The Virtual Philosophy Club: 2021

Thursday, December 30, 2021

Violet's Return to College and Her Amazing Career at IBM/Loral/Lockheed-Owego

This is the fourth in my "Virtual Sitting Shiva" series of Blog postings of memories of Violet (Stark) Glickstein, my dear wife of 57 years, who sadly passed away November 27, 2021. [The first posting in this series is Here]

VIOLET'S REMARKABLE CAREER AT THIS OWEGO IBM/LORAL/LOCKHEED-MARTIN FACILITY

When Violet retired, in 1999, from her position as Lead Software Engineer for the HH-60D Night Stalker Helicopter project, she left behind a remarkable record of 16 years of amazing accomplishments at this Owego, NY facility.

However, let us start at the begining, when ...

WE BOUGHT ONE OF THE FIRST APPLE II COMPUTERS

In February 1978, we purchased one of the first 3000 Apple II home computers, a momentous decision fully supported by Violet. She and I, and our three girls, quickly learned to use the Apple II.

Thus, in 1980, when the Owego Free Academy (our local public high school) purchased their first Apple II computers, it was natural for the teacher to turn to our oldest daughter, Lisa, for help in demonstrating it to other students. The Binghamton (NY) newspaper ran a story in May 1980 titled "Computer age arrives in Owego", featuring a photo of Lisa doing just that.

A follow-up story, in June 1980, titled "Computer has family plugged in" featured a photo of our younger daughters, Rena and Sara, using our Apple II, along with Violet's positive comments fully justifying the expense. At the time, Violet was taking programming courses at Broome Community College,

LEFT: Lisa demonstrates a computer at her school in Owego, NY.

RIGHT: Rena and Sara demonstrate our Apple II at home.

BOTTOM: Violet, Rena, and Sara were interviewed about our computer.

I (Ira) was using our Apple II at home, experimenting with simulations of Artificial Intelligence. It wasn't long before I started lugging our Apple II into the IBM facility to teach a course on that topic. Thus, in 1981 when IBM (finally!) came out with the PC-1, I was assigned the job of teaching engineers how to use this new tool and was the first person at the facility to have a PC in his office.

WE BOUGHT AN IBM PERSONAL COMPUTER

We also purchased one of the first IBM PCs for home use.

Meanwhile, Violet switched from Broome Community College to Binghamton University for graduate courses that led to her earning her 1983 Master's degree in Computer Science (20 yeas after earning her Bachelor of Science in Chemistry undergraduate degree).

1983 was also the year that I earned membership in the IBM Federal Systems Division "Golden Circle" for my innovative use of the IBM PC to develop the Rational Cockpit and Multi-Purpose Display Concepts, as well as being the Lead Systems Engineer on the HH-60 D Special Operations Helicopter Technical Proposal.

TOP LEFT: Ira used the PC to develop and demonstrate Advanced Visionics concepts for helicopter pilots.

RIGHT: Ira's innovative use of the IBM PC to develop and demonstrate Multi-Puirpose Computer Display concepts, and his role as the Lead Engineer for IBM's HH-60 Technical Proposal, resulted in an IBM Federal Systems Division Golden Circle Award that included a trip for Violet and Ira to Hawaii.

BOTTOM LEFT: In 1984, an issue of the IBM Federal Systems Division "Technical Directions" magazine was devoted to "The Rational Cockpit and Advanced Automation" based partly on Ira's work.

VIOLET STARTS HER SOFTWARE ENGINEERING CAREER AT IBM-OWEGO

Violet's Master's Degree in Computer Science qualified her for a Software Engineering job at IBM-Owego in 1984.

TOP LEFT: As a result of our getting an Apple II home computer, Violet earned her Master's in Computer Science from Binghamton University, taught there, and then got a job at IBM Owego. (Keeping up with Violet, Ira earned his Master's in System Science in 1990 and his PhD in System Science from Binghamton University in 1996.)

BOTTOM LEFT: IBM Marketing award.

MIDDLE: Violet was the Lead Software Engineer for the Army Special Operations Project and received an Appreciation Award.

TOP RIGHT: Ira and Violet on vacation in Tahiti.

BOTTOM RIGHT: Lockheed-Martin Recognition Award.

