The Open Door
A look inside our Clubhouse
May 2017
www.howardlevinclubhouse.org
A Publication of the Howard Levin Clubhouse
Mitzvah Day 2017
By Meg H.
Howard Levin Clubhouse
A Program of Jewish
Residential Services
2621 Murray Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
(412) 422-1850
Newsletter Staff:
Sarah Berry
Andrew Berkey
Dean Damick
Zachary Dengler
Carmen Harris
Mike Hogan
Meg H.
David Kent
Emily Kramer
Thom M.
Zara Sayles
Eric Sc.
Polly Snell
Delaine Swearman
Ed Tipton
On Sunday, April 23rd we had a wonderful Mitzvah Day at our HLC Garden.
Members, staff, and volunteers from the community gathered in the morning and
noshed on bagels, donuts, and coffee before settling into a day of general cleanup,
weeding, digging out beds that needed the wood frames repaired, and spreading our
fabulous compost over the newly cleaned up beds. We broke for lunch and enjoyed
delicious pizza from MilkyWay and then got right back to work.
We were all so happy to work together and tend to our beautiful garden. I personally
felt great pleasure knowing that I had done a lovely spring day justice by being out in
nature with friends and colleagues nurturing our little plot of land.
Mitzvah Day 2017
1
Fostering
2
Fostering Continued
3
Don’t Worry, Be Happy Now
4
The Power of Words
5
A Present Day Miracle— Passover
Time; Voting and Advocacy: How
are they related?
6
A Trip to the Frick Museum
7
JRS Walking Program Kicks Off
Legend of Zelda, Breath of the
Wild Review
8
Bargain Bin Record Reviews
10
Cases of Books
11
9
PAGE 2
HOWARD LEVIN CLUBHOUSE
Fostering
By Polly Snell
Losing a pet is one of the hardest things in life. I was 39 when Wheeler, my awesome and loudpurring cat, passed away from cancer. She was my first pet as an adult and had helped me
through thick and thin, always purring by my side. I was heartbroken.
I missed having a companion around, but wasn't quite ready, yet so I volunteered at the local
Humane Society, cleaning the pens, feeding, and administering medications. However, I found
it emotionally overwhelming and painful as I felt their distress and fear. Shelters are necessary
in our society, but they are very hard on the dogs and cats brought in. Dogs and cats that have
obviously been in homes come in as ―strays‖ everyday. With no tag or chip, most of them never
make it back to their homes. It is a sad mystery.
So when they asked if I would foster five 3-week-old kittens I jumped. They were so tiny they
could hardly walk and their eyes weren't completely opened yet. Feeding and cleaning them
was a constant chore and kept me busy. Another shelter asked me to foster two teenage kittens
too thin to be adopted out. Then, Sammy, a tiny and very frightened miniature greyhound, came
to me. She was relinquished when her owner became
paralyzed and could no longer care for her. She was
too timid to be in a shelter, so I fostered her and ended up adopting her to my vet. It was nice to see her
grow and flourish in her new life. All this kept me
busy and soon I was feeling better again.
I did a lot of thinking and decided that I would do
my part to spare dogs and cats the terrifying experience of a shelter. That was in 1998. Fostering has
been the only common denominator in my life since
then. Whether I lived in Portland, Oregon; Denver, Colorado; or Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania I always looked forward to my next foster.
Today, I foster for Animal Advocates of Pittsburgh, which has been around for over 30 years.
We are a 99% foster-based rescue, so they rely on kind-hearted people to open their homes and
hearts. We have a small cat sanctuary above the Animal Advocates thrift store located in the
West End. Shelters in rural Ohio and West Virginia contact groups like Advocates to save the
lives of dogs and cats scheduled for euthanasia. Rural shelters do not have as much foot traffic
as Pittsburgh. We will meet at pre-determined freeway exits somewhere in between to pick up
our new rescues. It feels clandestine as I pull over and wait for the van to pull up with ―the
goods.‖
A fenced yard and or a private room to keep fosters safe are good to have. Also, a car or someone to drive your fosters to the vet, adoption events, and meet-n-greets with people wanting to
adopt. It’s important to make sure households that already have a pet will get along with their
fosters.
Continued on Page 3
THE OPEN DOOR
PAGE 3
Continued from Page 2
It’s good to feel confident around animals so you can administer medications (not always easy to
do, especially with cats), bathe them, keep fights from breaking out, and make sure everyone is
safe. My own dogs, Ziva and Conner, have to be patient when new fosters come in. They are
used to it, and are usually playing in no time, but they are happiest when its just us three.
