I'm watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and can't help indulging in memories.  Daughter Andrea and I will enjoy Thanksgiving dinner with grandson Adam's family, that includes my great-grandson Grayson.  But my mind has gone back to the late '30s when my Dad would take my sister Fran and me to that same parade.  And what an excitement it was for us!


In retrospect, I must have been 7 or 8 years old and Fran about 10, when my Mom would bundle us up and we'd be off with my Dad for the 30 minute train ride from our home in Mount Vernon to New York City and the wonderful parade.  The Macy's parade, some 80 year's ago when we went, it's now in it's 92nd year, was a miniature of what it is today, and there was no television to watch it on, but we were awestruck at the giant balloons that they had even then.                                                       
Wow, that was a long time ago, but watching today's parade brought back really lovely memories of a very happy childhood.  In retrospect, we were barely middle class, wealth-wise, in those days, but that really didn't matter.  Not if you had a father who was willing to deal with two very excited little girls, on a very special day.  Thanks, Macy's, for great memories.


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My sister Fran and me, with our Dad.

  

I have a favor to ask my blog readers. . .

Most of my many readers know that my much loved great-grandson Grayson is autistic. Grayson, who is now 7 years old, is non-verbal.  He has been undergoing a new stem therapy program that hopefully will have extraordinary results.  It is horrendously expensive and until this point I have been sharing the $4000 per infusion costs with my grandson Adam and his remarkable wife, Amy.


I will let Adam describe to you what is happening and why they have decided to set up a GoFundMe page.  This is what he posted yesterday on Face Book.

-----Original Message-----
From: Adam Anker
To: Jo Spector
Sent: Mon, Nov 5, 2018 2:02 pm
Subject: Grayson gofundme

https://www.gofundme.com/stem-cells-for-grayson?pc=ot_co_dashboard_a&rcid=0a53ead6ecd44bc79c2324037a1d9ad9

 

My apologies for using my blog for this reason, but possibly this is one of the most important things I can do to help Adam and Amy and Grayson.  His next infusion is scheduled for December 17th.  Even $5 will greatly help the kids in this effort. My deepest thanks for clicking and reading the website above.

Joan      

 

Pardon me as I take a look back. . .

It's Saturday morning and I was watching Jack Hanna"s "Into The Wild" on the Animal Planet when I I found myself thinking about what a remarkably interesting life I've been privileged to live.  Hanna, on the TV, was in Africa, a fascinating country that I've been to twice, the second time with my grandson Adam who was 14 at the time. (Adam will be 40 on his next birthday.  He still remembers the trip. We won't mention my number that is coming up on the 19th of this month.)

Hanna was learning all about venomous snakes and watched as scientists anaesthetized a cobra to be able to extract venom that was then used to create anti-venom for treatment of snake bites.  That took me back to my pr days when I represented the Serpentarium in Miami and used to bring press to watch the incredible snake man, Bill Haast, extract venom from very wide awake, very scary, cobras.  Working for The Serp, as we used to call it, was like no other client I ever had, and I've had some beauties.  Especially since I was, and still am, deathly afraid of snakes.

Next, Hanna was in the Florida Keys, watching as a giant sea turtle that had been badly injured, was now healthy and was being released back into the ocean.  That took me back really far, when I was the pr director for an advertising agency in Miami that represented the Florida Keys and Key West.  I went to the very Preserve that Hanna was visiting and participated in baby turtle releases that were covered by the press at my urging.  The press loved those kind of activities in those days, not so sure they do any more.

My public relations business took me to an incredible number of interesting places. . .Spain, France, Italy, California, New York.  My love of travel has added multiple more fascinating visits. . Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, Morocco, Gibraltar, Alaska, Russia, China, Thailand and most recently, Paris, Prague and Budapest.  I've skied in Gstaad and hot air ballooned over the Burgundy wine country, as well as hiked the Appalachian Trail.  I even spent eight days on a raft doing the rapids of the Colorado River. Let's face it.  I've been an adventurer most of my adult life.  The list goes on, because in April, Paul and I are going to The Galapagos, one fascinating place that has been on my bucket list but I've never been.  Can't wait to commune with the tortoises.  Obviously, I still love to travel.