LEFT; Violet and Ira in the Owego Artificial Intelligence laboratory in 1986.
TOP RIGHT: An issue of IBM FSD's "Technical Directions" included an article by Ira about "AI Aids for the Pilot".
BOTTOM RIGHT: Ira taught a course on "Artificial Intelligence and Artificial Life" at the Brandeis University (Boston) "Summer Odyssey" in 2000 and 2001.

While working and after retirement, we each taught online graduate courses for the University of Maryland University College up until 2013. (Ira in System Engineering and Violet in Software Engineering).

VIRTUALLY EVERYONE WHO WORKED WITH VIOLET AT OWEGO RESPECTED HER. THE ABSOLUTE PROOF IS IN THE NOTES DOZENS OF HER FELLOW EMPLOYEES WROTE IN ALL FOUR MARGINS OF THE PHOTO OF THE OWEGO IBM/LORAL/LOCKHEED-MARTIN FACILITY.

DOUBLE-TAP EACH OF THE FOLLOWING FOUR IMAGES SO THEY EXPAND AND FILL YOUR SCREEN. THEN PLEASE READ THEM!

POST RETIREMENT ADVENTURE
Violet retired in 1999 while I continued to 2001. In 2002, with both of us retired, we were able to have a wonderful 8-day raft adventure through the Grand Canyon.

We were on a 15-passenger raft with a crew of three and camped along the Colorado River, like this.

Of course, everything brought into the canyon had to be brought out, including all garbage from food service and even our poop! At each stop, the crew set up two poop stations, one in a tent and the other in the open.

The photo on the left shows me on the "scenic" poop station, which I preferred because it had fewer flies and smelled better. Violet (no surprise) preferred the tent poop station. However, like all of us, she peed and bathed in the cold (48 degree) river (women upstream and men downstream).

The more I think about my wonderful life with Violet, including her willingness to step outside her normal lifestyle (that we might call "civilized"), as she did on this Grand Canyon adventure, the more I miss her.

So, please join me in thinking about your good and eventful times with Violet. Read subsequent postings on this Blog about events I remember. If you'd like, you could put on some slippers, sit on your couch, and join me and others in a "virtual" Shiva for Violet.

Love to all, and specially elevated kisses and hugs to Violet, from her husband,

Ira Glickstein
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NOTE: This is the fourth of our "Virtual Sitting Shiva", the traditional Jewish custom of relatives and friends devoting seven days to specially remembering the deceased.

Violet and Ira Glickstein were married in 1964. See our 50th Anniversary memories in the following postings include highlights of our life together.
CLICK THE HYPERTEXT BELOW TO JUMP TO YOUR TOPIC OF CHOICE
Wedding and Farm Days
Passing the Genes and Memes
Computers R Us (Ira and Vi's careers)
Retirement in The Villages, FL
Our 50th Anniversary Baltic Cruise (Air Travel and Shipboard activities)
Our 50th Anniversary Baltic Cruise (Land-Tours)
50th-0 CELEBRATING OUR 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (tvpclub.blogspot.com)

Violet and Ira Meet, Marry, and Multiply

This is the third in my "Virtual Sitting Shiva" series of Blog postings of memories of Violet (Stark) Glickstein, my dear wife of 57 years, who sadly passed away November 27, 2021. [The first posting in this series is Here]

THE BROOKLYN POST OFFICE DELIVERS!

The photo below shows the miraculously delivered letter I mailed to Violet, back in June 1963, in what turned out to be a successful attempt to contact her. The address I had was off by over a mile! Yet, some dedicated Post Office employee went out of his or her way to correct the address and deliver it! (I'm proud to be the son of a Brooklyn Letter Carrier who walked miles each day, in all kinds of weather, with a mail sack on his back. My Dad taught me to respect every person who earns his or her keep in a lawful occupation.)

Violet wrote the following letter in reply.

THAT WAS IN JUNE 1963.

ONCE I HAD HER CORRECT PHONE NUMBER AND ADDRESS, I TURNED ON THE CHARM.

AND -- LONG STORY SHORT, -- WE WERE MARRIED A YEAR LATER!

Some necessary context is called for here. After graduating from the City College of New York, in January 1961, with an Electrical Engineering degree, I was working in North Plainfield, New Jersey and renting a room in nearby Westfield. On weekends, I'd stay at my parent's home in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY, where I pursued my social life.

WAS IT MY POETRY THAT WON HER OVER?

Starting in June 1963, we'd date on most weekends. Starting on July 22, 1963, and each month thereafter, I composed a love poem for Violet. This continued until we got engaged on Thanksgiving Day, November 1963.

