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Dohn Samuel Schildkraut
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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities English novelist (1812 - 1870)
My God! What have I crammed into 50 years???? I remember sitting at the Senior Dinner and thinking I had my whole live mapped out, but I never anticipated this!
â Three schools: three years at Caltech; then the BS Aerospace Engineering from Brooklyn Poly; and the MS Aeronautics and Astronautics from NYU…
â Four careers: requirements engineer in aerospace; sixteen years of import/export with my father, uncle and eventually my wife; some personnel recruiting along the way; and the last 25 years as a systems consultant.
â Two marriages: a short disaster while I was in college to my high school girlfriend; now 40+ years to the “Super-Micki.”
â Three super kids and five extra-super grandkids… as of this moment.
As indicated by the quote with which I started this epistle, there have been good times and there have been bad times, but the good have certainly outweighed the bad.
The good things have included a wonderful family, interesting work, an active life – including sports car racing, fencing, skiing, cycling – extensive travel, a passion for opera, theater, music and art, and a network of friends around the world (thank you, Internet!).
The bad things have mostly been associated with health, life and death: loss of my brother at age 20; of my dad at age 69; and a series of health issues that have curtailed my activities on a number of occasions, especially over the last 15 years. On the other hand, my mother, Tamara, is still with us at age 101!
DAD (spoken): I feel happy. I feel happy. (sung) I am not dead yet I can dance and I can sing I am not dead yet I can do the Highland Fling
I am not dead yet No need to go to bed No need to call the doctor Cause I'm not yet dead.
Song: He Is Not Dead Yet Monty Python's Spamalot
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