Shep Fargotstein's speech at Margaret"s 50th b-day party at Jims Place 06/21/2011

I want to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate Margaret’s 50^th b-day. Margaret is a lucky woman to have so many good friends.

I’m going to be as brief as I can be – but as many of you may suspect, I find this opportunity to address all of Margaret’s friends’ simply irresistible…….

Of course, I am going to get around to professing my undying love for Margaret …….as any man with half a brain would do…. if he were in front of so many of her friends.

But I think it is important to roll back the clock 37 years to 1974 when Margaret and I first met. Margaret was 13 years old, I was 20, and she was dating my little brother Bill. Margaret was dropped off at my parent’s house at 6pm to get a ride with Bill to go to his Bar Mitzvah party. Margaret rang the doorbell. I jumped out of the shower, wrapped a towel around my waist, and answered the door dripping wet.

Keep in mind I don’t remember ANY of this story, but later Margaret told me I looked like a Jewish Fabio.(Haaa) Margaret was 13 years old, undeveloped, and absolutely of no interest to me at the time. BUT, this obviously left a lasting impression on her. I guess it was the first time she has been flashed.

Margaret was the only adolescent that I ever flashed in my life. Had I known flashing little girls was so effective, I might have ended up in jail. (Haaa)

You have to give Margaret credit, she is tenacious, and she gets what she wants..even if it takes decades (haaa)

Fast forward 25 years later to 1999. I have been divorced for 13 years. Margaret was newly divorced. Leslie (Bill’s wife), my sister-in-law, unbeknownst to me was playing matchmaker and invited Margaret and I separately to their house for Sukkus.

I remember that evening as if it were yesterday. As Leslie and Bill introduced us, Margaret walked across the room, we shook hands, and she gave me that Margaret smile.

I remember saying to myself “She’s a good looking Jewish woman – bad hair and too thin, but she has lots of POTENTIAL.”

Margaret……I am pleased to announce that you now have great hair, you’re not too thin (Haaaa), and even though you get better and better every year like a fine wine, you still haven’t reached your potential. (laugh?)

I now have to confess to you the real reason why I was attracted to you….it was your beautiful smile.(Ahhhh)

Margaret, I was going to read the 2 page letter that my father wrote in 1970 to one of my sister’s question “What is Love?”. But it was too wordy, and it wouldn’t have been “MY WORDS”.

It hasn’t been easy blending our families, but looking back, there is nothing in my life - that was worthwhile - that wasn’t difficult on some level. Marrying you was the best decision I ever made in my entire life.

You are a great friend.

You make me laugh. (I love your perverted sense of humor)

You are a great cook.

You’re a sexy, beautiful woman

And, of course, I love you.

The U.S. and Israeli relationship

The unique US/Israeli relationship is not just a manifestation of a mutually beneficial political foreign policy alignment, nor is it simply a relationship based on mutually shared security interests or some other abstract idea.

The U.S./Israeli relationship is based on tangible political, social and religious values shared by both countries. The relationship, in anthropological terms, is a matter of shared knowledge, beliefs, and values. The U.S./Israeli relationship is based on a bedrock of shared culture, and more than anything else, this explains the deeply emotional ties between the two countries.

Fargotstein Geneology

Marcia Fargotstein looked at the Hebrew on Max Fargotstein's headstone and said his Hebrew name is written: Moshe Ben Shepsel

The text is written in Tammuz, which Marcia can read, and the next line must be his birth date. Devra is also born in Tammuz (July).
Next line is date of death which looks like the 29th of Sivan. Each one gives the Jewish year.
Next line is standard for gravestones. I can't remember the meaning.

Sam Fargotstein's (Max's Father) birth certificate says his father's name is unknown. However Sam's father's name was DAVID and he visited the US in 1931 to visit Sam, his son. David, died in 1936 and was buried in Warsaw at age 70. That would explain why none of Max's siblings were named David - he was still alive when they were born. David had a brother Moshe for whom your Max was probably named. David's wife was Bueka which I bet is Rebecca or Rivka - and that's who Becky was probably named for. David's brother Moshe Enoch (Morris Henry) Forgotston emigrated to Syracuse and then moved to Gonzales TX where he died. He was Sam's uncle. Did you ever hear of relatives in Gonzales? And Morris Henry had a (probably great-grandson) WILLIAM FARGOTSTON living in Dallas. That makes a least 3 William Fargotsteins/Forgotston's.,
David and Marcia Fargotstein's great-grandfather were first cousins which makes us 4th cousins.

