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November 17, 2007
In loving memory, Elsie Goldie Rubenstein Minster
Elsie Goldie Rubenstein was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 24, 1914. A child of the Depression, her life was vastly different than the current "Have Everything Now" milieu.
Her mother passed away when Elsie was 9. To help care for Elsie and her siblings, Cherrie and Label, her aunt, uncle, and cousin moved in. At thirteen, Elsie dropped out of school and went to work to help support the family. When her father died, she took time off for the traditional mourning period. Her employer fired her, primarily because they found out she was Jewish.
As a teenager, Elsie became an impressive dancer. It was the cheapest entertainment around, and provided her with a lot of happiness throughout her life. A chance meeting on a bus led her to meet the love of her life, Sam Minster.
Sam and Elsie married with the Depression still raging. Their first son, Sheldon, was born in 1935. Five years later, Marshall Ned was born. Nine years later, Martha Maxine was born.
Sam's 8 brothers and sisters started moving out to Los Angeles. When his mother moved West, Sam announced that he was following her to LA. Elsie was devastated and tried to convince Sam to stay in Chicago, where Elsie's brother and sister still lived. Eventually, the headstrong Elsie acquiesed to the equally stubborn Sam and the Minster clan moved out of Chicago's ethnically-divided West Side to LA.
Elsie helped run Minster Baths on Melrose, in addition to raising her children and managing the household finances. Her real estate investment decisions were notoriously ill-fated (who knew city real estate would rise so much in value?), but her passion for family could never be equaled.
Elsie never minced words: what was in her head came out her mouth, with no filter. Once, she was in line at a supermarket behind an odiferous burly man. She loudly proclaimed that he stunk. He turned and explained that he had just gotten off of work at a construction job. She told him that was no excuse, he should shower before going out in public. The conversation went on for several minutes, with Elsie explaining the finer points of deodorant use.
She was equally no-nonsense with her family. Sometimes, this strained relationships. Most of the time, we accepted her for who she was: her world view was narrowed and prejudiced by her life experiences; but, her passion for her family was never questioned. She was a true matriarch: one foot firmly planted in another era, the other foot providing support to her 21st century family.
The Yiddish word for mother-in-law is shvigger. An illustrated dictionary will show an older woman with a sour face. That could never describe Elsie. She welcomed everyone into her family with open arms, respecting people's privacy when they requested the space, but always available when needed. She made gifilte fish by hand for Passover - combining several types of white fish into the traditional, strange but tasty delicacy eaten with horseradish. Her tsmisses was equally well received - a combination of roasted meat, potatoes, and carrots that was simply delicious.
Her laugh was her calling card. She was born with an old lady's cackle. If you didn't know her, you might not understand the reason for the ruckus at the dinner table next to you at a supper club. Some found her ability for laughter uncouth; her family recognized it as a pure joy. And her granddaughters proudly carry on the cackling tradition.
Elsie lived alone after her husband's death for her remaining four decades. She was alone in her apartment 8 years ago when she suffered a stroke that paralyzed her left side. Though she lived in a nursing home for the remainder of her life, her wit never failed her. She remained cognizant through her last weeks of life.
Elsie passed on Thursday, November 15 with her eldest grandchild at her side. She is survived by Sheldon & Linda Minster, their children Ken & Valerie, Sam & Lisa and grandchildren Lauren & Shane; Marshall & Phyllis Minster, their children Scott, Elizabeth & Ziv Haims, and Cynthia and grandchildren Jacob, Zachary, and Isaac; and Maxine & Paul Brooks, their children Jason and Jocelyn & Dom McCarthy.
May she rest in peace.
Posted by cj at 04:54 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2007
Sell Out and Doing Good...
People in my political sphere are generally surprised to learn that I enjoy my paid work. I really do, and it surprised me when I realized that. After all, I create junk mail. It's not a field I ever imagined I'd find interest in.
Here's the thing - I've had nonprofit and for profit jobs in the past. None of them allowed me to take more responsibility in a short amount of time. With labor organizing, my ideas about creating a union differed from the model perpetuated by my employer. With my other jobs, I either lacked the academic credentials for more interesting work (see public health consulting) or did not fit into the dominant culture (see magazine ad sales).
I've been involved in the national management of a peace organization long enough to know that my passion is in nonprofit management & writing. But despite my decade trying to find paid work worthy of my intelligence in the nonprofit realm, it took a for profit direct marketing agency to recognize my worth and give me the opportunity to thrive.
I wonder sometimes if I will be as interested in this work in 10 years as I am after 1 year. Will filthy lucre entice me as much when I've paid off my debt? Probably - after all, I'm anxiously awaiting the day I can afford a new car and my own flat.
Most people have this debate with themselves during college. Many classmates told me they had to make money right out of the gate, to ensure the happiness of their future children, and that once they were financially secure they would pay attention to the public welfare issues they were passionate about. I mocked them as sell outs, and righteously chose the path of future foreign service officer (aka career diplomat).
Life is not as black and white as I once saw it. I'm happy to be in LA, being near my family and sharing the ups and downs of life with them. And really, getting control of my metabolism and finding a social life are a helluva lot more important to me than having a job other people find saintly. After all, I spend a helluva lot of time doing peace work and I'm proud to be a life member active on the local, national, and international level of WILPF. In the end, selling out is as empty a term as doing good.
Posted by cj at 07:44 PM | Comments (0)