerusalem, Israel

Israeli breakfast, King David Hotel, Jerusalem, Israel

Gorgonzola Salad, Manero’s, Greenwich, Ct (out of business)

Italian Food- Lusardis, Larchmont, (1982) Guido’s, Ossining (out of business)

Part II

Of course, without betting interest on this game, the broadcast network would lose about a third of its audience automatically. According to, Mike Francesca, my radio guru on the latest point spread, the Colts are 5 point favorites. As any half-interested sports fan will tell you, betting games with the spread and consistently picking winners “ain’t” easy. With that in mind, I like the Colts, who are the favorites to win the game, but they haven’t done well covering the spread and Super Bowls can be close. The better, who gives the points, always fears a last minute “back-in” cover, when the losing team, who cannot possibly win, scores a late touchdown, while the winning team is willing to have the clock run down and plays uninspired and loose defense.

Personally I would like to see the Saints win. But their play over the past 5 or 6 games has been mediocre. Their last playoff game, they were way outplayed by the Vikings featured four obvious (conceded by the NFL brass) screw-ups by the officials enabling them to squeak out a victory. Bret Favre’s poor judgment on the Vikings’ last possession didn’t help their cause much either.

On a personal note, I would like to see Payton Manning beaten. Not that he isn’t great, and deserving, but I don’t want him placed in the top, top, echelon of quarterbacks of all-time as of yet. Many have anointed him already as the greatest, and if he gets his 2^nd ring in three years, he’ll be more popular than corn flakes and Lucille Ball. Of course, times have changed, and the rules protecting quarterbacks have made his life a lot easier than his predecessors. For my money, the top five quarterbacks since WWII, in no particular order, are: Johnny Unitas, Otto Graham, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, and Tom Brady. Sentimentally, I could throw some others into the mix, namely, Joe Namath, Norm Van Brocklin, Bobby Layne, John Elway and Roger Staubach. So, in the meantime, let’s go Saints.

The Jon Breen Fund

c/o Mount Vernon High School

100 California Road

Mount Vernon, NY 10550

February 4, 2010

Dear Classmates and friends,

The Jon Breen Fund was established to honor the memory of Jon Breen, who passed away in 1993. Jon was an outstanding member of the MVHS/Davis Class of 1963. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, Harvard Law School and a Fulbright Scholar. He was the president of our class, and was an accomplished essayist. After his death, I established the Jon Breen Fund, which has sponsored essays on public policy themes. Over the past sixteen years, the Fund has raised over $30,000, and has given out annual scholarships in his name to essayists. The Fund also awards history prizes in the name of the late Dr. Henry M. Littlefield, a beloved teacher and coach, who had a remarkable presence at Mount Vernon and Davis High School for 10 years.

Recently the Mount Vernon community experienced the tragic loss of George Bochow. The Bochow family has been an essential part of the city for three generations. George’s father was a renowned and beloved doctor who had served that community for over 40 years and George’s nephew Brian is the youngest Commissioner in the city’s long history.

I had the pleasure of knowing George and playing baseball with him in our days at MVHS/Davis. He always exhibited the highest level of sportsmanship and skills and served as a model and inspiration to many of his teammates. George, a member of the Class of 1964, was a leader in his class and a role model for all who knew him. George went on, after a successful academic and athletic career at MVHS to star as an All-American on NYU’s baseball team. He also was a member of the United States Olympic Baseball Team that participated in Mexico City as an experimental sport at the 1968 Olympic Games.

Because of George’s legacy as a great baseball player, I thought it was appropriate to create a baseball award and scholarship in his name. Since announcing the idea for a baseball prize in George’s name, the Fund has raised over $1100. Along with the remaining balance in the Jon Breen Fund, these monies will be pooled, and the Fund will continue giving out its annual awards to seniors at Mount Vernon High School. I was able to meet with MVHS’s fine baseball coach, Walter Allen yesterday, and we discussed the criteria for the George Bochow Baseball Award. The parameters will be the following: senior designees who have combined statistical achievement with sportsmanship and leadership. There will be a select committee, along with the baseball coaches, Walter Allen and John Brogan, who will vote on who will be the recipient. If you, or your friends, or classmates wish to help with this fund-raising effort, please contact me or have them send their check to the Jon Breen Fund c/o George Bochow to the above MVHS address, in care of Ms. Vera Glazewski.

