Yaya's 90th Birthday Book

Luncheon Is Served
By the late 1960’s, the prospective college bills for five kids
were becoming a concern for Mom and Dad.  Mom wanted to
work but was unsure how to re-enter the job market.  She
always felt deeply her lack of a college degree.  She told
Eleanor of her dilemma. Eleanor had recently been
approached about a job with a marketing company Luncheon
Is Served (LIS).  She was being recruited based on her Home
Economics degree.  The job would involve serving luncheons
to non-profit groups (church women’s groups, Cub Scout
mothers, etc.) where the sponsor’s products would be
featured.  The products would be donated; the group just had
to pay for the LIS team of a hostess and 2 cooks.  They could
then sell luncheon tickets at a profit to raise money for their
projects. The hostess would give a short spiel on the products
at the end of the luncheon.

Mom read through the materials and told Eleanor she
couldn’t
possibly do the hostess job since something that complex
required a college education.  Eleanor wasn’t putting up with
any such nonsense.  The conversation went something like
this:
“Have you been running a household of 5 kids and two houses
with a husband who constantly travels?”
“Yes, but…”
“Do you handle the bills and regular finances for the
household while Joe is gone?”
“Yes, but…”
“Do you regularly host big family gatherings and fundraising
dinners for Moorestown Women’s Club for 200 diners?”

“Yes but….public speaking?”
“Who’s been going to school board meetings and giving them
hell over Tom’s reading issues?”
“Yes, but….no degree!”
“You have more smarts and common sense than most
graduates.  You can do this!!!”
Eleanor simply refused to accept Mom’s doubts.  She helped
her apply, coached her through the interview and then acted
as her mentor during her first season as an LIS hostess.

Other than her children, I don’t think Mom was more proud of
any accomplishment than her LIS career. She always said it
would have never happened without Eleanor’s
encouragement.

You can see the pride
and enjoyment Mom
got from her business
in the picture of Mom
and two of her cooks
in the photo below
from 1969.  The blond
cook is a neighbor
Mrs. Shephard
and the petit lady is
Mom’s cousin Josie
Tighe.

Our Shared Faith
Vatican II may not have gotten around to publishing their
instructions on ecumenism and reconciliation until the late
1960’s but that didn’t constrain my parents or Joe & Eleanor
Feitler in the least.  I think from the day we moved in, Eleanor
and Mom recognized each other as “sisters by another
mother” and raised their families with that embrace.

Eleanor would make gorgeous fresh challah every Friday for
Sabbath.  Very soon, two loaves would be produced each
Friday and one dispatched to the Sullivan house.  We might
still be eating our fish on Friday but it came with a generous
chunk of Sabbath challah!

I can remember being taken to Hebrew school by Eleanor
with Barbara and being fairly confused by the actual Hebrew
language classes.  Mom made sure Barbara and I attended
Christmas and Easter midnight Masses together.  I’ll bet
Barbara found the Latin service as confusing as I found
Hebrew.  Yes – we Catholics were still praying in a language
most of us didn’t understand!

Possibly our most wonderful experience came on one
Passover.  Joe and Eleanor invited the entire Sullivan family (7
of us!) to join the Passover Dinner with the traditional foods,
prayers and observances.  As we are being seated at Eleanor’s
festive table (complete with her lovely linens, china, crystal
and candles), Shawn was placed next to Joe Feitler.

Joe informed Shawn that since he was the youngest child
present he would be asking the Four Questions. (Kevin was
too young to read) Naturally, Shawn was a bit confused but
Joe explained the significance and meaning of the ritual.  So,
Shawn, with the map of Ireland emblazoned across his face,
had a yarmulke pinned to his curls and read out the Questions
when prompted.  He was excessively proud of his
performance for at least a week!









I remember family trips  to the house in Oak Park  when I
was young. Aunt Eleanor kept a large collection of  board
games in the basement.   