If I sound like I'm reminiscing, I plead guilty.  With a birthday coming up in two weeks, I guess it's a given.  Nice to know I have no regrets when it comes to exciting life experiences.

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Just call me the new Weather Girl.  I spent Saturday volunteering at Discovery Place for the Family Science Olympiad and they assigned me to something called the Weather Desk, working together with a very bright 17 year old named Maggie.  She handled Clouds and Tornados, and I was in charge of inviting kids to "roll the dice and learn about water".  Don't ask me what qualified either of this for these roles, but we were remarkably successful and the kids seem to really love our table.

The Discovery Place is a science museum mostly designed for kids although last winter and spring I was a docent there for the DaVinci Machines exhibit.  You know me.  I just keep volunteering.

We started at 11AM and I quit at 2, leaving Maggie to hold down the fort for the final hour.  17 year olds can stand on their feet and talk, talk, talk for a few more hours than us older guys.

Every once in a while a male staff member would show up on the staircase immediately across from our table with a museum "resident" in tow.  First it was Peaches, a giant Cayman lizard who was amazingly good natured when the kids petted her.  Then there was Bella, a boa constrictor, who apparently didn't mind being stroked either, although I abstained on this one.

It was quite a day.  Take a look at some of the photos I took in between explaining how water never goes away and can be found in lakes, rivers, oceans, ground water, soil, for animals, and in the clouds.  Just ask me.  I'll tell you all about it.
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Maggie explain about clouds to kids.

Say hello to Peaches, the Cayman lizard.  She was a big hit.

The sign on my table.

My end of the table before the kids came.

Rolling the "dice" on the weather.

Maggie making a tornado in a bottle.

Do you believe in fate???

Most of my blog readers know that I am the official cat description writer for the Charlotte Humane Society's website.  I show up, usually on Monday afternoon, and "interview" the new cats, taking a quick photo of the information card on the front of each cage giving the names of the cats inside, then taking an equally quick photo of the cats themselves so I will recognize who I am writing about when I get back home.

I do the writing on my computer on a site called Vestafy that ultimately places the descriptions on the actual HSC website.  Vestafy is where I find the names of new cats that need descriptions and yesterday I was amused to find that one of the new kittens has been named Joan.  It's not unusual for the staff member who does the naming to use names of people working at the Society, so I was just amused and couldn't wait to meet my little namesake when I arrived there today.

When I asked where I would find the cat named Joan, I was pointed to the cages in the Main Lobby.  That's when I got my first glimpse of the name card on the cage. 






















Now let's talk about fate. . . or maybe coincidence.  I met my dearest and closest friend when we were 6 years old.  We grew up together.  We lived in the same apartment house. . me on the first floor, she on the 4th floor.  We went to college together.  She introduced me to my first husband, and I introduced her to hers.  (OK, so we both got divorced and remarried, but we stayed BFFs).

Her name was Judy.  Mine is Joan.

My dearest friend Judy passed away a few years ago, but I am still in touch with her husband, Leo, her daughter Nancy and her son, Stephen.  I think she was sending us all a message.

I'm still mind blown at the coincidence.
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Joan on the left.  Judy on the right.

An incredible day. . .

I've written in the past about my volunteering at the Charlotte JCC"s "Butterfly Project", where 5th through 12th grade school children come to learn about the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust.

Yesterday, a group  of volunteers, including Holocaust survivor Irving Bienstock, who is an important part of the Butterfly Project, were invited to visit the Community School of Davidson's Annual Holocaust Museum Exhibition.  This incredible project was started 11 years ago by the school's art teacher, and is recreated and added to each year over a four month period from February through May by the students of that year's 6th grade.

The docents for our visit were two 6th graders, Leah, 13, and Addie, 12.  These two remarkable young women led a group of 5, of us for close to an hour and a half, through each of the exhibit rooms, explaining what we were seeing and answering our questions.  It was a memorable, and very emotional, experience.

I am posting just a few of the photos from our visit.
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The entrance to the exhibition

Our docents, Leah, 13, and Addie, 12

Setting the stage.

Addie explains as Leonard Marco & Irving
Bienstock listen.

