loving art, science and creative kids
5/25/2024 10:39:59 AM
FOR LOVE AND FAMILY
It is Memorial Day weekend, a time to remember the relatives and friends who influenced my life. The most important people were my parents, who helped me achieve my goals, even after they died. When I see the chaos and trauma many families endure, I am forever grateful to have had a safe, loving, and secure childhood. I try to use my good fortune to good ends.
Both parents were second-generation children of European immigrants. My mother's family arrived at the turn of the century from Austria and England, and my father's side immigrated around the same time from Latvia to escape poverty and Russian pogroms.
I find their stories to be heroic and inspiring. My maternal Grandfather left Austria after his family farm burned to the ground. I suspect it was because of arson, but I'm not sure. Knowing little English, he and a friend migrated together when they were sixteen. The Jewish community in New York took them in. Grandfather worked while completing high school and learned to fly a U.S. Postal Service biplane upon graduating. Years later, he switched careers to become a financial manager, eventually achieving a seat on Wall Street, serving clients that included Nelson Rockefeller.
Because of his success, Mom was born into a wealthy family. Her fancy New York home was luxurious with leather-lined books in the library and a governess to care for her and her sister. All was well until Grandpa took in a partner who stole from the company's accounts and caused his bankruptcy. I have the wanted posters telling how the man escaped to Mexico. Though life was never the same, Grandpa was resilient. He moved the family to a Philadelphia row house, joined a health club, and became an insurance broker, leaving Grandma to knit sweaters and blankets and care for the household, which included grandchildren who gathered at her home on Saturdays. My mother and aunt followed Grandma's example as at-home moms caring for children and supporting their physician-husbands.
Mom was jealous when I left for college. She had always wanted to attend, but Dad wouldn't let her. He was old fashioned, believing women belonged at home and that men were designed to, as he said, "bring home the bacon." She read voraciously and was active in charity organizations to compensate for her lack of formal education. After learning braille, she became a teacher's aide at the school for blind students, and she and my aunt opened a Holiday gift store in our basement, selling monogrammed specialty items. Proceeds went to charitable causes. It wasn't until she was in her forties that Dad allowed her to become a radiology technician.
Mom was a beacon of light, always there for me. Believing in the power of education, she was determined to learn as I learned. She helped me with homework, joined my dance classes, and was active in charity organizations. Mom listened without lecturing and exposed me to cultural activities and events. Unfortunately, her life was cut short at 48 by a drunken sailor who crashed into her rental while vacationing in Florida. Father was in the hospital for weeks and barely survived. I was inconsolable.
Though my father showered me with love, taught me to play baseball, and took me to Philly games, he considered boys the most important species. Girls were attractive playthings, amusing to have around and care for his needs. He didn't care that I had good grades and might want a career since I didn't have to work. He expected me to marry young and attend to my family. Though I married at eighteen and craved having children, I did graduate from college. Dad's lack of interest in developing my mind made me competitive. I strove to prove that I was more than pretty wallpaper and could excel as a student and mother with a career.
Dad's parents supported their children by running a hardware store in North Philly. His mother ran the business while his father studied Torah at the temple. They died years before I was born. As the eighth of nine siblings, he benefited from the success of his older brothers, who handed down the corner where they sold newspapers. In later years, they paid his tuition to college and medical school. When he graduated, he opened an office in a lower-class neighborhood and charged low fees. Patients lined up outside his office hours before opening. It wasn't until Medicare and Medicaid were passed that he received an income, allowing us to move to the suburbs. Years later, he watched the neighborhood his office was in become a ghetto wracked with drugs and crime. He installed metal gates and endured the graffiti that covered his small building.
One day, an armed man came into the office seeking drugs and terrorizing several patients, his nurse, and himself. The incident triggered Dad to purchase Fritz the dog, a security animal delivered mornings and removed after office hours at eight. Thankfully, the dog was on a leash attached to Dad's desk when a patient was asked to raise his arms during an examination, and Fritz lunged within several inches of the patient's jugular. Though Dad got rid of Fritz, he installed buzzers in dozens of locations in the office, enabling him to continue caring for his patients. Dad was considered a saint by the many patients who attended his funeral.
In remembering the people who influenced me most, I also think of those who had a less fortunate upbringing than I did. My parents instilled a work ethic that enabled me to find the most menial task worthwhile. And though my mother was a Republican and Dad a Democrat, they joked about it without hate. Their differences compelled me to analyze the pros and cons of their positions. They taught me to be adaptable, maintain good manners, and care for my family, and they instilled in me the responsibility to leave the world a better place than it was when I was born.
As I wait for the birth of my first great-grandchild, I am confident the baby will develop a love for learning, have a strong work ethic, and deep family values. The child will care for the environment and realize that no one can be safe and happy unless everyone in their community is well-fed and secure. In the waning years, I plan to continue a life of service and writing books about the environment to inspire younger generations to take action.
Please share a memory on my BLOG SITE of a significant person no longer with you.
Mixed Media Painting of Marilynne and Richard is 24” by 28” framed. Available for
$ 650; shipping included in continental U.S. Contact me at [email protected] for information
5/18/2024 5:56:13 PM
FIRST FIGHT
Don’t Want to Study War No More
The United States, often seen as a beacon of peace, has a complex history. Our military’s involvement in conflicts, both at home and abroad, has exerted significant influence on national and international politics. Despite the term 'Pax Americana' being used to describe the period since 1945, it's a label that warrants scrutiny. We have often found ourselves participating in, and in some cases, escalating conflicts on foreign soil, all without officially declaring the United States to be at war. It’s an underhanded way to hide the truth from the public.
