Reflections of a Centenarian: Stories, Observations, Memories & Bits of Wisdom

By Rosalind Starrels Greenwald

In her breezy, optimistic voice, Rosalind Starrels Greenwald selects vivid memories from her century of life, such as when her Philadelphia home was wired for electricity, how the new Frigidaire replaced the icebox, and how she and her family and friends gathered around the RCA radio and the Victrola. Greenwald celebrates the memory of her husband of fifty-three years, Louis Greenwald, a dental surgeon and Army officer who served overseas in World War II, In search of new surroundings during those lonely, unfamiliar years, Greenwald brought her infant daughter to idyllic Miami Beach, where she discovered her love of South Florida, and what became her lifelong joy of living near the sea. Today, at her home in an upscale retirement community in sunny Pompano Beach, Florida, Greenwald enjoys the company of dear friends, a new family that shares similar memories of long lives well-lived. Greenwald's Victrola and RCA radio are now distant memories, but today she embraces twenty-first century communications, including face-to-face computer chats with her beloved grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Greenwald recounts her love of travel, from camping with her husband and their son and daughter in coastal Maine and Massachusetts, to jet travel where she toured Europe, Africa, Australia and Asia. You will be delighted by Greenwald's joy and pride and enthusiasm for meeting new people, discovering new foods, and seeing the beauty the world offers near and far. This treasure of a book will inspire and charm readers of all ages-children, teens, middle-aged folks, and young-minded "senior citizens" in their sixties, seventies, eighties, nineties, and yes, even those into their one-hundreds. Rosalind Starrels Greenwald acknowledges that longevity involves difficult losses, but life is for the living, and each day can be filled with wonder, adventure, learning, creativity, discovery, family, friendship and love.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jun 4, 2014
• ISBN: 9781496914538

Rosalind Starrels Greenwald

Rosalind Starrels Greenwald was born in Philadelphia in 1914, the youngest of six brothers and three sisters. She described life with so many siblings this way: “I had a lot of bosses!” Her oldest brother was twenty-five when Rosalind was born. Rosalind, who preferred to be called “Roz,” studied early childhood education at the Illman School, which was associated with the University of Pennsylvania. She taught kindergarten for fifteen years, and was involved in the development of the national Head Start Program. Roz married Dr. Louis Greenwald, a dentist, and they had two children, Marjorie and Michael. Roz had three grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Roz lived in Florida for thirty-seven years, until she passed away peacefully in Fort Lauderdale on May 12, 2014. For over twenty-five years, Roz taught knitting and crocheting as a volunteer at the Douglas Gardens Home and Hospital for the Aged in Miami. Throughout her life, Roz traveled extensively. She went around the world a couple of times, landing on every continent except Antarctica. Roz possessed a love for music and art, and was an avid reader. She played Scrabble, trivia games, bridge, and gin rummy, and, by her own admission, was an excellent swimmer. Roz’s chronological age did not match her youthful appearance and zest for life!

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© 2014 Rosalind Starrels Greenwald. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 05/31/2014

ISBN: 978-1-4969-1454-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4969-1453-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014909274

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Inventory

Family

Mama

1942

1944

My Husband Louis

Harbors

About the Author

Acknowledgments

I am grateful to the following people who encouraged me to complete and publish this book. They are Eleanor Capson, Karen David, Michele Siegel, Marjorie Siegel, Richard Siegel, Michael Greenwald, David Murphy, and Rocsana Bowers. I would also like to thank South Florida author Leonard Nash for editing my book.

"Be always at war with your vices,

at peace with your neighbors,

and let each new year find you a better man."

—Benjamin Franklin

Inventory

In the business world, such as in retail or manufacturing, there is a time when you take inventory. In one’s personal life, sometimes you take inventory of what your life consists of. For many years, swimming was a favorite activity of mine. Especially during the cold winter months, any vacation had to include outdoor water activities with good opportunities to swim. Because of a shoulder injury, I can no longer enjoy going into the water. Also, because of my deteriorating vision and my arthritic hands, I no longer indulge in creative knitting projects.

For much of my life, I spent a great deal of time with my three sisters, Sara, Beatrice, and Ruth, all of whom have now passed away. Since I am now ninety-nine years old, I have outlived most of my friends. I no longer have the discipline of working, and so I must force myself to follow any sort of schedule. My interests have largely stayed the same, but since I no longer drive a car, and because my pep has lessened, it becomes very difficult to pursue some of my prior interests. However, I have discovered that it is therapeutic for me to express myself with pen and paper. It is an outlet for my emotions and ponderings. I enjoy writing my thoughts and feelings about big ideas and about trivial matters too. Nothing is too mundane or introspective to warrant my attention. I share my contemplations with my journal. I hope you get a chuckle or some inspiration from my ramblings. I am grateful that I can organize and express my thoughts on whatever comes to mind. To you, my reader, I hope that I don’t bore you. And once in a while, I hope you will find a thought that is provocative or that gives you a chuckle.

Family

My name is Rosalind Starrels Greenwald. My family and friends call me Roz. I grew up in Philadelphia. I had six brothers and three sisters. When I was born, my mother, Esther Starrels, was forty years old. My father, Morris Starrels, was forty-nine years old. He was born in a small town named Chernobyl, which later became famous for an explosion that took place in the nuclear plant. Morris was educated in the cheder tradition, and studied long and tedious hours. As was customary, he was required to memorize large portions of the Talmud and Torah. He knew Jewish traditions and law, and he lived his life according to the teachings.

My father had ten children, and each of us felt we had a special relationship with our Papa. My uncle told me that Papa always ate dinner with a baby on his lap.

My father’s ideas of fair play and honesty helped him adapt to the American way of life. He possessed exceptional mechanical skills and became involved in the manufacture of knit goods. For much of his life, he owned and operated a successful outerwear knit goods factory in Philadelphia. He was a compassionate man with a kindly feeling for those around him. He had many loyal employees, and he was loyal to them. He never laid off anyone. My father felt an obligation to provide work because they needed him—and because he needed them. Most of the employees remained in Papa’s company for many years. My father, who contributed to many charities, said that one should never turn away a request for help. He reminded us that the one you do not assist could be the neediest.

My father was an ardent Zionist, and I will always remember the Zionist meetings he held in our house. I grew up with a blue Jewish National Fund box on the buffet in our dining room. My father visited Palestine in 1934, and he established a factory to manufacture knit goods in Tel Aviv. It was the start of an important industry in what would soon become the State of Israel.

Papa and his brother were patrons of the arts and provided funds for artists of Jewish interests. Throughout his life, my father was a fine, charitable, hard-working gentleman. In his elderly years, he spent the winters in Florida. I remember he would send down a carton of books for his reading pleasure. I think of him going to shul to daven, the Yiddish word for pray. My great father left a legacy of love and family and good deeds.

My oldest brother, Abram, was twenty-five years old when I was born. He was a refined, cultured gentleman who was very devoted to me, showed kindness to all the family, and became active in the family business.

Next came Joel, who ventured into the financial world. He had a sophisticated taste for fine art. He was a collector of fine paintings and sculpture. He left his collections to the University of Chicago. He also contributed a Henry Moore sculpture to the Art Garden at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. He was also a good golfer.