" Now that's the voice I wanted to hear" was the usual greeting for the kids and me when we called - I will always hear her saying that  - She was always thinking of us in one way or another - clipping newspaper articles of interest , buying presents, talking to friends abut our accomplishments etc.  The newspaper clipping has been inherited by me in the form of sharing Youtube videos and Google information on Facebook and Twitter as well as emails. When my mother was living with us through the 2000's , she was always amazed at the availability of information when she asked me a question about whether some celebruty was still alive - all I had to do was go to Wikipedia.

Looking through so many photos and remembering lovely times - The good times always come back to you - Especially those at my parents' pool - such sparkly clean water - Paul. Josh and Janine remember those days - mostly in the 70's and 80's. They were so proud that they could offer us this luxury. I have hesitated getting into the 90's and 2000's because those years introduced some illness and loss  - so I may dwell in the 70 and 80's for a while  -- be back later
.  

Some new songs - some of my mother's favorites - "I'll Be Seeing You" - while she waited for dad to come back from the war - "As Time Goes By" from our favorite movie "Casablanca" and later her favorite BBC TV show with Judi Dench which she watched over and over - we bought the entire series in DVDs - I think it reminded her of her relationship with my father. "An Affair to Remember" - again a favorite movie which she and I saw one an afternoon at the Bayshore theater - I still cry when Cary Grant spots that wheelchair! And there's a bit of "Imagination" from Willy Wonka and "Rainbow Connection" 

I'm going out of chronological order here but have to mention a trip my mother and I took in 1956 - To the Paramount theater in NY to see Frank Sinatra LIVE - along with Tommy AND Jimmy Dorsey and Joey Bishop - We went to the morning show which included the live entertainment plus the movie " Johnny Concho"  - all for $1 each -- Frank Sinatra sang for one hour and forty five minutes - It was heaven . Frank Sinatra did this three times a day. My father had to drop us off on his way to work and meet us at my grandparents in Ridgewood in the evening . I've never forgotten the effort they went to for me.

In the 50's and 60's we went to more plays in New York - Fiorello!, Pajama Game, etc. and we took them to concerts in the 80's - Liza, Baryshnikov,Yitzak Perlman etc. As I said before, we liked to share our experiences. I was ooking through some of my mother's papers and found a list she made of all the celebrities she saw live during her lifetime. Within the past few years she told me a story which I had never heard before about her meeting Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She had some dementia so I was a bit doubtful but it did seem logical because my grandfather became the head of his local Teamsters union and he certainly would be a person a candidate would be meeting during an early campaign ( she said she was a child then and that would fit )

To be continued..... 

I sort of glossed over the 80's and 90's but in thinking about it I realized how much we included mom and dad in all our activities - We had a group of friends comprised of clients and employees from our company with whom we would get together periodically  and we had mom and dad join us as part of our "gang" - They had a ball . They would be at all our company parties and any celebration we had. It would always be a joy to have them mix and mingle with our friends - kind of like I felt when mom came to the High School celebration when I was inducted into the Honor Society - I was always so proud to introduce her as my mom - ( another moment which just popped into my head) We were so happy when we convinced them in 1998 to come for a visit to Puerto Rico where we had a business - Hard to get my dad on an airplane after the airline disaster off LI but we got them there - Paul and I were on the plane with them - Took them first class and they were treated like a king and queen. Had such a great time - 

Need to refresh my brain a bit -- more memories to come...... and if you've made it to this chapter I can assure you you know every word to My Way so music will be more varied soon - as soon as Paul gets to Hong Kong and can download what we chose - downloading is a little complicated in some cities in China.

--This has to be such an abbreviated life story, I keep thinking of so many details and people left out for which I would need a book length. Please leave a story or share it on Sept 15th when we will be having a Celebration of my mother's life at our house  - details will follow --

I left off drinking wine with my mother on our porch in Millis, MA - One of those "bright light moments" a person remembers - We all went on with our lives through the 80's and 90's - kids growing up, careers made, companies started, companies ended - changes on going but through all life's changes, mom and dad were always there - non-judgemental, supportive , always loving and there for all of us - A perfect example of unconditional love - Oh, I'm not saying they didn't " bicker" - sometimes we called them the Bickersons which mom didn't like and not that  we all didn't have disagreements at times but underneath we knew was there was  that Given - that unconditional love.  Priceless.

No matter when we would call about coming - If Paul or Josh were flying in to LI  Dad would be at the airport to pick them up at 3 in the morning and mom would be waiting with coffee and pastries from Smithtown Bakery when they got "home" - for come to think of it , no matter where we traveled or moved, 8 Tall Tree Lane, Smithtown was always home for all of us - ask any of us and the phone number 516-265-8750 is known by all of us - The hardest thing for my mother was leaving that house after dad died  - It was the hardest thing for us too and it pained us through the last years of her life that we failed her in some way by not being able to keep her there - Sometimes you need to look back on things to recognize their true value. All her memories and accomplishments were in that house - her organizational skills - her perfectly set up refrigerator, her office with her clippings and scrap books - all annotated with her beautiful handwriting. Her desk and all those things came with her to Massachusetts but something was lost - for all of us. So many memories - This one just came to mind - my father in his pajamas coming around the corner in the kitchen with his hair combed straight up and a comb for a mustache - another one of those "bright light moments"and in looking through the photos I see that every one of his accomplishments - installing a new stove, a new staircase for the deck, a new garden shed he installed  - was accompanied by a  "ta da" photo - arms out stretched highlighting the final product.  
As you can see, any remembrance of my mother has to include stories about my father - they were "two peas in a pod"  or "pot"
as Laurel and Hardy would say.  Be back later...... 

