It was in a rented basement near the college and furnished with members' donated furniture, and years later finding out that some was stolen from luxury apartment house lobbies. We had indirect lighting to set the mood for the necking and what ever else occurred. And it never occurred to me what was supposed to occur, and as a result, for me nothing ever occurred. I smile (yeah sure, I'm really crying into my keyboard) when thinking of those sofas all over the room and I not knowing what they were for; alas, that's another story in my life.

That Canarsie group (the guys) also went to dude ranches and away we went (no one really knew a thing about horses but galloping we went). I remember we were flying on those horses, and all I really knew was that when going uphill, you lean forward; when going downhill, you lean back; we were "Hi-Ho Silver" all the way. Boys in their late teens and early 20's don't know fear; I think that's why they're picked for the armed forces. Who else would charge a bunker with bullets flying all around, finish and boast how "we did it" ... only an 18 year old.

We could have become "Brooklyn cowboys" in Brooklyn by visiting any one of three stables in Bergen Beach not far from where we lived or playing Lone Ranger in Prospect Park. Unlike in the dude ranches, galloping would never happen in Brooklyn. Riding might have been along the wetlands of Jamaica bay, and from the "Black and White Stables" in Prospect, the bridle paths in the park or on Ocean Parkway (the bridle path all the way to Coney Island). Bergen Beach today would be like around the corner (today, stables are no longer there) but then it was a trip and a half. Avenue U in the area of East 69th Street was stable territory. Today it's still the beginning of Bergen Beach, a modest residential area, and don't tell them they live in horse land; they'll resent it.

Brooklyn College in the late 40's was a poor man's Harvard, meaning it was an excellent school. Of course it had all the facilities that a college should have, and I'd say also a beautiful campus with Campus Road going completely around the campus and the LIRR tracks along the south side. At that time it only had four buildings, all Georgian architecture, a large quadrangle surrounded by Boylen Hall (offices and general subjects), Ingersall Hall (sciences), and LaGuardia Hall (library and named after one of our popular mayors, Fiorello LaGuardia). On one side of LaGuardia was a rose garden and on the other side was a lily pond with gold fish and benches around it. Behind LaGuardia at that time was a field used for soccer.

Across Bedford Avenue, which cut the campus in two parts, was Roosevelt Hall (gymnasium and pool), the athletic field, and closer to the far end was the heating plant. Along Bedford on this side was also a walk covered with and surrounded by ivy and plants, somewhat romantic and I always associated it with lovers. I never walked the walk, only looked at it wondering what it was all about. President of the college was Harry Gideonse, an outstanding American intellectual and a tall, imposing man if I ever saw one. He was a brilliant speaker, writer ("Selected Essays On Education And The Free Society"), and I think at one time president of Freedom House. His specialty was economics, and I stood in awe of him.

Brooklyn College had some of the best minds that one could find in any college. Charles E. Passage taught in the Classics department. He made Thomas Mann's "Magic Mountain" and Dostoyevsky"s "The Brothers Kamarazov" come alive.

Bernard Grebanier was in the English department. Tired as we were he enlivened us with his enthusiasm and love of literature. He gave us a new way of reading this work; no question about it, Grebanier was a renagade. He quoted, he dramatized, and he gave new meaning to the Bard's words. Shakespeare's Hamlet ... "Let's read it carefully, and keep an open mind, and we'll see that Hamlet was never one to procrastinate."

And Dr. Harry Slochower, also in the English department. He taught German, comparative literature, and philosophy. I took one literature course with him. There was this controversy over Dr. Harry Slochower which began in the 1940's when Dr. Grebanier accused Slochower of being a member of the Communist party.

Dr. Slochower never denied that he was drawn to Marxist writings and was sympathetic to the Communist party. However, under oath, Dr. Slochower denied the accusations and, since the charges could not be substantiated, he continued to teach and to write. In 1952 he was called before a Senate Internal Security subcommittee regarding "subversive activities".

He refused to state whether or not he had been a Communist in the 1940's, and invoked the Fifth Amendment. Dr. Slochower was then dismissed from Brooklyn College. Subsequently, he was reinstated with more than $40,000.00 in back pay, but was again suspended on charges that he had made false statements under oath at the Senate hearing. He then resigned and spent the rest of his life practicing psychoanalysis.

This was a bad time in our country; it was also known as "The McCarthy Era" ... an era that many would prefer to forget. I don't think we should forget it, but rather remember it and make sure it never happens again. I leave it to any reader to put those three words in any search engine (google it?), and make sure you include the quotes.

And as far as Jews being prominent in the movement to socialism in Russia (1917), yes, many young Jewish students in Russia were on the front. But there was good reason for that; before socialism, they were subject to the cruelties of the Tzar. There's another word you can "google" (pogroms), and spell it just like that, and for one word, you don't need quotes.

I quit college in third year (a confused 21 year old) and struggled in various jobs (wasn't easy but I survived; more than survived, I grew, matured, but never totally as I think the kid is always with us, just that with some adults, the kid is with us more than with other adults), returned after three years to graduate with a BS degree, worked in two welfare departments (now called Social Services) and then went into the teaching profession and at the same time, got married.

