MEN’S CLUB NEWS
SEASON'S FIRST SNOW On the morning of January
7, North Shore Towers’
shareholders awoke to
their first major snowfall of the
season. It felt good knowing that I
would not have to go out and shovel
my sidewalk and get the snow off of
my car. In later years I was only too
happy to pay neighborhood kids to
do the job.
I fondly remember past snow-falls
giving my Hollis Hills neigh-borhood
a feeling of camaraderie.
Neighbors that I had not spoken to
for some time would appear with
their snowplows and shovels and
we would begin speaking to each
other as if we had been lifelong
friends. Our friendships would
usually not be renewed until the
next snowfall.
This January 7 happened to fall
on a Friday, which meant that
the Men’s Club breakfast would
be in session at its usual 9:00 am
time. I was certain that the snow
would provide us with a larger
than usual turnout. My prediction
was not prophetic. Four hearty
souls, Bob Mark, John Rondinelli,
Harold Hershman and I, were able
to trudge through the arcade and
make it. With numbers like this,
Buffy might be in big trouble.
As you might suspect, a large
portion of our discussions cen-tered
around the snowfall. We
were anxious to hear of Bob Mark’s
experiences during the Blizzard of
‘88. We were disappointed when he
told us that he wasn't even born
then. He was happy to tell us that
having lived for many years in the
Beech Hills Co-op in Douglaston,
his shoveling was done by the
co-op.
John Rondinelli, having been
a member of the Suffolk County
Police, had a few stories about
helping stranded motorists--not to
mention himself--out of some tough
situations. Harold Hershman's
leaving his Manhattan office for
his Plainview home during a heavy
snowfall had me thinking of the old
Greyhound commercial, "Leave the
driving to us." The LIRR might have
helped. The story does have a hap-py
ending though. When Harold
finally got home he was pleased to
see that his neighbors had cleaned
his driveway.
The snowstorm that we all
remembered was the "Lindsay
Snowstorm of 1969." That was the
storm where Mayor Lindsay’s peo-ple
were totally unable to handle
the 15 inches that fell. Queens was
the borough that was most affect-ed
and the mayor’s future political
aspirations were in ruin.
Hopefully this will be the last
snow fall of the season (ha ha ha)
and will erase those little smiles
from our friends in Palm Beach
County.
BY HOWARD ARKIN
OPEN MIKE
Having received my Open
Mike agenda via an email before
Monday’s meeting, I noticed that
one topic to be discussed was the
lawsuit filed by the Dimas Corp
against North Shore Towers. This
would certainly be taking the Men’s
Club into a new area of discussion.
Needless to say, I knew some very
strong opinions would be voiced
regarding that issue.
Mayor-elect Adams’ appoint-ments
of Keechant Sewell as Police
Commissioner and Louis Molina
as Commissioner of Corrections
were viewed as him taking a more
aggressive position on the rising
crime and violence that is plagu-ing
the city. Mr. Molina’s desire to
reinstate solitary confinement on
Rikers Island had some members
finding themselves in disagreement.
Another topic discussed was the
Federal Reserve raising the interest
rates to help curtail the rise in infla-tion.
My knowledge of economics
has never been one of my strong
points, but I think that inflation
is taking its toll on me. Last week
after inserting my credit card into
the slot at the gas pump, I closed
my eyes. When I heard the sound
that indicates that my tank was
full I opened my eyes, but avoid-ed
looking at the pump and drove
off. This way I'll have a few weeks
before I know if I was a victim of
inflation. My credit card statement
will answer that question.
On the topic of withholding
payments to the states from the
$1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill,
the overall feeling seemed to be
that it would counterproductive.
There are other ways that could
be implemented to get these states
to be more aggressive in combat-ing
COVID-19. The last topic on
the agenda did bring about some
disagreement. Did President Biden
do a poor job in handling our
withdrawal from Afghanistan? Or
should we have left at all? One
member was quite critical of the
president and
the manner in
which we left. A Biden defender
countered his argument by sug-gesting
that Biden had said that
he would do it and that he accom-plished
it successfully.
This was the second Open Mike
meeting without Gary Darche,
our resident host, who is now in
Florida. We"ll have to carry on until
his return in the spring, but wait,
all is not lost. Toby, after scouring
North Shore Towers, has come up
with a gem, that gem being Harold
Hershman. Harold, with great
knowledge of all the topics chosen,
did a great job. Hopefully he will
stay on as host. If any members
are interested in future employment
you can contact Toby Horowitz at
718-279-0082..
UPCOMING MEN’S CLUB
EVENTS
Open Mike: Every Monday,
10:30 am, Coleridge Room
Building 3
Breakfast at Buffy’s: Every
Tuesday and Friday, 9:00 am
Bingo: Sunday, February 27,
7:30 pm, Main Card Room
22 NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER ¢ February 2022