The Dame and the Bozo

                                    Victor Kaufman Sr and Lois Kaufman
                                       My Grandfather wrote this poem

 

 

          The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In  hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

 

 

What Does Christmas Mean to YOU?

 I was thinking about Christmas and what my daughter said on her personal web site today. It was a picture of one of her Christmas trees from a couple of years ago. Underneath the picture she said; "I love Christmas! “It’s all about Jesus and children!"

I thought and asked myself "What does Christmas mean to me?" To ME it reminds me of my childhood, when my Mom would take us downtown to shop on State Street here in Chicago. Back then they didn't have any shopping malls so you had to shop downtown for presents. Just to go down there and see the window displays got me excited because I knew Santa was coming soon.

Christmas Eve was always the BIG day for me because my Mom and Dad and my sister and I would all go over to my Grandmother's house. Everybody was there, all my aunts and uncles and all of my cousins. You could hardly see the tree for the presents were stacked so high. My cousins and I would wait for my uncle Bill to bring down HIS presents. At the last moment when everybody was there, he would put his presents under the tree. They were always the biggest and the best and were all covered in the same green holiday wrapping paper. The fun came when we got to open our presents. The adults would sit back and watch us kids. "Mommy Look at What I Got!" I yelled out to her. I loved the smiles on my parent’s faces when I showed them what I had gotten. It was the one time of the year when everybody was together and everybody was happy. Yeah, Christmas to ME is about family and happiness.

The years have gone by and now I am the Grandfather. All of my grandparents, uncles, aunts and especially my parents are all gone now. I sit here all alone in my apartment and think about how wonderful it would be if suddenly they were all here with me again on Christmas. But sadly they can only be with me in my mind.

 This Christmas I will happily drive 6 hours to my daughter's home for Christmas that is if it doesn’t snow and watch my grandchildren open their presents. Unlike my parents before me, I'll get down on the floor with my grandchildren and help them play with their toys. I guess I'm trying to recapture my childhood but who cares. I have fun playing with my grand kids and their toys.

 I would love to hear from everybody and tell us "What Does Christmas mean to YOU"

Merry Christmas Everybody

Oprah Published One of My Photos

BEAUTY IS WHERE THE TALL GRASS GROWS

I was thrilled when I sent in one of my photos and found that she had published it on her Super Soul Sunday  web site. Cool, Thank You!

 Here is a link to the photo:

Beauty-is-Where-the-Tall-Grass-Grows
http://www.oprah.com/own-supersoulsunday/blogs/Beauty-is-Where-the-Tall-Grass-Grows

                                              OCTOBER

This week has been the best week of the whole year as far as the weather goes. Fall is here and the trees are turning all sorts of colors. I put a link below to show all the pictures I have taken so far. It's kind of like a story or keeping a diary of each day I go out. Read my comments at the bottom of each photo to follow along.

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2206079189145.2113175.1162363051&l=35cc4617c8&type=1

We Went to the Rosie Show

Last Friday I was on the computer and I went to Oprah’s OWN web site. I saw that Rosie O’Donnel is taking over for Oprah at Harpo Studios here in Chicago. I looked at Rosie’s page http://www.oprah.com/rosie/rosie.html

 and noticed that they had last minute tickets available that you could sign up for. So I filled out the form and sent it to them. Last minute tickets are the way to go if you want to be in the audience. That’s how I got on Oprah’s show twice before she went off the air. But she still owns Harpo Studios and Rosie works for Oprah.

  Well two days later I get an email to attend a test show for Rosie’s new show. I didn’t know what a test show was but I wanted to go. I thought it would be better than sitting around in this stupid apartment. On Tuesday I went to my disability meeting at the township. I told the people about it and I said that I was allowed to bring one guest with me. “Does anybody want to go with me?” I said. Out of the five other people that were there at the meeting, one girl said she would love to go. That was cool because I didn’t want to go alone. It’s always so much more fun to share a fun experience like the Rosie Show with someone else.

 We had to be down there at 12:30 in the afternoon. She picked me up a little earlier than normal, just in case we ran into traffic or some other problem. We had a pleasant ride downtown. We were really running early so she showed me around her old neighborhood that she grew up in. It was on the way to Harpo Studios anyway. 

 When we got down there we couldn’t find a place to park. We kept driving around and around. Finally we found this valet parking for some restaurant and asked them if they could help us since my guest was handicapped and couldn’t walk very far on her cane. They were very nice and helped us park our car. 