 L

Footprints in a freight car carrying Jews to
a concentration camp

125 people who have traveled in a car this size.

The art work of the children at Terezin

Butterflies are the symbol of hope.

Meet me at the Pet Palooza Festival

It was Bark in the Park time on Saturday, as I made my way to Independence Park in Charlotte's Uptown area for the Humane Society's annual Walk for Animals.  The event included a 2k pet walk, but since I'm a cat volunteer person, my job was to help volunteer photographer Maria Goto with her photo assignment.

What an incredible day!  Never saw so many huge dogs, medium size dogs, and tiny little dogs, in my life.  And so well behaved!  Many were dressed in costumes for the prize portion of the event which even included a Doga (that's yoga for people and dogs) layout.  All proceeds from the walk and festival will benefit the Humane Society, and over $100,000 was collected throughout the day.

Herewith, some of my very unprofessional photos. . .

Meet Micro & Chip.  I'm the guy in the middle.

Home made dog cookies???

Doga  - Yoga for people & their dogs.

Gorgeous huge dogs

Adopt me, please!!!

Adorable little dogs

Resting up after a very busy day.

 

The Pet Palooza Walk gets underway.

Remembering Elvis. . .

Priscilla Pressley was on the Today Show this morning talking about a documentary coming out called Elvis Pressley: The Searcher.  I don't know much about what kind of searching Elvis did, but it made me remember a time in the early 50's when my first husband, Artie Mogull, was working in New York City as a song plugger for various bands, and had just returned from a trip to Memphis, Tennessee.  Artie went on to become a legend in the music business, as CEO of Columbia Records and discoverer of talent like Olivia Newton John, Kenny Rogers, The Kingston Trio and Peter, Paul & Mary. He was known for his ability to recognize talent early on. 

This was long before his halcyon days, however.  He was just out of college, we were  married only a few years and I was home in Mt. Vernon with our new little baby, Andrea.  He returned from the trip and was telling me over dinner about this remarkable local concert he had attended.  The young guy who was singing was playing the guitar and shaking his hips like crazy.

"I never saw anything like it," I remember he said. "He wore really tight white jeans kind of pants and you could  see the outline of his black underpants through the white.  The girls in the audience were all screaming as he sang, and when he finished, they actually threw their underwear up on the stage.  It was the wildest scene I ever saw."

I asked him the singer's name.  He thought about it for a few seconds and then said "Elvis something.  I don't really remember. Probably never hear about him again."

That was definitely one time you were wrong, Artie.
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I admit it. I'm crazy about animals.

It's great to have friends who do interesting things.  Saturday morning, during my five day quick trip to Miami, my old friend Diane Dickhut invited Paul and me to come to ZooMiami, where she is a tour guide as well as head of the zoo's volunteer association.  Sure, you can just walk around the zoo and look at the wonderful animals, but with Diane at the wheel of her golf cart, we got the full treatment, including back-of-the-house tidbits about the animals.

ZooMiami is nothing like the zoo's of my childhood.  I remember my Dad taking my sister Fran and me to the Bronx Zoo when we were kids.  Today, I realize with sadness that those animals were all in cages, staring out at us literally from behind bars.  At ZooMiami, any sign of a cage is long since gone.  Animals roam freely, in wide open habitats, separated by deep moats from the visitors, but close enough to be easily seen.  The emphasis is on conservation, breeding and the best of care.

Barney The Gorilla

Diane at the wheel

Great guide, great friend.

Mom and baby, born at Zoo

It is an amazing place and I can't thank Diane enough for a marvelous morning.
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Gone to the dogs, and loving it!

.

Is there anyone who knows me well that doesn't know my favorite TV show is Pitbulls and Parolees?  Well today, I got to live my addiction in spades.

The phone call came on Saturday from Cassie Peterson, Animal Care Manager at the Charlotte Humane Society.  "We are going to celebrate St. Pitties Day on Facebook on March 17th," she announced.  "All adoption fees will be waived for the event.  We need you and Maria to help us on Monday when you come to do the cats." 

