RIP, Harriet

Received a phone call from my good friend Jon Gold around noon today. Not to be pessimistic, but when I get a phone call from a close friend or family member during working hours, I brace for the worst. In this case, my instincts were correct; Jon was passing along news that my cousin Harriet Drissman was in the hospital, and that prognosis was not looking good.
I was unaware Harriet was in the hospital; her last Facebook post was two weeks ago, and there was no indication on any of her kids' pages that there were any health issues. I'm still not sure at this time what transpired leading to the hospital visit. I do know that I took the limited information I received from Jon (who didn't have a ton of information himself at the time) and contacted both my mother and brother with the news. (Jon explained calling me verses my brother, Charles, as "the older brother calling the older brother" mentality, even though they are both in metro Detroit and I'm 1,300 miles away.)
Just over four hours later, Charles contacted me with the sad news that Harriet had passed away.
I was related to Harriet on my father's side of the family; Harriet and my father, Leonard, were first cousins. The irony of her passing today was uncanny; both passed away on the second Friday in August (my father in 1988); and funerals for both took place on the following Sunday, two days later (part of the Jewish tradition of having a funeral as quickly as possible). Tonight was my father's Yortzite service in suburban Detroit. And both deaths were relatively sudden; my father was in the hospital for a scant seven weeks after being diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor.
I'm sure, as I type this, Harriet and Leonard are having an interesting reunion, possibly including some political discussions. Harriet was a founding member of the Detroit Chapter of the Jewish Defense League, a religious-political militant organization founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968; JDL's self-described purpose is to protect Jews from local manifestations of antisemitism. Suffice to say, Harriet's political views are a bit more to the right than those of my father. I'd love to be a fly on the wall during that conversation.
For all of our political differences - and there were a few - I appreciated Harriet's support of me in my endeavors, including the battle to lose weight and get in shape. (She was also type 2 diabetic, and understood the fight I've undertaken the past two years.)
Rest in peace, Harriet. You will be missed.
The Fine Five - August 9, 2013
(1) It's always a good feeling when your boss - my principal - and his administrative team, while doing a walk-through of the school facility, swing by your refurbished, new classroom and admire the work that's been done and compliment how it looks in general. Yeah, that was nice.
(2) Still waiting for the art room triple sink to be removed, though. That would open up a ton of wall space.
(3) So the Pontiac Pussycats - I mean, Detroit Lions - are officially back in action now. They beat the New York Jets in their preseason opener, 26-17. The highlight for the Lions - other than getting a "W" in the game, which counts as a highlight unto itself - was rookie defensive end Ziggy Ansah intercepting a pass by Jets QB Mark Sanchez and turning it into a 14-yard pick-six. Maybe there's some hope for them yet! (Then again, the year the Lions went 0-16, they were 4-0 in the preseason ...)
(4) Sadly, the Tigers' winning streak came to an end at the hands of a different New York team, as the Yankees won 4-3 in extras. (But Cleveland lost again, so ... there's your silver lining.)
(5) Mmmmmm, a Subway roasted turkey with tons of veggies for dinner.
Foodercize
WEIGHT: 238
STEPS TAKEN: 12,767
MILES WALKED: 6.2
CALORIES CONSUMED: 1,565
DAILY CALORIE GOAL: 2,727 (1,890 + 837 earned through exercise)
Stupid News of the Day
From The London Daily Mail: "Uno problemo… Construction firm builds 47-storey skyscraper in Benidorm but forget to fit a lift" - you know it's a bad day when you build a 47-story apartment block but forget elevators. Talk about getting the shaft!
Weird News of the Day
From The Denver Channel: "Man who contacted teen for sex claimed he was a 'sexologist,' investigators say" - Posing as a college student studying "sexology" and proclaiming a need to have sex with girls who were virgins as part of the "research" is no way to go through life, son.
Video of the Day

Someone had a great deal of time on their hands to create this epic rendition. Middle Earth Village People, indeed!