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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