I use my blog for “keyboard therapy” as I like to call it. Started out mostly airing my pet peeves of life on planet earth but have written on some serious topics as well, mostly in defense of Mother Nature who I believe is on the verge of revolting against the human inhabitants of her planet.

Remembering Cosmo Berkowitz

Remembering Cosmo Berkowitz

“I want to get another dog.” Zachary Berkowitz, circa January 2005. This is where our story begins.

When Zach’s sister Allie got bat mitzvahed in 2002, we gave her some of her present money and told her to buy what she wanted. She got an iBook laptop computer. We offered Zach the same deal and he  said “I want another dog,” and he was quickly told no. Being the relentless little man that he was, he asked why. My explanation was simple – a dog is not a fixed purchase. You have food, vet bills, doggie sitting and more, plus we already had one dog – Ripley – and as far as I was concerned, one dog was enough. So Zach ended up getting a Tempur-Pedic mattress with his bar mitzvah money.

Over the next couple of years Zach kept asking and we kept saying no. In June of 2005, Zach announced that when he got home from camp, we were getting another dog. My response, “We will discuss it.”

The 2nd week of August, 2005, we met Zach at the bus from Camp Lenox at a hotel off the Garden State Parkway, somewhere around exit 157. It’s about a minute ride from the hotel parking lot to get back on The Parkway and before we could get one exit down that road, Zach says “So when are we getting another dog.”
My response was “I said we’d discuss it.”
To which Zach replies “No more discussing it. We need another dog. Allie is leaving for college and I’m going miss my sister so much, I need someone to replace her,” which is probably only half true but totally well played.
My response to him was something along the lines of “We have lot going on right now…we need to get Allie off to college…we can look into this when mom and I get back.”

So we got Allie off to college, came home and the next day not only was Zach all about getting another dog, his mother joined in. She called Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter, which is where we got Ripley, our 10 year old shepherd mix. They had a litter of boxer/shepherd mixes coming in and we were first on the list. Of course, Zach is checking out what that type of dog would look like and all I could see was a really big ball of shedding dog hair all over my house.

A day or two later, we are off to The Shelter to check out the pups and OMG are they cute when they are that small. Zach gets it down to 2 or 3 of the females and finally decides on one. At that point, I have to go home to get Ripley as the folks at the shelter want to see how she will react to this possible new addition to our family.

When I return to the shelter with Ripley, they put her in the conference with the new dog, who chases her around and Ripley promptly shits on the floor! At that point, the decision is made and we have ourselves a new dog.

Now I wanted to name the dog Honey for her coloring and for Cosmo’s toasted honey buns. My kids overrule me and decide on Cosmo (which I think is a bit of boys name) but we go with “Cosmo Girl,” at least that’s what I tell myself.  A week or so later, after being properly fixed, Cosmo comes home.

Zach & his new pup – the day we brought her home.

Our soon to be big dog, makes herself right at home. As much as I thought Ripley had a very human personality, Cosmo is just a big doofy dog. She is great at catching her frisbee and tennis ball, we play chase around an old picnic we had in our backyard, and she is a wonderful companion for long walks in the reservation.

In August 2010, after a battle with liver disease and just one day after getting both Allie and Zach off to SU, Ripley decides she has had enough and we are down to one dog. Although she is not much of licker, Cosmo does like to run out the door when I come home each day and jump on to my extended arm. She is also Linda’s early morning cuddle companion, so that Linda can get a few extra minutes sleep.

During the 2nd semester of his junior year, Zach call us to ask if he can bring Shay home. Shay is a dog one of his fraternity brothers adopted but whose parents won’t let him bring home…not to mention the fact that he had no clue as to how to take care of dog, which Zach did.  Zach had become one of her caretakers and they had grown very attached. We decide to go visit Zach and see how the 2 dogs get along. After the visit, we decided to let Zach bring Shay home and officially welcome her into the Berkowitz family. Cosmo has a new friend.

At some point, when Cosmo was probably around 9 years old or so, she started developing a floppy growth under her neck. The vet says to do nothing (which we later regret) but to give it a name. I call it Governor Cysty. This growth really became annoying for us to look at.

As time progresses, she does some damage to a ligament in one of her back legs, so we have to cut down on our long walks and eventually she can no longer jump into the car or onto the bed. The growth on her neck is joined by a series of small growths on the rest of her body.

