Yes, the berenblog is back, thanks to the contributions of some of our readers.
Now: a recent and very welcome message from my first cousin Elaine Post Ehrlich (her mom was Ruth Leavitt Post, my father's sister.) The graduate is her son, Nathaniel Ehrlich. The other "boy" is Nate's brother Sam.
Stay tuned for an update on the original Berenberg Sisters/.—JDL
We are bursting with pride that Thursday night, in an "amazing come from behind victory" (as Sam would put it), our Nate graduated with his class at El Camino Real High School! (Please see the attached photo.) He will be starting at L.A. Pierce College in the Fall.
Love to all,
Elaine & Alan & the "boys"
Happy Mother's Day
Posted: 6 May 2005 5:29 PM
This photo was taken in July, 1949 during a vacation at the farmhouse near Warrensburg, New York belonging to David & Rose Berenberg. There are three mothers and three fathers in the photo. The mothers are (clockwise from the left) Naomi Berenberg Leavitt, Anna Mutterperl Leavitt, and Nancy Leavitt Matus. The fathers are Herbert M. Leavitt, Max A. Leavitt, and Jonathan D. Leavitt. Only three of the six people are still living.
Even back in the 1940's it was clear who in the family were the Sad Sacks and who were the Good-Time Charlies.—JDL
Flower Girl
Posted: 28 Apr 2005 6:13 PM
If you think that I've been taking a little vacation from the Berenblog, you're right. Well, the vacation's over, and this afternoon Eva Rose (yes, that Eva Rose, i.e., my daughter) and I met for an Italian soda at Espresso Roma and got caught up. Eva's been quite busy lately:
Since the wedding business dropped off (are any heterosexuals getting married these days, other than David and Deirdre?), Eva has expanded her business Rocío Flowers from a floral design studio to a floral and garden design studio. She is already working on a project redesigning and landscaping a garden for an artist's home in the Berkeley Hills. Some of her other projects including designing and decorating the new headquarters of a Berkeley website producer, who has moved to a larger and posher new location on lower Solano. Eva tells me that his business is booming; I am getting the distinct impression that the dot-com industry is making a good recovery, though not so crazy as in the late '90's.
Most of Eva's energy, however, is going into the courses she is taking as a part-time student, expanding her garden/landscape design skills. She is boning up on native California plants with Glenn Keator, a prominent local botanist who is a prolific writer—tops in his field. She is simultaneously taking courses in drafting (the old-fashioned way, with paper drawings and blueprints), and CAD, doing the same thing with computers. In short she is a total dynamo. However, Eva is not so busy that she can't visit Mica on weekends. They recently spent a weekend in New Orleans for the Jazz Festival.
Naturally, I'm a very proud papa.—JDL
PS. I have added a comments feature to the berenblog. Please click the following link and comment on this post. In fact, please, please, please:
Eva Rose at the Taj Mahal
Posted: 10 Mar 2005 9:56 PM
My daughter Eva Rose, who went to India with Mica, her boyfriend from Palo Alto, sent this photo with commentary—JDL
Here is our picture perfect India snapshot. Couldn't have staged it any better. The photographer was some french teenage girl wearing a tank top. (Not cool, women's shoulders should not be bare in India.) Aside from her cultural insensitivity, she's quite the Ansel Adams.
The day at the Taj began as one of our most stressful. It was the absolute last chance for us to see it and we had a lot of mileage to cover in order to get to Agra (Plains) from Dharamsala (Himalayan Foothills). The morning after the bus ride to Delhi was filled with overcharges and miscommunications. Then a 3 hour drive while Mica had to constantly re-negotiate with the share jeep driver in his broken Hindi. At long last, we made it to the grassy area around the Taj that is closed off to motor traffic and payed not too much more then we had originally agreed upon. Hotel Host was an oasis, not by Conde Nast standards but it was a sanctuary from the day's rushed travel which was riddled with rip-offs.
Our room was fine (by backpackers' standards, this room would not be acceptable even as a Motel 6). We showered, ate an overdue lunch and hightailed it over to the gates. We removed our shoes (common practice when entering Asian landmarks) and felt the cool smoothness of the marble on our tired bare feet. We hustled along with hundreds of other tourists, Indian and foreign, to catch a glimpse of Mumtaz Mahal's tomb, which is covered in inlays of stones like lapis lazuli. We lay down and watched the clouds pass by the minarets for a good while. I had to be careful that my knees weren't poking out from under my skirt (again, not cool). More magic awaited us at the hotel. There was a roof deck that featured uninterrupted eyelines of the Taj, balmy breezes, and bird's eye views of all the surrounding businesses/homes. We saw pet goats being fed dinner on back terraces, heard the radio blare of muslim prayers at sundown and watched the silhouettes of a flock of bats flutter past us. We each got dinner thali platters and I had a banana lassi. Beer would have been better but alcohol isn't available in every state.
