9/26/12 Wednesday (Yom Kippur)

Today is Yom Kippur,the Holiness day for Jews.Of course,I'm not very good in every sense of word,but even me will try fast-afraid of God I guess.
Remembering Jewish Holidays of past,when I was young,now so many years ago 50-45 years ago in the nineteen sixty.
We dress in our Sunday best,sport jackets dress paints often uncomfortable,Jewish Holidays weather often seems hot,I remember Grandfather bragging about that and gentiles were jealous and he say it with big grim on his face.At the time,I pay no mine,but looking back it was kind stupid it wasn't good weather it was hot and uncomfortable especially when wearing heavy clothes.
We walk to the Synagogue,a long walk from Seaman Ave. crossing Broadway to area that wasn't so nice,it wasn't be kind of dreamy like past it prime many years ago.The Synagogue itself look of out place in that neighborhood,a dirty place mostly tenement apartment buildings from the nineteen thirties or twenties,Synagogue was bigger building in widen although only 3 to 4 floors and basement which one two services took place,main floor was were high roller went to service.Us kid mainly stood out side mulling around the street a few a transistor radios listening baseball usually the World Series take place that time year.

I never like Synagogue,for was place I went to Hebrew School,were I was suppose learn Hebrew for my bar mitzvah.I don't think I ever a word of Hebrew,I was very bad student,school no matter what type was never my thing.Poor Rabbi Gellar,he was patient and good man but such a bad student I,m afraid he got nowhere with me,he must have know I had problems and he like me for years later mother ran into and he asked about me,when mother said I was in college he was much relieved.
I remember one time the Hebrew class went a ballpark of sorts,in park,by the river(Hudson) off Dyckman Street near entrances of the West Side Highway or Henry Hudson Parkway.We played softball and Gellar called me Mickey Mantle believe me I was no Mickey Mantle but once in life I felt good-I shall never forgot it.

I remember one Yom Kippur,not really friend but somebody I know named Howey  and his father who much older then our parents were going walk to Yonkers .Howey was much different than us kids,I think he older or maybe just seem that way,he already wore a leather brown color with flees line inside,he lived in same build as one good friends Mark Jacobs.Anyway a bunch of us walk to Yonkers that day-up Broadway on King's bridge under the L line(elevator subway trains after Dyckman Street station #1 IRT) passed Van Cortlandt Park to Yonkers and back.It must been either the early sixties or mid-sixties years.