Hillmanns 17. 1921 Coney Island and the Girl Scouts

THE HILLMANNS OF BROOKLYN

CHAPTER 17

1921

This week the Hillmanns take us to Coney Island and a very large Girl Scout event, New York style.

On a chilly day in April Herman and Rose took 11 year old Marian to Coney Island.

It was closed, but it sure made for a great photo op.

Herman and Rose

Peek-A-Boo

In June there was a big girl scout event in New York City.

In 1921 the death penalty was abolished in Sweden

Marian with Captain Tomes

In 1921 the Communist Party of China was formed

In 1921 researchers at the University of Toronto discovered the hormone, insulin

In 1921 the first Miss America pageant was held in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Looks like a sheep herding exhibition, exactly what I would expect to see at a scouting expo.

Troop 55

Nothing says summer like ice cream.

Marian tells us that this was her first masquerade.

It was for Fourth of July.

Where am I?

Does anyone know?

It's near New York City

It's a hard picture to see but if there is one thing I have learned by now it's that these people liked to go swimming, en masse

Rose and Marian, this is love, in July 1921. I wonder how much longer those big bows are going to be in style. Next week we join the Hillmanns for the rest of 1921 with more swimming, a picnic, a visit with Rose's family and a parade of WW1 veterans. Join us on Tuesdays

Hillmanns 16. 1920

THE HILLMANNS OF BROOKLYN

CHAPTER 16

1920

Herman instructing his 10 year old daughter, Marian. I love this picture. 

Does anyone know where they are?

Herman and Marian

Rose and Marian

February 1920. Marian with Rose on the sled.

Rose with Herman on the sled.

Herman with Marian

There was a lot going on in New York in 1920. The New York State Assembly refused to seat five duly elected Socialist assemblymen. Meanwhile, in Germany, Adolph Hitler presented his National Socialist program in Munich

A dirible, taken in March. On January 9th, thousands of New Yorkers watched as George Polley, the Human Fly, climbed the Woolworth Building. He reached the 30th floor and was arrested.

Herman, Marian and Rose. In 1920 the New York Times ridiculed American rocket scientist Robert Goddard. They retracted in 1969 when the Apollo was on its way to the moon. Reminds me of Galileo and the Catholic Church.

Prohibition began in 1920. The 1920 census shows the Hillmanns back living in Brooklyn after their brief residence on Linden Street in Essex County, NJ. The best guess as to why they moved back to Brooklyn is easier access for Herman to get to and from his job in Manhattan.

I have no idea who the small girl is.
On February 17th a woman named Anna tried to commit suicide in Berlin. She was taken to a mental hospital where she clamed to be the Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia. She kept the story up her entire long life, but after her death her DNA proved she was no Anastasia, but it was a great story.

I do not know who these people are.

But I am guessing Herman's cousins.

Births in 1920 include Bella Abzug, Yul Brynner, Bill Cullen, Jack Lord, Walter Matthau, Ricardo Montalban, Mario Puzo and Tony Randall

Right after the 18th Amendment, prohibition, came the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. Warren Harding was elected President.

Marian and Rose

On September 16th a bomb in a horse wagon exploded in front of the J.P. Morgan building in New York City, killing 38 and injuring 400. The J.P. Morgan building is at 23 Wall Street. Herman's office was also on Wall Street.

Hillmanns albums come out on Tuesdays, join us next week when we go to Coney Island, a huge girl scout event, Marian's first masquerade and some swimming.

Weight Loss 2016. Week 2. Setbacks and Backsliding

Weight Loss 2016

Week 2

SetBacks/Backsliding

It’s my goal to get a weight loss blog out every Monday in 2016.  I put these together quickly.  They are published in real time, no delay.  The blog helps me, like DietBet.com helps me, with accountability.  If it helps you too, that makes me happy.    

In 2013-14 I lost 110 lbs.  In 2015 I gained some back.  Then came the holidays and I gained more.  I’m not divulging my current weight, because I can’t stand it.  It is an abomination.  Gaining weight pisses me off because I don’t seem to be able to maintain the weight I want without constant dieting.  So here I am, in 2016, again, working to get down to where I want to be and then figuring out how to stay there.  And I am doing it publicly because, for me, it’s even worse if I fail and embarrass myself (so it won’t happen) than it is to be fat.  I read every book the great trial attorney, Gerry Spence, wrote.  In one of those books he explained how he won every trial.  He said something like he would rather die and have his limbs torn off one by one than lose a trial.  Those were his options die horribly or win. 

I came back from New Year’s weekend 10 pounds heavier than I left.  But then came the first week of dieting and I took off 17 pounds. How do you achieve a number like that?  I have no idea.  It’s astonishing.  At the end of that week I celebrated my birthday where I ate cake, nachos, fish dip and pretzels.  I gained 8 pounds.  How does that happen?  Beats the hell out of me.  Last June I went to dinner at the Melting Pot.  I gained 11 pounds with one meal.  People tell me that is impossible.  It’s not.  I did it. 

