This was an interesting week. Monday morning my Alliance of Delray board member associate Margie Walden and I attended a presentation by Janice Friebaum, Senior Planner of the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County at Zinman Hall, Donna Klein Blvd., Boca Raton.

Ms. Friebaum, a brilliant lady I wrote about when I met her more than a year ago when she spoke at a Holocaust Memorial service locally, outlined the results of an 18 month research project on Senior Services. The study was done to determine how best to utilize funds reserved to address the unmet needs of seniors in our community. The report found the needs of this population are vast and varied. The goal of the study was to gain a thorough understanding of the landscape of local senior services that presently exist, how well the needs re being met by these services, and what actions can be taken to address the most critical unmet needs.

To obtain more detail about the study, or offer assistance contact Janice Friebaum at 561-852-3100.
********************************************************************************************************
Tuesday morning I received a phone call from a friend in New York City that I hadn’t heard from in over 20 years. Jerry Moss, who I did business with for many years called out of the blue. At age 89 and retired, he and his wife Bernice and their three adult children are doing well. I was thrilled to hear from him.

Sam Costanza, a mutual friend of ours and one of the senior executives of the company I worked for had dinner with Jerry a few months ago when he visited New York, from his home in Las Vegas. Sam asked Jerry if he ever heard from me he would like to speak to me. Jerry gave me Sam’s phone number and I called him that afternoon. I hadn’t seen or spoken to Sam in 25 years. Sam, also retired, is 94 years old and sounded strong as ever. He was built like a fullback and always kept himself in good physical shape. We agreed to stay in touch—sooner than 25 years from now.
************************************************************************************************************

Phil Levenstein, Palm Beach County Health Department’s Cities Readiness Initiative Coordinator held the first of three briefing meetings of the Vizcaya Readiness Initiative volunteer staff of 25 residents Tuesday evening July 21, 2009 in the main ballroom of our clubhouse.

“These volunteer workers will be responsible for mass antibiotics dispensing in case of a medical emergency such as an Anthrax attack,” said Phil. He is in charge of recruiting 5,400 volunteers in Palm Beach County to man 45 dispensing points to administer medications in case of an attack.

**************************************************************************************************************

To read my story in Sunday July 26 Sun-Sentinel CLICK HERE.

> Discuss this entry

Here's an essay by another one of my senior Creative Writing students that resonates:

Where in the world I would like to be and why . . .
By Mrs. Pat Regan

Cruises, boat trips, land tours, car trips, camping . . .
we’ve done them all.
After a while, the new city looks very much like the last one
and all the museums and churches blend together . . .
Where I would like to be is a place with beauty
and a mixture of stimulation and peace.
For now, that place is Florida in the winter.

Florida.

I like the cultivated beauty.
Who decided long ago that palm trees were so special?
But for many people they are . . . and you don’t need to go to Hawaii to find them.
They blow in the breeze outside your window and line the multi-laned roadways.
Sun, blue skies, fluffy clouds, birds singing, reflecting water
All help to complete the pleasant picture.

Dressing in shorts and wearing bathing suits feels wonderful.
I have grown tired of years of winter jackets, slippery roads and shoveling snow.
Recently my oldest grandson visited and spent time trying to connect poles and
knock down a green coconut from a palm tree outside our back door.
That’s was his focus and challenge for about an hour
and then it was off to the Everglades and alligator wrestling . . .
My brother e-mails me pictures of Colorado mountains covered in white
and people in pools heated by hot springs. Done that already.
I’m happy with the condo pools and facilities
where we walk in water, talk and swim on a daily basis.

A comfortable bed, a good book, soft, gently hugging clothing,
the right combination of companionship and solitude . . .
simple things to look forward to . . .
Good food, cooked or ordered in rest aurants; freedom to come and go;
Stimulation for the senses but not too much stress . . . .
Reasonably good health . . Always knowing nothing’s perfect . . .

It’s not really a place but more a state of mind . . .
Variety. A smile freely given and reflected back.
The touch of a hand in yours or a hug.
A voice saying your name: Pat, Hon, Mom, Grandma . . .
Someone who knows you and cares about you . .
And someone you know and care about, too . .
That’s where in the world I want to be.

**************************************************************************************

Traffic Alert for Wednesday April 1:
Heavy Rains Affecting Traffic PGA Boulevard at U.S.1 and Military Trail
Palm Beach Gardens – Heavy rains in northern Palm Beach County have caused roadway flooding along PGA Boulevard at U.S. 1 and also at Military Trail in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) officials report. Crews are on site working to clear the roadway in these two areas; however, motorists are advised to seek alternate routes if possible or to proceed through these areas with caution.

