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A Specia Guy To Me

Gazpacho
Day

Scott Lachman
Special to The AppleTree

magine a No.
class troublemaker
seated in an old-
fashioned, large
classroom.
If you went to Alger
Elementary in the hustle-
bustle city of Detroit in
the 1920s, you could
picture Simon Philip
Needle. As a young,
energetic boy, he got
into a lot of mischief. He used to get
in trouble on purpose regularly just to
sit in his magic place. This place was
a musty, old cloakroom; but it had the
aroma of a lunchroom. When Simon
was sent into this room for his discipli-
nary problem, his bright hazel eyes
would catch a glimpse of his peers'
peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.
While he ate everyone's lunches, the
teacher would start her history lessons.
My grandpa's ideas of fun were
always humorous, even in the cloak-
room.
My daring grandfather was once
dared to smash a frozen Powerhouse
candy bar on top of somebody's
head. He was lucky enough that this
little boy didn't get a concussion after
several attempts at breaking his candy
bar. My grandpa needed to learn a
candy bar was for eating, which is
one of his favorite passions in life.
At the fun age of 7, he went to reli-
gious school. Here is where Simon
got his long-lasting nickname. His
Hebrew name is Fischel, so the kids
called him Fishy. To this day, when he
meets with old friends for lunch they
still call him "Fishy." As this bright
young man matured, he changed his

Julia Meryl Tapper
Special to The AppleTree

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.

..

Scott Lachman enjoys an outing with Dada.

name from Simon to Philip. He did
this because he enormously hated
people calling him Simple Simon.
Today, people call him Simon, Phil or
Fishy.
To me, Dada is his name and I
know my favorite grandpa not only as
a role model but as a best friend. This
wonderful grandfather has always
been there for me from the good
times to the bad. Dada taught me
how to catch a baseball and helped
me become the great athlete I am
today. Even when I broke my foot at
the age of 5, he helped me get
through the long winter by spending
countless hours with me. He would
play endless games of Junior Monop-
oly and help me sort my baseball
cards into bindings. It didn't matter
what we spent our time doing. The
important thing was being together as
"friends."
This American soldier was a copilot
during World War II for five years.
He once crashed and lost two teeth
and still has a scar. He also was a
staff sergeant and was awarded five
heroic medals. He doesn't talk much
about his bravery. The medals he
received were given to me and I will
cherish these precious items always.

Sometimes, I view him as a little
baby boy wanting everything he can
see. He is a diabetic and wants
everything his eyes can feast. I
remember the time we went to a
gigantic wholesale store and he want-
ed to eat every sample.
I also see him as a Joe Montana
figure because he was a guard on
his Northern High School football
team. He also participated on the
high school tennis team and enjoyed
skating. I am lucky some of his athletic
talent was passed to me.
Today, this resident of Southfield
loves to joke with my devoted
grandmother Blanche and his fami-
ly. He loves it during the holidays
when our extended family gets
together and he always shares in
our happiness.
My grandpa is a friendly, caring,
loving, tender, humorous person who
is lucky enough to look and act just
like his favorite grandchild, who hap-
pens to be me. n

Scott Lachman of Farmington Hills is
in eighth grade at O.E. Dunckel Mid-
dle School. His hobbies are competi-
tive tennis, .table tennis, basketball
and surfing the Internet.

woke up to the warm sunlight
trailing into my room. As I
wiped my eyes, for they are
always glassy when I first wake
up, I walked into the kitchen. The
wood floor lightly creaked.
As I reached for a glass to get
juice, I noticed that the sink was
filled to the brim with brightly col-
ored peppers. A rush of excitement
came over me. Today was gazpa-
cho day.
Those peppers were to me a sign
of family, friends and sweetness. On
gazpacho day, my family gathers to
make the chilled soup. Each person
has a job that makes it essential for
everyone to be present. Besides the
fun of making the soup is the sweet-
ness that permeates your mouth when
you lay the soft, fresh vegetables on
your tongue. When we are done
preparing the soup, we eat our share
and package some up for friends.
On gazpacho day, Dad and Mom
wake up early. First, they walk next
door where they pick the freshest of
peppers, all colors, shapes and sizes,
and bring them to our house. Peppers
in the sink are a sign from Mom and
Dad saying not to worry where they
are. They're just at the market, picking
out the rest of the ingredients.
Dad and Mom always bring
home many paper bags full of pro-
duce. The more flavor and zest
added to the pot, the better the
gazpacho. Then they bring home a
small bag full of fruit. Mr. Poset, the
farmer, takes Dad out to his groves

4/16
1999

Detroit Jewish News

75