On one such visit, I recall making a gingerbread house
with Aunt Eleanor.  It was elaborate.  A photo of Carol and
I next to aunt Eleanor’s creation sat in Nana & Grampi’s
sunroom for decades.  Aunt Eleanor,  you are the Julia
Child of the family & keeper of the family history through
your recipes.

What made all of those visits to Chicago even more
special when I was able to bring my sons, DJ & Greg to
visit you at the same house and watch Uncle Joe play
chess with  them  on your back porch.   

Happy Birthday Aunt Eleanor!

XOXO,
Lauren Glauber Pickus, Randy & Greg

As a child, Eleanor and Joe were very much a part of my extended
family. I spent many holidays, especially Jewish holidays, at their home in
Oak Park with my parents and my little sister, Emma.  Emma and I were
generally well-behaved during these festivities, but for little kids,
Passover could be a long process.  We would fidget and wiggle at times
during the long Seder services, longing for the prayers to be over so we
could feast on Eleanor’s cooking. And then there would be hours of
conversation and food, games in the living room, stories from Joe of days
long ago. Talking to Eleanor about the family and about my schoolwork
was always a treat.  She would encourage me to read, tell me I was too
thin, pinch my cheek, and generally make me feel very loved.
 
When she and Joe moved to New York, I missed them every year,
and still do.  Our family holidays are very special, but they aren’t the
same without our loving Feitler extended family.
 
I hope that Eleanor feels very loved on this special
birthday. 

My whole family- father Maury, mother Sharon, sister Emma, husband
Nick, and I, want to send her our fond affection and many happy
memories of our days together.

Love,
Leah Goodman





Dear Yaya,

I have so many beautiful memories with you.

I think I am particularly lucky because not only was I born
the first grandchild, I was lucky enough to be the only girl. I
think for that reason alone, you have spoiled me a little extra
all my life, and of course I have loved it. It's very special to
feel a close connection to someone, even when they live far
away. I have always felt that you are just a phone call away.

Especially as I went through college and into adulthood, I
have been so grateful to have someone to schmooze with, to
give me sound life advice, to make me feel special when the
world felt like it was crumbling around me. I have also felt
that you've always been in my corner. You always root for me
when a situation seems hard. You never make me feel like
someone else was right and I was wrong. You really support
me. I know I am especially lucky in that way.

I want to share a few memories with you. They will jump
through time, and not in the right order. But it's how I'd like to
share them with you.

When I was a little girl, you took me ice skating. I believe you
were on one side of the boards, and I was on the ice. I think it
was my first time. Maybe I was only 3 or 4 years old? I
remember falling down. And you laughed, a big loud, from the
bottom of your soul kind of laugh. You loved skating as a little
girl, and you passed that unique passion on to me. I don't know
if it was through our blood, or our DNA, but somehow, despite
no one else in our family that I know well, you and I, I think,
are the only ones to share that special bond. Over the ice, over
the feeling of being free and flying. Of course, with my mom's
incredible support, I later took up the sport and was extremely
lucky to progress onto Team USA, a dream come true.

Then, after college you took me to Vienna. Being on that
HUGE outdoor ice rink, on a perfect sunny day, where you
once had a locker where Grampi took you as a little girl, I got
to skate for at least an hour all by myself. It was a perfect day.
I felt so free, so happy, and in total disbelief that in a way that
I could sort of feel the childhood memories you described to me
embodied in that moment.

You have always taught me to "have bags will travel." I love
that. Of course right now, I wish I had traveled more. Taken
more of your advice. But what you have taught me about the
memories we make with people, especially the everyday small

details that make up one's life, are the things we will
remember. I am always in awe of how clearly you remember
places, the name of streets and cities we visited together or
even the year in which we did it. For me, memories come more
as pictures. To you, you always kept a very disciplined diary.
Even your weekly emails are impressive in their reflection
and detail. And yes, I need to keep more of a diary, especially
about the important parts of life. You're right.

