Jose

"Jose has a new computer!!"  It was a shout.  And he really did. Without a doubt.  But that’s the end.  Here is the beginning . . . . .

Miss Perpegagno's Chess Class

In Little Haiti, Mrs.  Perpegangno taught chess to her 4^th grade class at Toussaint Lorvature Elementary School.  Jose one of her better pupils knew chess champion, St. John Fortune, another of her students , was getting a computer from ‘Dwight's Computers for Kids’.  So he patiently waited for a chance to talk to me and then asked me if I would fix his computer.  I took his phone number.  But when I called whoever answered thought I was a bill collector or something and suddenly English was not understandable.  I tried again, but I could not get through and then I forgot about it.  When I had occasion to go back to  the school I saw this familiar face politely waiting again  for me to finish talking to the teacher.
I started the conversation, "Whoa, don’t tell me, I know  . . .Juan?  No?. . . Two? No?   OK tell me."  "Jose !!!"  "Right.  Jose I called but couldn’t get you."  His face showed understanding.  "Mr. Kaufman, can you call today between 4 and 4:30 I’ll be home, please?"   "It’s a deal."  So I called and made a date. 
When the door opens to his apartment, on the 2nd floor of a U shaped 2 story apt. building,  I can see the computer on a small table against the not too far away wall.   It’s a 386 (a 386 was before the first Pentiums and it had a small floppy disc drive which stopped the computer from booting up if a disc was in the drive) and I can see a disc in the floppy drive.  I call his attention away with a question  and successfully get the floppy out without him noticing.  (386's with Windows 3.1 not only would not start unless the disc was removed, it also did not tell you a disc was in the drive.)  "This is easy Jose, there’s really nothing wrong with it.  But just to be sure . . "  I raise my arms high, spread my fingers wide, and slowly bring my arms to horizontal and say "pffffffft!!"  Then I snap my finger and say,   "OK, fixed."   



Jose has a computer!!!
 

"No, no it really doesn’t work." 

"Jose will you just turn it on?"
 
He turns it on, it boots  up, and starts. 

How did I ever keep a straight face. 
I say, "Look Jose, this computer is too old. I am going to get a newer computer for you with  Windows 98 and some games.  Will you be home Saturday, in the morning?"  

On Saturday, when I deliver the computer, a lot of kids from the other apartments gather, then come in and one says out loud, "Jose has a new  . . . . . . . 

11 years old

Michael's parents get divorced.  Michael is devastated. His father moves to Texas.  His mother moves to an apartment across the street from the park and her boyfriend moves in too.  After a couple of months the boyfriend says,
That kid goes or I go.
In Texas, about 3 months later, his dad's girlfriend says,
That kid goes or I go.
Michael returns to live with his grandmother who lives about 2 blocks from the park.
He learns to be a pretty good tennis player, he has a great smile but he seldom laughs.
Any parent should love to have Michael for a son.

Tammy









Tammy a little older.

Tammy age 7

Another pretty good player

Driving up Collins Avenue on Miami Beach there was this kid on a small bike weaving in and out of traffic.   It was 10 P.M.and traffic was not light.
About 2 or 3 weeks later the kid cycles up and starts talking to one of our tennis kids.  They were outside the fence that surrounds the park.  I come out and to say something to our kid and I hear Tammy say, 'Tennis is easy." 
I challenge her to come in and try.   I give her a racket, we walk on a court and I hit a ball to her.  She hits it high and wide and then says, "Wait a minute.  How does it go?"  She listened and from there she learned very fast and made the team. 

