Sunday, December 27, 2015

2015 THE YEAR IN PICTURES

ASSORTED PHOTOS - 2015 - VIEWS FROM MY WINDOW

WINTER


JANUARY 22, 2015, 4:43 PM
Sunset Time.
(Notice the lack of snow)
The calm before the storm. Boston had a historic, record snowfall last winter.
JANUARY 28, 2015, WINTER T STOP, 9:44am

FEBRUARY 9, 2015
9:47AM, Historic record snowfall; it was like walking through snow tunnels for those brave enough to go out. They were higher than me on both sides.

FEBRUARY 15, 2015
The snow was halfway up the trunk of those trees.
March 17, 2015
Still freezing.


SPRING


March 24, 2015 Brookline Town Hall, Board of Selectmen meeting. Volunteer work for Mass.Sr. Action campaigning for increased insurance coverage for seniors and folks on disability.....





April 20, 2015, Marathon Monday. Helicopters hovered over Beacon Street. Photo taken from my window. Increased security. It's like living in the Jetsons....














April 26, 2015
This is what Spring looks like in Boston in mid-April. Still freezing...but gorgeous color 'Spring Green.' 

 'SPRING SUNSET', April 28, 2015
Still no leaves and still cold.....


May 10, 2015
Michael died. Different world now... 
When Roby died, I saw Bernice throw herself onto the coffin at the end of the service. I never saw anybody do that except in the movies. I had not experienced that depth of grief...until Michael died, unexpectedly at 62. I could feel the severing of our 30+ year relationship, friendship, colleagues like a deep wound - the world went silent and surreal. Life felt like slogging through quicksand.....slow motion.....really there are no words for that loss....

I didn't touch the camera again until July. It was hard to move at all, just putting one foot in front of the other.....Roby 2010, Shirley 2012, Mike, 2015.....the arrival of Spring, budding green leaves after such a harsh winter, historic record snowfall, usually brings excitement and happiness for those of us cooped up with cabin fever; not this year. The world dimmed. A light went out. It's not as bright.
  
SUMMER

JULY 23, 2015, 3:47pm
Nevertheless, it was bright despite my mood. I can't resist the puffy clouds. They don't have clouds like those in California...
APRIL 14, 2015, 9:51am
Approximately the same view without the leaves....winter light. Or as I like to call it, 'relentless grey.'


JULY 28, 2015, 6:58pm


AUGUST  9, 2015
Another loss. I loved The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. The news is so horrible, I like my news with humor. Comedy Central took out a full page ad in the New York Times thanking him. Due to Jon Stewart, first-responders on 9/11 finally got their health care benefits that our do nothing Congress refused to fund permanently all these years. He became their advocate and walked the halls of Congress, strong arming legislators who did not want to speak to them until he finally shamed them into it.

AUGUST 10, 2015
An unexpected, surprise. Out of the blue, I got a call from Noemi, an old friend from Berkeley. We haven't been in touch since the last time I saw her. That was over ten years ago. At that time, she called me and said, "I'm in New York visiting family. I would like to go to a game at Fenway Park because they are talking about tearing it down. Can I come and visit and let's go to Fenway, my treat ! "An offer I couldn't refuse. We went to a night game, sat in the bleachers and had a fabulous time ! In the meantime Noemi got married to Jeff.


AUGUST 20, 2015, 7:20pm
Sunset time....





AUGUST 29, 2015, 7:39pm
SUNSET









SEPTEMBER 11, 2015
2:48pm
Brigham + Women's Hospital
45 Francis St., Boston.
Bobbe died in the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, now the Brigham + Women's; clearly, the hospital construction has overtaken those lovely triple deckers with triangle roofs; the new Cardiac building looms above them; leaving the hospital after appointment with Jeff Katz re. my meniscus tear.

Hospital construction never stops. It's the most congested area in Boston. Along with Beth Israel and the Mass. General Hospital where Ted Kennedy went, hospitals seem to have unlimited funding for building, building, and building... our job here in America is not to let the doctors, the food industry and the pharmaceutical industry kill us. Boston has beautiful architecture. You would never know it by this new construction. Those triple deckers are better examples.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2015
Discovery of old family photo sent by Ken.
Ken, Aunt Ruth, Shirley, Carol, 1998



Discovery of Sandler family photo sent by Bernice. Roby leading the Seder, reading from the Haggadah he wrote. Year unkown.



AUTUMN 

OCTOBER 12, 2015
1:47pm, mid-day, bright sun.
Yours truly. Going for coffee at Starbucks on Beacon Street. Indian summer, very warm day. Standing next to new shop, Trycaviar.com. It's the We Deliver part that's hilarious. I am living in the wrong place. Note the yellow leaves. It was in the 70's but the leaves were turning anyway.