I remember when I was just 13 or 14, you and Papa hosted
Hannah Rothstein and I at your house for an adventurous
weekend in Chicago. You made sure we were spoiled. We had
makeovers done at a fancy department store, we walked on
Navy Pier (and I'm sure we had ice cream with Papa). You
wanted to be sure there was a connection between the
families in our Tachauer clan and I'm still amazed to this day
how well you can explain the family tree, especially the
names of everyone's kids, grandkids, great grandkids,  what
everyone does professionally, where they went to college,
what they studied, and where they live.

I remember we had a big family reunion in Lake Tahoe,
California when I was ten years old. I remember I was the
oldest of the all the kids there and didn't quite feel like I fit in.
But one morning you asked me to get up early to go for a walk.
We did,

and to this day, I can remember it as if it's right in front of
me,
that it was the first time I ever saw the sun's rays bursting
like a photograph through the clouds above. It was absolutely
breathtaking. I know you, like Nana have always gotten up
early, and maybe someday I will too, just to catch the
glimpses of beauty that exist before the world seems to spin
extra fast for the day.

When you found out I was going to become a mother, you
worried so much. But you also were so excited to help us have
special things for our bundle of joy to come. You've always
made me feel special with extremely thoughtful gifts. Not
just for Noah. In fact, I remember on my 10th birthday, the
box you sent. It seemed to have endless gifts. Of course you
said it had exactly ten. But to a little girl, I think it felt like
one hundred and I loved opening them all!

In fact, I remember you used to try to help me understand the
slang language I must have picked up at school. I believe
when I was in elementary school, I used the term "like a
million" a little too often. You asked me if I knew how much a
million was, and I said no. So, you and Papa set out to show
me what a million was. For years, you collected pennies in
jars just so I could "see" what a million looked like. You have
always thought of the most amazing ways to positively
illustrate life for me.

You also wanted me to be sure I was financially independent
and stable. I know you still do. I loved how you always taught
me to save at least 10% of my earnings and once I got a job,
20%. I am so grateful you never let up. It has given me
stability when the world has become shaky.

When I was in college and my summer plans fell apart, you
swiftly rescued me and gave me an unforgettable summer at
the Art Institute of Chicago. Not only did you spoil me with
ice cream cones when I got off the L, and paid for an amazing
summer course with Javier Toubes, a world renowned
ceramicst, but you packed lunches for me, and even came out
late at night so I could stay for an extra class with another
professor on wheel throwing. You never seemed to tire. You
said that when I felt tired, I should exercise. Swim laps in the
pool, and you were right. We had so much fun that summer
and I will always treasure that time we had together.

Just under a year later, you came to my rescue in Rome. I was
so sad. So much was happening at home I could do nothing
about, and you and Papa flew all the way to Italy, making all
sorts of accomodations I could have never navigated for you,
to spend a week with me. You went with me anywhere I
wanted to show you. Even after you were horribly pick-
pocketed, you never stopped showing me a good time.

That week was so special. From the first dinner we had when
you arrived, to the wine we shared, I had someone there with
me in person when I felt alone in the world, and that felt like
the safest, happiest place I could have been.

You always wanted me to accomplish as much as I could.
When it came time to graduate college, you sent gorgeous,
expensive suits to me from Ann Taylor right to my dorm room
so I was ready for my first interview. I remember trying them
on feeling like a million dollars. They were JUST BEAUTIFUL
and you said I could keep them all! I felt so special. Then
to surprise me even more, you arrived to see my BFA show in
person AND with special Nana cookies in so many varieties.
You always showed me how much you loved me and supported
me and I cherish that love because in a world where so much
can go wrong, there is nothing better than having a person
who truly loves you, who wants you to succeed, to be safe and
to be happy.

Even at our wedding, you found the most incredible family
heirlooms to help me feel connected to our past, our roots, and
our ancestors. On my veil was the same lace my mom, you,
Nana, and Oma all wore on your veils, and around my
bouquet, lace, that held the same deep meaning, Its amazing
how you find ways to connect us all to where we came from so
we can figure out where we are headed next.

Yaya, you are SO special, and I am so lucky we have had all
these incredible memories together. Thank you for going far
out of your way all my life to make me feel this way. I know
very few people on this earth have someone care about them
as much as you have cared about me my entire life.

