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Friday, November 22nd, 1963 at 10:30 AM, Pacific Standard Time, I was at my drawing board working on a technical literature project for the U.S. Navy. I was
a technical artist employed by a company in Glendale, California. One of our fellow artists excitedly rushed into our work area and shouted, “I just heard on the radio that our president was shot in Dallas!” We received this outcry with shock and disbelief. It was too incredible to be true! Within a couple minutes someone borrowed a radio from another section and we all sat motionless listening to a network radio newsman reporting the tragedy from Dallas.

A short while later, actually at 11 AM, the newsman [I seem to remember Walter Cronkite, although I'm not sure!] reported that President Kennedy was pronounced dead from an assassin’s bullets. We sat stunned, motionless. No one in our group could believe that JFK was dead… and by an assassin!

Perhaps, a half hour later, our supervisor, Len B., announced that all departments
would be closed and Monday, would be declared a “Federal Day of Mourning.”
I quickly drove the 30 minutes home to my small apartment in Hollywood and
immediately turned on my black and white TV. I was glued to the TV, it seemed, day and night through the entire weekend and Monday. I witnessed on TV the
arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald; the amazing, unbelievable ease of Jack Ruby killing Oswald; the gut-wrenching sight of the horse-drawn caisson carrying the body of the President to the Capitol Rotunda in D.C.; the endless lines of people paying their respects to the fallen JFK; and watching the funeral of our beloved President with the emotions of wife, “Jackie,” Caroline and little “John John!”

This momentous, mind-boggling tragedy will be forever ingrained in this 79 year old mind’s memory along with the Japanese sneak-attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941!

6:30 a.m.- I hear Ela and Gefen talking. Wakes me up. Can’t go back to bed. Got a lot to do today! Its going to be hot… high of 33 (94 degrees)!

7 am – I make a turkey sandwich for Ela to take to Gan. Look over and answer some work emails. Let Gefen know that she will go to Ela’s daycare and be a helper until 1 pm. Drop off Peugeot car to have it serviced down the street with Benny the Mechanic.

8:15 am – Drop off Ela and Gefen at Ela’s afterschool program. Tell Gefen to be good and watch after the kids.
Go back home to get Ben and on to my office where the previous night I downloaded the historic WWII film, “The Longest Day”, the 1962 film covering events leading up to D-day invasion and its aftermath.

9:00-10:00 am – Ben is set up in the conference room to watch the film and while I have a meeting. I call Jerusalem’s locksmiths to have them come today. They say they will call later (they never do)!

10:00 am – Leave Ben watching the movie and tell him not to fast forward through the “boring parts”… he actually listens! I take some receipts and forms to be given to my accountant.

10 – 11:30 am.– Go to doctor’s and drop off forms with accountant as their offices are next to each other. After dr. appointment, I go shopping in Machane Yehuda and buy vegetables, challah and other items and then shlep them back to my car, 15 minutes away.

11:30 am. – Back to work. Ben is now near end of film and ready to play games. I work for another hour and then arrange to pick up a friend near exit of Jerusalem.

12:30 – I pick up Dov, who has volunteered to help build our sukka. Gefen is picked up and Ela has agreed to go to her friend, Shani’s house. However, when I get there Ela sees me with Ben and Dov and then changes her mind. I have to bribe her with an ice cream to go to her friend’s home.

12:45 pm. – We all begin to build the sukkah. I decide that we need food; the previous night I took out hotdogs and wings to cook a bbq in addition to assisting with construction of the sukka. Dov and Ben do most of the work while Gefen makes decorations.

2:30 pm – We finish! Looks good! We are hungry and enjoy the bbq. Gefen takes 12 wings of which I downsize her portion to 5 wings!

3:00 pm –We clean up and organize everything.

3:30 pm – Dov and I go to collect Ela from Shani’s and take Dov back to Jerusalem. Lots of traffic. I bring ice pop for Ela. Dov and I have them as well. Still very hot outside!

4:30 pm – Back at home. We now decide to continue decorating the sukkah. Lots to do. Ela draws pomegranates and others decorate.

5:25 pm – Off to swimming at Neve Ilan with all three kids. Exhuasting!. Kids fighting a bit. Gefen says she does not want to swim, but I bring her swimming suit, anyways.

5:45 pm – I go to work out. Gefen goes swimming as does Ben, Ela is in swimming lessons.

6:30 pm – I finish working out. Play ping pong with kids. Get Ela the promised ice cream and other kids want them as well. I succumb!

6:50 pm – I drive home after kids take showers. Ruth calls as I am about to go in the shower with Ben. Lots of shouting in car on way home. Speak to Norb and Judy while kids yelling in the back. Judy reminds me to pay FedEx bill!

7:10 pm – Arrive home and Ben mistakenly slams door on Ela! She screams and needs ice applied. She is fine.

7:30 pm – Mac and cheese are prepared for the girls; Ben eats leftover bbq.

8:00 pm. Wash dishes, clean up, and sweep outside. Dishes are inserted into dishwasher. I go to Benny the Mechanic and pick up my car and pay by check. Car is blocked in so I have to wait 5 minutes to get neighbor to move his car!

8:30 pm – Everyone brushes their teeth. I have talk with Ela about sucking her fingers. Read to Gefen her favorite book on loan from Aunt Laura.

9 pm – Everyone in bed except Ben, who watches football documentary (documentary special on Herschel Walker) with me and then he hits the sack.

It’s not over, but too tired to write more!

On Friday, September 30, Eden (who is almost 2-1/2) began sleeping in a “big girl” bed. Daddy converted her crib into a day bed by taking off one side of her crib. Eden’s first instinct was to jump off of it onto the floor over and over. Luckily, she’s not far off the ground. That night she went into her bed and shortly after she called for her mommy and daddy and demanded that she sleep in their bed. Of course, they let her, but the next night, when Eden marched into her room and jumped into her bed, she did the same thing. Eden ended up falling asleep in her parent’s bed and then mommy swooped her up and shipped her off to her big girl bed where she slept all night. On another note, Eden’s love of singing is also exploding. She has always loved music and hearing her mommy and daddy play and sing songs together, but now she is enjoying musical theatre. Her very first “movie” (dvd) was on September 18 at her Papa Ron and Grandma Mia’s (Randee) house where they introduced her to “Annie”. She has watched it several times since and is even singing the theme song “Tomorrow” – at least parts of it that she has memorized.

DREAMS OF GEFEN AND LIRAZ