Transcript
WEBVTT
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What you are about to hear is an all-access inside look at the life and legacy of an incredible man.
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I had the fortune of interviewing my grandfather, mr Lenny Brooke, just a couple weeks ago, on his 90th birthday, and he spoke words of inspiration.
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He was uplifting and he's somebody that has the experience to give over wisdom that not only motivates but is truly helpful and insightful.
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Mr Lenny Brook is the right person to have a discussion with and ask some of the questions, because after 90 years he's still as sharp as a tack and as happy as ever.
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He gives us kind of a bright and happy look on the world when others see it as, especially in this time, a rather morbid and scary place.
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Mr.
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Lenny's, Mr Lenny.
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Brooks' take on the world is far from dark and scary.
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Summarize, and put his legacy into frankly one word he is the epitome of what it means to be a mensch, I hope you will enjoy the interview.
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And the beginning is a toast, a l'chaim.
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Some short words by Mr Jeffrey Brook, my father, speaking about his father, mr Lenny Brook.
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I was only able to grab the microphone a couple minutes into his talk, so that's why it starts out in the middle of his toast.
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But, as you will hear, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
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My father speaks brilliantly.
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My father speaks brilliantly and after my father ends with some beautiful words, we have the opportunity to ask a couple different poignant questions and I hope you will enjoy this episode.
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The audio quality isn't what it usually is because we weren't in the studio, we were outside.
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My mother made a beautiful, beautiful event for him and, just like Amishnah in Avos says, there's supposed to be certain mindsets and opportunities available to a person based on their age.
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When someone is 18, they are to get married and they reach their strength soon after that Wisdom adulthood experience.
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When a person turns 90, he is lasuach and, staying away from the first shot of the commentators, which has something to do with a pit or a grave, we follow the second shot in the commentators Rashi tells us.
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Wasuach could also mean to speak, because an older person may lead us to understand that Rashi is somebody who should speak because, well, they don't care what anyone else thinks about them, so they can say the truth.
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But also they have the life experiences to speak words of truth.
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I hope you enjoyed this episode.
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This is the interview of Mr Lenny Brooke on his 90th birthday.
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The price of bread was 10 cents a loaf and other things.
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That happened.
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Bonnie and Clyde were killed.
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Anybody know who Bonnie and Clyde were?
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They were tremendous murderers.
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They were right.
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They were like the.
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They made the first most wanted list.
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This was before there was an FBI, an FBI.
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They were created to get Bonnie and Clyde, were they really?
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Yeah, there was a bunch of bank robberies back in the day, right, and the bank robbers were like.
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It became a thing in the early 30s.
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It was the Depression.
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It was the Depression.
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Hitler, yamach Shamo was coming to power.
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That was it.
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That was it.
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And so they created the FBI to get people.
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And they find their first big get was Bonnie and Clyde.
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The Washington Redskins were two years old.
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They were two years old.
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They would go on to win three Super Bowls.
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When was the last time?
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Okay, that's mean.
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That's mean.
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A lot has happened.
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There have been probably over 20 presidents since then.
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I'm going to guess.
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Second World War, second right, and in that time period, my father, pop Pop Lave Hirsch, has been many things to many people.
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He's been an excellent, excellent husband and he's been a wonderful father.
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He's been a great, he's been a wonderful grandfather and, most recently he's been an excellent great grandfather Amazing and he's.
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He's been Zoha is merited to go to probably tens of birthday parties of brisim, of bar mitzvahs, of joyous family occasions, and he's also been a very well-renowned and respected business owner, have been a very well-renowned and respected business owner and president of a shul and generally has accumulated a reputation for honesty and menschlichheit in the community.
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He's been a friend and a mentor to many and he's been a great grandfather and great grandfather to all of you.
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Before I just finish my toast, I just want to thank my partner in crime, bonnie and Clyde, so it's Amy and Jeff.
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I want to thank Mom Brooke for effort, tremendous effort.
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I want to thank all of the grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and particularly all the grandchildren and grandchildren-in-law who contributed both their time and their effort and their presence to get here.
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That was amazing.
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That by itself will be a gift by and of itself and I'm sure that Pop-Pop tremendously appreciates it by and of itself, and I'm sure that Pop-Pop tremendously appreciates it.
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In doing all these wonderful things, pop-pop has always taught by example.