How do I put on weight so quickly?  I have a theory.  I’ve written it before and I am sure I will write it again.  Fat people and thin people all have the same number of fat cells (fact, not theory).  Fat people’s fat cells are bigger (fact).  I believe I eat certain foods and a signal is sent to those cells that says hold on, as in hold on to fluid.  They feel endangered.  The solution is to avoid foods that make them feel endangered. 

So how long did it take me to take off the 8 pounds I gained at my birthday party?  I’ll let you know.  I wish I had the answer for you today.  Next Monday I anticipate you will be reading I got back to and surpassed my January 9^th weight, because that’s the current goal, get back to where I was the morning of January 9^th.  Why was it so easy to take off the New Year’s weekend weight but not the birthday party weight?  I don’t know

It has taken me every year of my life to figure out what works for me in terms of weight loss, and I was raised on diets and diet books.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to pay attention to yourself.  Weigh yourself daily.  Learn your body trends and what works for you.  Rely on your own data.  Be careful of what other people tell you about weight loss.

When you are a fat kid and become a fat adult with no long term weight loss success you think there is something seriously wrong with you.  The society in which we live is ever ready, willing, and able to tell us so many things are wrong with us.  I remember years ago sitting in some group weight loss meeting where obesity was viewed as a menacing, ever lurking demon ready to get cha.  I listened to a woman sob and explain she never allowed herself to leave the house with money because she would end up at a McDonald’s.  I left that meeting thinking never in my life have I been afraid to carry money because I feared I would spend it on food.  I am not like that.  Then I realized the people at that meeting would tell me I was in denial if I did not admit my powerlessness over food.  I am not powerless over food, and neither are you.  Pay attention to yourself.  If you make a conscious choice to do something that will result in back sliding power yourself back up to get where you want to be.

Hillmanns 15 1919 Airplanes

THE HILLMANNS OF BROOKLYN

CHAPTER 15

1919

AIRPLANES

Here with have our hero, Herman, with an airplane, in August of 1919, slightly more than 15 years after the Wright Brothers got one off the ground. How did Herman, who spent his entire life working for the H.B. Smith Co., America's oldest cast iron boiler company, get so close to this action? We can only speculate.

Herman also spent his entire life in New York City, where the action was.

Also in 1919, several mail bombs were sent to prominent figures as part of the 1919 United States Anarchist Bombings.

Andy Rooney was born in 1919.

Marian and Herman

Here we have Rose's mother, Henrietta, with Herman's mother, Emma. In 1919 Henrietta was 65 years old. She was born in Brooklyn to parents who had immigrated from Hamburg. Henrietta was the mother of five. Her husband was still living, and her oldest son still lived at home and contributed to his parents' support. 

Emma was 54. She was born in Pennsylvania to parents who had immigrated from Hamburg. Emma was the mother of two. She had been widowed and remarried. She was raising her two granddaughters because her daughter had divorced and neither her daughter nor her former son-in-law cared for their children.

Both Henrietta and Emma married German immigrants. Both of their husbands were bartenders. We know Emma's husband, Herman's Dad, owned a bar on Flatbush Avenue. We don't know if Henrietta's husband owned a bar or worked a bar.

I don't know why the Hillmanns took so few pictures in 1919, but next week we start on the 1920s and I have so many photos. Hillmanns albums come out on Tuesdays.

Weight Loss 2016 Week 1

Last week I reported I jumped back on a DietBet because I want to lose weight and DietBet.com was an invaluable tool the last time around.  My first week went well.  I eliminated the starchy carbs, alcohol and sugar I enjoyed over the holidays.  Within two days I lost my New Year’s weekend weight, which is enough to win that first DietBet, so long as I maintain the loss by the end of the contest.  I intend to exceed it.

As the days continued I rapidly lost weight.  This was in keeping with my weight loss theory about myself which is give me sugar and it sends a signal to my cells that says retain fluid.  I have surmised in my body starchy carbs and alcohol convert to sugar.  They are not good for me.  I like them, but….

I am in the habit of writing my weight down daily, because I have been dieting most of my life.  I am also in the habit of keeping records.  That comes from being a legal secretary, lawyer, business owner and Capricorn, we keep track of data.  I went to my trusty weight chart and saw my lowest December 2015 weight was on December 18^th.  I gained weight between December 19^th and December 31^st.  Thus, my next goal was get back to my December 18^th weight.

My holidays don’t end on New Year’s Day.  My holidays end whenever I finish celebrating my January 10^th birthday.  This year my birthday was celebrated on Saturday, January 9^th.  I ate cake.  Once I did that I also ate nachos, pretzels, fish dip, you get the picture.  Why?  Because cheating begets cheating.  In a flash my cells started filling.  My Sunday weight was up, but still under the pre New Year’s Weekend number.  I specifically gave myself permission to eat cake at my birthday party.  I did that because not allowing myself to eat cake on my birthday would piss me off more than gaining weight does.  That may not seem reasonable to you, it is reasonable to me.  Now my goal is to get to the number I had the morning of January 9^th and after that the December 18^th, number, that’s back sliding.

