Page 3 - Boca ViewPointe - October '21

October 2021 Viewpointe, Page 3
Meet Your Neighbor

By Alisa Lebensohn, Esq. semester, leading to two years of service. Though his basic relations, so Mr. Katz eventually found himself at Eli Lilly
training was in Florida, he soon found himself in the South in Indianapolis, where he proceeded to work for 30 years.
This month I interviewed former CDS resident Harold Pacific, first in Hawaii and then on the island of Cebu, in He retired relatively young due to partial hearing loss, but
Katz. Mr. Katz is well known to many of us through his the Philippines. soon found himself in high demand as a snowbird, when he
popular monthly column at the Boca Pointe Viewpointe Ever the modest reporter, Mr. Katz claims that his tour worked as a pharmacist at every CVS store in Boca Raton
newspaper, which has been running for over 12 years, was “mostly routine”, and lacked a dramatic survival story; and all 8 CVS stores in Cape Cod during the off season.
and covers topics as diverse as LGBT community instead, he mostly served as U.S. “cannon fodder”, i.e. a After the loss of his wife, Mr. Katz spent another
vulnerabilities and optimal recycling methods. Though Mr. body to fill the ranks. Nonetheless, he was able to recount two years in Costa Del Sol, but found himself spending
Katz left Costa Del Sol a few years ago to move next door at least one vignette of protecting the troups from a native a fair amount of time gardening and keeping up the
to Edgewater, his presence left an indelible impression. canoeist, who, while traveling between islands, erroneously property, which took time away from his numerous
I recall shortly after moving into this neighborhood, I came too close to the U.S. base; Mr. Katz redirected him, and other interests, including research, writing, exercising,
attended a board meeting at which Mr. Katz spoke. He averted disaster. More poignantly than his interactions with and spiritual pursuits at local congregation B’nai Torah.
had an elegant, unassuming yet gently powerful presence the locals, however, were the stories Mr. Katz recounted of Having researched numerous senior living options for
that stood out; his manner of speaking was respectful disputes amongst the U.S. cross cultural servicemen. Eight to a Viewpointe article “So you are thinking about moving
and elicited respect back to him, not from a place of a tent proved to be one man too many when Mr. Katz found into senior living”, Mr. Katz realized that just next door
intimidation, but rather, from the unmistakable, rare himself debating some “deep Southern gentlemen” about race to CDS, Edgewater at Boca Pointe offered a plethora
quality of true class. Mr. Katz’s easy congeniality lends relations. Clearly, the 1940s offered a very different social of social and cultural opportunities, a well-appointed
credibility to his monthly articles in the Viewpointe, which consciousness than 2021. physical space, as well as culinary options which rated
essentially serves as his voice in the community. I decided In October 2021 it will be 75 years since Mr. Katz got an average of 8, higher than any of the 9 other places he
that Mr. Katz was worthy of a bit of spotlight from his out of the service. Once peace was declared, he returned reviewed. He has been happily living at Edgewater for
former neighbors, many of whom speak of him fondly. to Connecticut, completed his pharmaceutical studies, the past few years, making new friends and maintaining
Mr. Katz recently celebrated his 95th birthday, a feat and started working the retail grind, back when a typical old ones, focusing on his morning routine of exercise (30
which lends itself to considerable reflection. His story Walgreens workday was 7 am to 11 pm. The pharmacies minutes upper body training, 250 revolutions on the floor
started out in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he was born doubled as soda shoppes in those days, and Mr. Katz can bike and ten minutes of band work), followed by breakfast
and bred. His mother, practical and wise, suggested that proudly recall his stint as a “soda jerk” (apparently, being and communal prayer, and his never-ending pursuit of
he identify a career path which would “be productive and a jerk was a good thing in those days!) Soon thereafter, knowledge, both acquired and shared.
earn [him] a living in good times and bad.” This led him Mr. Katz met his one true love, Doris Pomerance, the Mr. Katz’s latest passion is recycling, a subject about
to embark on a course of pharmaceutical study at UConn… woman with whom he shared nearly 65 years of marriage which his feelings run deep. He shared some of those
which was brought to a sudden halt by the onset of World and raised three children (two boys and a girl). Needless feelings with me: “We as Boca Pointe residents cannot
War II. Mr. Katz was drafted into the army after his first to say, the 7 to 11 shift was not conducive to good marital do anything directly about the California fires, the mid-
west tornadoes, the rising sea levels worldwide, nor the
YOU have a choice who YOUR Physical Therapist can be. hurricanes that have missed us but struck others. The one
thing we can do in our small way (as people around the
Outpatient Physical Therapy in your home. world are doing) is recycle the stuff that is clogging our
seas, waterways and landfills and by so doing put more
YES we come to YOU! oxygen into the air and take more carbon out of it. ...a
worthy goal for our kids, grandkids, and beyond.”
I asked Mr. Katz to reveal his thoughts regarding the
- Orthopedic & Sports Injuries - Manual Therapy, Soft Tissue & Joint pandemic, aging, and what he has learned in this long
- Pre/Post-Surgical Rehabilitation - Mobilization and colorful life. As to COVID, he has adapted well,
- Chronic Pain & Aches - Vestibular Rehabilitation Zoom-ing with the best of us, and he honors the prevailing
- Balance/Fall Prevention Training
- Strains/Sprains - Therapeutic / Corrective Exercise recommendations regarding vaccination and masking (“Go
with the science,” he says, “and when that proves wrong,
- Headaches and Migraines - Jaw Dysfunction & Pain go with the newer science”). As to ageing, he clearly feels
blessed to be here, takes not a moment for granted, and makes
Dr. Jenna Platt, DPT 10 years of Experience the most of the considerable gifts with which he has been
Experience the highest quality care on YOUR road to recovery! blessed, i.e. good health, a clever mind, and a desire to fully
partake in all that life has to offer. Sadly, he has noticed a
tendency of younger adults to judge him unfavorably owing
to nothing more than his aging appearance (which, I must say
is dashing irrespective of age!); he recently was a reluctant
OFFICE 561-907-8866 MEDICARE PART B/ party to a fender bender, resulting from a young woman’s
JNPtherapy.com PRIVATE PAY ACCEPTED distracted cellphone use while backing out of a parking spot;
See Google Reviews the police essentially discounted Mr. Katz’s version for no
reason other than his grey hair and hearing aid, issuing a
violation which for some reason did not make it into his
hand, resulting in a late fine. Oh, the crime of being old! It
does have its share of unanticipated charges, apparently.
Ultimately, Mr. Katz’s message is this: “Maintain
humility. This is a great world with a lot of good,
accomplished people. Find your place and position, and
work it humbly. Be thankful that you are here. Have no
regrets. Live fully.” Indeed!

The author resides in Costa Del Sol, and is a practicing
attorney in Palm Beach and Broward Counties. She moved to
South Florida from New York ten years ago with her young
Jeffrey S. Fromowitz, M.D., F.A.A.D. daughter. Contact her at alisa.lebensohn@gmail.com. 
Editorial copy appearing herewith is not necessarily the viewpoint of
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