As a foster person, I have to be very patient because when a new foster comes in, they almost
always have ―accidents.‖ Having a roll of paper towels and a bottle of Nature's Miracle (odor
and stain remover) helps keep my house clean. New fosters urinate or defecate out of fear, and
some need work getting house trained.
Some fosters are permanent or even need hospice. Elderly or ill dogs get to live their lives loved
and cared for in a safe environment. My sister, Sharon, fostered Lesha, a senior min-pin with diabetes, blindness, and back problems. Patty, the director of Advocates, has a cat with epilepsy
that requires monitoring and daily medications. They will most likely stay in their foster homes
until they pass. The rescue group pays all vet costs and medication.
Others come in with mild health issues like a rash or broken leg and get adopted as soon as they
heal. And other fosters end up as ―failed fosters‖ where the foster family falls in love with and
adopts them. This is common amongst foster people.
When I foster, I get to spend time with my new ―baby‖ to learn about its personality. While different animal breeds have different characteristics and quirks, every animal has her own innate
personality. Some are confident and eager to please, some bark a lot and some are quiet; some
might snip or bite out of fear. Some are best in a one-pet home, while others might get lonely
being the only one; some are lively and active and might not do well in a quiet sedentary household. Some are good with kids and others aren't. Spending time with my fosters helps me figure
out what their perfect forever home looks like. Adopting a foster pet is great because adopters
get to know about their personality. This isn't always the case.
Everyday across the US, thousands of animals are brought in as ―strays‖ despite obvious signs of
being cared for. Without a tag or chip, many never make it back home. People bring their pets to
shelters for reasons like: a) no time to spend with them; b) landlord says no pets; c) moving and
can’t take them; d) can't afford their pets' vet costs; e) and the saddest of all is when their owner
is no longer healthy enough to care for them. Everyday, thousands of cats and dogs are euthanized due to over-breeding and limited shelter space. Too often, it’s black dogs and cats, and
pit bulls that go unadopted and disappear each night, never to be seen again. Animals have a
much stronger sense of smell than humans and they can smell the death in kill shelters. Many
dogs, especially small ones, shut down and spiral into despair. Fostering is vital for pets like these. There is no way for animals to understand why they are in a shelter. They are innocent victims. Having survived a difficult childhood, I can relate. So, each time I have a successful foster,
I'm helping to save another soul and giving it a second chance at a good life.
Please SPAY OR NEUTER your pets. They will live longer, healthier lives and this will help
with the overpopulation problem. Getting pet chipped will help strays get back to their homes.
Think globally and act locally.
PAGE 4
HOWARD LEVIN CLUBHOUSE
Don’t Worry, Be Happy Now
by Ed Tipton
But just because it burns, doesn’t mean you’re gonna die/ You gotta get up and try, and try, and
try – Pink, from the album The Truth About Love, (2012), Songwriters: Michael Busbee and
Benjamin West
It ain’t easy being green. – Kermit the Frog
I couldn’t resist putting ―Pink‖ with ―green‖ in this article. Some songs stick in my head for a
variety of reasons so I thought I’d mix them together. Also, as a bonus, thank you for the title,
Bobby McFerrin. Now for the real reason of the article: It ain’t easy being ourselves and sometimes the road does get scary, but change can happen even if it is not overnight. Sometimes our
successes come an inch at a time at best.
Long time readers of my articles (thanks again by the way) have come to realize that I never
really liked myself growing up. In Jr. high, I remember that I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror and didn’t make regular eye contact with people until about high school. Do I like myself
now? Yes. I am growing to love myself for myself. There used to be great issues with the emotions I stuffed inside for years. I had my first inpatient hospitalization at about age 20. There is
a lot going on inside me as well as you as we write this. Perhaps there will always be so for us
all.
Yet we get up, and try, and try. And sometimes we do worry and aren’t happy. We do our best
to get on the right track. There are no easy answers, but that doesn’t mean we should give up. I
had an ex-friend of about 20 years who said cruel things and yelled at me saying things like
―you gave up, Ed,‖ for being on SSDI. He was a jerk I booted out of my life about four years
ago. Don’t be a jerk to yourself. Don’t listen to those voices of failures either in yourself or
from others. Whatever it takes to love you in a caring manner, please do. I am still learning to
love myself, but I am growing by my God’s grace. You must allow yourself to grow to love
yourself too and only you know how to over time.
