I was out in Forest Hills the other day and scanned some pictures from my bar mitzvah. January 14th, 1978, many moons ago - but I remember it pretty clearly. The day before, there was a blizzard and a good camp friend of mine from Toronto was supposed to fly down but all the airports were closed. I recall the night before being quite upset.
The temple part of the thing went well; I don't think I screwed up too much. It was a 'shared' bar-mitzvah with another kid, so my haftorah portion wasn't very big. It was probably the last time I said 2 sentences of Hebrew in a row. (I can read/write the alphabet, but only know the meaning of about 20 words.) The party was held at my house, after the service. The hired photographer took these pics.
| | | |
| On my left, my best friend, M. My framed commendation cards were a big source of pride. | Us. Dig the 3-piece corduroy suit! | |
My parents were active in Queens Democratic politics and Mr. Cuomo was a long-time friend. A few months before, he had lost the very bitterly contested Democratic mayoral primary race to Ed Koch. My recollection is he spent most of the party in the basement, where most of my friends were hanging out – no doubt to avoid the grown-ups. He wrote on the poster, “To the Kaufmans, they can do anything but pick a winner! Affectionately, Mario". |
My paternal grandparents. My grandfather came from Russia/Poland, grew up on the Lower East Side and owned a garment business. I only learned it after he had passed away, but he knew a lot of the Jewish gangsters of yore - he had grown up with them. On my right, is his older brother, who I don't recall ever hearing speak. | On the left, Judge O'Dwyer, niece of the late City Council President Paul O'Dwyer, and the late mayor, William O'Dwyer. On the right, Mrs. Zaccaro, aka Geraldine Ferraro. Both Forest Hills neighbors. |
Comments