Last spring, during the pandemic, Linda and I decided now was a good time to get another dog.

On July 4, 2020, Cassidy Berkowitz joins the family. We had hoped our new addition would give Cosmo a bit of life, but at 13 years old, she just took things in stride.

Last fall, as she was over 13 years old – a good age for her breed and size – I figured if it were a hard winter, she would have a tough time. Despite all the snow and cold we had, she came through like a trooper but age was definitely starting to take it’s toll. Walks became much shorter, she struggled getting up and down the stairs in our backyard, and she stopped coming upstairs to sleep in our room. In late May, she started having issues controlling her bladder and almost every night she was peeing in the house. I could sense the moment I dreaded was fast approaching.

On Saturday, June 12, 2021, Linda and I flew to California for a well deserved family vacation (as in the 6 of us) and birthday celebration. It had been several months since we had let Cosmo go to the dog sitter, which she used to do once a week but we had stopped as we felt it was no longer in her best interest. Our dog sitter knew that if there were a problem, we had Linda’s sister Donna on call to come up to the house and stay with Cosmo until our return. Unfortunately Linda got the call Sunday that Cosmo would have to be brought home on Monday. Thankfully Donna was there to help.

We returned home on June 16th. Over the next few days, I did my best to take Cosmo on late night walks in the hope she could make it through the night. It didn’t help. A couple of nights, I would hear her moving around the house, run down the stairs to get her outside but I was always too late.

9 days ago, she stopped eating and drinking. Last Thursday afternoon, she actually got up for a walk but she collapsed on the street and I had to carry home. Last Friday morning she walked to the car and  I lifted into the back for the last time.

We got to the vet and she walked inside. They brought her out back, lifted her onto a table, she laid down and smiled at me as if to say thank you, I love you and this is going to be much harder on you than it is me (and it was and still is). Moments later my Cosmo was gone and only now as I write this, am I truly letting it all go for the first time.

My 2 angels are now together. I loved them both and will miss them for the rest of my days.

In Common Sense Politics

Obama Invents Racism…

Posted by: on Sep 22, 2016 | No Comments

Obama Invents Racism…

….no he didn’t but according to Kathy Miller (pictured above), a Trump campaign chair in Ohio, there was no racism before Obama.

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In Have Some Faith

Taken Too Young

Posted by: on Aug 29, 2016 | No Comments

Taken Too Young

I am sure we all have had this experience. A family member, friend, neighbor, colleague, business associate, etc., someone close to your age, passes away unexpectedly. Suddenly it puts life into perspective.

A couple of hours ago I got “that” call. One of business associates/vendors I had been working with passed away. Someone I’ve known and worked with for over 20 years, my age and he’s gone. Yes, he needed to lose weight. Yes, he smoked but to think I saw him last week and he was gone today. Reality just sucks on a day like today.

Even though we were not socially friendly, I will miss Brian every day I sit at my desk. I remember 20+ years, when Monarch was just a couple of years old, we worked on one of first full color jobs. FYI, today almost all our jobs are printed in full color, but 20 years ago full color printing was not as easy or cost efficient as it is today.  We called Brian to help us through that process. It was the first on many times I would rely on his expertise and customer service to help us out.

Many years ago, one of my clients called me “the last of the old time salesman.” He appreciated the fact that I came running when he called. I did not (still do not) rely exclusively on email and the phone to take care of my clients. Brian was more than that. He was a mensch (especially for a big waspy guy). Always happy to stop by when called, always putting in that extra effort, always willing to share his knowledge when we had issues.

I never met Brian’s family but we constantly swapped stories about our kids. He knew that I loved college sports, so he was always keeping me up-to-date on his daughter’s track career at Villanova. I think it gave extra pleasure telling me these stories, while surrounded by Orange in my office.

Brian, you were taken from us too young. Once the initial shock of all this goes away, I will celebrate your life, all the time you helped me professionally and the stories we shared. Rest in peace my friend. Rest in peace.

In Uncategorized

Jury Duty Daze 2016

Posted by: on Aug 8, 2016 | No Comments

Jury Duty Daze 2016

Yes folks, I have been called to perform my civic duty and have been called for jury duty.  Much like I did 3 years, I will post on my experience.

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In Common Sense Politics

Scared Democratic!

Posted by: on Jun 28, 2016 | No Comments

Scared Democratic!