Thanks for listening. I hope this helped again.
THE OPEN DOOR
PAGE 5
The Power of Words
By Carmen Harris
Words can hurt us or words can help us.
Words can harm us or words can heal us.
Gossip and slander is what we should not do.
Gossip and slander is not what we should tolerate or listen to.
To be honest, I am inter-faith.
I only date single men of any ethnicity, but I love my friends and family of the LGBT community.
When I was a child we used to say: ―Sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will
never hurt me.‖
So, when people gossip and slander, I
say nothing.
Except, when you point the index finger
at someone, you have three of your own
fingers pointing back at you.
It’s OK to be straight or gay or other; I
don’t judge.
I don’t make fun or gossip about it, and
I don’t slander anyone because of their
race, color, ethnicity, religion (or lack
of religion), gender, sexual orientation,
disability or age.
We all matter! We all deserve to be
loved.
We are all beautiful on the inside, too.
We all know that gossip and slander hurts the reputation of those who are the topic of it, and
those who are talking about the topic, too!
Nobody should ruin their good name by becoming a gossiper or a slanderer.
We are all made in the image of a perfect, loving, forgiving, good god.
That’s just who we are—LGBT or not
We are all creations of the Creator Almighty.
And we, and our reputations, are worth more than diamonds and gold, and should be protected,
respected and never neglected.
If you don’t love and respect others, how can you expect to be loved and respected in return?
The Golden Rule says ―Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.‖
Also, ―To err is human; to forgive is divine.‖
The power of good and bad, right and wrong, is in the tongue.
Deeds and words can hurt, or deeds and words can help.
I pray: May you be happy, may you be at peace, may you be healthy; may you be safe (to us,
our friends, and families).
May we all have the very best that life has to offer, and may we be kind to ourselves at all
times, and may we also be kind to each other.
PAGE 6
HOWARD LEVIN CLUBHOUSE
A Present Day Miracle – Passover Time
By Lucky Dean Damick
Last year, Robbie Henry (Rodef Shalom Temple) gave me a blessing (since I said a blessing
before reading the Torah). Then, I won from Global PGH Picnic two free tickets to Europe. On
April 18th—23rd this Passover miracle will happen since my mom and I will go to Holland to
see close friends. I hope all of the Clubhouse, my friends, and rest of my family get a miracle
too like mine. I will show everyone my Holland pictures when I get back.
Voting and Advocacy: How are they related?
By Sarah Berry
We talk sometimes about ―advocacy‖ or ―political advocacy‖ and the general consensus is that
―it’s important,‖ but where do we go from there? What’s next?
Believe it or not, voting. Here’s why:
Many of us have written or called our legislators to voice our opinions about mental health
funding and other important issues. Some of us have even visited a legislator’s office or met
with a staffer to talk about the issues that matter to us.
Whether or not you voted in an election (not HOW you voted, but if you showed up to the
polls) is a matter of public record. If you write to a legislator, or meet with someone from her/
his office, they will know whether or not you voted. Why is this important? A politician wants
your vote. Yes, they represent you, but they are going to
listen to the people that can vote for them and help them
keep their job (after all, that is what a vote is to them – it
keeps them employed!)
I went to a training recently through the Pitt School of Social Work regarding Advocacy and Lobbying for NonProfits. The trainer spoke about how going to meet with
legislators is very important, but that the credibility of an
agency can be decreased if the people who attend aren’t
active voters. Think about it – HLC goes to talk to a member of government about the Clubhouse and about mental
health legislation, but we don’t look legitimate because
some of the people who chose to come with us don’t vote.
It’s not just enough to be registered to vote – taking part in the election process conveys that
you care about the laws that are passed and how politicians stand on issues. And, as I learned,
voting also gives you credibility and some leverage when doing advocacy work.
The next election is the PA primary on Tuesday, May 16. Go out and vote! If you need help
finding your polling place, please visit www.seventy.org/find-your-polling-place.
THE OPEN DOOR
PAGE 7
A Trip to the Frick Museum
By Thom M. and Mike Hogan
A group of hardy Howard Levin Clubhouse members made their way to the Frick Museum of
Art on a rainy March 31st. The Art Museum featured a display of Impressionist painters, such
as Claude Monet. The art exhibit was impressive enough, but there was also an exhibition of
Japponoiserie from the middle of the 19th Century. (Japponoiserie means: ―arts and crafts that
were influenced by Japan.‖) The Frick exhibit showed many items with these Japanese touches.
