Life in California .X x V. ,OO

Hello everyone

New friends
Al and I on right

Playing around

  Life was good! It was the first time, since Al and I got married, I have seen Al so happy and satisfied with his work!We made many new friends, some were parents,of Karen's kindergarten class and   the others were teaching at the same Hebrew School, and others were designers  and costumers, Al met in his furniture business...

  Among the businessmen,whom Al befriended, was Maurice Donenfeld, another Furniture Manufacturer, who's nickname was Marco... Al and Marco, who enjoyed each other's company decided to introduce their wives... We got together at Marco's Furniture factory and took off for lunch... Harriet and I 'hit it of' at first sight, connecting right away, by our common bond of 'yo-yo' dieting! The four of us were the complete opposite in many ways, but the differences, did not stop us from becoming "Best friends"...  Al and Marco's furniture business, dealt with different kind of clients, which right away prevented any kind of competition... Al's  dealt mainly with the Hospitality Industry (Hotels, private clubs and fine restaurants.) While Marco, catered mostly to the Home Furnishing Industry, which  eliminated any business competition, between the two of them... The four of us spent a lot of time together: dining out, go to the movies, get season tickets for two theaters and the Hollywood Bowl and traveled together... Al and I, who had several groups of friends, often invited, all of them to our home, to celebrate some of the many holidays of the year.... Below are photos of several Jewish holidays...

Karen on Rosh Hashana	Sukot	Karen on Chanuka	Karen on Purim	Karen (right) Passover	on "Pesach"

   Our 'Gentile' friends (non Jews) would invite us to celebrate Easter and Christmas, which were new    for me and made it a delightful experiences... Besides celebrating the American holidays, we took the opportunity,  to celebrate American and other ethnic holidays, like the 'Chinese new Year'...

Chinese New Year	🍀 Harriett and   I on "Saint Patrick"	Cinco de Mayo	Karen's and Shira's 4th of July cake	Halloween  Shira and Darlene	Thanksgiving Lyle is cutting the turkey

   Harriett's Playful inner child, was even bigger then mine! She insisted we call ourselves "The Four Musketeers!" I was the 'Youngest Musketeer' in our group, of four and wasn't very experienced with      the American way of life... Our daughter Karen, was only four years old,when we met Harriett and    Marco, who had two older sons and a twelve years old daughter... They immediately embraced us as         a part of their family; insisting Karen calls them 'Auntie Harriet and Uncle Marco'. Harriett took upon hersel, the job of teaching  me, how to bring Karen up 'properly', in the 'environment' of the American schools... She was especially worried about the time, Karen would start Junior High, where her daughter Jolie was at that time... She suggested, which classes Karen should be taking, when her turn comes, and was telling me how very important it was, to befriend the most 'popular girls' and try to win over the "Bitches" among them...It didn't help to remind my new friend, that Karen is still in Kindergarten, since According to "Auntie Harriett", I 'Must' make sure, that Karen will be a Cheerleader, because this is one  of the ways to become Popular in school!  She also instructed me, which classes and  what after-school activities, Karen should be taking, in order to be with the Most Popular Guys... I thanked Harriett for her good intentions, asking to remind me all this, in ten years, when Karen will become a 'Teen Ager'...

 First grade

 Mirman school

 

   Karen was tested as a 'Highly Gifted' child. Her kindergarten teacher and principal, recommended she skips the last year of kindergarten and begin first grade at the Mirman School for Gifted Children. She was only five years old, the youngest in her first grade class, when she joined this prestigious school... Years later, I will regret that I didn't keep her one more year in kindergarten, so she could have another year of care free childhood... After her third year at the Mirman School,we decided to move her to the Temple School of Stephan S. Wise, where she stayed for the next two years... The next move was to an excellent Private Middle School, named after the well known rabbi -Solomon Shechter...

Karen's Bat Mitzva	Karen with her favorite teacher	Solomon Shechter Middle School	With favorite teacher/rabbi	Karen's"admirers"... at At her Bat Mitsva

   One memorable summer, Karen and a few other students, were selected from California's High Schools (As well as others all over the US.) To fly to Russia and join in what was called :"The Peace Caravan"... This Caravan, was combined of several buses, which would take the American students, to different parts of Russia, in order to meet Russian high school students and begin a 'Peace Dialogue' with them... Karen who wanted to be with her friends in summer camp, was reluctant to go... I needed all the strength (and patience...) which a Teenager's mother could summon, to convince her, that this Amazing Opportunity, may be one of the most important events of her life; where she and other kids, who were "Hand Picked"  to represent the American youth, would be able to take the first steps necessary, in order to create the possibility of Peace, with our leading communist country!

