[Fredslist] Burt Fendelman

[Richard Raymond]

Dear Gotham 


I had a wonderful time yesterday visiting with Burt Fendelman who so many of us in Gotham know.
 
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.
 
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.  
 
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.
 
During our time together, Burt expressed a “why … ”, and I remembered the Buddhist perspective that there's no difference between birth and death … just that circumstances have changed – which Burt acknowledged.
 
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…
 
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.
 
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.
 
 

Rick Raymond
Personal, Family Business and Spiritual Leadership
New York, NY
646-594-5587


“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

Helping others achieve a greater sense of inner peace and well-being, releasing the limitations and tensions of the ego self.







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