The Frick family were avid collectors of Japanese artifacts. Many of us were fascinated
by the exhibit, in particular the exquisite ceramics. A lively discussion occurred between the members and the Curator about
Japanese art and crafts.
Much of the Frick collection of Japponoiserie was comprised of custom-made items
designed for export. Some colleagues indicated that they would like such art work in their homes; other colleagues were not so impressed.
Mike H. found that the exhibit to be interesting, but he thought the Frick family should have
collected the original art treasures, instead.
We also visited the Car Museum. There were two Frick autos, along with a number of their carriages. Along with the Frick cars, the Snyder car collection was on display. It consisted of automobiles built before 1930, including a Stanley Steamer, a Keystone racer, and a Ford Model A.
The museum also featured a selection of the Frick’s carriages which served a multitude of purposes for the Frick family. We were particularly interested in the ―omnibus,‖ which gives us the
word ―bus.‖ It is a multi-passenger carriage.
The rain picked up after we finished viewing the transportation museum. We went
over to the gift shop just as it was closing.
The HLC party dried off, and Thom M.
looked at some of the coffee table books
about the Frick family, and life in Pittsburgh
during the late 19th and early 20th Centuries. A good cup of coffee would have been
nice, but the café was already closed.
All in all, it was a good way to spend a
rainy afternoon.
PAGE 8
HOWARD LEVIN CLUBHOUSE
JRS Walking Program Kicks Off
By Delaine Swearman
As warmer weather returns, once again the JRS Health and Safety Committee is sponsoring an
annual walking program. Starting in in April, the walking program is holding monthly outings to
take advantage of the local outdoor attractions and parks. The official kickoff event will be a trip
to the Pittsburgh Zoo. This is an annual event that usually falls at the end of April. Friends and
family are welcome to join us. Snacks and drinks are provided.
Additional monthly walks are planned to the Highland Park Reservoir on May 9th, the Schenley
Oval on June 6th, Squaw Valley Park on July 11th, the Southside Riverfront Trail on August 8th,
and Mellon Park on September 12th. Also mark your calendar for October 1st which is the annual
NAMI walk at the Waterfront. Transportation from the Clubhouse will be provided, leaving at
1:30, for all of the monthly walks. They are on flat surfaces, and the sites have been chosen so
that members of varying levels of physical ability can participate.
In addition to organized events, the walking program encourages participants to track their physical activity during the month and will award prizes, in the form of $10 gift cards, to two randomly
selected participants who have logged activities that month. There is a large poster with log sheets
posted near the staircase in the Clubhouse where you can log your activities. The more times per
month you log an activity, the more chances you have to win a gift card.
Exercise such as walking, yoga, biking, swimming, or working out at the gym count toward our
walking program. But you can also write down non-traditional physical activities. If housecleaning, gardening, yard work, shopping, or walking home from the bus stop is exercise for you, then
that counts. Write it down!
So, regardless of whether or not you have participated in the past walking programs, this is the
year to start logging your activities. Everyone can use a gift card, so at the very minimum, you
should log at least once per month for a chance to win. Let’s show JRS a record number of participants from the Howard Levin Clubhouse. Happy walking!
THE OPEN DOOR
PAGE 9
Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Review
By Andrew Berkey
The new Zelda game that came out March 4th has a lot of unique qualities to the game that set it
above past Zelda games.
The game costs 60 dollars for the Nintendo Switch as well as the Wii U, which is a plus if you
do not want to buy a new console, such as the Switch. The graphics and frame rate are exactly
the same on either console. Previously, a lot of the Zelda games could only be played on the
newest console once they come out, making it a lot more difficult to buy and play the game.
That is not the case with this new
one.
Aside from the pricing, the game
offers an open world where you
can fast travel from place to place
as long as you scale the tower for
the area that you want to go to.
Weapons do not last forever, making the choice of weapon you use
for any enemy something of a
thought. In past Zelda games,
once you obtain a weapon, it stays
with you forever. In this game, there is a durability factor as well as a force and damage factor
to the weapon.
The armor does last forever; however, when you start playing, the armor you use has very little
impact on damage absorption from enemies. When you find a fairy, they have the ability to upgrade the damage absorption of your armor by a certain amount each time you find a fairy, totaling to four of them.
Another thing I love about this game is there is a large variety of weapons and armor to choose
from as well the added factor that you only have so much space in your inventory, which can be
upgraded through one of the various mini games.
