Category: Manny Kagan

My friend and a client for many years, Ken Mitchell, called with excitement in his voice: “I have a new girlfriend!” After my congratulations, he continued, “And we want to buy a house together in Sonoma. Can we have dinner to discuss the details?” I’ve been working with Ken for about 20 years. His printing company, H&H Imaging takes care of all of our printing needs. When I needed quick service, he printed my book, “Soy Cubano—I Am Cuban”, in three days and he did a great job.

Throughout the years, I helped him buy his house and refinance it numerous times. This time seemed different. He planned to buy a second home together with a partner. Over dinner at our favorite restaurant, Zuni Café, I had the opportunity to meet his girlfriend, Heather. They found each other through the dating service “Our Time”. She is smart, beautiful, and an accomplished woman. It was a pleasure to see them together hugging and kissing. She asked me to take their photos with an iPhone and said that they looked artistic. Heather shared with us that the man she was previously involved with was moody and grouchy. “Ken is always upbeat. I am happy when I am with him,” she added.

The word love was not mentioned, but if it was not an expression of love, then what is?

Then the question of what to get for Valentine’s Day was brought up. This immediately led to my curiosity to find out what this holiday really means. It began as a liturgical celebration of early Christian saints. The name Valentine in Latin means strong, healthy, and there were at least 50 saints with the variant name, Valentinus. Apparently, it had very little to do with romantic love until the Middle Ages. In the 19^th Century, handwritten cards led to the holiday popularity and were very well exploited by the marketing geniuses of Hallmark and similar companies. And of course, growers of red flowers (especially roses) jumped on the bandwagon.

Using this opportunity, I wanted to share with you my roses. Since they can be shared any time of the year, they do not have to be red.

As the writer, Gertrude Stein wrote, “Rose is a rose, is a rose.”

 

 

 

 

For 20 years, I’ve been going to Dr. Angela Wu’s clinic for acupuncture, cupping and other treatments. The first time I went to her 20 years ago, she was able to help me with my asthma symptoms, by strengthening my immune system. Now, I see her quarterly for preventative measures. She keeps me from getting sick, and saves me a lot of money. I leave her clinic with a dose of herbs, which I take three times a day, and follow her recommendations religiously. On my most recent visit this week, I also received instructions on how to start the first day (Friday) of the Chinese New Year. 

According to the Chinese Zodiac, it is going to be the “Year of the Horse”. Like the Jewish calendar, the Chinese months are reckoned by the lunar calendar. According to a legend, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on the Chinese New Year. Twelve came and Buddha named a year after each one. It is believed that those who are born on the year represented by a specific animal adapt its characteristics. Thus, those born on the year of the horse are thought to be cheerful, have money, are perceptive, witty, talented, and good with their hands.

Many famous people were born in the Year of The Horse. I was born in the year of the Pig and was very curious to find out the description of my personality. According to this site, those born in the year of the pig, are honest, straightforward, and patient people. The other qualities are close to the way I perceive myself. Have fun! Google your profile.

 

 

This year, the “Martin Luther King, Jr. Day” national holiday coincides with my reading this week’s chapter in the Torah called Mishpatim, which translates to “ordinances”. (The Torah is divided into 52 chapters, which I read one of each week.) Last week, Torah readers were introduced to the Ten Commandments in the previous chapter. And this week, their meaning is explored.

“And these are the ordinances that you shall place before them: If you buy a Jewish bondsman, he shall work for six years; and in the seventh he shall go free, for no charge” (Exodus 27:1-2).

The word “bondsman” in this case, can mean slave. One of the definitions of the word “bond” in Webster’s Dictionary is anything that binds, fastens, or restrains. It is remarkable that the explanation of the core of our life conduct, the Ten Commandments, starts with the indication that any restraint has to be limited. Like the creation of the world, which by the Bible’s definition was done in six days, and on the seventh day there was rest. We live in a similar cycle.

We must remember the great teacher and preacher, Martin Luther King, Jr., who advocated freedom from oppression, our beliefs, our habitual behavior, the notion that “I know better” and there is “no other way”.

Slavery in America started in 1619 and was formally outlawed in December 1865, but the slave mentality continued for many more years from both former slaves and their masters.

 

 

My friend, Alex Vinokurov, passed away on January 6^th. He was only 10 years junior to me, but he called me “Papa”.

At least once a month, he would call and ask, “Do you have time?”

He expected the same answer I always gave him, “For you, I always have time.”

He would come to our office and ask my wife, “Where is Papa?”

We would go to the local Starbucks and for an hour, he would share his joys, pour out his prayers, and ask me for advice.

He was a big, burly man with a gentle soul. During his short-lived disease, he “finally” managed to lose weight. But before dying, he started to sweat, water left his body, and by the time he passed on, his body shrunk.

“Shurick”, as I lovingly called him, was not with us anymore. Or was he?

Physically, he was not (at least not in this world). In my memory, he is alive. We are the sum of our memories. We choose what to remember and what to forget.

During our life journey, we meet a lot of strangers and we get close with some of them. I am privileged to work with and mentor younger people. After a while, some move away. There are those who follow my guidance, but most have to create their own life experience. Some, while physically still alive, disappear from our sight and I might never again hear from them. What is left is the memory.