...AND A HOUSE CAT IN A PALM TREE

Marcia and I noticed that in Florida, everyone had a lighted palm tree outside their house. Our next door neighbor had a huge one with blue coconuts (no pun intended) that lit up in a neat light show after dark. It was so cool, we went on the web to buy one but were put off by the price ...$2500. When we returned home, we returned to the web and found one for much less. It arrived yesterday and we had its debut this evening. It actually looks great and it probably is the only lighted palm tree in Westchester. The feline is a pcture of our Morris, who recently complained his picture was absent from the web.

URI DAN, 1935-2006

MY FRIEND Uri Dan died yesterday. He was 71.
Uri touched my life for 25 years. I regret that it was limited to that time. And I regret that I didn’t press him more to stop smoking. Uri died of lung cancer.
He was a world-class journalist, an author of books read around the world, a worldly patriot of Israel, and an unabashed propagandist (in the best sense of the word) for his beloved homeland.
And he was a friend. He was my friend. I’m proud he was my friend and I’m better for it.
When Uri found out that Marcia and I wanted to be married in a Paris synagogue, he insisted on making all the arrangements – which turned out to be so complicated that it took the better part of a month to accomplish and had enough Byzantine twists and turns to fill a book. But he accomplished the task, found a friendly rabbi, rounded up upstanding witnesses and flew to Paris to take part in the ceremony. He was my best man.
I will always be grateful that Uri was in New York those unbelievable weeks of The Post rebellion in 1993 and saw my finest hours first-hand. One of my clearest memories of him was at a party of Post people given by one of our felon/publishers – at the top of the World Trade Center.
Memories of Uri include dozens of memorable dinners with him and his wife Varda all over the globe – from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Cairo to Paris, Manhattan and White Plains. I remember Uri and Varda at our home in White Plains feasting on Maine lobster for the first time. Good food was as important to Uri as good conversation.
I’ll never forget a dinner with Uri and another man that went into dessert before Uri informed me that our dinner-mate was the Mossad agent who arrested Adolf Eichmann in Argentina.
I have enough Uri stories to last me a livetime. I’ll make sure they do.

Uri was very loyal to his friends. He taught me how to be loyal in friendship. In a sense, I‘ll be keeping his memory alive in that way and I’ll do the best I can to honor him.

Marcia and I send our sympathy to Varda and Oron, their son.

Goodbye Uri. "Next year in Jerusalem!"

A WEEK IN THE KEYS

Marc and Marcia had a great week in the Florida Keys with Norma, Richard and their daughter Dana. Everything and everyone cooperated for an wonderfully unforgetable time. Next year, we'll do it with the dogs!

THE KEYS TO A GREAT VACATION

Here are some of the material reasons why we had a great time in Marathon last week: Great accommodations and great attractions. Next: Great people.

WE INTERRUPT THIS VACATION ...

The star we call The Sun and generally take for granted is reminding us of its power during the last few weeks.
For story, click http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/061213_solar_storm.html.
Here's a shot of the surface of the sun.
For another truly remarkable movie of a sunspot tsunami, click: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061213.html. More vacation pix later. We got some good ones today on the boat we've rented.

THE FLORIDA KEYS

Marc and Marcia have rented a home in Marathon, Florida, for a week with Norma, Richard and Dana. We have many plans but homelife is so perfect it's difficult to get up the energy to leave. We roll out of bed each morning to great food, our own hot tub, pool and dock. This doesn't suck. More pictures to come.

THANKSGIVING 2006

Marcia's turducken was the best ever! And everything else was delicious. A good time was had by all although there were fewer friends around the table then usual and we especially missed Mel and Lesley. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.

TWO NEW DOG PIX

CHURCH AND STATE

Still in the clouds over the results of this week's elections?

Here's some factoids about the latest group of chosen people to pray about:
* It seems that this year, 87 percent of the Jews who voted cast their ballots for Democrats.
* There will be 43 Jews on Capital Hill next year -- more than ever before.
* The number of Jews in the Senate rises from 11 to 13.
* Six new congressmen boost the number of Jewish representatives to 30.
* And here's another factoid that may or may not be the start of a trend, Minnesota elected the first Muslim congressman to ever invade Washington. Keith Ellison will also become the state's first black congressman.
For more information, click here.

WHATEVER GRETCHEN WANTS

Gretchen wanted a photo of her under my beard. Here it is babe.

GREAT NEWS

Oct 31, 12:09 PM EST
NASA Says Hubble Repair Mission Is a Go
Video: Shuttle to Repair Hubble Telescope
By MIKE SCHNEIDER

Associated Press
CAPE CANAVERAL -- NASA will send a space shuttle to repair the 16-year-old Hubble Space Telescope, agency Administrator Michael Griffin announced Tuesday, reversing his predecessor's decision to nix the mission.
Griffin's announcement was greeted eagerly by astronomers who feared Hubble would deteriorate before the end of the decade without new sensors and replacements for its aging batteries.
The rehab mission, likely launching in May 2008 using space shuttle Discovery, would keep Hubble working until about 2013. Its estimate cost is $900 million.

MORE SHAMELESS DOG PIX

Moe (right) and Curly (below)

SCENES FROM A WEDDING

Some pictures of the happy Lison family and old friends from last weekend.

SHAMELESS DOG PICTURES

That's Moe on the left and Curly on the right.

Cute, eh?

GREATEST PHOTO EVER TAKEN

See: http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap061016.html to find out why.

CURLY UNDERCOVER

Marcia just realized there were no pictures of Curly, so here's one recently taken.

MORE WEDDING PHOTOS