There are a lot of side quests in this game that either help you with the currency or rare items or
even heart pieces. The main quest itself can be beaten in supposedly less than an hour by speed
gamers; however, if you want the full effect of the game, such as myself, it could last over 100
hours of game time, far exceeding previous Zelda games.
The perfect rating of 10 that it has gotten on many websites such as IGN is in my opinion a fair
assessment of the fun factor. It is a great game all around, and I recommend playing it.
PAGE 10
HOWARD LEVIN CLUBHOUSE
Bargain Bin Record Reviews
By Mike Hogan
As regular readers of my column will attest, I like taking on subjects that I have never written
about. New subjects make me happy, and keep the column fresh. This month I would like to
take on folk music.
―Folk Music‖ is a slippery category. It exists in the listener’s ear and can be almost any kind of
music, except jazz or classical. This includes blues, spirituals, gospel, folk-rock, bluegrass and
breakdown music, as well as acoustic music of many types. It’s easier to define what isn’t folk
music than what it is.
Some are easier to identify than others. Woody Guthrie’s acoustical ballads are generally recognized at folk music, but Bob Dylan’s electric music was spurned when it was new. The
Band’s county rock was embraced, but The Cowboy Junkies’ similar music was rejected because of the ―New Wave‖ era during which it was recorded. Simon and Garfunkel’s folk-rock
has always been considered with disdain by folk music ―purists‖ due to its literary underpinnings. All of these arguments seem meaningless in today’s context.
On the subject of Simon and Garfunkel’s music, I think that their maximum opus was
“Parsley Sage Rosemary and Thyme.” It had great songs and intelligent rock-type arrangements. It has also withstood the test of time where most folk music has not. It is a worthy addition to any contemporary music collection.
An important sub-genre of folk music is LGBT oriented music. At the center of this music is
the Indigo Girls. They identify as lesbian (although they are not a couple). Being straight, I
find it hard to resonate with their lyrics, but lots of people love them, and they are quite successful. I think they are worth listening to.
There are many different folk bands worthy
of collecting. They include the Weavers;
Peter, Paul and Mary; the Kingston Trio;
Bill Monroe; Dylan and Leadbelly. All
had a lot to say in their day.
Indigo Girls
So there you have it. Unless you are an avid
collector of folk music, the shear volume of
it can be overwhelming. I say, start it slowly, and build your collection one album at a
time.
As always:
Keep on Twanging
THE OPEN DOOR
PAGE 11
Cases of Books
by eric the redologist
In this article I will be reviewing another short story by Robert Silverberg entitled ―Needle In A
Timestack.‖ This story is a critique of both memory and desire. Within the world the characters
must live in, minor rethreading of the needlework of time has become commonplace. But these
revisions are committed by individuals who seek to alter history based on their own desires and
obsessions in the present. What’s more, the alterations are soon forgotten by the oblivious victims, with a sort of ambivalence, which is the result of memories that have been reforged.
To circumvent this process, the protagonist Mikkelsen takes it upon himself to quickly quiz victims about points in their past, to discover if any
changes have taken place without their knowledge,
before they become engrained in their psyche and
outlook on life. When one of these ―phasings‖
happens to him, he calls his wife and discovers
that their marriage has been six months shorter
than what they have maintained for the moment.
Various acquaintances and their network of friends
have also been altered. Based on this evidence,
Mikkelsen gleans that his former friend Hambleton, who was married to his current wife Janine for
a period of time before he himself was, is responsible for the reworking. But they are reluctant to
confront him because of the elusive nature of
―jaunting,‖ the process by which a person can go
back in time to make changes that soon become
forgotten in the present.
With this story’s mixture of memory and desire, I
found certain similarities to the Chinese film Ashes of Time. In this movie, the protagonist has deeply rooted memories about his failed romantic relationship. One of his passing friends offers him a
wine of forgetfulness, which purportedly would
remove his past memories and therefore prevent sufferings. By imbibing this wine, each day
would be a new beginning, with only vague stirrings of familiarity with the past. But the protagonist ultimately rejects this philosophy, striving to retain his grasp on the past. In ―Needle In
A Timestack,‖ the protagonist must similarly convince himself that his past matters. To aid him
in this, he takes copious notes which survive his waning memory of the past as it once was. At
the end of the story he avenges Hambleton’s alterations with modifications of his own, and
feels the warm sensation of the return of a better tomorrow.
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