 The line at Harpo Studios to get in was getting long and we still had to wait another 45 minutes. I knew my guest couldn’t stand that long so I went to the front entrance and told them about her problem. They quickly got a chair for her and she sat down. We were at the head of the line. When it was time to go inside, we were the first two people to go in. We had to sit around for about an hour waiting. It wasn’t a bad wait because my guest was excited and we were having fun. They had had a morning show and we had to wait for them to clear out first. In the meantime they had given us a card to fill out. It had three questions that you could ask Rosie. Just before we went into the studio itself, the people working for the Harpo’s Studio went through the cards we had to fill out and they selected about a dozen people from those cards. They were the first ones to get seated along with a few other people.

Since we had tickets number 1 and 2 we went into the studio next. This time we got to sit up front in the studio with the band right in back of us. That was cool. We found out by talking to the people next to us that Henry Winkler, ”The Fonz” was going to be one of the guest on the show. Cool!  My guest and I didn’t have any idea what was going to happen at this “Test Show,” So it was thrilling when The Fonz walked on stage. He was funny and Rosie and Henry Winkler joked around.

 The Rosie Show turned out to be very funny and everybody was laughing and thoroughly entertained throughout the show. Rosie’s next guests were two policemen that appeared on some other show where they were carp fishing with their hands. I didn’t follow that mainly because I couldn’t hear them. Maybe that’s the testing part of the show. Stage hands were always doing something trying to get the look of the show just right.

 They changed the set and took away Rosie’s desk that she was using to interview her guest and cleared the stage. A microphone and stand went up with a couple of speakers. Alright, someone was going to sing. Josh Kelly walked out and everybody cheered. He brought his guitar and sang. 

 In between guests when they were changing sets on the stage, Rosie would come down and ask if anybody had any questions. I couldn’t  think of any so I just enjoyed Rosie’s humor. 

 The last thing they did was to set up the stage to look like a quiz show with two podiums. I don’t know how they selected the two young girls to answer the questions. Rosie would read several peoples first names and the contestants would have to guess what their families last name were. The winner won something but we didn’t find out what it was. 

 That was the end of the show. On our way out they gave a gift bag. We got a copy of Josh Kelly’s CD,  a bag of some kind of potato chips, a bag of Garrett’s popcorn, a gift certificate for a sample of some kind of cupcake that you had to go downtown to get and a Rosie Key chain. But the good thing is that we are going to get to come back in December for a live on air show. I hope they give out Christmas presents for that show. That would really be great if we got that lucky.

  I thought Rosie was funny and everybody in the audience had fun. I’m sure glad that my guest had a lot of fun too. It was so nice to be able to share the fun we had at the show with each other.

 Bill

  

A Poem by Mona Morrison

A Poem by Mona Morrison

If I could bottle spring

I would grab the buds that just come out on the trees

I would catch a breeze of fresh light air from the cloudless day

I would capture the colors of the hints of flowers and promises to come

If I could bottle summer

I would catch the colors of a Monarch butterfly and the red hot colors of sunsets

I would collect the smells from the fresh cut grass and lazy flowers following the sun

I would take a hint of the soft hot summer breeze on a slow hazy evening

If I could bottle autumn

I would grab a palette and take the colors from the leaves

I would bottle the slight change in temperature that makes you want to grab a sweater

I would remember the kiss of fall upon the cheek

If I could bottle winter

I would capture the first snow flakes and its purity of nature

I would bottle the smells of baked bread and the calorie latent cookies and cakes

I would capture the sounds of children enjoying the holiday season with its many surprises

Just Me On The 4th of July

It was so hot that I stayed indoors until the sun started to set. That’s when I got dressed and headed for the local fireworks show. This year I brought my tripod to use with my camera. I didn’t bring my tripod last year and all of my pictures turned out blurry. My hands shake and I don’t know why, all I know is that it seems to be getting worse.

I found a nice spot in the grass and sat down waiting for the fireworks to start. I had a friend that I use to take with me but she died in a car accident 9 years ago. So I go all by myself now. I don’t know why I still go to these things. As I sat there, I started thinking about my friend and I.

My mind wondered as I watched all of the families sitting on the green grass around me. Their children were running around laughing and having fun playing while we waited for it to get dark. Pretty soon I was regressing and in my mind I was a little boy again, sitting there next to my Mom and Dad. I wish I could turn back time.
I have two children, a boy and a girl. We use to go to the fireworks shows every year. They acted just like all the other kids that were with their families that were sitting around me waiting for the fireworks to start. Yeah, I thought of them too, but now my children along with their mother have moved away. You know how that goes and now they too are all grown up and have children of their own. So now I sit here all alone on the green grass reminiscing about my family and my friend wishing they were all here with me. SUDDENLY…. BANG,BANG, 

the fireworks had begun. I started taking pictures of all the beautiful sky rockets going off above me. Somehow I didn’t feel alone anymore. I was too busy trying to capture the moment on my camera. The sky rockets kept going off one right after the other. I wanted to get some good pictures. 

