I lost a good friend last week. His name is Morris Newberger, but he was generally referred to as “Brother” Newberger in my family. He and his sister Babbette lived with my maternal grandparents for a while after their parents died prematurely. Morry built a wonderful life from nothing, became a successful entrepreneur, a philanthropist, a good father, a good brother, and a loving husband. I learned a lot about my grandfather from him, and I’m glad I got to know him, albeit late in his life (and mine). I will re-connect with that leg of my family when I go down to Buffalo on Friday to celebrate Babbette’s birthday. Morry’s daughter will come in from Dallas for the occasion and I look forward to catching up with some cousins I haven’t seen in many years. I’m starting to see members of my ever-shrinking family disappear, and I want to take every opportunity to connect with those who are still here.
O.J.’s finally going to the “Big House”, and isn’t it ironic what finally sent him there? Kidnapping and assault are hardly as bad a murder. It’s like Al Capone getting tagged for tax evasion. The Brown family has to be relieved. So many things about Simpson are maddening to me. I couldn’t believe that the guy could be so arrogant as to write a book entitled “If I Did It”. Lock that sociopath up and throw away the key. Of course, he could be out on appeal if someone can prove he didn’t get a fair trial, but I have faith that the same system he played so effectively can play him, and will keep him behind bars for a long while. They kept replaying the video of the moment when he was acquitted back in the mid-nineties. I couldn’t help wondering what Robert Kardashian(sp?), one of his (now-deceased) defense attorneys, was thinking at that moment, because it looks to me as if he was thinking “My g-d, we just got a murderer off scott free. He looks shocked and appalled.
The other day I came to the sudden realization that I did not own a pair of decent shoes. All of my walking shoes are completely worn out.. I’ve been wearing waterproof duck shoes and boots almost exclusively for the past six months, which is fine for up North. When I am in Toronto or Buffalo, a pair of casual shoes is in order. For the past ten years I have worn Ecco shoes almost exclusively, but for some reason, when they wear out, they cannot be re-soled. Those shoes are very comfortable, and they last a very long time, but when the soles wear out, the shoes are to be thrown out. I owned four pairs of these shoes and all of them had holes in the soles. I dislike shopping for any kind of clothing, especially shoes, and I want to get the process over as soon as possible. I have not bought a pair of shoes in ten years, and I was surprised to find out how difficult it was going to be to find something I would choose to wear ... even in Toronto. As almost anyone who knows me is aware, I am not a slave to fashion. I simply wanted a pair of plain, black walking shoes that were casual, stylish and comfortable. What I found were a lot of shoes that fall into two categories: “Elf” and “Pilgrim”. The elf shoes have very long, pointy toes and are, to me, very silly looking. The pilgrim shoes are equally silly, with a sort of flat or bull nose toe. Some even had buckles! Neither is anything like what I would choose to wear. I could order from a catalogue, but there is always the chance the shoes won’t fit, and I’d have to wait a week to ten days for them to arrive. I needed a pair of shoes now. I found a store that sells Eccos but in the ten years since I bought my last pair, they have become really expensive. In fact, any shoe I did find, which remotely appealed to me, was very expensive. I finally went to trusty Sears, and they had a big sale on shoes. I bought a perfectly suitable pair of walking shoes for sixty bucks which should tide me over for a year or two. Now, at least I won’t be walking around with holes in my soles. I wonder if they just sell the elf shoes around Christmas. And on that subject, I think the pilgrim shoes should have been cheaper. After all, Thanksgiving is over.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
O.J.’s finally going to the “Big House”, and isn’t it ironic what finally sent him there? Kidnapping and assault are hardly as bad a murder. It’s like Al Capone getting tagged for tax evasion. The Brown family has to be relieved. So many things about Simpson are maddening to me. I couldn’t believe that the guy could be so arrogant as to write a book entitled “If I Did It”. Lock that sociopath up and throw away the key. Of course, he could be out on appeal if someone can prove he didn’t get a fair trial, but I have faith that the same system he played so effectively can play him, and will keep him behind bars for a long while. They kept replaying the video of the moment when he was acquitted back in the mid-nineties. I couldn’t help wondering what Robert Kardashian(sp?), one of his (now-deceased) defense attorneys, was thinking at that moment, because it looks to me as if he was thinking “My g-d, we just got a murderer off scott free. He looks shocked and appalled.
The other day I came to the sudden realization that I did not own a pair of decent shoes. All of my walking shoes are completely worn out.. I’ve been wearing waterproof duck shoes and boots almost exclusively for the past six months, which is fine for up North. When I am in Toronto or Buffalo, a pair of casual shoes is in order. For the past ten years I have worn Ecco shoes almost exclusively, but for some reason, when they wear out, they cannot be re-soled. Those shoes are very comfortable, and they last a very long time, but when the soles wear out, the shoes are to be thrown out. I owned four pairs of these shoes and all of them had holes in the soles. I dislike shopping for any kind of clothing, especially shoes, and I want to get the process over as soon as possible. I have not bought a pair of shoes in ten years, and I was surprised to find out how difficult it was going to be to find something I would choose to wear ... even in Toronto. As almost anyone who knows me is aware, I am not a slave to fashion. I simply wanted a pair of plain, black walking shoes that were casual, stylish and comfortable. What I found were a lot of shoes that fall into two categories: “Elf” and “Pilgrim”. The elf shoes have very long, pointy toes and are, to me, very silly looking. The pilgrim shoes are equally silly, with a sort of flat or bull nose toe. Some even had buckles! Neither is anything like what I would choose to wear. I could order from a catalogue, but there is always the chance the shoes won’t fit, and I’d have to wait a week to ten days for them to arrive. I needed a pair of shoes now. I found a store that sells Eccos but in the ten years since I bought my last pair, they have become really expensive. In fact, any shoe I did find, which remotely appealed to me, was very expensive. I finally went to trusty Sears, and they had a big sale on shoes. I bought a perfectly suitable pair of walking shoes for sixty bucks which should tide me over for a year or two. Now, at least I won’t be walking around with holes in my soles. I wonder if they just sell the elf shoes around Christmas. And on that subject, I think the pilgrim shoes should have been cheaper. After all, Thanksgiving is over.
Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2008 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
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