Caroline's New Book
Posted: 4 Mar 2005 3:38 PM
Caroline Pincus (daughter of Miriam Berenberg Pincus), a book editor, formerly of HarperSanFrancisco, has co-authored Invisible Girls, the first addition of which is about to be released. Here is what a reviewer on Amazon has said about Invisible Girls:
Dr. Patti Feuereisen has been working with teenage girls for twenty-five years and has been a pioneer in helping abused girls find their voices. What she discovered in listening to hundreds of girls was not only that sexual abuse of young girls is in fact epidemic, but if the abuse can be processed when girls are still young—in their teens and early twenties—remarkable healing can take place. Girls and young women who are given an opportunity to speak out will most often go on to thrive as adults; without such an opportunity the traumatic effects of their abuse will often continue to cause them difficulty long into adulthood.
Invisible Girls weaves together powerful first-person narratives with gentle guidance and seasoned insights to help girls through the maze of feelings that swirl around the abuse experience. This gives every young woman who has experienced sexual abuse the courage that comes from knowing that she is not alone and that she can be vibrant, healthy, and whole.
I will be updating berenblog readers on Invisible Girls as I learn more.—JDL
New Year Letter from Bernie (Part 2)
Posted: 22 Feb 2005 12:25 PM
It may be almost two months from New Year's Day, but it's not too late to post the second and final segment of Bernie Matus' New Year letter, for those of you who have not already seen it.
When we interrupted Part 1, Bernie was saying:
Bernie had a one-man photography/digital image show at the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, CT, along with a showing of our Edward Curtis collection. He plans to do another show next summer there again.
The best news of all is… (to be continued—JDL).
Here now is Part 2:
…the engagement of David to Deirdre Killebrew who will be finishing her PhD this spring at the University of Hawaii in viral studies. Dave continues with his research in evolutionary and developmental biology and hopes to be finished sometime next year or thereabouts. They have planned a September wedding in St. Louis.
Lisa and Josh have moved from Washington, DC back to the NYC area. Josh is teaching physics at Adelphi University and setting up a research lab at the school. Lisa is the Program Development Coordinator for CUNY School of Professional Studies. They are living in Forest Hills, Queens, and learning the joys of co-op ownership.
Nancy is enjoying the change in pace from her practice, but with all the time involved in packing and moving, has yet to get to the leisure activities she has coveted. She is taking a correspondence course in writing children's literature, and hoping to spend more time painting and making jewelry.
We are looking forward to the New Year with all the exciting changes ahead.
Wishing you and your families a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season and New Year
Dan, you're the man
Posted: 1 Feb 2005 8:26 AM
My cousin Daniel Pincus, classical tenor, cantor, Manhattanite, and blogger, reports a new venture—JDL
As many of you know, one of my greatest recreational pleasures is playing, thinking about, watching videos about, and reading books about pocket billiards, you know..."pool." Now, I have taken it to the next level.
Phil Capelle is a pool master teacher and author of authoritative books on, well...pool.
This is from Phil Capelle's "Play Your Best 8-Ball", Billiards Press, 2004, page vi:
I took a long time friend Darlene Stinson's [touring professional] recommendation by hiring Cantor Dan Pincus to work on the book. Dan did a great job editing the text and was the source of numerous improvements and suggestions including one for diagram presentation. His love of the game and his enthusiastic response to getting a huge amount of work done while under a very tight deadline made him a true delight to work with. Dan, you're the man."
Coming soon (?): "Bill-Yids, or Jews Should Play Pool (Why should Gentiles Have All the Fun?)
May you shoot straight in pool - as in life. —Dan
The Legacy and the Next Generation
Posted: 23 Jan 2005 8:40 PM
As the berenblog reaches out to the extended family, I have made several changes. First, as you may have noticed, I have been more explicit as to who is related to whom (for example, Naomi Berenberg Leavitt is my mother, and Miriam Berenberg Null is my aunt.)
As of today, I have changed two of the topic links. "The Legacy" refers to all Berenberg kin and their ilk who have passed their sixtieth birthday, and those who are no longer with us.
"The Next Generation" refers to the under-sixty Berenberg kin and their ilk who will be carrying forward the great tradition of Berenbergism. We look forward to great things from them.—JDL
Not Just Another Pretty Face
Posted: 23 Jan 2005 6:57 PM
He're a recent photo from Nancy Leavitt Matus (my sister) of my nephew David in Hawaii and his fiancée Deirdre. I'm told that she just completed the defense of her doctoral thesis last Friday, and the happy couple is celebrating.—JDL
Miriam's Annual Report, Part 2
Posted: 20 Jan 2005 8:30 PM
On December 12, Miriam Berenberg Null, my Aunt Mim, sent this report to her email list. To read, or re-read Part 1, click here.
TRAVELS: Elderhostel in July in Quebec, a repeat visit to a music festival in Joliette, a town about 30 miles north of Montreal. There I met a woman from Oregon, with whom I became very friendly. Celeste is a gem and I am very lucky to have found someone so very compatible we think alike in politics, choice of reading matter, theatre, music--. We expect to go to the Santa Fe Opera Elderhostel this coming summer.
Three visits with Caroline and her family--twice in California, once in CT during the summer, at the home of my niece Nancy Matus. Ruby is just delicious she sings on key and in proper time and now reads fluently. When she comes upon an unfamiliar word she will try to sound it out, then ask for its meaning. They must now move, an unfortunate prospect, given the price of housing in San Francisco. This is complicated by the need to find a public school kindergarten for Ruby for next year, a special California -kind of problem.