So here I am again listening to The Voice and getting my memories together - Being grandparents really suited mom and dad -- well, it was easy because they had the greatest grandkids ( I  say modestly) They loved taking first Paul, then Paul and Josh and then Janine, Paul and Josh to Niagra Falls and Hershey, PA - and the pool was always there for enjoyment - We would enjoy our whiskey sours while the kids played in the water and came out for a snack  - Gold Fish, root beer, oreos, mixed nuts and licorice for grandpa and Paul also remembers the mini hershey bars in a tin  -we loved  lying on the adjustable wooden adirondack chairs. There are some photos of the pool on this site - Then we moved to Massachusetts and the visits were less but then there were visits by mom and dad to Massachusetts - Mom would find every gift shop available - One of our favorites was The Lobster Shop in Walpole - right next to Walpole Woodworkers - solar iced tea and lots of fun items - we had a ball - My parents loved to take side trips to New Hampshire and Maine - they loved Keene - and the Major Leonard Keep Inn - Mom would get recipes from the different locations where they ate and add them to her cook book collection - she would make pumpkin breads every Christmas from the Major Leonard Keep recipe. We all missed being together but as I told my mother, they stayed for a week or two several times a year and if you added up the hours it was probably more than when we were on Long Island and came for a visit.We did all the touristy things --  JFK Library, Faneuil Hall, Museums, NE Aquarium,Concord etc
Once in a while mom would come over on the ferry and stay a week while my dad worked - She always remembered when I made lunch on the porch of our house in Millis and we shared a bottle of white wine  - it was lovely.  
To be continued......... 

My mother and I waited for Dad to come home from three long years in the Pacific and finally he arrived to find no job being held and then he had to confront a long and possibly deadly illness, Mom went to work and grandma stepped in to help take care of me. We lived in Ridgewood, NY - George St - a three story cold water railroad flat - mom's parents lived down stairs and dad's parents lived next door. Mom went to work and visited the hospital and had to take care of a 4 year old - it must have been exhausting and so scary - Luckily they found a doctor who held out some hope - and it worked -dad was to live another 50+ years! He got a job and we moved to Massapequa NY - "out on the Island" - He commuted back to "the city" every day and mom became a housewife working periodically doing secretarial work etc.We moved to Smithtown in 1962 - I was in college - dad worked on Long Island - 
My mother loved to read and collect clippings from newspapers and magazines - She made scrapbooks before it was popular to do so - She also wrote poems. She loved biographies and fiction and loved sharing her interests with me.We all loved movies and would go once a week to the newest - During the summer she and I woul take the train to Amityville to the movie in the afternoon and when she got a car we would venture to Merrick, Bellmore, Lindenhurst etc to see the newest Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn movie - or Deborah Kerr in "An Affair to Remember" I remember every theater we visited. I know I will remember more activities etc but I'll add that to the end.
I graduated college and married Howie - a lovely wedding which my father was very proud of providing for us - and they did  - They always took care of us - that's the kind of parents they were - they were always there for us- unconditional love, for sure - and we loved sharing experiences with them - that made life more enjoyable for us too - to be able to take them to a favorite restaurant or a special place -to share happiness
After our wedding over the next several years we provided them with what I know was their special teasures - Paul, Josh and Janine -- and their joy in life - they loved taking the kids on vacations and having them over to swim in the pool which I know they got in anticipation of being grandparents. - got to stop for a while - a bit teary - chapter 3 soon 

Margaret Anna Biegel was born in Brooklyn June 11,1922 to Margaret and Henry Dreyer. Her four year old brother Robert also welcomed his new sister. Henry, although a tough, brawny truck driver was a kind and loving father and Margaret was a sweet, attentive mother - My mother would remember them lovingly her whole life. She graduated from Halsey High School but her most important moment came in Junior High School when a 14 year old boy Paul Biegel caught her eye when he was singing "Reuben, Reuben" with several other boys in class. She met him again when she went to the neighborhood bakery which his father owned and saw him play wrestling with his brother Walter. Another girl was interested in him she told me but she didn't stand a chance. We also found out that her friend ' Minnie" was actually Marsha Asimov, writer Isaac Asimov's sister - their father owned the local candy store. My mother lost touch with Paul through High School. She went on to work at the Telephone Company in Manhattan - she loved it there. met his mother at a dance and became re-acquainted with him - the rest is history - they were married very young on April 11, 1942  - My father was Lutheran and mom was Catholic and in those days they couldn't get married in the church - only the rectory so my mother didn't get walk down the aisle with her dad  - funny how those "rules" changed by 1965 and I could do it - oh well - also my grandfather lost his keys for the car - which he ever did - so they were late and got a snippy response from the priest - little things you remember forever. They went to Atlantic City for their honeymoon and went to a Dodgers game ( wonder whose idea that was!) I was born 10 months later  - Joan ( from joan Crawford - oh boy)Elizabeth Biegel. And Paul Biegel was off to the Pacific for WWII - for 3 years! Mom lived with her mom and dad and me and waited -- more later