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*Note: The photo prompt is meant to be the INSPIRATION for your story not an ILLUSTRATION of it.
The next photo is the PROMPT. Remember, all photos are property of the photographer, donated for use in Friday Fictioneers only. They shouldn’t be used for any other purpose without express permission. It is proper etiquette to give the contributor credit.
PHOTO PROMPT © Penny Gadd
Click on the Frog to Join the Fun! Hoppy! Hoppy! Joy! Joy!
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
THE PERFECT IDIOT’S PROFESSION
Twelve-year-old Kathy burst into the bedroom. “Hey, Lazy-Bones, time for breakf—.” She choked on a scream.
Tommy’s body hung by a noose from a rafter.
***
Kathy picked at her eggs. “I miss Tommy.”
Mother ignored the reference to her departed son. “Get ready for school.”
Kathy shuddered. “No!”
“Traumatized.” Father sighed. “I fear Kathy’s destined to become a recluse. I’ll hire a tutor.”
***
Years later, nineteen-year-old Katharine announced to the dismay of her father. “I’m going to be an actress.”
Dr. Hepburn scowled at his headstrong daughter. “You don’t get anywhere in theater unless you sleep with the director.”
Rochelle Wisoff-Fields-Addicted to Purple 
I loved the Perfect Idiot’s Profession title. I have several friends who’re in the profession and I so admire their dedictation to a very difficult choice
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Dear Neil,
I once thought I’d like to be an actress. To some degree, I’m told that I am anyway. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow
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Thank you, Nyakio! 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Even back then sleeping with the director/producer was a “rumoured” requirement for Hollywood?
Interesting how predictions of a child’s future can be so wrong.
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Dear Tanille,
My aunt told me sometime back that she had wanted to pursue an acting career but my grandfather put his foot down. Apparently, I had a great aunt to made her way into silent films by way of the casting couch. So the answer is yes, it was more than a rumor.
Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom
Rochelle
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Harrowing tale of childhood loss, m’lady
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Yes, it was.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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While it was traumatic for the child, her doctor father was old fashioned and not knowledgable of the modern medical treatments of the time. It seems he didn’t think much of doctors who treated the mind. How sad. Fortunately, Katherine was also stubborn about her chosen profession. I wonder if he ever accepted her choice. A good, well-written story based on historical fact, Rochelle. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Dear Suzanne,
In Katherine’s case, I think she stubbornly refused to go back to school. I’m not sure her father had much of a choice. According to accounts and an interview I saw with Kate herself, little was ever said of Tom’s suicide. In fact, she clung to the story that it was a tragic accident. I don’t know that her father accepted her career choice, but who’d want to lock horns with Kate Hepburn? Thank you. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I enjoyed reading this Rochelle – and I learned something 😀
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Thank you, Colline. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I read her autobiography “Me” years ago, but I don’t think she mentioned that episode in the book. Had to have been very traumatic. She was a fabulous actor, and no idiot.
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Dear Trent,
All I did was quote her with the idiot comment. She was outspoken, wasn’t she? Even in a late in life interview when she was asked about her brother’s death, she insisted it was a tragic accident and quickly passed on to the next subject. She was one of my all time favorite actors. Thanks for commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Yes, I did know you were quoting her and that your opinion of her was much higher. She was remarkable and one of my favorites as well.
If she still felt that way in late life, I understand why she didn’t mention it in her autobiography.
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Far from being an idiot, she overcame her terrible trauma and became a wonderful actress..great historical storytelling.
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Dear Jan,
She was quite a woman, wasn’t she? Thank you, m’luv.
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Another little gem of unknown history for me. Thanks for sharing – another person who’s career can be seen in a different light when you learn some of the personal history and tragedy.
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Dear Iain,
This was a new nugget of history I didn’t know before I started digging. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Beautiful woman, timeless actress… an idiot she was not. Great story! Her life may have started out rough, but she made good on it in so many ways. ~Shalom, Bear
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Dear Bear,
She was an incredible woman and a fascinating actress. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Love this. My brother and I are fond doing a bad Katherine Hepburn impression, saying “But enough about me. What do YOU think about me?”
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Dear Josh,
I’m sure those impressions are entertaining. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I never knew that. What a horrifying discovery. Perhaps the emotion her brother’s death stirred is part of what made her able to convey so many emotions on the stage and screen. One of my all-time favorite performers.
