Imagine my surprise upon checking my email in my yahoo account which I do not check all the time, to find an email from a long, lost, distant cousin Alan Zorfas ! I am posting it in it's entirety. Needless to say, I was thrilled to hear from him ! His mother, Irene Zorfas was good friends with Shirley. We saw each other frequently when we lived in Malden and Irene + Shimmy/Sumner Zorfas lived in Peabody. I will add photos when I scan them ! He included photos I never saw before ! Here are photos of Shirley and Julius in NY in the '70's, his mother, Irene, and Shirley MacLaine !
It's your little cousin, Alan.
Somehow
I arrived at the Sandler Family blog that I think you're hosting. I
found a couple of references to the Zorfas family, like running into
them in the old neighborhood and visiting Nantasket. A few observations
and thoughts:
• Red Sox Fever: Wow,
your passion for the Sox is awesome. It parallels my family's
engagement with Boston sports and the World Series wins...who woulda
thought? I hope you haven't forgotten that we went to Game 7 of the '75
World Series. I don't think we knew we were going until that day when
Julius showed up with tickets.
• Shirley:
I've thought a lot about Shirley, from time to time, over the years. I
recall how when my parents went to Israel that Shirley made it a point
to pick me up in Peabody and take me out for dinner almost every night.
Each night had its ups and downs, for sure. I recall Robert, who I
didn't know very well, visited us later in Nantasket and he talked about
Shirley. As a young person, it was the first time that someone had
articulated so clearly for me how society had to look at mental disease
the same way as if someone had heart disease or cancer. I think that
notion helped make me a more empathetic adult. In retrospect, I
appreciate more that Shirley's efforts came from a loving place.
• Robert: On
my 60th birthday (I'm not 14 anymore), my wife Nancy and I, visited
Normandy. I know we grew up with that "greatest generation" around us,
and maybe we just took it for granted. But reading about Robert's
military background gave me quite a chill.
• Barry: The
blog doesn't go deep, but I got a partial sense of how he's doing. I
only have memories of him as a little, happy but a bit unwieldy kid.
Much like I mainly remember you laughing when I'd say, "Pink pink you
stink, blue blue so do you." I think even then I wondered a bit why
that was so funny...:)
• You: I'm
not sure I saw you again, or often, after that Game 7 game. I guess
when you're not actual first cousins, families grow apart. (Honestly,
it happens with most of our first cousins, too.) But it was neat having
you as an older cousin back then, and--now that we're closer in age
(haha)--it was nice to hear your dialogue, thoughts and a few pics.
Anyway,
sometime in the 70s Irene, Sumner, Shirley and Julius took a little
trip to NYC. I attached a couple of pics from my father's
collection...he loved his Pentex. This little snapshot of them is a
throwback, they even looked stylish. Shirley McClain appeared on Park
Ave with her groupies...my father got a couple of neat pics of her.
Anyway, enjoy the pics! I'll keep an eye on the blog. And stay safe and healthy.
Your little cousin,
Alan
PS: Got your email from Judy.
Thanx to Alan Zorfas ! We see the the glamorous couples in Nuevo York looking very stylish and chic. Shirley MacLaine has nothing on Irene and Shirley with Irene's 'Jackie-O' sunglasses. The man in black glasses looks like Martin Scorsese a bit. I wonder if she made a film with him.
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