St. Pitties, I quickly discovered, was short for Pitbulls, and I was to do the descriptions of the dogs and Maria Goto was to take the photos.  I am now on intimate terms with 20.. .I said 20. . of the most incredibly handsome and totally delicious pitbull mixes you have ever had the pleasure of meeting.  I have to write the lady in charge of the shelter on the TV show that she is absolutely right, this is the most misunderstood dog breed.  Every single one of the 20 we worked with this afternoon couldn't have been sweeter or more loving.  Never got so many kisses in my life.

Cassie bought bags full of St. Patrick's Day party stuff to dress the dogs, a challenging business to say the least when you try putting a hat and sunglasses on a very active, extremely happy to be out of his or her cage, dog.  Thanks to staff members Amber, Leona and Dyshan, we managed it, one dog at a time, working for some 2 1/2 hours to record each and every one.  If it helps to get some of them  adopted, it will all be very worth while.

Below are a few of my photos, not Maria's.  It was an exhausting but truly incredible day.


Maria hard at work.

This is Sugar Baby.

Say hello to Sparky.

Couldn't have done it without the wonderful
staff.

Cassie giving instructions.

It's raining cats and dogs. . . .

As I have already blogged, my official job at the Charlotte Humane Society is interviewing the cats up for adoption and writing their descriptions.  Just how long did anyone who knows me well think I could keep on ignoring the dogs.

A new friend named Maria Goto is the volunteer photographer of both the cats and the dogs.  We meet almost every Monday afternoon to work together on the cats and today she asked me if I could stay a little longer and help her with the dogs.  I was hooked.

It breaks my heart to see how many large dogs end up at the HSC. The older dogs, especially the pit bull mixes, are the hardest to get adopted. Fortunately, we are a no-kill shelter.  That's why I was delighted to snap photos of Starsky and Hutch, because they have both just been adopted and are on their way today to their "forever home".





Hutch

 

Starsky

The Infirmary, checking in a new arrival.

His name is Keeper and he'd love to be one.

This is Bon Jovi.  I wonder if he sings.



This is Bono.  I think he's musical also.

The Charlotte Humane Society does an incredible job getting both cats and dogs adopted to loving homes and I love feeling that I may be helping that happen, even for just a bit.  Maria photographs the dogs out of their cages, with help from someone a lot stronger than me.  I couldn't resist taking my own photos of just a few of the dogs whose names made me laugh out loud.  Here's hoping that some of them find their forever home before long.  They certainly deserve to.

 

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Butterflies fly free. . .

I tried being "a lady who lunches", but to no one's surprise, it just doesn't work for me. Which leads me to an unusual volunteering project, at the Charlotte JCC, that I am really enjoying.

Let me introduce you to "The Butterfly Project".  I never heard of it either, but it is a national project designed for school children from the 5th to the 12th grades, to learn about the 1.5 million children who died in The Holocaust, and to remember them by painting a ceramic butterfly for each of their names. It is an amazing experience.

First the kids, many who have no prior idea what the Holocaust was really about, gather in an auditorium to meet one of two actual survivors, watch a film of their experiences, and have a chance to ask questions.  The discussion, led by Lori Semel, the head of the project here in Charlotte, leads to talk about prejudice, discrimination of religion and races, bullying and outright terror.

Next, the kids go into a large room set up with tables.  Here's where I come in.  When I first volunteered for the Project, I helped set up the room in advance of the kids arriving. Today, for the first time, I became a "presenter".  The one standing at the front of the room, talking to the kids, and leading the discussion.

Glazing the painted butterflies to ready them
for the kiln

At each place there is a paper plate with a small ceramic butterfly on it.  There is also a printed sheet where the student writes his or her name over the name of one of the 1.5 million lost children.  Each is asked to say that name out loud as a means of remembrance.  Then they paint the butterfly after learning that each of them will eventually become part of the huge butterfly sculpture on the grounds of the JCC.

It's an amazing project, with over 30,000 Butterflies already created at the Charlotte JCC alone.  I feel very honored to be part of it, and wanted to tell you about it.

School children painting ceramic butterflies.

Every child paints his or her own design.

First I talk about the importance of a name.
Then they paint.

The incredible Butterfly Memorial to the Holocaust
Sculpture on the grounds of the JCC.

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