Margaret Fargotstein's Farferoni Recipe

This recipe is guaranteed to please

3 cups farfel
1 egg beaten
1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 onion
1 Pkg fresh mushrooms
1 Jar Kosher for passover pasta sauce
1 can tomato paste
garlic powder
salt and pepper

Instructions
Combine farfel and egg in skillet until toasted and somewhat brown. Add 2 cups boiling water and return to fire until all the water is absorbed.
Brown meat, onions and mushrooms. Add tomato paste and jar of pasta sauce. Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Simmer for 1/2 hour over low heat. Put farfel in 9"X13" greased pan. Pour sauce over farfel. Bake at 350 degrees uncovered for 20-30 minutes. ENJOY!

Obama: An Inconsistent and naive foreign policy

I hate to sound like a party pooper, but there is another way to view the “democratic change” that President Obama has inconsistently promoted around the world – incitement to riot. The sheer ignorance of our CIA official to describe the Muslim Brotherhood as a “secular organization” is only exceeded by Obama’s overnight dismantling of 60 years of consistent U.S. Mid-East foreign policy.

Obama’s handlers, who advised him to get in front to the Egyptian riot and call it the Obama parade had no idea of the potential unintended consequences of their actions – many of which are playing themselves out in the mass killing in Libya and violent schisms of slaughters and near civil war between Sunni and Shiite Muslims from Morocco to Bahrain. Of course, adding and abetting President Obama in his mindless foreign policy exploits are the Iranians, who are clearly the only beneficiary of the rise of Shiite rioters in the streets across the Middle East.

As Americans, we incorrectly tend to view the world through the lens of our own sensibilities and morals, which is a problem when our politicians – especially those with zero diplomatic experience project these Western values on fragile cultures that are dominated by tribal and/or dominate authoritarian rulers.

President Obama’s lack of support to the 2009 Iranian uprising was a major disappointment. That was a once in a lifetime opportunity to draw a line against Iranian tyranny. Now Obama shoots from the hip again by inciting the world to riot in the name of human rights, when in reality there are more sinister forces positioned in those same crowds waiting to advance their radical causes. Obama doesn’t seem to want to unbalance the delicate US/China relationship, even though China is one of the top human rights violators in the world. How do you spell hypocrisy?

If 250,000 people gathered in Washington D.C. (which happens all the time) to protest the lack of economic progress and jobs, how would we feel if Russia’s Vladimir Putin incited the rest of the USA to riot in the streets? I wholeheartedly support the aspirations of people control their own destiny and demand human rights. I just don’t like seeing US foreign policy run by amateurs.

Being Pro-Memphis: Attitude Does Matter

I have lived in Memphis for 56 years, and for the first time in my life, I feel Memphis is slowly chugging down the right track to realizing its potential - and hopefully becoming a progressive, dynamic Southern city of choice. Sure, we have the same laundry list of urban problems that exist in other major metropolitan areas - crime, poverty, corruption, as well as recession related economic issues. In fact, many of those issues loom larger than in other comparable cities and may end up being more difficult to reverse. My optimism stems from the sincere belief that Memphis has a strong core of pro-Memphis citizen/leaders, a Mayor who is honest, understands the issues and sincerely wants to make Memphis a better place. As citizens of the City of Memphis, we can’t leave this job solely to the people at the top of the governmental, business and social strata. While they can get top-down initiatives started all day long, it takes a supportive broad based citizenry to make it all work. Instead of harping on the ever-present negativity, maybe we should start supporting positive initiatives, as well as thinking more about solutions and acting on those ideas.

Turning a city around is not done in 5 years. We are lucky to have a beautiful preserved downtown area, the largest Urban Park in the country, the longest rails to trails bike path conversion in Tennessee, a beautiful new Law School and Art School downtown, one of the best distribution networks in the world – and soon we will have a refurbished airport with Southwest airlines!

The path to success is not a destination; it’s a never ending journey that starts one step at a time.