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I skipped<\/strong><\/span> third grade. Let me put that out here right away.<\/p>\n I was the shortest kid in my class and got the crap kicked out of me regularly.<\/p>\n I remember Colavito hit four homers in a row against Baltimore in 1959.<\/p>\n I did juggling, tennis, ping pong and music.<\/p>\n I got<\/strong> <\/span>beaten up by Italians, in particular. I was 4-foot-7 in seventh grade. However . . . I made the junior high basketball team. I didn’t see a minute of play, but I could sink 20 free throws in a row.<\/p>\n I was a Life Scout, not Eagle, just like musician Irwin Weinberger.<\/p>\n I worked summers at a drugstore, stocking shelves for $1.25 an hour. I got one free Snickers per shift.<\/p>\n My dad often dozed in the upholstered chair in the front room. He had The<\/em> Cleveland Press i<\/em>n his lap. <\/em>My mom was a homemaker and did all the normal Donna Reed<\/em> stuff.<\/p>\n In high school I placed in a national math contest and attended a summer workshop at the University of Rochester, where I got schooled by true math geniuses. After that I became modest, except here.<\/p>\n I went to some big-name rock concerts. I saw the Byrds, the Band. Everybody. Janis Joplin. James Cotton opened for her.<\/p>\n I attended Michigan, U. of.\u00a0 Then I went into real estate. Is there anything else to do? Not that I know of.<\/p>\n I got<\/strong><\/span> married in 1978. My wife has a degree in physics from Ohio State. Never used it. She taught gym. We have three adult children and 11 grandchildren — more than some Orthodox Jews.<\/p>\n I skipped a grade. Did I mention that? Sandy Stein did too. He was also short.<\/p>\n [fake profile]<\/small><\/em><\/p>\n —<\/p>\n You want to read something true? I wrote about Santa Claus and small-claims court for the Wall Street Journal<\/em> last week. “Never Throw Out Santa Claus”<\/a> —<\/p>\n Triple play. I made a 1:45-minute video. “Deli Jews, My Dad, and the Browns.”
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