Here we go!

What do you think so far? Pretty good poetry considering that I'm an Engineer?

NOTE: In previous Blog postings, I've stated that I have no literal belief in Judaism, or any other religious system based on a Superior Being external to the Universe. For me, "God" or "Lord" or "Cupid" and similar names are merely short-cuts that refer to an essential NATURAL (not in any way Super-Natural) self-organizing feature inherent in the Universe.

That is what the Founders of our great experiment in free people governing themselves were referring to when they wrote about "the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God" in our Declaration of Independence. [Note capitalization. Do not put your trust in any source that pretends to quote the Declaration yet fails to capitalize these words.]

The poem below refers to the "Parachute Jump" in Coney Island, an easy boardwalk stroll from where I grew up in Brighton Beach. I've searched for the first photograph of Violet and me together, and I believe it was taken at this location in September 1963.

OK, here it is! Thanksgiving, November 1963, when I formally asked Violet to be my wife.

Readers familiar with the poetry and prose of Lewis Carroll, particularly "Through the Looking-Glass", a sequel to his "Alice in Wonderland", will remember The Walrus and the Carpenter, who trick a bunch of fat Oysters to trot along to a beach party, only to discover they are to serve as the main course! (click for lyrics)

The photos below may be the earliest surviving pictures of Violet and me in the same place (just not in the same snapshot). We are with my first "Toffee", a very smart and streetwise dog who was some kind of a terrier mix. We got him when I was still living with my parents in Brooklyn and attending City College in Manhattan.

Years later, when Violet and I lived in Apalachin, NY, I purchased my second "Toffee", a purebred Golden Retriever who had much better papers than me, see The Virtual Philosophy Club: Search results for toffee (tvpclub.blogspot.com).

Toffee was (at least in my opinion, and Violet's) the world's best and nicest dog. We went through obedience training, tracking, and agility together.

He knew lots of tricks. In the morning he would fetch his collar, my pool shoes, and the newspaper. He would follow hand signals or voice signals and stay, come, sit, roll over, and so on.

One of his best tricks was balancing a dog biscuit (or four, see photo) on his nose until you snapped your fingers.

I wrote to our daughter that "Toffee was so smart he must be partly Jewish!" She wrote back that she thought Toffee was telling his dog friends that his master "Ira was so smart he must be partly golden retriever."

Our granddaughters loved him and called him "uncle Toffee". Vi made him a food dish with that appellation. We were "mommy" and "daddy" to him.

Although I am not a literal believer, I have no doubt Toffee is now in a beautiful park just outside of Heaven, restored to his youthful vigor and playing with all the other dogs.

Every once in a while, one of the dogs stops playing, sniffs the air and perks up his ears ... and then runs to greet his master. Together, they cross the crystal bridge into Heaven.

God be with you Tof - See you on the other side

HOW TIME FLIES WHEN YOU ARE HAVING FUN!

50 YEARS OF MARRIAGE - FLAG DAY, JUNE 14th 1964 to 2014

TOP: We were young and foolish when we got married on June 14th 1964.
BOTTOM: But look at what 50 years together has done! Lower middle photos are distorted using iPad "twisted" camera feature, but that is how we really feel! Ira (and Vi)

PILOT AND CO-PILOT FOR LIFE

Fifty years ago, a few days after our wedding, I rented a Cessna 152 and flew my new wife from Chatham Airport in NJ up to Niagara Falls, NY, stopping in Binghamton, NY for fuel. (Little did we know that less than two years later I would accept a job at IBM Owego, in the Binghamton area, and we would live and work there for nearly 40 years!)

TOP LEFT: Vi and Ira, Co-Pilot and Pilot for life, prepare to depart from Chatham Airport in Morristown, NJ.
MIDDLE: We stopped in Binghamton, NY to refuel.
TOP RIGHT: Inflight on our "Honeymoon Special" adventure!
BOTTOM: We rented a car and spent the night at the aptly named "Honeymoon Motel"on the Canadian side.

We flew home the following day but the weather got bad so we had to spend the night at a hotel in Binghamton, returning the rented airplane in NJ the following morning.

OUR "GREEN ACRES" FARM DAYS

Early in our marriage, I took a job at IBM Federal Systems, Owego, NY, not far from Binghamton!

We purchased an old farm house with three barns and 88 acres of land in Newark Valley, NY, about 12 miles north of Owego.

