Some of Daddy's Treasures

In the living room,  I have a secretary desk that is devoted to some of my

Daddy's treasures obtained from his years in international business.  In the

1960's he had quite a bit of business in both Israel and some of the Middle 

Eastern nations.  Travel in and out of these countries was a bit tricky and he

would carry more than one passport so that he would get past country restrictions.

Don't ask me how he did this, but he did have a close relationship with many

in Washington.  

Over the years, Daddy was gifted with many treasures from business

associates.  He was given a tiger skin, which was meant to be used as a rug,

but none of us were okay with it.  Our dog especially hated it.  It remained

carefully packaged up in the attic, but was brought out only if the giver came

 to visit when he was in the states.

Daddy also did quite a bit of business in Israel.  He was invited into the home of

the Dobkin family in Jerusalem many times.  They had a son who was starting to

apply to colleges in the US, and expressed an interest in attending Harvard.   

Daddy has some connections at the University, and offered to write a letter of 

recommendation for the college hopeful.  I do not know what the ultimate result

of this letter was, but the Dobkin family was very thankful and presented my

Daddy with quite a nice gift of antique glass found on an architectural dig in

Jerusalem.  

These artifacts were uncovered near Bethlehem from the first century 

 of the Common Era.  Daddy was an avid student of the history and the

architecture of the ancient Near East, so this gift had a very special 

meaning to him.

I'm thinking of Daddy today (as I do every day) and remembering

things that were special to him.  On this date in 2010, Daddy passed

away.  That year it was two days before Father's Day, and this year

it is two days after.  He led a fascinating life and died at the age of

93.  He sure was a great guy!

Big Texas Hugs,

Susan and Bentley