********************************************************************************************************

> Discuss this entry

Martin Schiller is one of the students in my Creative Writing class. I want to share with you
this beautiful poem he wrote:

Faith By Martin Schiller © 2/29/09

Faith is a state of mind.
It is the line between believing in….and knowing that there is a God.
Faith is having that inner strength to trust in God when all is lost.
Faith is that hidden voice that says “Thank You God” at seeing the sun slip into the sea.
Faith is the bridge between pessimism and optimism.
It is a grandmother’s certainty in her progeny’s talents.
Faith is the bond between a dream and success.
Faith is that short distance between “I can” and “I cannot”.
It is that glow in a mother’s eyes at the first sight of her new-born baby
Faith is a mother’s conviction in her child’s ability.
Faith is that glue that holds a family together.
Faith spans the distance between disaster and triumph.
It is the pathway that leads from self-doubt to victory.
Faith is that inner voice that says “Hold-on!”
Faith means to join the robin in its morning song.
Faith is watching your baby take its first steps.
Faith is the arrow to tomorrow when the load today is too hard to tow.
Faith means to await the morning sun during a violent storm.
Faith is to bask in a mother’s embrace after being hurt.
It is to awe at the universe when we gaze at the stars.
Faith means to trust in your anchor in times of distress.
Faith means to trust in someone, or something, bigger than you.

> Discuss this entry

Beginning Monday, January 5, 2009 and each Monday thereafter through March 23 I will once again conduct two classes at Kings Point, off W. Atlantic Ave. that are open to the public: From 1:30 to 3:00 PM the class will be on “How to Write The Story of Your Life,” for those that want to leave a record of their life for their family and friends. From 3:30 to 5 PM on that same day we give a “Creative Writing” course for more experienced writers.

You can sign up for either course by going to the Kings Point main clubhouse. Tell the guard you want to see Daun who is at a booth to the left of the front entrance. Daun will enroll you and give you directions to where we meet, the Sewing Room. You can call Kings Point's Diane Bruens for further details at 499-3335, Ext. 126.

> Discuss this entry

December 7, 2008 marks 67 years since Pearl Harbor was attacked. We honor the memory of all those lost on that day.

That Sunday I was a month away from my 18th birthday, visiting my father in his tenement apartment on 9th Street off Ave. C on New York’s lower East Side, listening to radioStation WOR broadcasting the N. Y. Giant football game when the announcement came on telling everyone we had been attacked.

Here is a Timeline of a few events I have selected from the Authentic History Center Website to give you a flavor of the day:
1:23 p.m. EST (7:53 a.m. in Hawaii): the first Japanese bombs fall on Pearl Harbor.

1:28 p.m. EST (7:58 a.m. in Hawaii): from Ford Island on Oahu, this message is relayed to Mare Island Naval station in San Francisco Bay: “Air Raid Pearl Harbor. This is no Drill.”

2:00 p.m. EST (8:30 a.m. in Hawaii): NBC Blue begins broadcast of Great Play. NBC Red begins broadcast of Sammy Kaye’s Sunday Serenade. CBS begins broadcast of Spirit of ’41.
The kickoff starts the football game between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers at the Polo Grounds being broadcast by WOR in New York.

2:26 p.m. (8:56 a.m. in Hawaii): WOR interrupts their coverage of the New York Giants vs. Brooklyn Dodgers football game at approximately this time.(How many people recall that this game had a sell-out crowd of 56,000 when the announcement was made for all military personnel to report to their base?)

10:30 p.m. EST NBC Red: Sherlock Holmes: Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce star in “The Mystery of Mrs. Warren’s Lodger.” The program is interrupted at 10:39 p.m. to announce that President Roosevelt will address a joint session of Congress tomorrow.

> Discuss this entry

Bonjour from Paris. I promised to share some quick impressions from my latest business travel to Europe. I have always been - and remain - a huge fan of working and collaborating with colleagues in Europe. There are so many cultures from a variety of countries living so close to one another. As a result, business meetings in Europe through my experience are very often filled with colleagues from multiple countries with the ability to speak in not one, but regularly 2, 3 even 4 languages. For those of us not so fortunate to speak in more than 1 language, it is a quick reminder of the imperative in Europe to work and communicate across cultures.

