c0 Staying Sharp On DLit/ 'sly' Environmental Issues By MARY KORETZ There was a time when a young man hot dergraycht shaving age, he was farzorgt with a razor and a razor strap, to keep it sharp. The razor lasted him for his gantsn lebn. Sometimes he afile passed it on to his zun. Civilization marched on and the gawlung was replaced by a safety razor and blades. Civilization marched on vider amol and planned obsolescence entered the bild. At that time, it became necessary to buy blades and replace them more oft mol. At present, we hobn disposable razors as well as blades. What has pasirt, in the process of disposing azelche items, is the creation of environmentally threatening garbage. We've kimat run out of landfills. We have rendered many of them toxic and have poisoned undzer waters with waste. There was a time, ven very few people hobn gefort in cars. There was very little noyt. Streetcars, trolleys, buses and in etleche cities, subways were available and efficient. One would console a We zeinen, after all, the beneficiaries as well as the victims of our particular time in history. antoysht lover by saying, "girls/boys are azoy vie streetcars. If you miss one, don't zorg zich, another will be along in five minutes." Today, many areas have no public transportation or a very poor one. Each of the other means of conveyance, other than cars, hobn getrogn 40 plus people. Automobiles generally carry one or two mentshin. There's no question but that the large number of cars contribute heavily to tuft pollution. There was a time when a sach people lived in the zelber home from the cradle to the grave. Very often the heizer were lived in for generations of the same mishpoche. Other edifices were dos gleichn maintained for a great length of time. Buildings were oyfgehitn livable, rather than replaced by new ones. The forests were not decimated by constant building of new places. The lives of animals and fayglech were not endangered by the destruction of their habitats for new condos. Should we go back to the old teg? Hardly. There are too fil advantages that mir enjoy because of innovative measures. We zeinen, after all, the beneficiaries as well as the victims of our particular time in history. However, there are measures that can be oysgenitst to control our present problems. The creation of non- biodegradable garbage, the oysshepn of forests, the pollution of air, the poisoning of our waters, can all be handled. We have but to turn undser concern toward that objective. We can join the environmentalists in practicing gute personal habits. We can also fodern of our public officials az they pass and enforce legislation protecting us from ourselves. Maybe our young men would like to learn how to use a straight razor and a strap ... Vocabulary hot dergraycht farzorgt gantsn lebn afile zun gawlung vider amol bild oft mol hobn pasirt azelche kimat undzer ven hobn gefort noyt etleche antoysht azoy vie zorg zich hobn getrogn mentshin tuft sach zelber heizer mishpoche dos gleichn oyfgehitn fayglech teg fil mir zeinen oysgenitst oysshepn undser gute fodern az reached provided lifetime even son razor again picture often have happened such almost our when drove need some disappointed like worry carried people air many same homes family likewise kept birds days many we are taken depletion our good demand that Mary Koretz of Oak Park has taught both children's and adult classes in Yiddish at the Workmen's Circle. Famous Facts Q. Who introduced the tomato as a salad vegetable in colonial America? English-born Dr. John De Sequeyra, 1712-1795, came to Virginia in 1745 with a medical degree from the University of Leiden and opened a practice in Williamsburg. Thomas Jefferson credits him with introducing the tomato to the American salad plate. First brought to Europe from Spanish America in the early 16th century, the tomato was variously thought to be a poison (it is related to nightshade), a love potion, or simply "more a flower than a vegetable," but Dr. De Sequeyra believed that regular eating of tomatoes could greatly lengthen one's life span. It was still not until about 1900 that the tomato achieved its current popularity. The doctor's family, of Portuguese Jewish background, had settled in England in the 17th century, and had produced a number of physicians. John's brother, Joseph Henry, was a doctor in the West Indies. Dr. John De Sequeyra also served as the physician and a member of the board of directors of the first mental hospital in America, at Williamsburg in 1773. In his regular practice he treated a number of well-known people including members of George Washington's family. In early colonial Virginia, there were few Jews, and they seem to have been tolerated as long as they kept their religious practices and options quiet. Dr. De Sequeyra was known to his contemporaries as a Jew, but he did not practice his religion openly, if at all. The doctor's house on Duke of Gloucester Street near Botetourt Street in Williamsburg is today fully restored as a historic exhibit. Compiled by Dr. Matthew and Thomas Schwartz. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS L 3 -