Though Dwight D. Eisenhower warned the nation to be wary of the military-industrial complex gaining more power, his advice wasn’t heeded. We see in Gaza and Ukraine how modern weaponry inflicts large-scale destruction with mounting death tolls. Though the Cold War was frightening, the balance between superpowers kept the use of nuclear weapons at bay. The situation is different today, with Vladimir Putin regularly threatening to use them since invading Ukraine. According to Steven Pinkerton in Scientific American, “The probability of World War III is not negligible.”
The United States is one of the few countries willing to run a deficit by borrowing large sums of money that flow through wars on foreign soil. This year alone, our country allocated $ 841 billion to the Department of Defense, $32.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy (DOE), and $438.0 million in defense-related activities. Imagine if even half of that amount went to fixing our infrastructure, subsidizing housing, and supporting the arts.
The U.S. is the most significant weapons exporter, with its top buyers being Saudi Arabia, Japan, and Australia. When we provide military assistance for fights in Yemen, Gaza, and Ukraine, it is our country’s contractors that profit, but we bear the burden of killing millions of innocent civilians. Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, and General Dynamics are among the giants spending our hard-earned money. Though we like to think of ourselves as peacekeepers, we allowed these companies to profit by destroying much of Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
As weapons become more deadly and conflicts around the world escalate, armed fighting does more damage than good. I often think of our wasteful role in the Vietnam War, how we lost yet eventually became the Communist country's major trading partner. It's time to study non-violent communication and give more power to the United Nations since Congress lost control of the war machine. They should solve Want the world's conflicts through diplomacy and studying non-violent communication rather than military maneuvers. We cannot, in good faith, claim to be the world's peacekeepers while acting with such aggression.
References:
Pinker, S. (2017) Steven Pinker: This Is History's Most Peaceful Time--New Study: "Not So Fast.” Scientific American. Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/steven-pinker-this-is-historys-most-peaceful-time-new-study-not-so-fast/
James, H. (2024) War and Dollars. Project Syndicate. Retrieved from https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/us-dollar-weaponized-and-vulnerable-implications-for-global-security-by-harold-james-2023-10
Sajjadiankkah, S. (2023) How U.S. businesses profit from war worldwide. The Reynolds Center for Business Journalism. Retrieved from https://businessjournalism.org/2023/12/war-profit/#:~:text=
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I look forward to reading your comments below.
5/3/2024 12:35:40 PM
Attaining Perfection is Difficult.
It’s near impossible to do everything right, though some people think automation and robots come closer to it than humans. We want our doctors to be perfect and not make mistakes. Still, what about book publishers? Unfortunately, AMAZON messed up the first few paperback editions of The Water Factory. It must have been surprising for purchasers to open the cover to 40 pages of another author’s book before getting to mine. Unless you think a misprinted book will become as valuable as a dollar with a printing error, I suggest you return it to AMAZON and ask for another. The printing was corrected, so you don’t have to worry.
It has been an exciting two weeks. Launching a novel is not easy. Every author wonders what will bring their book to the forefront of the thousands of books published daily. Part of a successful launch depends on friends and family. In appreciation of your support, I reduced the cost of the Kindle and paperback through the 20th of May. Purchasing it now will put me higher on AMAZON's complex algorithms.
What makes this week particularly exciting is the review The Water Factor received from Literary Titan, which will be shared with 60,000 followers. You can purchase it on AMAZON IN e-book and paperback formats. An audiobook will be available later this month. The Water Factor will be sold in bookstores in time for good summer reading.
To purchase now, go to https://www.amazon.com/Water-Factor-Rightfully-Mine-Novel/
THE WATER FACTOR—A RIGHTFULLY MINE NOVEL
“The Water Factor plunges readers into a gripping eco-thriller set in a dystopian near-future of 2039, a world not so far removed from our own. Here, the scarcity of water drives a tale of struggle, resistance, and survival, mirroring our current global water crisis. At the heart of the story is James Hokama Byrne, a character who embarks on a daring mission to steal water trucks for his drought-stricken community. The novel’s fusion of an urgent environmental theme with the classic elements of a thriller creates a compelling narrative that resonates with contemporary concerns about resource depletion and corporate greed.
Eichinger’s writing is both potent and poignant, vividly illustrating a world on the precipice of ecological collapse. The portrayal of a future where water is a precious and fought-over resource is unsettling yet believable, which is a stark reflection of current global water scarcity trends. What sets this novel apart is the author’s inclusion of indigenous perspectives on natural resources, which I thought was a rich and often overlooked dimension that adds depth and nuance to the environmental conversation.
One of the most riveting scenes in the book is the heist of water trucks led by James. In the dead of night, James and his team stealthily infiltrate a secure compound. This moment of high-stakes theft is not just about acquiring a vital resource it symbolizes a desperate fight against a corrupt system that commodifies water. It’s an exhilarating sequence that highlights the risks the characters are willing to take and the dire state of their world.
The Water Factor is a thought-provoking and timely novel. Its fusion of environmental issues with thrilling elements will appeal to readers who enjoy suspense novels that not only entertain but also inform and provoke reflection. Particularly recommended for fans of eco-thrillers and readers interested in environmental activism.” Literary Titan
Can't help but love them!
If you have questions, are interested in a book talk, or would like a Zoom meeting with your bookclub, contact me at [email protected].
