24 North Shore Towers Courier n August 2016 A Light Has Gone Out BY PAUL NETTLER With a heavy heart we must report on the passing of our Men’s Club Board member, Jerry Gilbert. He may be gone, but not the memory of his smiling face. To honor him, the Board decided that in lieu of our usual program, we devote the meeting on July 14th to sharing the memories of our individual relationships with Jerry. Jerry had many friends as witnessed by the fact that the large cardroom was almost filled to capacity with those who wanted to share their relationships and reminisce, as well as those who just wanted to hear more about his life and to participate in the feelings of friendship, love and respect that filled the room. Amongst others, we heard stories about growing up in his Brooklyn neighborhood, his personal relationships, the TV Sitcomlike closeness of his family, of his business successes, and of course, his uncanny ability to entertain with jokes and storytelling. It was an emotional evening, a celebration of a life well lived. His wife, Gilda, said she was overwhelmed by the tribute and the outpouring of love. And we are grateful for the ability to have made the family’s loss just a bit more bearable. Jerry, thanks for the memories. Our meeting on August 11th will feature as our guest speaker, Stuart Chizzik, Director of Development for the Weizmann Institute of Science. Stuart has spent the last five years leading the effort to raise both funds and public awareness within the Tri -State area for the Institute’s important work for the benefit of humanity. Stuart’s presentation will open our eyes to understanding how we all have been impacted by the Weizmann’s research over the years, whether we know it or not. He will also tell us about some of the most exciting projects taking place at Weizmann today. Whether you attended Stuart’s presentation last year or not, you will absolutely find this talk to be worthwhile. All are invited to join us as guests. There will be NO solicitation of funds. June turned out to be a busy month for our members. On June 14th, 42 members and guests once again visited the Hearts of Portugal restaurant in Mineola. As with our last visit, the food was good, there were plenty of passed hors’doeuvres and the portions were generous. What also made it nice was the fact that we had a large area all to ourselves. “What is so rare as a day in June” the poet queried? The answer is a Mets win. However, on June 22nd, a group of diehard members led by Jerry Siegel ventured forth to Citi Field. They came by car, by train and by subway and were rewarded by a perfect day, good seats behind first base and a Mets win over Kansas City by a score of 4 to 3. The next day a small group had lunch at Bamonte’s, a little-known restaurant to those outside of Brooklyn. It’s been under the same family management for more than 125 years, and other than outstanding food, features those old fashioned telephone booths with the accordion doors. June’s activities were closed out by a group of members, led by Steve Weiland, who were Intent on improving the breed at Belmont Racetrack. Actually, they did improve their assets on the first race, based on a tip that won. We have quite a few activities lined up for August as well. On August 6th, at 7:00 p.m. there is a dinner and dancing cruise to the Statue of Liberty. For information, contact Art Rose at 718-352-2885. On Thursday, August 18th, at 7:30 p.m. in the Coleridge Lounge, we will have a Meet and Greet night. This will afford us an excellent opportunity to mingle in an informal setting and especially get to know our new members, of which we have many. Refreshments will be served. Another dinner out is being planned for Monday August 15th. This time at Jonathan’s in Garden City Park. On Monday, August 22nd, we are planning a roundtrip to and tour of Greenwood Cemetery, a National Landmark. For information, contact Terry Feit at 347-235-4931. On August 24th, we are going to a Brooklyn Cyclones game with lunch at Gargiulo’s at 1 p.m. prior to the game. For more information, contact Arnie Rabinowitz at 516-317-6705.On Thursday, August 25th, there will be a Texas Hold ’Em Tourney in the card room. For more information, call Arnie Rabinowitz. On Sunday August 28th, we will be hosting another Bingo Night in the large card room near the theater. Everyone is invited. There will be door prizes. And don’t forget our end of the year dinner at the Swan Club on September 13th. We had a great time last year. The cost is $34.00 for members and $60.00 for guests. Please make out your check to “North Shore Towers Men’s Club” and leave it with the concierge in building #3 to the attention of Toby Horowitz. Indicate with whom you would like to sit. Seating is limited. On September 15th, our in-house impresario, Bud Bank, is planning an Entertainment Night for us. If you sing, dance or play an instrument, we want you. We already have several performers. Don’t be shy, it should be a lot of fun. So if you would like to exhibit your talent, call Bud at 347-502-7365. The next meeting of the Book Group will be held on August 22nd at 10:30. The book is to be determined. For information, call Ralph Edwards at 347-235-0472. The July meeting of our Current Events Group started with a moment of silence in remembrance of Jerry Gilbert and a heartfelt eulogy by Toby Horowitz. The opinions and depth of knowledge of the participants in the group reflect a continuing desire to keep the old brain cells working. It should be no surprise that the main topic of the day revolved around killings and guns, as evidenced by the slaughter in Dallas. Several theories that were suggested on what is behind the escalation of this current violence include the constant drum beat of the media, revenge, black vs. white, lack of employment opportunities, proliferation of guns, poor education and lack of family cohesiveness. We may continue this discussion at our next meeting on August 8th, if we discuss the “Ferguson Effect,” a phrase used to describe the rise in urban violence due to the fall off in pro-active policing. Another topic causing concern is the impact of technology on employment. With robots, automation, etc. replacing human labor, do we face a real crisis? Also discussed were the presidential candidates seeming to disavow free trade and the seeming lack of perceived quality people to run for the presidency. The fate of the European Union and the value of the Euro was briefly touched upon at the end of a very mentally stimulating meeting. Due to a recent surge in membership, we now have 119 members. A second group of new members we should like to welcome are Norman Bard, Walter Cameron, George Wolff, Gerald Rosenberg, Louis Reisman, Herb Friedman, Bruce Hirshon and Sanford Monosson. We hope you and our other new members can join us at our informal breakfasts at Buffy’s on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 9 a.m. We never run out of things to talk about. If you are thinking about joining the Men’s Club and would like to find out more about us, give our president Toby Horowitz a call. His number is 718-279- 0082. You can also find more information about us at our web site: northshoretowersmensclub.org. Men’s Club Fred Chernow shares his thoughts on the recent passing of Men’s Club Member, Jerry Gilbert
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