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Dear Linda,
Perhaps a latent tendency from the event. From what I gather from a later interview and the biography which included an interview with her younger brother, the incident was neatly swept under the rug. She was one of my favorites together. Put her together with Spencer Tracy and just plain wow. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Presume this is based on fact? Chilling childhood for her, and yet she became a wonderful actress.
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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Dear Susan,
It pays to dig. Definitely based on fact. Although when asked about it in an interview late in life, she glossed over it saying it was an accident. Thank you for reading and commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Poor Tommy. Was it the father’s strictness, I wonder?
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That’s something we’ll never know, Pet Rock. Dr. Hepburn insisted it was a tragic accident and not a suicide.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I don’t know if she slept with her director, but she certainly made her mark.
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Dear Phyllis,
Although, the casting couch was well-known in the day, I have my doubts that Ms. Hepburn succumbed to it. Thanks for commenting.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Good to know someone said no.
I grew up in Hollywood. I could have had a child career if my mother had been willing to sleep with the director. She said, “No.” I’m glad she did.
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Wow, Rochelle. No idiot, she was. Whether she had to do things she didn’t want to do (and shouldn’t have been asked to, or not), she was no idiot. And no one’s fool.
Great piece, that.
Na’ama
Mine went a lot less seriously … 😉
https://naamayehuda.com/2019/09/04/fixer-upper/
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Na’ama Y’karah,
Sorry for the lateness of this reply. Busy week. Kate was definitely nobody’s fool. I have my doubts about her sleeping with any director to get a part. She was magnificent IMHO. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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OVERLY busy weeks coming up here so I can totally relate! Yeah, I don’t know much about how she managed, and if she did have to allow things she would have preferred not to, because that was the way “it was done”, then I would not hold it against her. And if she found a way to manage a very exploitative world in a way that did not include the couch … then all the power to her. I don’t think she NEEDED – on talent and merit values – to sleep with anyone to get anything! Magnificent indeed. It’s whether or not the world she worked in created impossible situations for her, that I don’t know. And perhaps we never really will.
She. was. a. goddess.
Na’ama
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Dear Birthday Girl,
We learn to cope with horrible situations in our lives in whatever manner we can. Katharine became one of the best in a profession she chose. Why she called it that was certainly a stab in a very particular direction…
As always, you rock these!
Shalom and lotsa birthday luv,
Dale
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Dear Dale,
Here I am four days later, replying to your sweet comment. Thank you for the birthday wishes. It was a very good day. 😉 As for Katherine, I suspect she would’ve succeeded in any profession with her outspoken candor. Thank you and thank you. 😀
Shalom and lotsa hugs,
Rochelle
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I had no idea Ms. Hepburn had that kind of traumatizing past! I’m glad she stuck to her heart and continued her acting dreams 🙂
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Dear Jade,
Her trauma was never really publicized. I picked it up in a documentary and her younger brother spoke of it. We all benefited from her acting, didn’t we? She was amazing. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I love Katherine Hepburn. I have her book, Me: Stories of My Life, but have yet to read it.
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Dear Nobbin,
I’m with you on Katherine Hepburn. I haven’t read her book either. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I never knew about her brother’s suicide, but I think she didn’t become a recluse in the end. On the other hand I know from my own experience that you can actually act on a stage while still being shy…
Love the story
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Dear Björn,
I concur on that shyness thing. 😉 But I don’t think Ms. Hepburn actually fell into that category either. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have a feeling this actress did not sleep with any directors. I liked how you told this story, Rochelle, and trying to see where you got it from this prompt. That’s the fun thing about prompts.
And for an acting family, our third generation spent her first day in class at Rutgers U yesterday.
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Dear Ted,
I thought you might relate to this one. I can’t imagine any director even trying to bed down that filly. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Oh and as far as the tenuous connection to the prompt. It’s the hanging branches…seemed to fit with the noose hanging from the rafters. Like I said, “tenuous.” But that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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I KNEW IT!!!!!!
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I read a Hepburn biography years ago but don’t remember that her brother killed himself. It put me in mind of the movie “Stage Door” she made where her character wanted to be an actress but didn’t achieve the emotion until another wannabe but failed actress killed herself.
