"Lew's News That You Can Use" - A Catchy Title for a Catchy Man
Living a Good Life By Lew Polin
Lew's genuine love of Judaism manifests itself by creating a segment of interaction for Jeremiah members of
Jewish learning and values whether Biblical or Talmudic, ethical and moral, ancient or modern. The subjects
may be on the Exodus or Israel Independence Day or doing mitzvot or problems we face and how to deal with them.
Jewish learning and values whether Biblical or Talmudic, ethical and moral, ancient or modern. The subjects
may be on the Exodus or Israel Independence Day or doing mitzvot or problems we face and how to deal with them.
Lew's Monthly Segments...
|
The Cycle Of Life... A Sensitive Subject about Life and Death; Keeping
|
Providing the Lessons...
|
Each month, Lew brings his usual thought provoking organized hand-out flyer.
Members share readings and reflect on the past and making the future better.
The importance of being honest along with asking forgiveness are also points well taken.
Members share readings and reflect on the past and making the future better.
The importance of being honest along with asking forgiveness are also points well taken.
Lew and Cathy Reh read
|
We are all Doing the
|
You've Got a Friend
|
Son Howard Wins
|
"Just think of what a wonderful world this would be if all of us just followed The Ten
Commandments. There would be no crime. There would probably be no wars.
People would be happy and thankful for all that they have".
"And the people of the world would all treat one another with dignity and respect."
A Lew Polin "Lew-ism"
Sharing a Comforting Moment
Lew and the Jeremiah Members comfort Jeannie after an auto accident.
|
Gloria Polin, Wife and Mensch
Lew's wife Gloria shows a map to each member during a Passover discussion. In the foreground is one of many Seder plates she created.
|
Celebrating Jewish Holidays
Lew with son Howard proudly shows us the flag that he hand-made as we celebrate Israel Independence Day.
|
Shake Rattle and Roll
Cathy and Lew dancing to the karaoke groove.
|
The Polins Lead Us In Prayer
Lew chants several verses from the Torah
|
Amazing Volunteers
|
HOWARD POLIN: A STORY OF LOVE
As told by his father Lew Polin
More than 40 years ago, God decided that it was time for a special birth. Gloria and I believe that God chose us to be the parents of a smiling and affectionate baby boy, Howard, who just loved to be loved. While this baby would not develop like other children, God blessed this little guy with a beautiful and loving heart. Actually, he wasn’t so little!! He weighed in at 9 lbs. 13 oz. and a person at the hospital said, “You’re gonna need a cow to feed that kid!”
There were some challenges in bringing him up. As a little boy, he made no eye contact. Airplanes would fly across the sky but he would never look up. Cars would travel down the street but he would never follow them. His favorite toy was a can of Endust that he kept by his side.
In Howard’s early years, we were living in Philadelphia. Howard didn't talk like the other children his age. In fact, he said no words at all. At first, we weren’t concerned that much because, I didn’t speak until I was three years old and Gloria’s father didn’t talk until he was five. But, we became more fearful as time went by and Howard seemed to be making no progress.
So, we took him to a children’s hospital for an evaluation where the “experts” said that Howard was very low functioning and didn’t have the capability to form sounds. As a result, they claimed that he would never speak - EVER! We were devastated. Some time later, we sought a second opinion at a different but more renown children’s hospital. As part of this review, one doctor poked his head in the door, took a quick look at Howard and found dark liver spots on his back. This “expert” claimed that Howard might have a potentially fatal condition and that he would not live past his teens. After hearing this news, Gloria was her usual level-headed and pragmatic self, while I became very emotional and alarmist. That afternoon, I had to fly from Philadelphia to Montreal. It was a beautiful day and the plane had only a few passengers. As I flew over the border between New York and Vermont and looked down on shimmering Lake Champlain, tears streamed down my face since I couldn’t stop thinking about what that last doctor had said about Howard.
We then moved to California where Howard was put into a special education program. When Howard was about eight years old, a school psychologist recommended that Howard attend the California School for the Neurologically Handicapped in East Los Angeles. This was a boarding school where Howard stayed during the week and went home for the weekends. Each Sunday night when we dropped him off at the school, both he and I started crying because we knew that we wouldn’t see one another for another five days. After being at that place for the full school year, a group of “experts” sat around a large table with a stack of reports and told us that, at best, Howard might have the capability to work on an assembly line... if that.
After boarding school, Howard returned to the special education class in one public school after another. Every year there were meetings that really focused on what Howard couldn’t do. And, during one of those meetings, another “expert” told us that he would never be able to answer questions, particularly “why” questions.
