Kittles passes

“Kittles”, a 16 year-old orange cat, passed away at The Calusa Animal Hospital in Boca Raton, Fl after a brief illness. Beloved family member to Judy and Earl Bronsteen. Kittles was an outdoor cat who spent his days roaming the neighborhood, but who came home for meals and to sleep. No cat ever had it so good, but Kittles deserved it.
The Bronsteens inherited the cat 11 years ago from their neighbors, the Fergusons, and took him to their new home a few miles away. Kittles was extremely friendly, didn’t bite and loved to be petted by anyone. He was a good friend to their Jack Russell terrier (deceased) and to Helene Brody, a neighbor, but was completely ignored by another cat who joined the Bronsteen’s household years later.
Kittles was affectionately referred to as “Dumb Kitty” because of two incidents. At one stage in his life he developed a penchant for climbing a tree to get onto the roof - - - and was he up the roof without a way to get down. Each time this occurred the family would have to get out a ladder and gloves and try to rescue the frightened animal. The other reason for the nickname was due to the happenings when the Bronsteens moved to another home about a mile or so away.  Dumb Kitty couldn’t accept the new environment as his new home and every few days would return to the streets around his former home. He would be recaptured, returned and run away for a period of several months before he came to accept his new surroundings. 
Kittles will be sorely missed by all those who came into contact with him.

PUBLIX CATERS

          My wife, Judy, has always been on the side of, and supporter of, the underprivileged since I’ve known her (48 years).  She has given her time and money to assist charities and individuals in need. Judy has helped raise substantial funds through galas and events for The Retinitis Foundation, The Wellness Community, The Lymphoma Research Foundation and the Boca Raton Museum of Art.
In addition she has provided loans to many people who come to her for financial assistance.
         But now she has done something on her own which I give her much credit for since she did everything by herself. Judy has visited me often in the Chemotherapy Treatment Room at The Lynn Cancer Center. It is a depressing venue to see rows of people hooked up to intravenous machines lying in the chairs for 4-6 hours a day.
She decided to try and do something to make the patients’ day a bit brighter by trying to provide lunch for those undergoing treatment. There’s a Publix a few blocks away and she decided to see if she could purchase sandwiches and have them delivered by Publix. I assured her that Publix doesn’t deliver. 
But through her persistence and the good graces of the manager of that store, Lee Mohler, regular deliveries have started and the patients have really appreciated the lunchtime sandwiches. The nurses on duty in the Treatment Room have told me how much this little kindness means to the patients.
It’s not a big deal, but it shows her character and that of the hundred of thousands of people who contribute in their own very personal way to those less fortunate.

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YSHAI OLIEL TRAINS WITH AARON KRICKSTEIN IN BOCA RATON

    This past week Yshai Oliel, the Israeli 12 year-old, who won Orange Bowl Tournament in December 2012, came to Boca Raton, Florida to train with Aaron Krickstein for a week of two-a-day sessions.
     Yshai celebrated his Bar Mitvah in January 2013 and for the next two years will compete all over the world with boys 14 and under who are from all over the globe - - - all hoping to become the next Roger Federer.

     Yshai trains in Israel with The David Squad - - -  an independent, non-profit, non-denominational organization founded and funded by David Coffer of the UK, which is dedicated to developing Israeli tennis players of the highest international standards.

    Yshai and his Israeli coach, Jan Pochter, are sponsored by and guests of the Coffer family while in Boca Raton.

    I spent the week photographing Aaron and Yshai, first in the morning and then in the late afternoon. You’ll be able to view these photos on Shutterfly, and my earlier photos of Yshai at The Orange Bowl,  with this link:        

yshaioliel.shutterfly.com 

              
The videos will be up on the site in a few weeks. If you want to receive an alert when other photos are added or when the videos are posted just become a Member of the  site on Shutterfly. It's free.
     Yshai won the 12 and under segment of the Orange Bowl in a seven day competition vs. 128 boys from around the world. In besting Patrick Sydow of Aruba 6-3 and 6-1, Yshai became the first Israeli boy to take first place in the annual competition.

CASKETS "R" US

Spurred on by an article I just read in the AARP Bulletin I am embarking on a new career and I’m going to franchise my idea to give my readers a chance to get in on the ground floor (or even below the ground floor). In the, “Now Hear This” column on page 8 of the April 2013 issue I found an article titled, “COFFIN THERAPY”, which started my business juices to flow. 

The article stated that, “…for people who feared death, “coffin therapy in Ukraine and China might help. A Ukrainian coffin-maker lets people relax for 15 minutes in one of his custom-made caskets. In Shanghai a person can get an artificial near-death experience by lying in a closed coffin as family members read epitaphs.”

So I’ve decided to copy Mattress Giant and all those other mattress retailers who let you try out a mattress by lying down on it in the store.  I am going to open a franchised chain of “CASKETS “R” US” stores and customers can try one on for feel. You wouldn’t want to spend eternity in a coffin that didn’t feel just right.

But, I’m going to go the Ukrainians and Chinese one better by installing sun-tanning lamps in the caskets so the potential customer can get a tan while he gives the coffin a “road test.”

My first store will open in Boca Raton this fall and I’ll be interviewing high-pressure sales people in July. Any retirees who are looking for a place to put their life savings should consider purchasing a  franchise for their home area.  There’s no better place to put your money if you’ve just taken out a Reverse Mortgage on your home. Just send me an e-mail address and I’ll send off a compete package of information and forms. The mail will arrive in a plain brown envelope.