FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 12, 2018 • BUZZ • THE QUEENS COURIER 69
The Grandchildren Go to Washington
VICTORIA’S
SECRETS
Victoria
SCHNEPSYUNIS
vschneps@gmail.com
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Last week was a school holiday,
and it was fun for me and my
daughter Samantha’s kids. We
had a “Kids Day” for a fun Th ursday
at my offi ce and Samantha was off to
Washington, D.C., with her kids. My
daughter is a good planner so several
months ago she began by working
with a wonderful travel agent she saw
advertising in my Long Island Press,
who ended up helping her plan all
the details for the four days she was
in D.C .
If you’ve been there, you know there
are dozens of remarkable, noteworthy
sites to see and it’s easy to waste time
and energy navigating the beautiful,
historic city.
Odellia Fischer of Take OFF Travel
(www.takeoff concierge.com) planned
the trip, guiding them to tour the
White House, Congress, the breathtaking
monuments, the Newseum and
the new FBI Experience. She scheduled
tours and made restaurant reservations
to highlight the best D.C. had.
When Samantha told me she wanted
to take the kids to the White House, I
called Congressman Tom Suozzi who
put his staff on acquiring tickets to this
controlled venue. Wherever you live,
your congressman gets tickets, so ask!
Th e city was “alight” with gorgeous,
abundant cherry blossom
trees in their full glory. It’s my favorite
time of year to be in D.C. It tickled
me that, of all the sites they visited
during their time there, they loved
the Newseum most!
Blake, 12, and his sister Morgan,
8, and Brody, 12, became TV newscasters.
Blake admitted to me it took
do-overs for hours and they had a barrel
of bloopers, but fi nally got it right.
Th ey sat professionally and assuredly
at a news desk and had a TV monitor
behind them. It was their favorite
“hands-on” exhibit and they ended up
being there for most of the day.
So the lesson is, you need a plan but
you’ve got to go with the fl ow and be
fl exible for a fabulous trip.
LRiva Blekhman, 92, Remembered ena Briskin of Alicia’s
Jewelers in the Bay Terrace
Shopping Center lost her
mom Riva Blekhman on April
5, 2018. She was born on Aug. 27
1926 in Odessa, Ukraine, and died
from complications from infections
from years of Alzheimer’s
disease and Parkinson’s disease.
She was remembered with
many tears by her daughter Lena,
granddaughter Alicia and grandson
Robert.
Th ey recalled for the packed
audience of grievers the unique
qualities of their ancestor.
Riva escaped her beloved
Odessa, having been a teacher
and her husband a lawyer, on the
Lenin, the last ship to leave the
port safely.
After surviving the war,
the family made their way to
America. At 55 years of age, she
became a bookkeeper but left her
job to raise Alicia, who was on
her birthday. Th en, when
Bobby was born, she
became his second
mother so her
daughter Lena
could work.
I loved how
Bobby shared
that his grandma
woke him up
every morning
with a song and led
him to the bathroom
because his eyes were
sealed with sleep.
Her love, determination, courage,
strength and intelligence
made her their role model.
For many years, she helped her
daughter and son-in-law Michael
Briskin run their successful jewelry
store, open seven days a
week.
Th ey all said adversity in her
earlier life had made her a stronger
person. “Now, having had
and internment was at Mount
Carmel cemetery in Glendale.
Th ey have asked as an expression
donation to the Alzheimer’s
Foundation, 322 Eighth Avenue,
seventh fl oor, New York, NY; 866-
232-8484; alzfd.org.
Riva is survived by Lena and
Michael Briskin, and her grandchildren
two great-grandchildren.
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a colossal impact on our
lives, she is with the
angels in heaven,”
they said.
The service
was officiated
in Russian
and English in
the beautiful
voice of cantor
Sergei Schwartz
of Temple Sinai in
Roslyn. Th e funeral
was held at Sinai Chapels
of sympathy to send a
Alicia and Robert and
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link
/www.takeoffconcierge.com