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He's not a teacher, he's not somebody who's going to tell you well, this is what you have to do, this is what you have to do.
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He leads by example and his example is always that of kindness and gentle, and he's taught me a great many things in my life.
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He taught me how to drive, which I taught me, and I've conveyed that as best I can to my kids, who are now driving.
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I did the best I could.
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He's taught me how to be a salesman.
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I took over his sales route one summer.
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That was a real challenge and every single one of the stops that I made for Pop-Pop I didn't always get the sale.
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Many times I did not get the sale, but every single one of the targets told me what a mensch pop up was and how much they enjoy doing business with him.
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One of the one of the lessons pop up told me and I still.
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I used this just the other day on a client.
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Somebody was going to approach me about representation and he was saying like well, I heard this other lawyer could do a good job, but I didn't hear good things about him and I said you know what I don't know about this other lawyer?
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But my father taught me that the way you get a sale is by saying what you can do and what your qualities are, not by tearing the other guy down, and that was something that Pop-Pop taught me.
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He taught me many, many things.
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He taught me how to throw a baseball, he taught me but really what he taught me was that you have to live your life like a mensch.
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You just have to do what's right.
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When the challenges and tribulations of life come down the pike, you step up, and they may not always be good, but you have to do what's right in the face of every situation.
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So I just want to thank him for all of his good guidance, as my father, leonard Brook, on the occasion of his 90th birthday.
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I want to thank him for being all of these things, but most of all, I want to thank him for being my dad.
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L'chaim, l'chaim, l'chaim.
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L'chaim.
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L'chaim.
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She was really adorable, and, of course, isaac and Michael that came along, which not so adorable, but they have the beards and the fact that they live in Yerushalayim, which I think is good, and you know, isaac, that's wonderful and you share her and you're right, anyway, If you could give somebody a piece of advice how to live a successful life.
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You do good.
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You try to live life right.
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You don't try to take advantage of anybody you don't pardon the expression, but you don't screw anybody.
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You do what you're supposed to do in life to be a mensch.
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If you promise somebody money, you pay them.
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You don't try to duck them.
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If you tell somebody you're going to do something, you do it.
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You try to live a good, proper life.
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Everyone knows what's right and what's wrong.
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You don't do what's wrong.
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I mean sometimes you're borderline, but you try and you aim for a proper, good life.
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And Jeffrey did that and I think he was raised that way.
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Amy is that way and, of course, my wife of 62.
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Is that right 62 years?
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We've been married longer than any, yeah.
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So I want to thank everybody that's here, but mostly my wife, for putting up with my shit class for 62 years.
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I know it's been bad, it's been a lot.
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There's a lot of people that have good days, like you, pop-up, and a lot of people that have bad days.
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Correct.
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What would you say to somebody on a bad day?
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I would say to hold the course, because good days are coming.
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Bad days come to an end.
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It's not bad all the time.
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If you steer the course, pray to Hashem or whatever.
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Do good.
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Good days are going to come.
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It's going to change.
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The weather is not rainy every day.
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The sun comes out and I think the same thing about life.
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Good days will have a sunlight and I can only say I appreciate and love the fact that all of you here, my child, my daughter-in-law which is actually my daughter is here she is and my grandchildren are all here and great-grandchildren, that are here.
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What did he?
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say Hello hello, hello hello.
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I like this surprise for you Hello hello, hello hello.
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I like this pop-up and in regards to you've seen 90 years of American history, american Jewish history.
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You probably have a perspective that you can give to somebody if he wants to build a family that his children respect.
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So you say that the point of life.
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You always spoke about being a mensch.
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If you could talk about somebody being more than a mensch, how could they live as a good spouse?
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If you want to be somebody that has a family that their children look up to them and their grandchildren look up to them, how is it that you become a good grandfather and raise a good family?
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You're a good person.
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By following the law, you don't try to break the law.
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I think also Judaically.
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You try to live by the Chumash, you try to live by the good book and you live by the regular book.
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You know the laws of the land and, yes, I have seen a lot.
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Roosevelt was president.
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I the laws of the land and, yes, I have seen a lot.
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Roosevelt was president.
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I remember the Second World War when my grandmother was killed by the Nazis.
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She was in Europe.
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She never made it to America.
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That was Grandma Becky's.
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Well, let's actually talk about that.