When I got back to my apartment, I loaded up the pictures on my computer. I had taken 77 shots and the best ones out of all of them in my opinion were the pictures I took of all the families sitting there on the green grass looking up as the sky lit up in a gorgeous dazzling display of colors. Yeah, it was all about the families watching the fireworks that turned out to be the most stunning pictures of all of them.

Obama Eliminates Cooling assistance to the Disabled and the Elderly

                 Obama Eliminates Cooling assistance to the

                             Disabled and the  Elderly



Since that article was printed in the Daily Herald on June 5th 2011, I haven't turned on my air conditioning this summer yet. I just cannot afford to turn it on. I can't imagine what my bill would be if I turned the air conditioning on.

The Schaumburg Township came out with their July newsletter. In it they printed up an article called…




Hot Weather Tips

With the onset of summer weather, prevent heat related illnesses that can be life threatening with the tips below. It’s also very important to check on older adults and people with disabilities.

HOT WEATHER TIPS:

1. Stay indoors in air conditioning as much as possible and in the shade if you go outside.
(Well I can’t do this one because Obama cut the cooling assistance off. I can’t afford to turn on my air conditioning.)

2. If your home is not air conditioned, spend at least two hours daily at an air conditioned mall, library or other public place.
(With the price of gas the only place I can afford to go to is to my Cardiac Rehabilitation Class at the hospital. That class helps out a lot with the heart attack that I had and my Multiple Sclerosis.)


3. Wear sunscreen outside, along with a hat and light-colored clothes that cover as much skin as possible.
(Yeah, OK, I can do that one when I take my walks in the Nature Preserve near my house.)

4. Drink water regularly even if you are not thirsty. Limit alcohol, which speeds dehydration.
(Ok that’s another one that I do all the time but if you have bladder control problems make sure you’re wearing some protection. As far as the alcohol goes, I quit that 28 years ago. Best thing I ever did.)

5. Never leave children or pets alone in the car.
(I don’t have to worry about that one. My kids are all grown up and married and I don’t have pets. They’re not allowed in my building)

6. Avoid exertion during the hottest part of the day.
(You can bet your last dollar that I do that one)

7. Take a cool shower or bath.
(Now this is the best one on the list. Here’s what I do. I fill the bath tub with cool water and get in and relax. When my body temperature gets back to normal, I get out and sit down in front of the fan and watch TV. When my body starts to get hot again, I get right back in the bath tub. A shower will serve the same purpose it’s just that I like to lay down and relax in the tub.
When I told the people in my disability class about number 7 in the list of “Hot Weather Tips” No one laughed. And don’t worry about the nudism part. It’s a lot better than sitting in your home in all that heat and dying from a stroke or a heart attack.

Happy Father's Day

With Fathers Day coming up this weekend, I couldn't help thinking about my Dad. He passed away in 1993 at the age of 76.

I Love you Dad

"No Federal Funds for Heat Relief This Summer"

Disabled in Schaumburg.

The next day after I posted my Blog called "Where Did All My Money Go?" explaining why I can't turn on my air conditioning. The Associated Press published this article in the Daily Herald Called "No Federal Funds for Heat Relief This Summer"



I went to my Disability meeting at our township this afternoon to ask them about Energy assistance for this summer. The air conditioning in my car doesn't work so it was a hot drive over there. That's when they gave me the article. They told me there are no Federal Funds available.

Today it was 95 degrees here in Schaumburg Illinois. I couldn't turn on my air conditioning for the reasons I described in my post "Where Did All My Money Go?" Tomorrow it will be even hotter.

I try and stay as cool as possible during the day. I don't want to have another heart attack. I fill up the bathtub with cool water and get in and then I go sit in front of the fan and watch TV."

A Walk in The Park

I got out out of my apartment and took a walk in the nature preserve today. I timed it perfectly. The flowers where all in bloom in the woods. It was warm, quite and beautiful.

Where Did All My Money Go?