OCTOBER 31, 2015
1:27pm 
Family of bluejays living in the tree right outside my window.

NOVEMBER 29, 2015
9:39AM
Where's Waldo ? Can you find the nest, the home of the Blue Jay family ?

NOVEMBER 26, 2015
4:26pm, Sunset. Shorter days.
Naked trees. All the leaves are gone. A lot of light at that time. Now it's dark, but the days are gradually getting longer. I love the trees on Beacon St. I missed them. They don't have these beautiful deciduous trees in California.

AUGUST 28, 2015
4:44PM
Eighth floor view of same trees in summer.





NOVEMBER 29, 2015
 9:18 AM, View from 8th floor lobby

 DECEMBER 11, 2015
5:50PM
CHANUKAH


DECEMBER 11, 2015
5:51 PM









DECEMBER 12, 2015
9:15pm
8th floor Chanukah party



DECEMBER 12, 2015
10:04pm
Chanukah party
Betty, Kenny, Gary, Clarice + Meadow


DECEMBER 25, 2015
9:22 pm
Meadow, Clarice's dog 





Tuesday, December 22, 2015

ROBY'S YAHRTZEIT + RED SOX REPORT

11 TEVET/22 DECEMBER
Roby's fifth yahrtzeit,
the Winter Solstice, 
the shortest day,
the first day of Winter..... 
miss him... 
it is good to add more light
at this darkest time...





RED SOX REPORT

The Red Sox ended up in the cellar for 2012, 2014 and 2015. Some folks think our 2013 World Series win was an aberration but I don't. The team played their hearts out for Boston after the Marathon Bombing and unbelievably we won the World Series - I miss Johnny Gomes - somehow he always ends up on a winning team - last year he played for the Royals and they won.

A lot has gone on since the end of last season. A lot ! The team has a new President of Baseball Operations, Dave Drombrowski, a friend of principal owner John Henry. OUT with former GM Ben Cherington. Also, Manager John Farrell was diagnosed with cancer and had to leave at the end of August. Asst. Manager, Tovey Tovullo took over and the Sox played better in September than they did all year. I'm just sayin' , that's what happened.The big question we all had in Beantown is would Dave D. have more power to select players than Ben C. Everybody knows it was John Henry's decision not to re-sign Jon Lester. They made a low ball offer. Bye bye Jon Lester to the Cubs where he is playing for former Red Sox GM Theo Eptstein of Brookline.


CHANGE IN PHILOSOPHY - HOT STOVE

Dave D. acquired free-agent David Price, formerly of Tampa Bay and the the BlueJays for a huge, multi-million dollar, seven (?) year contract. All of Beantown now knows Dave D. is calling the shots and not John Henry. Major good thing. However, during the playoffs, David Price could not win a game. Red Sox Nation says he is a good pitcher, he is now our Ace, and we will worry about that when we get to the playoffs !

Sunday, December 20, 2015

CHANUKAH PARTY

SEVENTH NIGHT

We had an eighth floor chanukah party on the 7th night. Rita made a cake and fried artichokes and put out a cheese ball and crackers. I brought the Menorah and my laptop for entertainment. We listened to chanukah songs on YouTube and watched videos.

Betty came from the 11th floor, Kenny, Gary and Clarice and Meadow, her German shepherd.


Friday, December 11, 2015

CHANUKAH 2015/5776

HAPPY CHANUKAH SIXTH NIGHT

THE STORY OF CHANUKAH 

BY ROBERT SANDLER

(An Excerpt....In the Days of Mattathias Maccabeus...)

"The story of Chanukah begins, not with Judah Maccabee, but with another great general, Alexander the Great, of Macedonia. In the fourth century B.C.E., Alexander conquered the world - or as much of it as he could find. His father, Phillip, had previously conquered Greece, which borders on Macedonia. Although Phillip of Macedonia conquered Greece, Greek culture "conquered" him and Alexander - a not infrequent occurrence in human history. It was Greek learning and Greek culture, therefore, that Alexander's armies spread among the various countries that they conquered in the the Middle East - including Judea. (Israel)"
 



Thinking of Roby....his yahrtzeit is coming up....11 TEVET, sundown December 22nd....


















In honor of Roby, there will be further discussion of what is going on with his/our beloved Red Sox in the off-season and believe me, there is a LOT going on ! Ah what has changed with the philosophy of the not-beloved businessman/owner of the Sox, John Henry since he shoved our best pitcher Jon Lester out of Fenway ?   stay tuned....

For a cute rendition of Those Were the Nights of Chanukah by the Yeshiva Boys Choir, click here.