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Your parents are who your father is.
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They both came from Europe.
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Your father's name is Isidore and your mother's name is Rebecca and his name is Rebecca and Isidore and Rebecca lived where.
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Where were they born?
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They were born in Kovne-Geberna.
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What's Kovne-Geberna?
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It's the same country, okay.
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Okay, kovne-geberna in Lytta.
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That's right.
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They came to Berkeley, berkeley.
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Did they survive the war?
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They weren't here before the war, they were in the 20s.
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They came in the 20s they came in the 1920s, 1920s, they came to America.
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They were here, I'd say, 15 years before the Second World War.
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Okay, and where did they move to?
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Berkeley.
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Where's Berkeley?
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Berkeley's in Norfolk.
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It's over the bridge.
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Oh, that's the town.
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It's like you're going to Portsmouth, okay, very good, thank you, very good, thank you.
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And Isidore.
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Isidore Brooke is your dad and he was part of a synagogue when he grew up.
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Benay Israel.
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We grew up in Benay Israel.
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He was one of the— Well, they didn't live that long.
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They moved to Norfolk.
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They'd been drawn— they were third cousins.
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Who was that?
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Grandpa Izzy and Grandma.
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Becky, how did Grandpa Izzy end up in Norfolk Virginia?
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They were related right down the line.
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You know everybody that came over from Europe had family that was intermarried somewhere.
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That's the way it was in Europe.
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They didn't know each other.
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He came first to Connecticut Connecticut Right From Putnam.
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It was a very Jewish community and from Putnam he moved to Bayonne and then he moved to Brooklyn to be with we have relative son.
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His name is son.
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The last name Becky's no Grandpa is his.
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His name was son.
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His name my father's uncle was son.
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Maybe that's why they were related Son, s-o-h-n Son.
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Well, maybe you could speak just a minute about.
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I would actually like to really hear about this.
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How is?
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it that you met grandma.
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Who introduced you to?
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grandma.
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I want to hear the whole story from beginning to end and put it on record.
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It's what you called in Chinese ba shi, Ba shi.
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Yeah, right Ba shi Chinese Berserk, berserk.
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Yeah right, berserk.
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Grandma, and you were meant to be.
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I want to hear the whole story.
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What was the first time you met Grandma?
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First time in 1961.
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In the 1960s.
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How'd?
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You work your magic, Papa.
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I was born in we're going to have to cut that out.
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You met Grandma where.
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Very quickly, very briefly.
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Grandma came to Virginia Beach for vacation with two other girls.
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Every year they took her vacation to different cities.
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Two roommates, two roommates from college, one of which, by the way, is a side One of which's son murdered someone.
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Oh, I have to cut that out there.
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And this son was arrested, okay, and Mom's girlfriend was trying to hide her son.
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He was in his 20s.
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Okay, we're going to take a quick commercial break here.
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Quick commercial break.
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We're going to do a quick commercial break here.
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We'll be back to the show in about three minutes here, she died Anyway, Grandma came down, let's get back to Grandma.
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Grandma came down, let's get back to Grandma.
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Grandma came down.
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Grandma came to Virginia Beach and I was one of her blind dates, which she had, many of Many blind dates.
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And where did you guys have your first blind date?
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I was the least of the ones when Oceana Naval Air Station.
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Oceana Naval Air Station.
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I was the least one she thought anything of.
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Not true.
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Grandma says not true.
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Okay, how many times did you date Grandma?
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Was Grandma or not.
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It was in.
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How many dates Grandma?
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We had like three or four dates.
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We met Isaac Michael.
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There was a big delay in the middle.
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She went back.
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This is just one of her vacation dates.
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She went back to Waterbury.
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I had a boyfriend named Lenny.
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Her boyfriend's name was Lenny.
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So anyway, I didn't think twice about it.
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So I wrote her and she wrote back.
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She said I'm on think twice about it.
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So I wrote her and she wrote back.
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She said I'm on the verge of being engaged and I'm not interested in another, well, another romance.
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So about that time, about that time, very briefly, our friend Billy Bernstein, which was a friend of mine for many years a blessed memory.
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He has passed away.
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His wife is is grandma's cousin, lesson in memory.
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He has passed away.
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His wife is Grandma's cousin and she was from West Hartford, connecticut, and she came down here to go to Old Dominion University.