My four grandparents were from the Pale of Settlement. My fathers parents became philanthropists and help to work for the establishment of Brandeis University and the Weizmann Institute in Israel. My mother’s mother worked to start the ILGWU in Boston. My mother taught literature at the high school level for 45 years, starting at the age of 42. My father was in business for 30 years, wrote books and taught sociology for 30 years. My father was also on Nixon’s enemies list. I am a carpenter, an architect, a teacher of architecture, a father of two daughters, and a devoted husband. I live near the woods. The woods is my happy place.