Thank you and regards,

Richard J. Garfunkel

Wall Street and Dim Sum with the Weinfelds

January 31, 2010

Richard J. Garfunkel

We met the Linda’s cousin Natalie Weinfeld and her husband Lewis at the Jewish Heritage Museum today at 2:45 pm. We found a parking space on Greenwich Street, not far from the Customs Building and we strolled over to the museum to await their arrival. Unfortunately they could not find a space for love or money ($35) and we all concurred that paying $35 was confiscatory and not a great investment. The Weinfelds have sold their home in South Orange and are heading to sunny southern California to be closer their daughters, so this was a critical good bye for now. We decided to head to Chinatown for Dim Sum and Lewis took all of us to the Bowery and the Sunshine Seafood restaurant, where Dim Sum is their specialty.

We tried almost everything, within reason, on their rolling carts, and received critical advice from the Asian women who were sharing our table. After various portions of sticky rice, egg rolls, shrimp balls, wrapped shrimp, fish balls, pork on the bone, and other unnamed delicacies, washed down by Chinese green tea, we were quite satiated. 

They are heading west at the end of March and they’ll be missed. But they are both sick of the cold weather, the crazy expenses of the metro area, and inter-continental communication with their daughters.

After our departure Linda and I headed over to Wall Street to see my old office building at 40 Wall, which is now called the Trump Building. The only reasonable thing which was named after the vain, self-aggrandizing hustler was Disney’s famous duck! I had worked at Bache & Company as a junior stock analyst back in 1969. When it was built in 1929-30, the 927 foot edifice was supposed to be the tallest building the world. When I worked there, FDR’s youngest son worked there, and I was always sorry that I didn’t visit with him. I did get to meet FDR’s other surviving sons, Elliot, Franklin Jr., and James, but not John, who died in 1981. Across the street from the Federal Building, where George Washington was sworn in as president, sits the JP Morgan Building at 23 Wall Street. On September 16, 1920, anarchists exploded a 100 pound bomb at 12:01 PM, killing 38 people and injuring 400 others. I went over and looked at the side of the building where there are still holes in the wall from that blast. They were never removed.

Hyde Park, FDR’s 128^th Birthday and the Rose Garden

January 30, 2010

Richard J. Garfunkel

Funny thing about Hyde Park on FDR’s birthday, it is always cold and invariably there is snow on the ground. Another year has passed and I continue to make my semi-annual (at least) pilgrimage to Springwood, the home of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32^nd President of the United States. There have been many changes since my first trip to this old house and property, once known as Crum’s Elbow, over 50 years ago.

The greatest change has been the addition of the Wallace Visitor’s Center, a few years ago, which is named after Henry Agard Wallace, FDR’s 2^nd Vice President, and one of the most popular personages to come out of the New Deal. Like a number of other members of his cabinet, through his long tenure, Wallace was not a Democrat, but was a progressive farm-belt Republican, whose father had been Secretary of Agriculture in the Harding and part of the Coolidge Administration. Henry’s father had a bitter feud with Herbert Hoover while they served in Coolidge’s cabinet, and as a result, according to his family, he died as a result of a heart attack brought on because of their friction. Consequently, Henry Jr. did not support Hoover in 1928 or 1932, when he was opposed and defeated by Franklin Roosevelt.

The Wallace family became the beneficiary of Henry Wallace’s expertise when it came to breeding corn, and his hybrid corn earned the family untold 100’s of millions of dollars. It was some of those dollars that were used to build the visitor center and modernize the Roosevelt Library, Museum and Mansion complex. From my perspective it was a terrific addition and it has served wonderfully as the Library’s auditorium, educational center with its meeting rooms, tour center, and gift shop.

The indoor highlight of the day’s agenda was a discussion between historian and Rutgers University professor Richard Heffner (host and creator of the television show, The Open Mind) and his grandson Alexander Heffner, a student at Harvard, who together have written and published the 8^th Edition of Heffner’s A Documentary History of the United States. They were comparing and contrasting the legacy of FDR’s first inaugural, his 100 Days, and the Obama administration’s first year’s efforts. After their colloquy, they took some questions and autographed their 670 page book for many of the visitors to the center.

As the clock approached the hour of three, I joined many of the visitors on a brisk walk to the Rose Garden, where there was a wreath laying ceremony at FDR’s white marble gravesite. In the bitter cold, Ms. Lynn Bassanese, the deputy director of the FDR Presidential Library and Museum, delivered a brief speech on the 75^th anniversary of the creation of Social Security and the WPA. The West Point Cadets, who were the honor guard, braved the 12 degree cold, and enlisted men from the Point saluted FDR’s life with a 21 gun volley. Those poor Cadets, standing at attention in their dress grays, with swords drawn and black plumed 1814 style hats, seemed half frozen, but they did their duty. After the wreaths were placed at the gravesite, a few more remarks were quickly stated, taps was sounded, and every one headed quickly back to the Wallace Center for coffee, tea and birthday cake. My daughter Dana also shares a birthday on this day, along with some other invidious events: Hitler’s ascendency to power in 1933, Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, and the beginning of the Tet Offensive in 1968. But on a more positive note the FDR Birthday Balls were always held on January 30^th and the funds to eradicate Infantile Paralysis were raised at those balls!