I can't wait until the world is healthy again and we can have
quiet chats together and talk about life in person again.

I loved bringing Noah to Syracuse to see you. To your
beautiful home. To the farm, where despite cool
temperatures, you
ventured on wooden play structures to play with Noah and
trekked through the mud to take pictures of him  with
pumpkins and goats.

I think you are so amazing. You are STRONG, not just
physically, but mentally too. I hope I inherited some of that.

I love you SO much and I hope your birthday is bright and
cheerful. And I can't wait to celebrate properly in person with
a hug!

Much love, sunny skies, take time to watch the clouds go by.

Love your granddaughter,
Leah

I have many fond memories ..... too
many to count . But most

importantly the love and support
through the years.

Love,
Elizabeth S Glauber

I only have very foggy memories of Eleanor from my
childhood (and yes, maybe they do involve linzer torte!),
but very strong ones of reconnecting with her in the last
few years. From sad to joyous.

Sad:
connecting over the need for safer streets for bicycling
after the tragic loss of Tess Rothstein in San Francisco
last year.

Joyous: having Eleanor present at my wedding in 2017.
Joyous: receiving Eleanor's regular commentary on the
TinyBeans photos of my baby boy Noah.

What cuts across all of these memories are the family
connections.

Happy birth Eleanor! To more joyous memories in the
coming years!

~Liz Brisson

My Dear Eleanor,
I would like to wish you a very Happy
Birthday.

I hope you have a wonderful day with
all your family. I would have loved to be
there.

I will be thinking of you.

Love,
LOUISE LANGSHUR



Happy Birthday to Eleanor from the
Kosoff/Chan family in Florida!

Wishing you the best while putting into
perspective my mother's

story about the play dates you and she
had together in Antwerp when the

world was so different than it is now. 
Amazing that after so many years

have passed you and Tess live so close to
one another!

Wishing you a Very Happy Birthday and all
our wishes for good

health, fulfillment, joy and merriment, and
love from loving family and
friends.

With love from
Peter Kosoff, Delia, Isabella, Hannah and

Alexandra

Dear Eleanor,
Happy 90th Birthday!!
My fondest memory was learning now
to make “challah” from you!! We lived on
East Cooper Avenue as neighbors.
I made it many times following your
recipe and “tricks to the dough.” I
cannot find it now! When I stop
searching the recipe will appear. The
most fun was eating the challah but the
“smell” as it baked was soooo… enticing!

Love,
Phyllis Goodblatt

I first got to know Eleanor in the 1940s when we were all
living in Queens, our apartment in Kew Garden Hills just a
couple of miles from Glauberstrasse in Forest Hills. Eleanor
was already a teenager when my sister I were still little kids
and she sometimes babysat us. I have to admit that when in
Forest Hills I spent more time with George and Steve than
with either Eleanor or Eve who were, after all, girls. But I do
remember one thing Eleanor did for me that represented a
kind of initiation into adult life: she took me to my first
nighttime movie! Up to then I only went to Saturday kiddie
matinees. The film was Laurence Olivier in “Hamlet” which I
can now see was released in 1948 so I was 11 or 12 at the
time. We went with Eleanor’s boyfriend at the time, Maurice
(?) and in retrospect, maybe they would have preferred to
be alone and I was imposed on them by Gusti because I was
living with the Glaubers while my parents were travelling
somewhere. I do not want to claim I really understood the
movie very well and came out of the theater changed
person. But it was still a milestone in my life and epitomizes
Eleanor’s role as a surrogate big sister helping to bring up
my immigrant self in our new American world.

--Ralph A. Austen

Dearest Eleanor -

You’ve done it!

You’ve stayed healthy and busy and loving and present
and the stay-in-touch family person in ways I

completely admire. You are a role model for me in
many ways. In the best sense. 

