<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">Dear Gotham </font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2"><br></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">I had a wonderful time yesterday visiting with Burt Fendelman who so many of us in Gotham know.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">Prior to COVID, Burt and I got together nearly monthly for breakfast and talked about life, Gotham, our wives, our children ... and more. COVID put a stop to nearly all of that.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">We had one or two breakfasts since, but it was difficult getting hold of him more recently. Then, earlier this week, I received a phone from his wife, Helaine, who invited me to visit. Burt has a brain tumor which has left him partially paralyzed. <o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">I visited yesterday and spent three hours … talking, again, about Gotham, politics and our thoughts, feelings and anxieties with getting older. He’s alert though his body is weak, and he needs people to talk with.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">During our time together, Burt expressed a “why … ”, and I remembered the Buddhist perspective that there's <u>no</u> difference between birth and death … just that circumstances have changed – which Burt acknowledged.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">My time with Burt was a euphoric experience. We both are members of Gotham’s Encore group … and in that context it come-to-mind that, as we age, we become concerned about our relevancy. I don’t think we lose relevancy as we age… more so the focus of our relevancy changes. And, just perhaps, Burt’s “why” was an expression of his changing relevancy … raising a reflection of life…<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">I didn't know what to expect prior to visiting with Burt. I found though someone whose emotional, intellectual and spiritual consciousness are as strong as ever, hampered only by the state of his body’s responsiveness.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><font size="2">I saw Burt’s desire for mental stimulation. He and his wife would like others to reach out, visit if you can. He would enjoy it, and it would strengthen him as well.<o:p></o:p></font></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p></div><div><font size="2"><br></font></div><div><font size="2">Rick Raymond</font></div><div><font size="2">Personal, Family Business and Spiritual Leadership</font></div><div><font size="2">New York, NY</font></div><div><font size="2">646-594-5587</font></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><font size="2"><br></font></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><font size="2">“Each generation has the responsibility of bringing to the business their own vision for the future of the business.” —Samuel Curtis Johnson III, former Chairman, SC Johnson: A Family Company</font></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><font size="2"><br></font></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><font size="2">Helping others achieve a greater sense of inner peace and well-being, releasing the limitations and tensions of the ego self.</font></i></div><div><font size="2"><br></font></div><div><font size="2"><br></font></div><div><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: rgb(0, 0, 0); letter-spacing: normal; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; text-decoration: none; overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div><font size="2"><br></font></div><div><font size="2"><br></font></div></div></div><font size="2"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline">
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