You’ve heard of being scared straight? When you are so scared of doing something that you don’t do it. Well that’s how I feel about the political situation at the moment.

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Pre-Father’s Daze Day
In In My Humble Opinion

Pre-Father’s Daze Day

Posted by: on Jun 20, 2016 | No Comments

Pre-Father’s Daze Day

Before I start this one, I have to get one thing off my chest. For all of you that put on social media or have posts written about you stating “I have the best father” or “happy father’s day to the best dad” or whatever best you’ve got, you can stop and read this post from January 2015: http://www.irasez.com/youre-the-best/

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The Fears of My Father
In Common Sense Politics, Have Some Faith

The Fears of My Father

Posted by: on Jun 14, 2016 | No Comments

The Fears of My Father

A happy grandpa on his 90th birthday

This August, my dad will be 92 years old. He landed on the shores of France 72 years ago this month, shortly after D-Day and was part of the occupational forces in Europe serving in Patton’s army. He is a member of our country’s greatest generation and fought the war to end all wars…or so he thought.

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In In My Humble Opinion

21st Century Disease Names Daze

Posted by: on May 18, 2016 | No Comments

21st Century Disease Names Daze

If you watch TV, you are constantly bombarded by ads for drugs that claim to treat a variety of ailments, most of which you have probably never heard of before. Where the hell do they come up with these ailments and diseases, and who the hell is sitting in a dark room somewhere figuring out what to call them?

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The Sandwich Generation
In In My Humble Opinion

The Sandwich Generation

Posted by: on May 13, 2016 | No Comments

The Sandwich Generation

The “sandwich generation.” A term I find myself using more and more, and a topic of conversation among my peers on what seems to be a daily basis.

For many of my friends who are anywhere between 40 and 60+, we are the sandwich generation. A thinly sliced piece of humanity nicely tucked between 2 pieces of familial bread. One of those pieces of bread is our parents, both of them if you are lucky. For many of us, that means an elderly parent(s), 80 years young and up. For some, their parents are snowbirds – they split their time between their home in the north and their other home in the south. For others, they have moved on to to warmer parts permanently. For me it’s the latter and it’s my dad, who will be 92 this August.

20 years ago, he “retired” to the Jewish Virgin Islands, a.k.a. Palm Beach County. His retirement lasted a few weeks before he started going stir crazy and threatened to move back north, which was not what my mother had planned. So off he went, in search of an accounting job, where he could continue his CPA career, which he found. Within a few months, he got his Florida certification and, until very recently, went to work almost every day. His major complaint during the summer and fall is that he doesn’t have enough work to keep him busy.

On the other side of our generational sandwich is our children. For Linda and me, that’s one in California and one who just recently moved to Brooklyn, to shack up with his girlfriend and his dog. Prior to that, he had been living at home for about 2 years, after graduating from SU in May 2014. He even went so far as to redecorate his room a few weeks after moving back home, which was a definitive sign that free room and board had it’s  benefits. Now that he’s gone, I’m slowly converting his room into my home office (which will probably come as news to him).

Having an elderly parent 2-3 hours away by plane and a child 5 hours away by plane has added a whole other layer to our lives. We like to see them both as much as we can, which is a strain on us emotionally, physically and fiscally. AMEX points and frequent flier miles got chewed up pretty quickly the first couple of years that Allie was living in lala land.

For now, we do our best to go west and south as often as we can but sometimes the meat that makes up our little sandwich gets a bit too stretched . What I really need right now is a hero. Unfortunately my sandwich is more like peanut butter and jelly. A little thin, a little sticky, but in the end, even a good PB&J is better than nothing.

 

 

 

In Have Some Faith

Not So Kosher For Passover

Posted by: on Apr 28, 2016 | No Comments

Not So Kosher For Passover

Yes, I am Jewish. No I don’t keep Kosher…never have…never plan to. There are a lot of folks out there in the world, that when they found out you are Jewish, they just assume you don’t eat pork products. Essentially they are ignorant.

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Viagra Model Daze
In In My Humble Opinion

Viagra Model Daze

Posted by: on Apr 25, 2016 | No Comments

Viagra Model Daze

Can we talk about ED…erectile dysfunction. Major Major Disclaimer (and if my kids are reading this, hide your eyes): ED is not a problem for me but I do get big kick out of those Viagra TV commercials.

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