 In her second year Tammy, now 8 years old, saw Sabatini on TV and said, Howard I want to hit 1 hand backhand.   In just one day we changed her backhand.  But, she was so good she just would not practice.  She would play a lot, mostly against boys, and she was very teachable, but she never practiced. 
Once, during  a 13 month period she and her mother moved 7 times.  Then she got in with a couple of older girls.  I told her to ask the girls if they wanted to learn to play.  They said yes, they came to the park and I began to teach them.  They were 2 and 3 years older and I thought that when they saw they couldn’t beat her, it would help end the relationship. They couldn't and it did.. 
One day her mother came to the park when she was playing in a doubles match. While they were playing Juan (2) hit a bad shot and uttered a string of profanities. Her mother's hair stood up.  "Did you hear that?" 
"What?" 
"What that boy said?"   I said no, I never listen to the kids when they are playing.  She said, "You tell Tammy to get out of there." 
I explained to her that during a match the boys tend to say something like that at contentious moments  and if I took her out of the game for that reason, they just wouldn't play with her anymore.  She looked at me.  I said, "Mira, Mrs. Encina, what movie did you take Tammy to see yesterday?  . . . .



What is under the uniforms of

Officers Vanessa & Tammy

The USTA monthly magazine featured a center spread about how this future star learned to play tennis, without cost, at a Miami Beach public park.  As a junior she went on to win 5 national tennis titles and become #1 in the State of Florida.  With the help of tennis scholarships she went to college and graduated from the U. of Tennessee. 
Although she was born in Mt. Sinai Hospital on Miami Beach, she was on many foreign magazine covers and stories about her were in several Chilean and other South American magazines (her mother and father were from Chile). 

While in

California visiting her sister, her sister's husband, who was a police officer. offered to take Tammy in his police vehicle on one his tours of duty.  She was fascinated and today she is a police officer. She loves her job. 

When my grandson David saw this picture of two police officers he asked," What city? I'm having criminal thoughts."
 
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Mom

Patty-cake, patty-cake . . .

My 75 year old mother had her own apartment and worked at a small ladies apparel store on Collins Avenue,  And she was still driving to and from work.  It was almost 2 on a Sunday afternoon and my brother was late for his regular Sunday date. After 2 she called the police.  She told them my brother was never late for lunch on Sunday and she was afraid something had happened to him.  I was not home.  (the ubiquitous cel phone was still  around the corner,)  A policeman comes, calms mom down and then calls the station and gives them mom's phone number,  Its where he is if needed. He stays with mom until he locates me.  I get there about 3:30 thank him before he leaves.  I locate my brother, he's ok.  Somehow he thought it was Saturday.
That happening changed my view of the police forever and despite  a few bones to break, I will always be more understanding and indebted  to the police department.
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Dustin



HGK & Dustin

Dustin was an aspiring baseball star until the head of the Miami Beach rec department killed the Pony League, for 2 years.  Why did he do this?   Attitude clash.  Adversaries: North Shore Optimist Club, sponsors of the league for 40 years. And the recreation department head.   Result, coaches, uniforms and equipment provided by the Optimists would now be supplied by the rec. dept and the lost Optimist funds would come from fees charged to the kids.  Actual results.  The 40 year old Optimist club disbanded and the city, now finding it was difficult to collect the fees from the kids, mostly new arrivals from all over, cancelled the  Miami Beach's Pony league entry for 2 years.   Dustin and the rest of the kids got caught in the debris.  What was wrong with the head of the rec department?   Just an uncaring guy in the wrong job. 

The ball field abutted the tennis courts.   When Dustin came in to talk to his classmate Tammy, she  introduced him.  He just wanted to play baseball.  From the kids side, their not playing was caused by the MB rec department who made no effort to communicate with parents, many of whom had difficulty with new ways in a new country. Losing the Optimists was losing the buffer between them. 



Example, the Pell Grant is just that, a grant.  It is explained to every senior in high school.  Its still given to eligible college students to help with their personal expenses.  A survey revealed nearly 400,000 eligible students did not apply and an investigation revealed why.  Lack of knowledge about the Pell grant by immigrant parents but mostly fear of forms.  Dustin showed me the MB fee waiver form.   A requirement was a copy of the parent's IRS tax information.  I laughed when I read it, but it wasn't funny to the kids some of whom went straight to the streets.

Dustin & Desperado

Dustin became a good tennis player
and later played #1 for the Beach Hi team.