I see you through the years and events and your
parents and my parents and so many celebrations and

family gatherings in between.  I see your kind and
interested face. I feel your warmth and care.  I can’t
wait to eat the cookies you brought or whatever you
brought because eating one of El’s cookies is beyond
description delicious.  You are a bright and present

silvery star in my memory bank all through these
decades and here you are at 90 still full of kindness
and a love of giving and caring for everyone knowing
the names of everyone’s children and grandchildren
and what they are doing and where they are living and
sending your love out and across the country and the

ocean and to everyone who has known you.

I know we’re all complex. But for me - with you - this is
my letter of BRAVO and CELEBRATION of you
entering your next record-setting decade!

With love always,
Ruthie Neubauer

I met Eleanor through Barbara and then when Barbara
moved from Illinois, I became close friends with your
Mother.  She was a kind mentor to me (a non-Jewish
woman}, not just about the important Passover Seder
traditions and recipes, which I still refer to when I host
Passover Seders, but also about raising children, buying
good quality things, history, travel, health and nutrition--
you name it, I could turn to Eleanor for advice.  I still
treasure her friendship and when Spring arrives each year,
my thoughts turn toward Passover and the wonderful
memories of our time with her and Joe.

I scoured my photo albums and came up with some great
photos from as far back as 1991, mostly at their home in
Oak Park. Maury, Leah, Emma and I wish Eleanor a very
Happy 90th Birthday.  We wish we could be there with her,
and with you, helping to celebrate this important occasion.

Just know that we send our love and fondest regards, and
many lovely memories. 

Hugs and love,
Sharon Goodman







I can tell a great Eleanor story.

Years ago, I was working at Grant Thornton, the big
accounting firm, and was scheduled to go to the national
headquarters in or near Chicago for a training session of
sorts. I needed a place to stay for a week or two. Sure
enough, the Glauber/Feitler hospitality came through to host
me for the entire session!

The only problem is, it never took place. Shortly before the
training session, Grant Thornton human resources decided
that I could best utilize my talents by working at a different
accounting firm. Specifically, any accounting firm in the world
other than Grant Thornton. That’s right, I was given the boot.
So I never actually sampled the hospitality. Oh well.

Love Steven Margelovich, Hillary, Dini and Leora

Dear Eleanor,
Like the flowers in our garden, you are sunshine in our lives. We appreciate your
assistance over many years in the Temple Concord Food Pantry. Going through
pantry volunteer records, I found that you started helping in the pantry way back in
2007. Your dedication to the food pantry is to be admired. It is a privilege and
pleasure to call you friend.

Along with your dedicated assistance at the pantry registration table, you brought
us baked goodies, and shared your recipes with us. We especially enjoyed your
Apple Cake, Brownies and Biscotti.

You shared stores of your family and your many trips abroad. We especially
enjoyed hearing about your trip to England and the wedding you attended at the
Highclere Castle where the show “Downton Abbey” was filmed. Your vivid
description made us feel that we went along with you.

We wish we could celebrate your birthday with you in person. This Covid-19 Virus
surely has messed things up. We hope you continue to be safe and well. We hope to
see you soon.

With love and best wishes,
Sue and Ernie Wass

A Bit of Sunshine in my
Garden

These evening primroses
bloom in the sunshine
during the day

They look as if the
sunshine is in my garden

Dear El,

There is so much to our friendship but these are a few highlights.

1. Our morning phone calls-breakfast (bagels) with Eleanor. The day
doesn't feel right if we haven't spoken to one another.

2. The kosher salamis and babka care packages you send because they
are unavailable in rural Iowa.

3. How graciously you answer my questions about cooking and food
with out laughing at me. How many times have I called you with an
"Eleanor question"?

4. You have been a comforter and support when we needed one.

We cherish your friendship and wish you many more years of good
health.

Susan and Alan Scher

Eleanor and my attachment to her-
I always admired Eleanor. My very first and
favorite stuffed animal was a rabbit. I named the
rabbit Eleanor.  I must have been 3-4 years old.  I
loved and admired Eleanor even way back then.  