There is a balance of very focused business discussion with collegiate and personal interest discussion. Unlike our typical business meetings in the States, meetings in Europe always include regular and somewhat lengthy by American norms, coffee and tea breaks. The uninformed typically assume these are truly breaks where productivity stops. In fact, I've always found it is quite the opposite. The "breaks" are opportunities to form and improve relationships, further discuss the topics at hand, but sometimes in a slightly more casual manner and always with excellent European-style, strong coffee. There is something just a bit more polite and traditional about these multiple, mid-meeting pauses throughout a normal working day.

Anyhow, getting ready to head back home. Talk to you soon!

> Discuss this entry

We bought a new queen size mattress Sunday afternoon for our master bedroom.

Sunday morning at breakfast Lucille said (the Mrs.), “I’ve been thinking about this for the past few months. They say you should change your mattress every ten years.”
“Seems like we’re slightly overdue,” I replied. “We’ve only had this one 21 years.”
Where should we look? I asked.
She quickly came up with a few local well known names: “Mattress Giant, Baer’s, Carl’s, City Furniture, City Mattress.”
“I like that City Mattress fella on TV,” I said. “The kid with the dark hair could pass for Rudolph Valentino.”

After lunch we leave our West Delray domicile and tool down to Dixie Highway in Boca to City Mattress. After a few minutes wait, sales lady Roz greets us and asks “How can I help you folks?”

“Believe it or not lady, we’re here to buy a mattress to replace a lumpy 21 year old model,” I’m thinking to myself. But we politely ask her to show us a few models, that we only need a mattress, not a box spring since we have a platform bed—also 21 years old.

“What kind of mattress would you like?” she asks.

Lucille says “Not too soft. We both have bad backs. Has to be firm, but not too hard, and it can’t be too high. I’m short.”

“Here, try this one,” Roz says. So we both lie down and try it.
“How much?” I ask.
“This one is $910,” says Roz.
“Too much,” I tell her.
“Do you have a budget in mind?”
“Yep, as low as we can go.”
“Now, honey be realistic,” chides my better half. “Something around $5-600 would be reasonable, Roz.”
Ten minutes more of lying down and standing up on three more beds, we both agree on a Simmons Beauty Rest model in our price range and buy the mattress.
“Fastest sale you ever made,” I said to Roz. She smiled. “When do you want this delivered? she asked.
“Tomorrow will be fine,” says Lucille.
At 11:30 Monday morning the old mattress (and I do mean old) is put on the truck and the new beauty is plopped down on the platform. By 1:30 that afternoon I gave it a test ride for a 30 minute nap.
Right now it’s 2:30 Tuesday morning. I’m going back to bed and get better acquainted with my new mattress.

> Discuss this entry

We were impressed recently with an article on the internet by Mr. George C. Fraser. He offers Tips to “Click” when meeting people, either in business or socially. Mr. Fraser kindly gave us permission to reproduce his article in this space.

(This is the final installment of the George Fraser Top Ten Tips to CLICK: From 1 to 10. Top 10 Tips to "CLICK" Quick

By George C. Fraser, Founder and CEO of FraserNet, Inc.

I've accomplished a lot as America's networking guru, but my beginnings were humble. I was born in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of 11 children (8 boys and 3 girls). At the age of three I was placed in foster homes where I spent the next 15 years. The difficulty of those years and growing up on the streets of New York left me with little hope and few expectations.

Although my guidance counselor suggested I drop out of high school, I graduated from high school with a vocational diploma in woodworking; the school system did not consider me college material. Thank God I felt differently. For several years, I mopped floors on the midnight shift at LaGuardia Airport while I attended college.

Over the next three decades, I used my Ten Truths and tapped into the hundreds of relationships I developed to build one of the largest professional networking organizations in America. It was my way of testifying to the spiritual paradigm of ONENESS and the power of people working together. It is also a testimony of the strength of one man who dared to dream—despite insurmountable odds.

I believe the goal of all networking is to CLICK: to create the win-win. For those in business, "time is money." To this end, CLICK: Ten Truths to Building Extraordinary Relationships helps answer two critical questions: Do you find yourself wasting time networking and investing in business relationships that don't add value? And, why do some business relationships never work and others seem to CLICK?

From a personal perspective, doesn't it feel good when you CLICK (create a win-win) with someone? Wouldn't you like to know how to do it more often and enjoy the benefits of extraordinary relationships in your business and life? The following Top 10 Tips to CLICK will give you the tools you need to build extraordinary relationships in business and in life … quickly.

1. Be Authentic: Be who you really are. Have an agenda, know why you're there, what you want and need. Be on your best behavior—but always be yourself.

