Al, might want to do and update on Americam Maganese. Their stock fell down again. Closed Friday at .010 ps and opened Monday at .07 . Today it has already fell more reaching .055

What does Larry have to say?

רבות נכתב כאן ברשימה של socialscienceisraelונאמר ע”י הדוברים הרבים בלוויה מרובת המשתתפים אתמול על תרומתו המקצועית ועל אישיותו המיוחדת של אשר.מי שהכיר את אשר מקרוב ידע לזהות שמץ של מבטא אמריקאי בעברית הטובה שלו, וחשוב לי להביא כאן פן נוסף שלו, שלא היה כל כך מוכר את חיבוטי הזהות שלו שבאו לידי ביטוי במייל שכתב לי מספר חודשים לפני פטירתו ושהשתמע לי ממנו שהוא רוצה שאקרא על קברו. ואכן כך עשיתי אתמול. אלה הדברים:Cleveland, October 24, 2009 Two thugohts on identity.We are in Cleveland now, place of my birth and childhood. I left when I was 20 or so and was glad I left.When we flew into Cleveland yesterday I noticed how unemotional and detached I was. Almost as if observing from afar. I attribute it to returning to nothing. This is the first time I have no one in Cleveland. I used to have mother and endless relatives. Now they are gone or moved away. Carol’s Bonnie and Seth have moved in and taken over and they are real Clevelanders, my cousin Sally is out of town, and I am not in contact with other cousins. So I am the native coming back to a different emotional landscape. No anger, no fear, no emotion.Somehow related to this in my mind is my name. As we know, that is always a focus of identity. My mother’s father was Asher Alter Gleiberman. (Maybe as a young man Asher contracted tongue cancer and to ensure his long life they added the name Alter, so when the angel of death was sent to collect the young Asher he was told that only an older Asher, Asher Alter is here so he left empty handed.) I was named after Asher Alter but was given only the Asher part. Which isn’t completely true since the name Asher Arian was never registered in any official document. I was Alan on my birth certificate (I don’t know from where my mother came up with that butter-Scotch choice).Throughout my childhood I was “Oshie” in the family and Alan elsewhere. I ran for office in junior high school with the slogan “Al’s your Pal”. I won.After being in Israel a few years I officially changed my name in the Israeli records to Asher Arian. I liked that move and still do. It rooted me firmly both in my family’s past and in my people’s present. It is always a thrill for me to hear the Hebrew name.The English name, however, somehow still leaves me cold. It’s just not me, not about me.But now, gratefully covered by Medicare, the US’s health insurance for those over 65, the bureaucrats had all the records – insurance, medical, etc. changed to read Alan. Not a dumb move – not good having a patient with a few names. So they went with the name on the birth certificate and that’s fine. I sit in doctors’ waiting rooms for many hours and when my name is finally called, I am grateful, and yet emotionally I keep looking over my shoulder trying to figure out who is this Alan Arian they are calling.So Alan is my parenthetical brackets. Not complaining, just observing. Some old men spend years and hundreds of pages discussing identity issues. You have been spared!כמו שניתן לקרוא בסבטקסט, המחלה לא הפכה להיות חלק ממנו ומהזהות שלו והוא אכן נלחם בה בכל כוחותיו. מה שעוד ברור הזהות שלו היתה מורכבת אבל הוא ידע והיה לו חשוב שגם אנחנו נדע שהשורשים שלו כאן בישראל.מיכל שמיר