Eleanor and her sharp memory-
She continues to recount stories of family
connections from her treasure trove of memories.
Through these stories, I have better understood
the different type of life the family experienced in
pre-war Europe, the implications of being a
refugee, and the existence of antisemitism. I love
hearing from Eleanor about her memories of our
family’s quest for a successful life after the war. 

Eleanor’s love of cooking-
I remember staying with her for a  weekend in her
lovely house in Morristown, NJ when I was maybe 11 or
12 .  I was impressed when she allowed me to help with
the meal preparation. She produced wonderful foods
and baked goods then, and still does now! 

Eleanor’s love of needlepoint-
Eleanor loves to commemorate special events through
her needlepoint art. In order to turn her needlepoint art
into something that had more of an aged characteristic,
Eleanor at times puts the needlepoint cloth into a vat of
tea. The tea dyed the cloth so that her needlepoint
creations had an aged, well-loved look. Her technique
came to help me when my bathroom accent tiles arrived
from Turkey in two different color shades. I thought of
Eleanor's ingenious trick and threw them all into a vat
of hot tea. All the tiles came out in a uniform beige
background color. 

Thank you, Eleanor.  Your interest in my well being,

your ability to share your stories, and your zest for life

are some of the many reasons I am so proud to be your

cousin and friend. Love, Susie Needleman

Dear Eleanor,

I don’t really have any stories or
“yarns.” We haven’t had much
opportunity to get to know each other.

I do appreciate the contact we have had
and the wealth of knowledge you have
made available when I have had
questions about our family history. I
hope you have a very happy birthday.

Love,
Suzanne Curlis

Dear Eleanor,

Happy 90th Birthday!

You are blessed with a wonderful family. May you have many more
happy, healthy years!

It is wonderful how you are an absolute encyclopedia of information
for the family. It is a gift to have someone who can share so much
information with everyone.

With love and happy memories,
Talu and George Glauber



Dear Eleanor,
Allen and I are thinking of you on your Birthday, celebrating you, wishing
you all good wishes, now and evermore! 

And I’m remembering how you and I first got to know each other, recalling
how wonderful I felt having a friend, eine Freundin!  Until then, I never had
a friend who was a girl, moreover, a girl who was just enough older than
me to impress me. 

It was in Antwerp in October 1938.  Your mother and father, you and
George were staying in an Antwerp section close to the Sint-Mariaburg
railroad station. Your family was waiting for arrangements to be
completed so they could get to America.  My parents, Helen and Alfred
Oesterreicher, my sister Marianne, not yet two, and I were staying in Paris,
waiting for our U.S. immigration visas to arrive at the American Embassy.
We had flown to Paris in September from Prague after fleeing from Tachau
and the approaching annexation of the Sudetenland by Nazi Germany. In
Paris my father visited the American Embassy every day to ask about our
visas.

In addition to the delay of our visas, my parents had another worry. The
day we left Prague for Paris Marianne and I both came down with
whooping cough.  In Paris we coughed and threw up for two weeks; a
Parisian children’s doctor prescribed only lots of fresh air while
proscribing running, jumping, and rolling hoops. We were forbidden to
play with other children, unable to be near Fredl and Anny Wolfner, my
mother’s brother and sister-in-law, and our cousins Jacques and newborn
Fifi.  As much as possible we kept outdoors in zoos and parks.  

Throughout our time in Paris, your parents and mine maintained regular
contact with each other.   Together they came up with the idea that our
family could wait for the visas in Antwerp instead of in Paris.  A furnished
apartment for us would be rented near where your family lived and my
father would have easy access to the Sint-Mariaburg Railroad Station for
the express trains to Paris. So we went to Antwerp.  By then Marianne and
I were over the whooping cough and were healthy again. In Antwerp we
played with you and George in a small playground close to where we lived.
My parents said the playground belonged to the nearby orphanage.  I
remember that you, Eleanor, and I became quite taken with the subject of
orphans.  My recollection is that we spent a lot of time with you and
George and that this interlude of togetherness  felt comfortable and
reassuringly normal. 

