Harry and Beatrice Epstein Photo by Barry Epstein game on television. Ron, was really cool and he had a drum set in his room and was very much into golf. Ron and Jeff played golf together often and were always talking about it in front of me but never invited me to play or asked if I wanted to learn it. This felt a bit weird for me as they knew I was very good in sports and no other friends had ever not included me in activities particularly sports. I later discovered that my Aunts and Uncles were wealthier than us and there was a class distinction issue and our family were regarded as the lower class. That is probably why all dinners seemed to be at their houses and not ours. This was made even more obvious when my other cousin, whom I had only seen on rare occasion, Sissy, married a very wealthy person, David, that was essentially a bully to many in the family including me. It is interesting to note that my cousin Jeffrey became a lawyer and was arrested for some fraud and Ron wound up working for David who bullied the hell out of him resulting in some law suit regarding stealing!
The other side of the family seemed a bit better but these Aunts and Uncles were seen less frequently possibly because they lived further away in Long Island, New York. One of my uncles was a hypnotist and one time I remember him putting my sisters and me in a post hypnotic suggestion state that when he mentioned my Mom’ s name, we all got up and went over to give her a kiss on the cheek. We smiled as we did it, but it was autonomic.
My Mom and Dad who spoke English and Yiddish tried to get me to go to Jewish school I think in about 2nd grade. We weren’ t really that Jewish as we celebrated the main holidays but that was about it. After a few times attending Jewish school, I really couldn’ t see any value to a hyperactive boy who really wanted to get out and have fun and not look at an ancient language and culture. So after a bit of kicking and screaming I got out of that but I was forced to have my Bar Mitzvah when I turned 13. This is an awful event and it is very difficult to memorize so much particularly when it was boring as hell. Because the local Synagogue was under significant renovations, I had to have my ceremony in the Civic Hall. I hated every minute of it and in my mind any parent that makes their kids do this and uses money as a carrot should not be allowed. I think that I netted about $ 2,000 cash and I cannot recall where the party was held if at all.
Cub scouts later turned to Boy Scouts as I got older but the fun was still the same. Only the education got more intense and I was singled out to attend an Ivy League level training facility called Schiff Scout Reservation located in central New Jersey. In addition to learning a wide range of camping and survival techniques, I also learned to teach these. After graduation from this prestigious school, I was in demand from many of the other troops in our region, where I would go to their meetings or overnight camps to teach what I had learned. Everyone was eager to hear what I had to say and it was so positive. I was able to participate in National scouting jamborees and then all of a sudden it seemed to have stopped. Perhaps I was too old and it was time to move on. I can’ t remember the exact date but I must have been in High School by now.
I had learned to be a good marksman in boy scouts so I joined the rifle team in my high school. I had my own. 22 caliber rifle and a rifle case that I used to
Marcelle and Harry
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