I live on Social Security Disability. I use to have a little extra  spending money every month after I paid my bills on the 3rd of the month but yesterday when I was paying my bills, I started to wonder how come I don’t have it any more. So I went through all my past bills and made up this Graph. I found out that it started disappearing as soon as Obama was elected. It came down to 2 things, well maybe 4 things. I don’t get the monthly benefits that I use to get anymore. For instance,

1.    Energy assistance for the disabled. I had a Heart attack and a  By-Pass. My electric bill went from $0 to $54.20 a month. I can’t afford to turn on my air conditioning. It was 88 degrees today in this apartment.

2.    Of course then there are the all the medical bills. What ever happen to Medicare and Medicaid? I had to pay more out of pocket money to the doctors this year. 

3.    Then the Circuit Breaker grants where cut in half. Illinois is broke so they can’t pay their bills.

4.    Last but not least, the gas prices. WTF, Somebody I know that lives in a great big house that’s painted white needs to “DO SOMETHING!”

Billy Joins the Navy

With Memorial Day Weekend coming up, I had a idea. I got all my old photos of when I was in the Navy and made a video out of them. I loved making it. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

May Flowers

&

I'm having fun making these videos. This is my way of Creating Something. I don't even know what the video is going to look like in the end. That's what makes it so much fun. It's kind of a mystery until you are done with it. I hope you enjoy this one.

Happy Mother's Day

 I wanted to capture some of the beautiful memories of my Mom and growing up.

The beginning of this video starts off with some of my favorites pictures of my Mom holding me up back in 1945 when I was born. She took her life when I was 17 years old, but I never stop loving her. There is a saying that I heard one time that is one of my favorite: "If the people we love are stolen from us, the way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever." I feel that Mom is still holding me up and watching over me.

 I am extremely proud of this video and the opportunity to be able to put it on Oprah's site so all can get a glimpse of my Mom here on Mother's Day.

Senate Bill 173 Defeated!

There was a reason why I posted my article about myself and about Schaumburg Township on my blog: Disabled in Schaumburg, "A Township You Should Know About"

At the last minute, I found out from Schaumburg Disabled Services that Senator Terry Link sponsored a bill; Senate Bill 173 down in Springfield Illinois. He tried to sneak it in without anybody knowing about it here in Schaumburg. This legislation would have created an appointed commission with extraordinary authority to abolish potentially thousands of local government entities. In other words they could have abolished Schaumburg Township where I live. We could not let that happen. So I did my part and wrote up my story about my plight and how the Schaumburg Township has helped me out through all the hard times since I moved here in 1985. I couldn't have survived without them.

Well, yesterday while I was at my Disabled meeting at the Schaumburg Township, they told me that the "Senate Bill 173 was DEFEATED" by 14 to 30 not in favor of the bill.

I was thrilled that it had failed in the Senate. Now I don't have to think about losing my great Township, not for a while anyway. I will always be there to defend my township. Just say the word and I'll be there.

William Kaufman

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Today Was No Ordinary Day for Me

Let me explain.


I had an appointment with my doctor at the Hines Veterans Hospital here in Illinois this morning. It was just a routine follow up. As I entered the grounds, I noticed all these American flags on each side of the road leading to the Hospital. There must have been over a hundred of these flags. "They must be celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden, " I thought to myself. I parked and went to get a blood test first. Everything checked out OK. Then I went up and saw the doctor. That too went well.

After my checkup I asked my doctor where the medical records department was. I needed a copies of my V.A.medical records for my outside doctor that I also see. He told me where it was and I went down to get them. This woman came up to me and asked if she could help. I said yes and I told her what I needed. As I was filling out this form she noticed my name. With a smile on her face she said, "This is as close to seeing another "Kaufman" as I ever will. I didn't know what she meant at first but then she said that her last name was "Kaufman" too. We both were smiling by then and we got to talking.

After I was through getting copies of my medical records, she told me about "The Flag Stitching Ceremony" that they had going on in the Auditorium just down the hall. Her eyes were all lit up and she seemed excited while telling me about it. I didn't know what she was talking about but I had to go check it out. There were signs all over pointing the way to the Flag Sewing. When I got there, I saw this huge old American flag draped across the stage. It was the remnants of the 30-foot American flag that was found hung, torn, tattered, and blowing in the wind on Sept 11th 2001 at 90 West Street across from Ground Zero. WOW!!!

There were people standing there waiting in line. I found out that this flag has been going around the country. They are repairing this flag. Each person standing in line got to put one stitch in the Flag. As I stood there waiting for my turn to put my stitch in the 9/11 Flag, I couldn't help thinking what a perfect way to celebrate the death of Osama bin Laden. I was proud of myself when I took that needle and put my stitch in Our Flag. It was only one stitch but I was proud.