Pre revolution palace	A welcome with bread and salt	The Americans' gift (Karen on the left)	The tomb of the unknown soldier	Karen and Stalin

In a museum (Karen in red)	On the left with her new friends	In the center with Russian teens	With a little Russian girl	With a Russian officer

   Two years later, when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, I would say to Karen:"Do you know how  Powerful you are? Look at what you you are capable of doing!" To which she answered, like the typical teenager she was: "Oh Mom!"... Summer camp was always one of the greatest sources of fun and joy for our daughter! Besides making new and lasting friendships, she enjoyed the out doors life of Swimming Horseback ridding, Mountain climbing and many other activities, like meaningful conversations and discussions with all her new close friends.Each summer, Karen would climb a step higher in the camp Hierarchy; A Camper to a Junior Counselor, a Counselor to a Dance Instructor and finally, the coveted position of becoming the 'Song Leader'! Eventually, she would meet her first " Real Serious boyfriend"  Jonathan and begin a relationship which would last three years...

♫ Summer Time and the Living is Easy ♫	Karen and Jonathan	Jonathan and Karen	Madly in love...	With Robin and boyfriends

   The Buckley High School, was another great experience! Unbeknownst to us, most of the students in this schoo,  were the sons, daughters, nieces or nephews of well-known parents in the Hollywood's Movie and Music Industries... The years Karen spent there, were extremely enjoyable. Our home was filled with happy teenagers,who's company Al and I truly enjoyed; it seemed to be mutual...(Especially after they found out that Al smoked pot...) Karen told me, how one of her new girlfriends (who's father was a well known Actor) told her how annoying her Dad's Fame was, since people would stop them, wherever they went to ask for Autographs.This friend told Karen:"Your mom and dad, are the first 'Normal parents' I got to know!"  Th two of us laughed and then I asked; "What was your answer?" Karen looked in my eyed and winked: "As you well know mom, the ward 'Normal' is Relative"! And we laughed again...

  Below; Karen's at school and during the celebration of her Sweet Sixteen party in "Dar- Ma -Grab",          popular Moroccan Restaurant in Hollywood, where we often visited and took our gusts to dine in...

  Below, graduation from High School! An Emotional Event for the student, as well as for their families...

   My father-in-law, Al's dad, often talked about the fact that time is passin to fast,"Before you know its over!" He used to say. Only now, as I look at the photos in this post, I understand better what he meant The photos above are showing our "Baby" Karen, at her High school graduation, getting ready for her collage... It seems as if it was just yesterday, when I took her for her  to the "Mirman school for the very Gifte" when she was only five years old... I remember standing behind the fence, wiping  tears from my eyes... Before realizing, Karen was getting ready to leave us and go to collage in Washington D.C. After one year only she came back to California, transferring to the University of Santa Barbra with her new friend Tammy... A year later, she would move again, this time to UCLA... I was concerned that Al and I started a bad habit, of school-changing during her formative years and told her so. Karen laughed:"Don't worry Mom, you taught me a Very Important Lesson in Life: If you are not really happy with something, you can always be happier by changing the situation!"

  After Karen received her driver's license in High school, I finally had more time to farther my spiritual   and Metaphysical knowledge... Shortly after we moved to California, Al and I took a seminar called EST which was one of the most important 'Mind Expending' experiences, I would ever go through! I also took other seminars about Chinese Energy Healing, Aroma and Essential Oils and several others, like "The Healing Vibrations of Sound and Colors"... I studied  Clinical Hypnosis and "mixed" together  all this  knowledge with other information, which I have been gathering throughout the years...My work was         a great source of satisfaction; however, there was one more wish to accomplish: A PhD in Human Behavior,from New Port University, which I did... I didn't realy need more Titles and was laughing    when one of my nephews said: "Shira is the only person I know, who never stopped going to school! 

With Love and Light,
Shira