Well, it turned out that all of the “experts” over the years achieved a perfect score of 100%. THEY WERE WRONG EVERY TIME!! Today, Howard is an unqualified success. While it is true that Howard still has trouble speaking and understanding, he has made phenomenal progress in communicating. In addition, he has a full-time job and has worked for Ralphs for more than 16 years as a courtesy clerk where he has won every conceivable award there is to win. His Ralphs hat is completely full of bling. And, to top it all off, Howard has created more than 400 exquisite needlepoint eyeglass cases and purses over the last two decades. His craftsmanship is just impeccable. And although some people have willingly purchased his products, Howard has given away his needlepoints as gifts to a never-ending list of people he likes. That is easy for our son to do since he has never met a person whom he doesn’t like.
Howard loves life like no one else that I have ever known. And, while we continue to teach him things since he is so receptive to learning, he has taught me some valuable lessons as well. He has taught me how to appreciate life and to be a happier person. Since I’m a slow learner in this area, he has to keep reminding me about these issues. Thank God I have Howard!
There is a moral to this story: If you ever find a person who says you "CAN'T" or WON’T be able to do something, just turn around and WALK AWAY. This person does not have your best interests in mind. And also know that the so-called “experts” don’t usually know anymore about you than you do yourself. Prove the experts wrong by always doing the best you can. If you follow this one simple rule, you CAN be a success and have a wonderful and happy life.
As told by his father Lew Polin
More than 40 years ago, God decided that it was time for a special birth. Gloria and I believe that God chose us to be the parents of a smiling and affectionate baby boy, Howard, who just loved to be loved. While this baby would not develop like other children, God blessed this little guy with a beautiful and loving heart. Actually, he wasn’t so little!! He weighed in at 9 lbs. 13 oz. and a person at the hospital said, “You’re gonna need a cow to feed that kid!”
There were some challenges in bringing him up. As a little boy, he made no eye contact. Airplanes would fly across the sky but he would never look up. Cars would travel down the street but he would never follow them. His favorite toy was a can of Endust that he kept by his side.
In Howard’s early years, we were living in Philadelphia. Howard didn't talk like the other children his age. In fact, he said no words at all. At first, we weren’t concerned that much because, I didn’t speak until I was three years old and Gloria’s father didn’t talk until he was five. But, we became more fearful as time went by and Howard seemed to be making no progress.
So, we took him to a children’s hospital for an evaluation where the “experts” said that Howard was very low functioning and didn’t have the capability to form sounds. As a result, they claimed that he would never speak - EVER! We were devastated. Some time later, we sought a second opinion at a different but more renown children’s hospital. As part of this review, one doctor poked his head in the door, took a quick look at Howard and found dark liver spots on his back. This “expert” claimed that Howard might have a potentially fatal condition and that he would not live past his teens. After hearing this news, Gloria was her usual level-headed and pragmatic self, while I became very emotional and alarmist. That afternoon, I had to fly from Philadelphia to Montreal. It was a beautiful day and the plane had only a few passengers. As I flew over the border between New York and Vermont and looked down on shimmering Lake Champlain, tears streamed down my face since I couldn’t stop thinking about what that last doctor had said about Howard.
We then moved to California where Howard was put into a special education program. When Howard was about eight years old, a school psychologist recommended that Howard attend the California School for the Neurologically Handicapped in East Los Angeles. This was a boarding school where Howard stayed during the week and went home for the weekends. Each Sunday night when we dropped him off at the school, both he and I started crying because we knew that we wouldn’t see one another for another five days. After being at that place for the full school year, a group of “experts” sat around a large table with a stack of reports and told us that, at best, Howard might have the capability to work on an assembly line... if that.
After boarding school, Howard returned to the special education class in one public school after another. Every year there were meetings that really focused on what Howard couldn’t do. And, during one of those meetings, another “expert” told us that he would never be able to answer questions, particularly “why” questions.
Well, it turned out that all of the “experts” over the years achieved a perfect score of 100%. THEY WERE WRONG EVERY TIME!! Today, Howard is an unqualified success. While it is true that Howard still has trouble speaking and understanding, he has made phenomenal progress in communicating. In addition, he has a full-time job and has worked for Ralphs for more than 16 years as a courtesy clerk where he has won every conceivable award there is to win. His Ralphs hat is completely full of bling. And, to top it all off, Howard has created more than 400 exquisite needlepoint eyeglass cases and purses over the last two decades. His craftsmanship is just impeccable. And although some people have willingly purchased his products, Howard has given away his needlepoints as gifts to a never-ending list of people he likes. That is easy for our son to do since he has never met a person whom he doesn’t like.
Howard loves life like no one else that I have ever known. And, while we continue to teach him things since he is so receptive to learning, he has taught me some valuable lessons as well. He has taught me how to appreciate life and to be a happier person. Since I’m a slow learner in this area, he has to keep reminding me about these issues. Thank God I have Howard!
There is a moral to this story: If you ever find a person who says you "CAN'T" or WON’T be able to do something, just turn around and WALK AWAY. This person does not have your best interests in mind. And also know that the so-called “experts” don’t usually know anymore about you than you do yourself. Prove the experts wrong by always doing the best you can. If you follow this one simple rule, you CAN be a success and have a wonderful and happy life.