TOP LEFT: Vi's parents, Gilbert and Clara Stark, visit our farm where we raised sheep. We had a kerosene heater in the kitchen and propane heaters in two other rooms. Our bedroom lacked any heater at all. I can still imagine what they were thinking "What have you done to our daughter?"

BOTTOM LEFT: Ira's parents, Morris and Ruth Glickstein, visit our farm. With the help of the New York State Agricultural Extension Service, we built a 1/4 acre pond on our land above the house and barns. We sometimes camped there.

RIGHT: Vi and Lisa get close and personal with one of our Angus beef cattle.

Some more views of our "Green Acres" FARM DAYS (1965-1973).

TOP: In addition to the very old house and barns, the purchase included Trixie, our loyal dog. We built a dirt road up to the pond we put on the land above the house and barns.

BOTTOM LEFT: Me with my Dad Morris on road overlooking house and barns. Dad enclosed the front porch and made major improvements inside the house.

BOTTOM RIGHT: I'm in the middle, shoveling the chicken manure left over from the hens raised for eggs by the previous owners. Steamy and pungent, but great fertilizer!

ALSO SEE:

Ira Glickstein

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NOTE: This is the third of our "Virtual Sitting Shiva", the traditional Jewish custom of relatives and friends devoting seven days to specially remembering the deceased.

Violet and Ira Glickstein were married in 1964. See our 50th Anniversary memories in the following postings include highlights of our life together.

CLICK THE HYPERTEXT BELOW TO JUMP TO YOUR TOPIC OF CHOICE

50th-0 CELEBRATING OUR 50th WEDDING ANNIVERSARY (tvpclub.blogspot.com)

Tuesday, December 28, 2021

Violet's Immigrant Family and Her Brooklyn Childhood thru College

This is the second in my "Virtual Sitting Shiva" series of Blog postings of memories of Violet (Stark) Glickstein, my dear wife of 57 years, who sadly passed away November 27, 2021. [The first posting in this series is Here]

The photo below shows Violet, as a child, with her younger brother Sam, and their mother, Clara Stark. (In the early 1950's, when his photo was taken, none of us knew Violet and I would marry, and Clara would become my Mother-in-Law!)

A CHILD OF IMMIGRANTS

Violet was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. She was proud of her Hungarian heritage and membership in the Jewish community. Both of her parents were born in Hungary.

In 1938, recognizing the existential threat to the Jewish community posed by the growing Nazi menace, her parents-to-be separately immigrated to the United States. The following year, in September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland.

The image below is of the Hungarian passport issued to Violet's father, Geza Stark, in 1938.

The "Declaration of Intention" document pictured below was filed in New York in 1940. It gives Geza's birthplace as "Pazab", Hungary. [I could not find "Pazab" on a current map of Hungary. "Pazab" may be a typographical error, or an alternate spelling. Google found a town in north-eastern Hungary called "Paszab".]

Geza's date of birth is given as January 9, 1914. His height is 5 feet 4 inches, and he weighs in at 125 pounds. He came to the US on the vessel Washington on April 1, 1938. He pledges to "renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty".

Geza's occupation is simply listed as "Tailor". That is a bit of an understatement because, in the 1960's, he went on to become a well-known custom tailor with a shop on Broadway in Manhattan, He Americanized his given name, "Geza", to "Gilbert".

His famous customers included a fellow-Hungarian, Edward Teller, the well-known theoretical physicist who is colloquially referred to as "the father of the hydrogen bomb". See Edward Teller - Wikipedia. When Teller came to New York to be measured and fitted for his custom-tailored suits, he enjoyed relaxing and conversing in his native language with a fellow Hungarian Jew.

When Violet grew up and heard about her dad's friendship with the famous physicist, she asked if Gilbert had ever requested and received an autograph. "The only autograph I needed from him," answered Gilbert, "was on his check paying for the suits."

CLARA AND GILBERT MARRY

In 1940, Gilbert met and married a fellow Hungarian Jewish immigrant named Clara Schwartz, who had come to the US with her mother, Julia Schwartz. Although Clara and Gilbert arrived in the same year, 1938, they travelled on separate ships. They did not know each other until they met in New York.

Clara and Gilbert's wedding photo, below, shows them with Clara's mother, Julia, and her second husband, Samuel Schwartz. (Julia's first husband, whose last name was Katz, was killed in Hungary before she and Clara immigrated to the US in 1938.)

