Lonny's Ramblings

16 years ago, my wife, who was very concerned about our younger daughter's finger sucking (she would suck all of her fingers, one at a time) and how it could damage the development of her teeth and her jaw, asked her if she would stop sucking her fingers if we got a dog (my daughter loved dogs and my wife refused to let me bring one). That night my daughter stopped sucking her fingers and I immediately called my father in the US to pick up a Westie (West Highland White Terrier - I have had Westies for over 50 years) for them to bring to us in Israel the following month when they would be coming to visit. That is how our little Katy came to us.  She was small, even for a Westie, but that was quite appropriate, as my daughter was also very small (we discovered a few years later that she had growth hormone deficiency and got shots for it every night for 7 years). Katy was a bundle of joy and we discovered very early on that she was an incredibly gentle and sensitive puppy. Although sh...

A Tribute to Dad Yesterday marked a year since Dad died. I still find it difficult not picking up the phone every day to call him and going into the house and his bedroom without him being home is uneasy. Dad was a very interesting person. He was a talented musician and at a very young age, had his own band and later even had a Big Band with a dozen musicians following him. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any of his musical abilities. I can't even keep a beat. My middle brother, Gershon inherited his musical talent. In his teens, his band played in the Catskills and his meeting Mom was a “Dirty Dancing” story. His parents were also staying at this ‘resort’ (a bungalow colony) for a week and Mom’s family were there as well for a couple of weeks. Her mother, father and younger sister. To the best of my recollection, her father came up on the weekends from running his clothes manufacturing factory in the city. Dad always claimed that when he saw Mom for the first time, he ...