Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Dear Jerry:

This world needs more souls like yours.

Jerry Ochs

Judy: Thank you for the compliment but I'm no angel.

Stephen (Steve) Dixon

Re: Jerry Ochs "Thank you for the compliment but I'm no angel."

Sometimes, we are not our own best judge.

Jerry Ochs

On a lighter note:

I remember the day I saw a photographer get crushed by a huge block of cheese.
We all tried to warn him.

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Forgive me for writing this question that is not related to our class or Walnut Hills. I am very upset and both my brother and I are very far away.

We got an email from a cousin that our father's headstone was "damaged", but his pictures show that it is knocked over. Toppled. Completely. When I saw it, I gasped in shock and tears came to my eyes. My brother knows the new owners of Weil's and will talk with them.

I'm writing to ask if anyone has heard of such a thing happening elsewhere in Judah Torah Cemetery, or any of the other Jewish cemeteries in Cincinnati? I simply cannot, can not, imagine antisemitic  vandalism on this level in Cincinnati!

Paul Simons

Judy - this is about a similar event that took place here in Philadelphia, about a month after the most recent Presidential inauguration. This was before the "Unite The Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia at which nazis marched and chanted "Jews will not replace us" and one of them drove his car into a group protesting them, injuring many and killing one. And that was before another nazi gunned down 11 worshippers at the Tree Of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. Obviously it's no good pretnding nothing's wrong here. Jews have reason to be very concerned.

You will probably need to copy and paste this link into your browser's URL bar:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/26/us/headstones-toppled-jewish-cemetery-philadelphia.html

Jerry Ochs

A fish rots from the head.  When the leader of a country calls human beings vermin or cockroaches or disgusting animals, we should all grow very concerned.  Words can kill.

Paul Simons

   Good point Jerry. I don't think anyone could attend and graduate from Walnut Hills without picking up enough humanism to feel that something's wrong these days. I was explaining the city-wide draw of WHHS to someone from a small town that had just one high school and a mostly homogeneous demographic. Talking about it made me realize we were lucky to start from a heterogeneous, multicultural place, before the concept became an issue in the media. But I think high schools in general including WHHS failed to teach the magnitude and importance of our history of enslavement, bigotry, inequality, and injustice. And so individuals don't have the understanding of the country and of themselves now to recognize that those qualities are ascendant again, on an industrial scale. Literally, industrial - propelled by a media empire and the most powerful economic entities on this planet. 

Like you say Jerry- it's absolutely a threat to everyone. Martin Niemoller's quote applies. If you read the linked article you might see the importance of taking action while there is still time.

"First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out—

         because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out—
         because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
         because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me."

FYI - Niemoller was no saint. He supported and voted for Hitler, not turning away until very late in the game. This link is about his life but it also details the incremental  rise of the most destructive regime in all of human history 

https://www.christiancentury.org/article/critical-essay/martin-niem-ller-nazis-finally-came-him

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Re my father's gravestone being found toppled over: 

My brother contacted Jewish Cemeteries of Greater Cincinnati, which investigated. They were pretty definite that this was NOT vandalism!

The Hirsch Cemetery is built on hilly land. So, in time, the base of the monument slanted one way or the other, which weakened the apoxy/sealant used to attach the tablet/top part to the base/bottom, and ithe top just broke off. My father's monument was not attached top to base by rebar, which would have made it more like one piece.

The Jewish Cemeteries people are kindly seeing to the work order to repair our father's gravestone. 

By the way, burial lots and everything on them can be insured, something I did not think of at all.

Jerry Ochs

Judy: You might say we made a mountain out of a mohel.

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Billy Crystal's explanation for his chronic insomnia:

“It actually started back when I was born.  First seven days, perfect.  I was doing great, sleeping in, clocking twenty hours a night.  Then day 8, they woke me up and somebody with a black hat and a beard cut off the tip of my penis.  I’ve been up ever since.”

Jerry Ochs

With a tip of the hat to Leo Rosten:

A man passed a store window with nothing in it but a clock, stepped inside, and asked, "How long would it take to fix my watch?"

"How should I know?" shrugged the baleboss. "I don't fix watches. I'm a mohel."

"But --in your window-- you have a clock!"

"So what would you put in the window?"

David Buchholz

Another irrelevancy.  Jadyne and I just returned from a road trip through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and back.  Wanting to see the North Rim of the Grand Canyon we found lodging in tiny remote Kanab, Utah.  What a surprise.  For those of us who watched TV in the fifties, Kanab was the place to be.

http://www.davidkbuchholz.com/new-blog/2019/7/25/little-hollywood

And if you're so inclined, please visit these, too...

http://www.davidkbuchholz.com/galleryr

Paul Simons

Agreed Teedee. Like Edmund Burke said, to paraphrase, "All it will take for evil to prevail is for good people to do nothing". He figured that out without even going to WHHS. And Dave - phenomenal photos. They remind me very strongly of the 5 years I lived in Tucson in the 1970's. Very similar mountain and desert terrain. The last time I was there maybe 10 years ago the mountain - Mt Lemmon, 9,500 feet, about 20 miles outside of town, was ON FIRE. Access denied. Roads closed. Smoke rising into the sky. So again - "If you see something, say something".