My cake

So this week I proved starchy carbs, alcohol and sugar equal instant weight gain for me and I reaffirmed DietBet.com is a great tool.  DietBet.com kept me check the rest of the week when my eating was on program, a program I designed for myself.  I am convinced I know my body better than anyone when it comes to dieting.  I have been dieting for the better part of 40 years and have achieved a mostly permanent 110 pound weight loss, despite gaining about 10% of it back in 2015 up until the holidays, and then adding more to it. 

 My party people, most of them

DietBet.com kept me on track when I went to my friend Holly’s birthday party the day before mine.  Holly’s party was at a Mexican restaurant.  As the servers brought out the dinner plates they called them out, “Chimichanga, who ordered the chimichanga?” “Two ground beef tacos”.  “Fish and salad.”  Holly exclaimed, “Which one of you idiots ordered fish and salad in a Mexican restaurant?”  Me.  Holly said, “Oh, it’s you.  I’ll excuse you, you’re always on a diet.”  Later Holly’s cake was brought out.  It was a beautiful dense chocolate topped with chocolate strawberries.  I was asked if I wanted a piece.  No, thank you.  I’m not going to lie.  I would have enjoyed a margarita in a fishbowl, chimichanga and cake.  But I will not lose a DietBet because I cheated.  That could keep me from winning.  It would be stupid.  I placed that bet voluntarily.  I would be cheating myself.  I’m glad I’m on a DietBet.  Actually, right now I’m on two.  I find tremendous power in being told I must achieve a weight by a certain date.  

Holly's Cake

WEIGHT LOSS 2016 SO MUCH FUN THE FIRST TIME, LET’S DO IT AGAIN HAHAHAHAHA

I’m going to start with historic background, in case you don’t know.  In January of 2013 I realized on January 10, 2014 I was turning 50.  I was fat my entire adult life.  I convinced myself I must be thin for my 50s.  It was something I always wanted.  I started a diet on January 22, 2013.  My starting weight was 272.  I lost about 50 pounds by May.  Then I gained some.  Then I lost some.  Then I gained some.  In November of 2013 my office started a diet contest.  I knew I could win that contest, and I did.  I kept joining contests and I took my weight down almost 110 pounds. 

This is me right before I started my 2013 weight loss journey.  I still have the shirt.  The next time I know I am going to see Deane and Anna I am bringing the shirt for a comparison picture.

Before I continue I want to say something about weight numbers.  The more diet contests you enter the better you get at manipulating numbers.  I got to where I could manipulate 10 pounds in three days.  This is not permanent weight loss.  This is competition.  Anyone with intelligence figures out how to manipulate the competitions in which they participate, to a point, ask any athlete, lawyer or poker player.  If I give you numbers in this blog they are numbers I consider to be true numbers, as opposed to manipulated numbers. 

Let me give you an example of a manipulated number.  There is a certificate hanging on my office wall that says I won a diet contest.  It says I lost 74.8 lbs in 16 weeks.  That’s not true.  If you look at the prior award from the same contest, the one that started 9 weeks earlier, it says I lost 56.8 lbs in 16 weeks.  When they made the certificate they forgot to add the new 8 weeks, which would make it 74.8 lbs in 24 weeks.  That number is still skewed because those contests ended on a Monday and began the following Monday.  I would bulk up before the start of a contest and sometimes, particularly the smaller I got, stop eating days before weigh out.  I don’t think I could have lost the weight I did without contests.  The contests were invaluable to me.  Weight loss is a trend over time.  A 5 lb one day weight loss means nothing unless you still have that weight loss two weeks later.  I have a way of keeping track of what I call “true” numbers.  I go with my numbers.  I don’t count a low number I ricocheted off as soon as I ate. 

  

Here I am at about my lowest weight, winning a side bet.  I still have the dress.  I can’t wait to wear it for you.

I achieved my lowest, stable weight the summer of 2014 and I remained very close to that weight though February 2015, then I started consistently gaining.  How much?  About 8% by December 2015.  Of course, that was until I went away for New Year’s weekend where I gained a record amount of weight in a short time period, se la vie. 

January 2, 2016, last day of Christmas vacation indulgence. 

So what did I do after New Year’s 2016?  I rejoined DietBet.com.  I hadn’t wanted to do that in 2015.  I thought what kind of an idiot springs back and forth in diet competitions?  Do you want to join a diet contest and lose exactly the same pounds again?  Can’t you just be normal?  I haven’t figured out how to be normal yet.  I am that idiot.  So I put my ego away, jumped back on the DietBet bandwagon and am doing what works for me, again.   I want to be thinner.  I want to fit in all my pretty clothes.  DietBet.com is a great accountability tool, as is writing to all of you.