VOLUNTEERING A FULL-TIME JOB FOR RETIREE.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
Odds and ends from around the Valley: This guy Jerry Rabinowitz from Encino is something. In honor of National Philanthropy Day next week, the Braille Institute of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. just named him ``Volunteer of the Year'' out of the more than 6,000 volunteers the institute has in its Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, centers. For the past 17 years, Jerry's been spending one day a week volunteering to make sure excess Braille books from this country make it into the hands of blind kids for free in Third World countries where they could never afford them. Two days a week, he's out collecting and distributing food and clothing to the needy for the North Hollywood Interfaith Food Pantry - a consortium of seven churches and two Jewish temples Jewish temple:
Three other days a week, he's volunteering his time with Kaiser Medical Center in Woodland Hills, the Women's Care Cottage in North Hollywood, and at Sepulveda VA helping out guys who served in World War II and Korea with him. On Sunday, he rests. Not bad for a guy who allegedly ``retired'' from the wholesale food business 25 years ago. ``If you think I'm busy, you should see my wife,'' Jerry says, downplaying his own work. The good ones always do. ``Joyce has been a volunteer Braille transcriber for 25 years. She's on the computer at home five hours a day, seven days a week for them.'' They've been married 48 years, and have lived in the same Encino home for 40 years, raising two children who fortunately have inherited their parents' philanthropy gene, Jerry says, laughing. Carlye Rudkin, director of volunteer services for Braille, says it was tough to choose only one volunteer to honor on Philanthropy Day out of so many. ``Jerry just stands out, though,'' she said. ``He's an inspiration to everyone here.'' So congratulations, pal, you're really something. My column last month on the family from England who wanted to return the service dog tags dog tag n. 1. A metal identification disk attached to a dog's collar. 2. A metal identification tag worn on a chain around the neck by members of the armed forces. Noun 1. they had found recently of a U.S. Army Air Force officer from Van Nuys they had befriended during World War II brought a lot of leads from readers on his possible whereabouts, but only one direct hit. That was from Elaine Neff in Mission Hills, who tracked down Merrill Hansen on the Internet, and learned, unfortunately, that he died a year and a half ago in Medford, Ore. Not only did Neff find Hansen's obituary, but she spoke to his minister, who told her Hansen left no next of kin The blood relatives entitled by law to inherit the property of a person who dies without leaving a valid will, although the term is sometimes interpreted to include a relationship existing by reason of marriage. Cross-references Descent and Distribution. to receive his old dog tags from the family in England. ``I am sorry that the dog tags were found almost two years too late,'' Neff said. ``It would have been pretty neat to return them to him or his family.'' Nice try, though, Elaine, and thanks for taking the time to care. I've sent your letter and a copy of the obituary to the family in England to let them know. And finally, if you're not sitting down, you might want to on this last item. It's a recent Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. release out of Washington, D.C. ``The Pentagon, chronically short of musicians to play taps at military funerals A military funeral is a funeral given by a country's military for a veteran, a soldier who died in battle, or another prominent military figure. When heads of state die, they often receive military funerals. , is going to test the use of a new 'push button' bugle bugle, brass wind musical instrument consisting of a conical tube coiled once upon itself, capable of producing five or six harmonics. It is usually in G or B flat. that can be operated by an honor guard member. ``The person using the bugle merely pushes a button and holds the bugle to his or her lips ... providing a dignified 'visual' of a bugler playing taps, something families tell us they want,'' said John Molino, a deputy assistant secretary of defense. No, what veterans' families want and deserve is the real thing, and it's available if the Pentagon would pay more attention to its veterans from the past, instead of trying to con the families of the vets of the future. I've written columns on how there are many retired service vets more than willing to step in and volunteer their time as color guards, and provide a real rendition of taps at military funerals if only the government would give them the chance and backing to do the job at our national veterans cemeteries. ``This idea of a phony bugle is an insult to all veterans and their families,'' says Joseph Smith, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Military & Veterans Affairs Veterans Affairs is a term of the business that deals with the relation between a government and its veteran communities, usually administered by the designated government agency. , echoing the feelings of service organizations. Give them the real thing, not lip sync Noun 1. lip sync - combining audio and video recording in such a way that the sound is perfectly synchronized with the action that produced it; especially synchronizing the movements of a speaker's lips with the sound of his speech , Pentagon. |
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