Lee Max

Paul, you will be happy to know that Mt. Lemmon is green again. Summerhaven has been rebuilt (although the great pie shop is gone), and the ski area is fully operational.

Paul Simons

Thanks for the info Lee, glad to hear it. Hiking around at the top of that hill (mountain) was one of the thrills of life. I wanted to take pictures of the wind-carved rock on the way up as well. It is one magical place. Question - are you familiar with Reddington Pass? At one time there were large pools you could swim in, water running down from snow melt filling them. When I was there it was bone dry. Anything like that today?

Paul Simons

Time out - no matter which side you're on this is hilarious. 

https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/my-name-is-robert-and-i-will-be-your-waiter-this-evening/amp

Bruce Fette

Paul and Lee,

One of my Caving buddies in Arizona was Don Lancaster. One of his favorite things to do was to search the desert for these secret watering holes. He called them Tinajas. And of course when you find one, you must try it out. This results in skinny dipping, preferably with your most favorite companion.  You will note that his website is tinaja.com. I suspect that Reddington Pass has a number of perfect tinajas.

And happy to hear that Mt Lemmon is green and ski-able again. Did they get snow this year?

David, I went through Kanab on my way to ski BrianHead, Park City, and Alta.

Last weekend I just didnt get around to posting this picture. But here is my Moon Lander rocket, launched from Blacksburg Virgina in 2014. At the time, I was celebrating the 45 year anniversary of the landing.  My Dad worked on the moon buggy. But since over 400,000 people were involved, I suspect that other WHHS folks also have one or more connections to the Apollo program.

Lee Max

Paul and Bruce,

I am familiar with Redington Road from mountain biking and motorcycling. Unfortunately, the first 3 miles have been paved and are no longer dirt. At about the 10 mile point is the trailhead for Chiva Falls. That may be where the pools are located that left you with such fond memories. 

This past winter was a very good year for snow on Mt. Lemmon. The road up the mountain was closed at the base (approximately 2800 ft.) several times.

Lee

Paul Simons

Bruce - congratulations on the moon rocket! Elon Musk - Richard Branson - who dey? You have a far more sleek, economical design there, and it's wonderful you were able to use the original wire "rope" memory registers.

Lee thanks for the info on Redington and Mt Lemmon. Very glad things are back to normal. I will never forget, when I lived there, riding my bicycle out to Sabino Canyon, expecting to find some kind of water, and finding none. I had some packaged fruit bars and got what water they held and obviously I didn't die but it's amazing how fast the need for water above all else becomes clear when you don't have it, in the Arizona desert. I heard on the news that someone was being prosecuted for leaving water in the desert for migrants. He is facing jail time. I am asking myself what the hell has happened to my country. Jail. For leaving water. In the desert.

Chuck Cole

Bruce--I'm pretty sure I've seen a picture in the past of you next to a rocket ready for launch.  I think it was from the rocket club in 7th or 8th grade.  It's great that you are still building and launching rockets.  I'd love to attend one of your launchings--maybe it could happen at our next reunion.  We were so shaped by space, well before getting to the moon by the end of 1969 was put forward by JFK as a national goal.  

Bruce Fette

Chuck,

Yes, I am sure we all remember the Geophysical year of 1957-58, when Sputnik also went up. However, even as that went up I had already been experimenting with making black powder rocket fuel by mixing well known chemicals, and testing them. Nearly every boy on my street was doing the same, and comparing ideas. I was less in the know about nozzels at that time. I could share many more amusing stories.

As for Sputnik, I also remember tuning my short wave radio to listen for Sputnik (although I had no idea what frequency nor what it might sound like, nor when it might be within range). Naturally imagination ran wild on that idea. I think I had at least 2 short wave radios for that purpose. 

Going to a rocket launch? Phil went with me to one winter launch in Culpeper Va. It took about 5 igniters to get enough heat to start the motor.  :)  Well for now you can catch this launch, probably 2013 or there abouts.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riHVeTE7fGQ

Judy Holtzer (Knopf)

Anyone else remember Mrs. Mount's fury when the Russians sent up Sputnick?

Jerry Ochs

Who was Mrs. Mount and why was she furious?  Weren't we all in grade 6 in October of 1957?  I, for one, was thrilled.

Paul Simons