They must be keeping a record of everybody that is participating because they made me fill out a card with my name and address. And then when they gave me the needle to put my stitch in the flag they took my picture. They did that to everybody that helped sew the 9/11 Flag.

Once the flag is restored and made whole again. The National 9/11 Flag will become a part of the permanent collection of the National September 11 Memorial Museum being built at the World Trade Center. What a privilege it was for me to put my stitch in the 9/11 Flag.

http://national911flag.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/N9F-Press-Release-Illinois.pdf

http://national911flag.org/
http://national911flag.org/?page_id=44

A Proud American
William Kaufman




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Easter Sunday at the Nursery

I went over to the Nursery in Schaumburg to see if the flowers had come in yet.. He was just closing up but let me stay a few minutes longer so I could take some pictures. That was nice of him because nobody was there and I got to take some pretty pictures.

Flowers are Like Natures Fireworks

Disabled in Schaumburg

A Township You Should Know About



My name is Bill Kaufman, I moved to an apartment in Schaumburg after my divorce in 1985. At the time I knew something was wrong with me but I didn't know what. So I went to the Veterans Hospital were I stayed for a month and a half. The doctors told me I had multiple sclerosis. I didn't have any money and my rent was due. I couldn't work anymore. If it wasn't for the help of the Schaumburg Township and Gerry Bartnicke in Disabled Services and the people in her office, I would have never made it. I would be dead by now.




They have helped me out so many times that I will never be able to repay them for all the help they have given me over the past 26 years. I'm still in the same apartment after all these years.

They have helped me get my Social Security Disability and Sec 8 to pay for my housing, I use the food pantry once in a while when my doctor bills start piling up and I don't have enough money for food. They helped me get into Adult Day Care center when I first got out of the hospital. I was all alone and I needed help with my depression. I stayed at the day care center for 4 years. The township even helped me get an electric scooter so that I could get around in. The Schaumburg Township has helped me with LIHEAP and since my hearing is bad they got me a phone for the hearing impaired.

Then when the State of Illinois pass the law for Mandatory car insurance, they got Rep. Kay Wojcik to sponsor a House Bill 4214 to help disabled people that couldn't afford car insurance.









After I got out of the adult Day Care Center Gerry Bartnicke of Disabled Services started up a support group for the disabled. It was held at the old township school building on Illinois Blvd in Hoffman Estates. That's when I started going to every meeting. Now they have a new township building and they still hold the disabled meeting once a week on Tuesday which I still attend.






I went to the Larry King Show that was held in a Bowling Alley in Schaumburg immediately following the speech by President Clinton on Health Care Reform in September of 1993. I found out about the Show from the Schaumburg Township. So I went and they let me in and I submitted my question to Larry King so he could ask his guests.




Question to Larry King

"If the government can't afford to provide Health Care for all the Veterans as we were promised when we joined the military, how can the government provide Heath Care for ALL Americans?"

William Kaufman

PS And the Veterans Health Care is rated poor in my opinion.



In 1995 I had a heart attack. When I got out of the hospital they came over and opened my bottle of pills. I couldn't open it because my rid cage was still sawed in half because of the open heart surgery they did on me. They told me how to get help from the hospital in order to pay my bills. Gerry found someone who donated a hospital bed. Well guess who brought it over to my apartment? Yes, it was Gerry Bartnicke and her husband. It was there day off. That's what kind of people we have at the Schaumburg Township

Schaumburg Township always makes sure that I don't go hungry on Thanksgiving or Christmas.

As I get older my teeth started falling out. So I went over to Gerry Bartnicke at the Schaumburg Township and she referred me to this organization that helps disabled people get the proper dental care. I got new teeth. Then my hearing got worse so I talked to Gerry at the Schuamburg Township and she got a hold of the Lions Club and they got me a hearing aid.

That kind of gives you an idea how much help the Schaumburg Township has given me. But I'm not the only person they help out. They work tirelessly helping others. I really can't imagine the Schaumburg Township not being there. It would be one of the worst things that could ever happen.




William Kaufman

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Christmas in Iowa 2010

My daughter and her family went on a cruise in the Caribbean just before Christmas. She called me up from Port-a-Rico,she was at the airport leaving to come back home to Iowa. The weather was so bad in Iowa that they had the airport closed. She could get to Chicago where I am but that was as far as she could go."Do you want me to drive you home?" I asked. "That would be great,"she said. Since it was two weeks before Christmas anyway and I had planned on being at her house for Christmas, I decided so stay there and leave the day after Christmas. Actually she talked me into staying that long. Here is a video of all the pictures I took on my trip.