I'm not going to review any part of my career with the Board of Education as a person has to be more than his/her career, or job, or whatever he/she does for a living. I think my oldest daughter might disagree with this. We all want interesting jobs, we like to "make a difference" and earn enough to satisfy the important needs of living. But that's all a career should be, a means, a means to doing the more important things in life. Maybe with my daughter I'll make this one exception and devote the following page to her: The Healers ... she must be one of the best.

I was good at whatever I did for the "system" ... I say system in that it became apparent that the system's first concern was always to maintain the system. Educators (I use that term somewhat sarcastically) will talk about children till the cows come home, but first on the real agenda is self-maintenance. That's the way it is. I did well from natural ability but was never a workaholic. I did work for some and found that they are obsessive careerists who often lose the sense of balance in their lives by focusing on their jobs as an end, rather than a means. People often define their own worth, and the worth of those around them, by their position on the corporate ladder, or the prestige of their profession. They are often plagued by jealousy of others more successful than they are and waste precious energy in competition and "office intrigues". After retirement, such people often suffer from depression and low self-esteem since they no longer hold the position that defined them. I was the opposite; I know who I am, I love who I am, and I love every moment of my retirement.

Before getting married I bought a boat, an Argocraft, I think 16 feet, which had sleek lines and a 40HP outboard motor. All I know is that it went fast, took all the swells of Jamaica Bay and that part of the deeper water called the "Tin Can Grounds." I had a steady group of fishing friends and went out for mostly fluke and flounder. Owning a boat was exciting (an ego trip too), until some kids stole it from the slip in Mill Basin where it was kept. After seeing it half submerged not far from this slip, all the excitement of boat ownership went out with the tide. But for awhile, Captain Ahab sure had his day.

We got married on a December 25th at the Park Inn Hotel, Beach 114 Street, Rockaway Park, NY, and both had the following week as a school vacation. My test for a teacher's license was during that week so there I was, a 28 year old being tested on two different fronts. Interesting, I failed that first teacher's test, but I like to think I passed that other test ;) We traveled all around this country and as you know, teachers have that time. One trip was for an entire summer, 14,000 miles, where we visited almost every national park with a small camper. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone; it's really hopping around. But I got it out of my system, and now if anyone says "Did you see bla bla bla, I can say "Oh yeah, I was there, etc. etc. etc.

I think a lot of travel is just about that; it makes for some conversation, another icebreaker in social situations. There are opportunities to learn when traveling, but you have to get off the tourist track. Most don't do that. Some just like to "get away" and some just want to "escape." What do they say? Wherever you go, you'll meet yourself. As for learning, you should know there are enough miracles in a spoonful of garden soil to keep you amazed for the rest of your life, that's if you're interested. And wasn't it Marcel Proust who said, "The only real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes" – I'll let you interpret that but I think it makes my point. Another note, and not to give the "empire" state any needed PR, but of all the tourist sites I've seen, and I've seen all the tall mountains and deep valleys of this country, the most awesome site of all (my opinion) is Niagara Falls. Getting up close in front of it, behind it, along side it; is an experience never forgotten.

I passed those civil service tests (assistant principal, principal), we had children, did a lot of camping (both tenting and pop-up trailer, a Skamper tandem wheeled trailer, some call that cool), I was even on the stage playing the part of Captain VonTrapp in The Sound of Music, JB Biggly in How To Succeed in Business ..., also played Mame's friend, Lindsay Woolsey, in Mame, another great show (all in local theater). Woolsey was a relatively small part, but they say there are no small parts, only small people. I don't believe it. Anyway, I did all this acting because I enjoyed it, and I suppose I should be doing a few things that I don't enjoy, you know, in spite of myself. Nothing wrong with enjoying what you're doing, but one can easily become a creature of comfort.

An aside: I can't help thinking of Marlon Brando's words: "Acting is the expression of a neurotic impulse. It's a bum's life. The principal benefit acting has afforded me is the money to pay for my psychoanalysis." Well maybe he's right about acting; but maybe when you enjoy something, you shouldn't let logic get too much in the way. On one hand this, on the other hand that... Well, I dye grass, er, digress, and before I become totally confused, let's continue...

Until I was nine or ten, we lived in a house in Canarsie (south west corner of Avenue K and East 95th Street) where we shared a bathroom with another family, everyone using the same claw-foot tub (different times, of course), and I slept on a cot in the living room. Our landlord's name was Medici, and they tended their grocery store, vegetable garden (cared for by the old grandfather), and a magnificent grape-vine (they made their own wine, like those friends make out on Long Island; these people also make their own tomato sauce for the entire year for a few families). Back to the Medici's (wonder if they were related to the Medici family that ruled Florence and were the most prominent patrons of the art in European history; they also provided the Church with three popes and married into the royal families of Europe ... thinking back, Tony Medici (?) who shot me in my groin with his bee-bee gun? Could he have been royalty? I doubt it, no relation).