3. Find a Need and Fill It: Help someone with their child, health, or wealth and you will CLICK quick. Using the paradigm of ONENESS, pretend you're in a contest with the other person to see who can genuinely give, serve and add value first. Always look for the win-win.

George C. Fraser, master teacher and visionary with rare combination of business and people skills, is chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc. He founded FraserNet, Inc., the nation's largest network of black professionals, business owners, and community leaders, and is the author of Success Runs in Our Race (Harper Collins, revised 2004) and Race for Success (William Morrow, 1998). This article is based on his latest book CLICK: Ten Truths for Building Extraordinary Relationships (McGraw-Hill, 2008). For more information please visit www.frasernet.com or www.10truths2click.com.

Road Construction Update:
Atlantic Avenue under turnpike to close overnight Wednesday. Beginning at 9 P.M. drivers won't be able to drive under the overpass until 5 A.M. the next morning.

> Discuss this entry

We were impressed recently with an article on the internet by Mr. George C. Fraser. He offers Tips to “Click” when meeting people, either in business or socially. Mr. Fraser kindly gave us permission to reproduce his article in this space.

(This is the second installment of the George Fraser Top Ten Tips to CLICK: From 1 to 6. Final installment of All Ten early next week.)

Top 10 Tips to "CLICK" Quick
By George C. Fraser, Founder and CEO of FraserNet, Inc.

I've accomplished a lot as America's networking guru, but my beginnings were humble. I was born in Brooklyn, New York, into a family of 11 children (8 boys and 3 girls). At the age of three I was placed in foster homes where I spent the next 15 years. The difficulty of those years and growing up on the streets of New York left me with little hope and few expectations.

Although my guidance counselor suggested I drop out of high school, I graduated from high school with a vocational diploma in woodworking; the school system did not consider me college material. Thank God I felt differently. For several years, I mopped floors on the midnight shift at LaGuardia Airport while I attended college.

Over the next three decades, I used my Ten Truths and tapped into the hundreds of relationships I developed to build one of the largest professional networking organizations in America. It was my way of testifying to the spiritual paradigm of ONENESS and the power of people working together. It is also a testimony of the strength of one man who dared to dream—despite insurmountable odds.

I believe the goal of all networking is to CLICK: to create the win-win. For those in business, "time is money." To this end, CLICK: Ten Truths to Building Extraordinary Relationships helps answer two critical questions: Do you find yourself wasting time networking and investing in business relationships that don't add value? And, why do some business relationships never work and others seem to CLICK?

From a personal perspective, doesn't it feel good when you CLICK (create a win-win) with someone? Wouldn't you like to know how to do it more often and enjoy the benefits of extraordinary relationships in your business and life? The following Top 10 Tips to CLICK will give you the tools you need to build extraordinary relationships in business and in life … quickly.

1. Be Authentic: Be who you really are. Have an agenda, know why you're there, what you want and need. Be on your best behavior—but always be yourself.

3. Find a Need and Fill It: Help someone with their child, health, or wealth and you will CLICK quick. Using the paradigm of ONENESS, pretend you're in a contest with the other person to see who can genuinely give, serve and add value first. Always look for the win-win.

George C. Fraser, master teacher and visionary with rare combination of business and people skills, is chairman and CEO of FraserNet, Inc. He founded FraserNet, Inc., the nation's largest network of black professionals, business owners, and community leaders, and is the author of Success Runs in Our Race (Harper Collins, revised 2004) and Race for Success (William Morrow, 1998). This article is based on his latest book CLICK: Ten Truths for Building Extraordinary Relationships (McGraw-Hill, 2008). For more information please visit www.frasernet.com or www.10truths2click.com.

Road Construction Update
S.R. 806/ Atlantic Ave. from a point east of S.R.7/ U.S. 441 to a point west of Lyons Rd.
Construction began on January 7, 2008 on 0.5 miles of S.R. 806/ Atlantic Ave. from a point east of S.R.7/ U.S. 441. This $756,745.68 construction project including milling and repaving of the existing roadway, drainage improvements, guardrail relocation and new signing and pavement markings. The project is being built by Ranger Construction Industries, Inc. and is expected to be complete May 2008.

Restriction: There will be alternating lane closures from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday, April 21 through Friday, April 25. Flagmen will be onsite to assist motorists during lane restrictions, delays are expected.

> Discuss this entry

Best Wishes to All for a Merry Christmas

and a Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year

Mort Mazor

> Discuss this entry