Violet was born on April 27, 1942, five months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Gilbert joined the US Army. He was sent to England, where he trained for the eventual allied invasion of Europe that started in June of 1944. He did not talk much about his wartime experiences, but we know he rose to the rank of Seargent. The photo below shows Gilbert in uniform with Clara and Violet.

VIOLET'S EDUCATION IN BROOKLYN, NY

Violet's family were observant, Orthodox Jews. At an early age, her grandmother, Julia, taught her to recite the Hebrew prayers. They were serious about attended Saturday services nearly every week. Violet often recounted the fun she had as a young child at synagogue.

My family, also ostensibly Orthodox Jewish, had nearly zero literal religious belief and was almost totally non-observant. We considered Jewish religious services to be a boring waste of time. Sure, if the 13-year-old son of a relative or neighbor was being Bar Mitzvah, and we were invited, we would attend. But mainly as a matter of duty and obligation.

We considered ourselves to be loyal, red-blooded Americans. We had no desire to leave the US and move to the newly established Jewish State of Israel. Yet, we wanted Israel to be strong economically and militarily. We contributed to Jewish charities that helped Israel. We voted for candidates who favored continued American support for Israel.

As you may know, in an Orthodox synagogue, men sit in the front, women in the rear, behind a partition called the "Mechitzah". (As it was explained to me, this seating arrangement is not degrading to the honor and dignity of women. It is necessary to allow men to give their full attention and concentration to their prayers, which is possible only if their eyes are shielded from seeing women's bodies. Apparently, this is not a problem for women looking at men's bodies.)

Observant Jews, like Violet's grandmother, actually enjoy the hours they devote to Saturday religious services. Violet repeatedly told me how much fun she had as a small child attending services most Saturday mornings with her grandmother. Young girls, and boys, would generally sit in the women's section with their mothers and grandmothers. We all know that there is a limit to a small child's "sitzfleisch" (Yiddish word meaning something like "sitting on your butt flesh".) Therefore, according to Violet's happy memories, she and other kids would get out of their seats and run from the woman's section out the back door, around to the front of the synagogue, and back in through the men's section!

When an Orthodox Jewish boy reaches the age of 13, he is eligible to be Bar Mitzvah, the precept or commandment, and associated religious initiation ceremony, confirming he is ready to observe religious precepts and take part in public worship. Even though my family was not particularly religiously observant, I, as a male, was expected to learn to read Hebrew well enough to recite the major prayers and be Bar Mitzvah. Therefore, starting a few years before I turned 13, I attended Hebrew School for a couple hours on Sunday, and for an hour on two weekdays. after elementary school let out.

Obedient to a fault, I did my part. I learned to recite the prayers and chant my Haftorah in Hebrew. (A Haftorah is a reading, from the book of Prophets, which is different every week.) On my appointed Bar Mitzvah Saturday, a couple dozen members of my proud family (mostly from Brooklyn but including at least two relatives from the Bronx) joined over 100 regular Sabbath attendees at the Hebrew Alliance Synagogue in Brighton Beach to witness my performance.

Near the end of the service, in my squeaky, not-yet-fully-mature voice, I gave the expected "Today I am a man" speech to the crowd.

Later that day, my parents hosted a grand reception and dinner party for invited family and friends at a nearby catering hall. There was lots of food, an open bar with (mostly) responsible drinking, and loud music and dancing. Midway through the event, I was asked to get up and repeat my speech. A family friend who had access to a movie camera captured highlights of the event on film and audiotape.

VIOLET'S FACILITY WITH LANGUAGE

Violet has always been better than me at reading Hebrew. She also seems to have a knack for learning words and phrases from other languages that we've encountered on our travels, including Arabic, Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, and even Chinese.

Like many immigrant families, Violet's parents, Clara and Gilbert, and her grandparents, Julia and Samuel, spoke their native language at home, to the near exclusion of English.

One of Violet's favorite stories is how, when she started attending the neighborhood public elementary school, her mother was called in by her teacher. The teacher suggested that they speak English at home because "it will be good for both of you." I don't know how that type of frank (and in my opinion good) advice would go over in today's political climate, but they accepted and followed it.

VIOLET'S HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE YEARS

Violet graduated from Lafayette High School in June 1959, intending to "major in science and math [at] Brooklyn College."

No surprise! In 1963, Violet graduated from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor's degree in Science. She was a member of the Chemistry Society, Lowell House, and the Yiddish Club.