Sunday Stealing

Edited/renumbered for consistency

1. Where did your name come from?

My real name or the name I use here on the internet?  

My real name is Robin.  In accordance with Jewish tradition, I was given an English name and a Jewish name.  My Jewish name is Raisel, I was named after my great aunt Raisel.   

My father wanted to name me after his mother, Dora, who died before I was born,  but there was a problem.  Jews from Eastern Europe only use the names of deceased relatives when choosing a name for their children, and ... well, my mother's mother was also named Dora.  She was very much alive when I was born, and very superstitious,  Using her name would be tantamount to wishing her dead...

I use "songbird" on the internet because a robin is a songbird.

2. Where were you born?

Right here on Long Island.  The hospital where I was born no longer exists, I think there's a drug rehab clinic there now.

3. What as your house like, growing up?

Which house?  We moved when I was 8.  

The old house was a split level on a busy suburban street, nice house with a great yard.

The "new house"   (I can't really think of it as new anymore) is a colonial in a suburb that likes to pretend it's still farm country,   Our back yard borders on an 18 acre "nature preserve", really just a plot of woods that hasn't been developed.

4. What was your childhood bedroom like?

I shared a room with my sister at the old house, but I don't remember what it was like.  I had my own room in the new house, Yellow carpet, white colonial-style furniture, and curtains and a bedspread made by my aunt.

5. Did you travel as a child? Where?

I remember a trip to Washington DC when I was 5,  We went to Lake George, NY when I was 10 and to Williamsburg, VA when I was 14.  And Miami Beach with my grandmother when I was 12.

6. Write about your grandparents.

All four of my grandparents were immigrants from Eastern Europe. My paternal grandparents and my maternal grandfather died before I was born,  My maternal grandmother lived to be 96.  She told a lot of stories about growing up in Poland and about her experiences as an immigrant to this country.

7. Who taught you how to drive?

My mom and my Driver's Ed teacher.

8. When did you first leave home?

At 18 I went away to college. I lived on campus throughout my college and law school days.  I went to the State University of New York at Albany, some four hours away from home.  I went to Hofstra Law, here on Long Island, but it was easier to live on campus than commute.  

Graduated at 24, got an apartment at 25.  Got married at 27.  

Got divorced at 34, my kids and I moved in with my parents "temporarily".  26 years later, my kids have moved out. but I still live with my mother.

9. What did your parents do for work?

My father was a WW II veteran who went to college on the GI Bill.  He was a proud alum of Brooklyn College.   He became an English  teacher, and eventually became a school administrator.

My mother is a graduate of Hunter College, which is part of the City University of New York.  She was able to go because there was no tuition at CUNY schools back then.  She became a Social Studies teacher. She was a stay-at-home mom for most of my childhood -- understandable, as I am one of four children, and my dad made a good living.   She went back to work when I was in high school, but could not find a permanent teaching job.

So she took a civil service exam and found a job as a court clerk.  And then, right after my graduation from Hofstra, my mother enrolled at Touro Law School.  She worked all day at the courthouse and went to school four nights a week.  She'd call me often for advice, and I joked that I actually went to law school twice.

And when she graduated, she got a job as an attorney in a state agency.

10. Who inspired you as you matured?

My mother is an amazing woman.

11. What was the best part of your 20s?

I established my career, I fell in love and I got married.

12. What as the best part of your 30s?

Raising my daughters.  Jen was born when I was 30, Becca was born when I was 32.

13. Where is the most fascinating place you’ve visited?

Mayan ruins fascinate me.

Altun Ha, Belize:

Chichen Itza, Mexico:

14. What is your favorite family story?

There are so many ... I'll tell just one.

May 17, 1998.  22 years ago today.  We went to my cousin's bris.  We had the chance to welcome the newest member of the family, we caught up with the goings-on of all the cousins, and we stuffed ourselves with bagels and lox and whitefish... typical family celebration. 

The party broke up late afternoon, and we had to drive from my cousin's house in Rockland County back to our home on Long Island.  Normally we'd drive through the Bronx, right past Yankee Stadium.  But my father said "The Yankees are playing this afternoon, we'll probably get caught in stadium traffic."

So we drove through Manhattan instead, down the FDR Drive...and got caught in a  major traffic jam because of the motorcade of then-Vice President Al Gore.  We had no idea he was in town.

And while we were sitting in traffic, we had a perfect view across the river.  We could see Yankee Stadium.  There was no traffic near the stadium at all.

Why?

Well...er...Wells....

Yes, My cousin's bris was the same day as David Wells' perfect game. Not a soul left the ballpark until the game was over.

15. What was your most memorable birthday?

I was 40 years old.  I took Jen and Becca to Walt Disney World, just the three of us.  We had my birthday dinner at the Crystal Palace with  Winnie the Pooh.

16. What was your favorite food as a child?

Spaghetti and meatballs.  I still love Italian food.