When he was 14 Dustin and 2 friends went to Western Video, corner of Collins and 72nd.  As they approached, a kid came running out of the store with a video game in his hand.  They chased him for a block and a half and caught him  Then they brought him and the tape back to the store where the police were waiting.  The police arrested them all.  They were taken to the station, photographed and fingerprinted. 
Afterwards a knowledgeable friend advised me not to apply to have his record expunged.  His reason.  Under the law, you are only allowed to do this once and, never tell, he may need it someday for something serious.  It was difficult to restore Dustin's pre-incident attitude about the police.  Today, Dustin is a MiamiDade detective.

Mayor of Miami Beach

 

Mayor Harold Rosen

The meeting room is crowded.  The Mayor is on the dais and speaking  . . . . . . . .
A guy comes up on the podium and hits Miami Beach mayor Harold Rosen in the face with a pie. Splat ! ! !
You could still hear the splat, when the mayor decked him with a reflex, right fist, to the jaw. 
Never heard of anyone trying that on Harold again.

Grandfather:

Grandfather got mugged.  He was minding his own business walking on the sidewalk when someone tripped him, and knocked him to the ground.   While he was still on the ground a policeman came up and asked what happened. He told him some kid knocked him down and stole his wallet with 4 dollars in it.  Outside of a little scratch on his  hand, he was ok.

About 2 weeks later he was called to the station where he said, "that’s him, the little goniff, that’s him, he stole my wallet."  They showed  him a wallet, he said, "Yes its my wallet.  Where’s my 4 dollars? " The policeman said the kid’s name is Shissler and he says he found it without any money in it. The case is set for trial and it turns out Shissler's brother is a friend of my father.  Shissler's family begs my father to talk to his father, promising they will give him the 4 dollars and they will punish the  kid. 

Case comes up, grandfather is on the stand, the Judge tells the kid to stand up, and he asks, my granddad,  Is that the kid who knocked you down and robbed you?" 
Grandfather says, . .  "Well . . . . it looks like him but . . . . it could be him but . . . . maybe the kid was a little bigger or even a little smaller."

The judge asks, "Are you saying you’re not sure this is the one who did it?" 

"Well . . . . he does look like him." 

Bam!!  The judge slams the gavel, says a few words including . . "Case dismissed." 
With that, grandfather starts to get up from the witness chair, and he starts wagging his finger furiously at the kid, and shouting at him in a very loud voice,
“SHISSLER, you shouldn’t do it again.”

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Compliment:

For once I remembered, I put my cel in the bottom left pocket of my cargo shorts.  Not only that, the battery was fully charged.  Unbelievable.

At Moore Park, , where I volunteer, ‘A kid says, "Your phone is ringing."

I get it out of my pocket and answer it but I can’t hear what the caller is saying.  After it disconnects the kid asks, "what's the matter?" 

"Its just not working right."

Kid asks, "Did you try a soft reset?"  I was floored.  Not at the soft reset suggestion,  which I did right away, and it did fix the phone.  But that the kid took it for granted I knew what a soft reset was.

Marty & Politicians:

An associate and ‘friend’, in a business deal with me, treated me like an enemy. When the dust cleared he asked me, I hope you’re not mad at me, are you Howard?. . . .
"Well . . .no . . but, I do want you to know this, in the morning when you look into the mirror, that beside you, there is one other person in this world who will always know how big an asshole you really are."
Guess what?
I couldn’t see any umbrage in his face.
Makes me understand how the Governor of Florida can deal with other elected officials, and un-elected officials, and media, and other members of the public, knowing for sure, a good percentage of them think he’s a (Madoff category) crook.

My $.02

My Doc:  "Get this prescription filled and take 1 pill a day."
Howard:  " Why not take 1 pill every 2 days?"
My Doc:  "Because tests of pills were taken by people who took 1 pill a day."


 

1 of my 2 cents

2nd cent

Question:

"Why should the pill maker try a test for the effectiveness of the medication based on taking 1 pill every 2 days?"





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happy Chanukka

For all my Chanukah friends,  I like it so much I have to pass it on.

Thanks Neil.