I don’t remember how long we stayed in Antwerp.  We left Antwerp for
Paris after my father received the visas.  I remember being in a Paris
park with my uncle Fredl Wolfner and Jacques and that Jacques at age
three was wearing white gloves and a leather jacket. Then at the end of
October we took the train to Le Havre to board the Holland America ocean
liner Volendam for New York.

~Tess Kosoff

Dear Eleanor,

These pictures, of beautiful things you made for our family,
say so much about you—your thoughtfulness, your
generosity, and your ability to find just the right thing to say
the most important things!

The first is the beautiful hanging you made on the occasion of
Mom and Dad’s 25th Anniversary (I still remember the
wonderful family party at Frank and Hannah’s, featuring
Oma’s Nusstorte). There we are, Mom, Dad, Steffie, and
Walter—and you managed to capture Mom’s gracefulness
even in needlepoint!! I know that Mom and Dad treasured the
hanging, which I found in their apartment after Mom died; it
now has a permanent place in our home, where I see it often!

You made the blanket for Andy after he was born, but for
some reason it was Emmy who loved it best—I remember that
when she was a little baby that blanket (“boo banky!!”)
became an essential object for her, and it still lives in her
room!!

Thank you for all the love and generosity and caring you continue
to show to all of us!!

Wishing you a VERY happy Birthday, and many more!!

With much love,
Steffie, Scott, Andy, and Emmy Tisdel

Eleanor,
This is a true story about our recent conversation. Wishing you a
wondefrful 90th birthday from our Mayer Family.  

"Eleanor was thrilled to get a random call from me recently.  Really warm
and happy.

I told her Iris was really trying to dump Trump. Eleanor said that
Trump  is really a skunk. Something in Chicago; he never paid his
workers. Trump  did  an expensive job for his fancy hotel; hired
all kinds of specialized workers and then burned them by not
paying  them. 

I tell her I am studying German. She thinks German sentences are way
way too long. Could be a whole page. But she finds it amusing. And she
encourages me.   

I tell her about Iris and politics.  Eleanor  tells me how important League
of Womens Voters is and has been to her over the years.  

Switching gears, She tells me that we have to Watch Out for China. While
everybody is busy they have been fortifying Properties and islands on
the Asian  Rim;  worrisome. 

Eleanor  asks me how we are doing in the pandemic. I tell her OK. She
does not want to complain about anything personal medical even though
I ask.

She complains that people are too worried about the "god-almighty
dollar and not values" I agree. She is stuck at home but has equanimity.  

I tell her our kids might get Austrian Citizenship passports. She is not
surprised that Americans might be interested in getting a second
passport; BUT AUSTRIA. Eleanor  makes it crystal clear that she would
never ever  ever try to get an Austrian passport. I know this. She tells me
what I know, that she could never  forgive Austria for what they did.
Austria cannot be forgiven. Plus, Austria made her and her family live as
fugitives and refugees .  

Eleanor  started elementary school in another language in another
country during World War II. The parents had to keep moving. Refugee
Life.  The children kept  having  to make new friends in a new school.
One kept having to  start all over. One was an outsider. The parents
could  not always really explain. In America  it was another country again
in another language, again  in Elementary School. 

I told her Iris is doing politics with a 13 year old who speaks Hebrew,
Spanish and English. Maybe some kind of a refugee too. Iris likes young
people. Eleanor loves young people.  

Eleanor  told me about Noah, Leah, Josh, Abby, Carol, Barbara, and Jane.
Family is crucial. She told me she wishes she knew my kids better. 

I decided to write about my call for our Mayer Family tribute.  Not an old
gem of a family story. 

So close to 90, Eleanor is still a "force of nature".  Strong emotions.
Frank, warm, opinionated with pretty good opinions.  As people age,
people become more and more like they always were.

I hope I get close to managing life as Eleanor has. " 

Thank you Eleanor for all you have been and done over the years.

Wishing you happiness, health and all the best for your 90th Birthday. 

With Love from The Mayer Family,
Tony, Iris, Rosa, and Lillian