Time waits for no man, and it is now more years since FDR’s death than what he was allowed to live. But his legacy of progressive reform and decisive leadership in peace, and war, are enduring. Gauging the amount of books, articles, essays and discussions about his life and work that comes out daily, his name and impact will be around for countless generations.

…the family still remains the basis of society as we know it, and it must be preserved as an institution if our democracy is to be perpetuated. If we lose the home we are in grave risk of undermining all those other elements of stability and strength which contribute to the well being of our national life. FDR- 1939

The NY Historical Society

January 26, 2010

The NY Historical Society hosted, in their Bernard and Irene Schwartz Distinguished Speakers Series, a program devoted to Longshots and Underdogs, Great Moments in NY Sports, with NY Times Columnist Bob Herbert, narrating, author Bert Sugar, and writer Adam Gopnik of The New Yorker. Bert Sugar has written scores of books on sports, is an overall expert on all of sport and certainly the world’s leading expert on boxing. He was a good fiend of the late George Lyons, an old personal friend of mine and the son of the famed late Broadway columnist Leonard Lyons, of the NY Post’s “In the Lyon’s Den” and the brother of Jeffrey Lyons, the movie critic.

I was the guest of my long-time friend from Mount Vernon, Alan Rosenberg, who brought along another friend, Richie Teichman. Teichman originally hailed from New Rochelle, NY. I was there early and was able to meet and talk to both Bob Herbert and Bert Sugar, and induced them sign my first edition of Grantland Rice’s “Sports Lights of 1923.” Both are quite personable and I had a good feeling about the coming night's discussion.

The evening went as advertised, and the talk was spirited. It revolved around the great upset years, especially when the Jets, Knicks and Mets shook up the NY sporting world from 1968 to 1970. Bert, whose forte is boxing, talked about the first Max Schmeling – Joe Louis bout in 1936, when the legendary Brown Bomber was knocked out and the upset of James Braddock over the highly favored, Max Baer, who was more interested in wine, women and song than training. As to football, Bert also mentioned the two most heralded New York City college victories; Columbia upsetting undefeated, un-scored upon West Point at Baker Field, and those Ivy League Lions upset of Stamford in the 1934 Rose Bowl.

Certainly no NY sports evening would be complete without a discussion of the NY baseball Giants’ stretch run in 1951, that culminated with a playoff with the favored Dodgers. The Giants, with stars like Monte Irvin, Don Mueller and the fabulous rookie Willie Mays were 13.5 games behind in mid-August of the front-running Dodgers, led by Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella and Gil Hodges. At the end of the season, both NY teams wound up in a flat-footed tie for the National League pennant. In the final game of a best of three playoff series, Bobby Thomson hit the winning homerun, known as “The Shot Heard Round the World,” off former Mount Vernon and NYU ace Ralph Branca. That remarkable finish to the Giants’ season was a bit tarnished by their loss of the World Series to the Yankees in 6 games and the later revelation that the Giants’ manager Leo “The Lip” Durocher was stealing the catcher’s signs to the pitcher with the use of a player with binoculars in their centerfield clubhouse. Later, cynics and critics, who had heard rumors of this chicanery, now believed that the remarkable Giants’ home record was unfairly enhanced by this un-sportsman-like activity.

The evening ended, with some book signings, pictures and the usual sports banter. We met Ernestine Miller, a women’s sports historian, and learned that she was a good friend of the legendary sports author, Ray Robinson. We debated about Robinson’s age, both Alan and I thought he was over 90, but she insisted he was 87. In an interview I found on the internet, he said that he had attended his first baseball game in 1928, which was 82 years ago. He did say that he was too young to go in 1927, so he could be around 87 or 88! I even got meet Alan Weintraub and his brother, who both lived in White Plains when I was growing up in Mount Vernon. Alan, who still lives there, and was in a great Dodger hat and jacket, played basketball with a young Mal Graham and the great high school All-American, and future Yale star, Bruce Weinstein on their football team. Their 1961 basketball team also featured my first cousin Steve Kivo. That year would mark the beginning of the end of their long dominance of Westchester County basketball, as the new and unified Mount Vernon High School started to emerge as the great county power. Mount Vernon still continues to dominate Westchester and Section I basketball over the past half century, with 25 Section I titles.

Alan suggested we have a quick bite at “Fine and Shapiros,” which is located at West 72nd Street, and after a quick five block drive and a u-turn, I was able to park right in front. Richie and Alan had soup, and I enjoyed a hearty chicken soup with noodles and kreplachs along with a pastrami on rye. There’s nothing like New York!