Life and Family: The most significant aspect of my life, and the greatest source of my happiness, is that I've
been married for almost 22 years to Einat (pronounced "Ay-not") an Israeli woman I met in 1983, while on a trip to
Israel. We have 4 children, a boy, Ron-20, and 3 girls: Healey-17, Erin-15, and Dani (Danielle)-7. The best thing
about being a "late bloomer" - married at 36, and a father four times from age 38-50, is still having a 7-year old at
home! We are now living in Israel, near Tel Aviv. We first lived her for 2 years in 1999-2001, and we've been
here this time since August, 2007. I hope to move back to St. Louis - just as soon as my wife will let me...but for
now, it's our family's time to live in her country surrounded by her relatives and friends. Fair is fair. (What am I
saying - get me outta' here!)
Next 10 Years: Move back to the US. Seriously, while I'm living in Israel, to create a national Bone Marrow
Donor Project in Israel, a "Lifeline-Parent to Parent." This would involve registering all parents of school age
children to become Bone Marrow Donors - so, in solidarity with other parents who have sick children, we can all
proactively be responsible for each other. The whole concept can be coordinated through schools, and have
corporate sponsors to help underwrite the costs, and have celebrities and the media get involved. It would be a
yearly, ongoing, societal consciousness-raising program - so that as a matter of course, when parents register
their kids for school, they have the opportunity to sign up to become Bone Marrow Donors (and financial
contributors), so it would be ongoing - year after year - and self-sustaining. If you'd like to contribute your
thoughts, creativity, referrals to potential supporters, time, money, (or simply your good wishes and
encouragement) to help with such an effort, please contact me!
Favorite Memories: Participating on the football and basketball teams - and the comraderie that went along
with this - was a great experience for me. And as Alan Handler so aptly put it, the basketball team may not have
been tall, but we were slow. :-) It was a great time anyway. Another fond memory was laughing with Steve
Grossman - when my parents were out of town and I had a house full of guys move in for several days. Steve
and I were trying to do the laundry in my basement, and unknowingly, we put in about half a box of laundry
detergent. When the washer started, suds came oozing out, comletely covered the washing machine, spilled over
onto the laundry room floor up to our shins, and just wouldn't stop - like a scene from a Marx brothers' movie. It
was hysterical. In school, Senior English with Mr Burns was the highlight of my academic experience, and resulted
in me majoring in English and Education in college - thinking I would also help people develop self-awareness and
better communication skills through literature and self-reflective writing. But I eventually became a social
worker/counselor/family therpist - trying to accomplish the same goals - without having to deal with spelling tests
and grammar.
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