HIGHLIGHTS: Two engagements my niece, Elizabeth Marlin, of Fizzy Lizzy fame, to a lovely man; my great-nephew, Dave Matus, to another doctoral student. The weddings will take place respectively in July and September. Makes me feel very ancient!
The 55th anniversary of my graduation from law school: wow! Celebration was a great dinner and a lot of fun with my famous classmates.
May you enjoy all the rewards you deserve in 2005. We must endure another four years of a Bush presidency and wonder what the country will look like in 2008.
LOVE, Miriam
The Kids?
Posted: 3 Jan 2005 10:21 PM
An explanatory note: "Kids" in the context of this blog refers to anyone under 60. Sorry, kids.—JDL
Ruby the Bonbon
Posted: 3 Jan 2005 10:14 PM
Another Ruby photo from Caroline. We hope to get lots more.—JDL
Ruby getting ready for her role as a bonbon in her dance school's production of the Nutcracker. Thirty cuter little girls prancing around a stage you never did see. Alas, some things never change. There was not a boy in sight.
Yule Photo from Lisa
Posted: 27 Dec 2004 8:53 PM
Lisa Grossman sends this lovely photo of three generations of berenberg women. For posterity, they are (clockwise from the top) Nancy Leavitt Matus, Lisa Matus Grossman, Naomi Berenberg Leavitt, and Daria Leavitt. —JDL
Here's a picture of some beren-women we took on Xmas day at Grandma Naomi's new home in CT. We had a lovely Jewish Christmas feast at the local Chinese restaurant. Grandma's new place is really nice - and already looks a lot like her old apartment with many familiar items and original artwork around. Josh and I have been moved in to our new place in Queens, NY since August but we haven't hung a single picture on the wall and even though Grandma just moved in a few weeks ago, the place looks like she's been there a lot longer! Happy holidays,
Love,
Lisa
Photo of David with Fiancée Deirdre
Posted: 19 Dec 2004 6:17 PM
More about the Hawaii marathon. This is the first picture I've seen of Deirdre. If I remember correctly they're going to be married next fall in St. Louis. Is David pointing with his right hand? What's he trying to tell us?—JDL
A Matus update -
1. Attached is a picture of Dave and Deirdre from the Honolulu Marathon
2. As of today we are back in CT, the PA house has been readied for closing early next week, and we are a one-house family again!
3. Naomi is well settled in to her new apartment, pictures are hung and she is adjusting to life in New England. Snow is on the way.
Wishing all a happy holiday season!
Nancy and Bernie
Ruby's Pink Poncho
Posted: 16 Dec 2004 1:44 PM
From Caroline Pincus—JDL
Here's my first contribution to the Berenblog, and thanks to Jonathan for creating it. I wanted to share this photo of the gorgeous pink poncho Miriam knitted for Ruby for Chanukah (and the gorgeous 4-3/4-year-old girl wearing it, too, of course). We are having a not-too-hectic holiday season. We had some of Ruby's friends and their parents over for latkes and dreidl games yesterday, which was a blast. Esther peeled and prepped 12 pounds of potatoes (thank you, Cuisinart) and fried up some absolutely delicious latkes -- all without eggs! It is the Landau family tradition to eat latkes with a sprinkling of powdered sugar. I stick with applesauce but recommend at least trying the powdered sugar. It's good!
Ruby has almost memorized the Chanukah blessings and asks us to do the one with all the "anooos" each night, even though it's only for the first nights.
Love to you all. Caroline
Our Man in the Honolulu Marathon
Posted: 12 Dec 2004 5:43 PM
Nancy sent this message(scroll down) about David. Are there any other running Berenbergs?—JDL
News regarding the Honolulu Marathon 12/12/04. David Matus completed his first marathon, 26 miles in 05:41:28. He placed 11,884 out of 25, 671; by Division, (age 28), 794. You can check the specs at www.honolulumarathon.org and enter his name under Runner Search. We're proud of him! Nancy and Bernie
Brazil Watercolor for Eva
Posted: 3 Dec 2004 12:31 PM
Yesterday Eva Rose helped me with billing in my office. I gave her the wrapped painting that Mom (Naomi) had made for her. Based on a photo that Dad (Herb Leavitt) had taken in Brazil, it shows a docked boat with the boatman standing nearby. As you may know, Eva took an adventurous solo trip to Bahia last year to learn some Brazilian Portuguese, and is a devoted Brazil fan.—JDL
Visit with Daria
Posted: 27 Nov 2004 1:13 PM
I spent the morning with Daria. We chatted as we went shopping. She tells me how busy she is working for the fifth and sixth grade that she teaches. In contrast to last year, she finds the work very satisfying. She also takes Capoeira lessons in midtown Manhattan several days a week. She is relaxing during her brief vacation in California but she will not have enough time here to return here for the December holidays.
I took this picture with my cellphone at Starbucks this morning. Daria is thin and tired but healthy.—JDL