In a land of so much gloss, she remained real.
Well done, Rochelle.
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Dear Sascha,
She was a unique woman and actress. I don’t think there will ever be another. As for her brother’s suicide it seemed to have been conveniently swept under the rug and glossed over as a tragic accident. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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People treated suicides differently in those days.
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I just read Ted’s story. Happy Birthday! You have some frosting… No. A little left. Never mind, it’s everywhere.
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Dear Nobbin,
I was never known for eating cake neatly. Frosting is the best part. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Rochelle, יום הולדת שמח
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It disappeared! I tried to post you a Happy Birthday ( יום הולדת שמח) ! Hope it is a grand one with lots of frosting!
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Ha. I found it in my spam folder this morning. What’s up with that. תודה רבה Thank you so much, Beautiful Bear. It was a good day indeed. Writing a synopsis and query to send out our Bear Starfire to an agent. 😉
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YEah! Went to pay rent and found out that if we renew lease, we’ll have to pay gas/heat which we have no control over and which is set such that our apt is in the upper 80’s in dead of winter. They’re going to split the entire building cost by apt… and there are only 2 with residents (us, and a Puerto Rican fam on 2) Sooooo, We applied for an apartment today. Prayers raising we’re accepted… it’s a townhome (our first choice!), and we have two on the back burner that we can apply to if we’re not accepted…but, ohhh, we want the townhouse sooo bad. Gee, but application fees are expensive these days!
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Hoping to hear good news, Bear. ❤
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My gut is churning this morning. I fear so much that we won’t get it and that I’ll have to take the second choice. The second won’t be available until Nov. 5… our lease expires Oct 31…
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A fine actress, I now know much more about her life.
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Dear Mike,
Always happy to share these little historical nuggets. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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ps Happy Birthday! 🎂🎈
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Thank you, Sascha. 😀
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Dear Dee Snidely W(T)F,
Who do you have to sleep with to make it in the writing business? That’s what I want to know. I’m pretty good at sleeping. I usually nod off as soon as my head touches the pillow.
Words from the wallow,
Piggy
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Dear Piggy,
I’m not sure with whom you’d sleep to get anywhere in the writing business. Hopefully not with the fishes. Perhaps you could get a job as a mattress tester. If memory serves it worked for Li’l Abner. As for me, I can nod off pretty quickly, too.
Shalom from my invisible box to your wallow,
Dee Snidely W(T)F
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Dear Rochelle, I liked learning about Katherine and enjoyed the way you told her story. She was blessed with a strong activist mother, which put her several steps ahead of the game.
Shalom,
Lisa
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Dear Lisa,
She definitely had a strong role model. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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You are very welcome, Rochelle.
Shalom,
Lisa
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I imagine most parents would baulk at the idea of their child entering the acting profession, but she made it work!
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Dear Ali,
I’m not sure they could’ve talked her out of acting if they tried. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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One of my favourite actresses. I didn’t know about her sad family background, though her father seems to have been quite perceptive. As always, I leave a little wiser than I came. Well done.
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Dear Sandra,
It does seem that Dr. Hepburn knew his daughter. She didn’t seem any worse for wear and she was a magnificent actress. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Such a sad beginning for Katharine’s story. I’m glad she didn’t listen to her father in the end and pursued her dream. She was an incredible actor. I look forward to your stories and learn something new almost every time, Rochelle.
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Dear Brenda,
She did seem to be her own person. I admired her. Thank you for your sweet comment.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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So often I pick up little pieces of information from your posts, and indeed I have today.! I could never have predicted the directions my kids were to take.
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Dear Keith,
I never presumed to direct my children’s futures either. They wouldn’t have listened anyway. 😉 And I’m proud of the paths they’ve taken. Thank you so much for your kind words.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Fun history lesson in 100 words!
Shalom,
Ronda
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Dear Ronda,
I do my best. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wasn’t aware of this tragedy that befell her. Wondering if she ever milked it for emotional scenes or kept it suppressed it in her mind. Nice take on the prompt.
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Dear Subroto,
Who knows? Later interviews indicate she suppressed the memory as much as possible. When asked about the incident she claimed, as her father had, that it was a tragic accident. Then she quickly went onto the next subject. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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A tragic story. Another superb slice of historical fiction. Some have it rough, but then that’s life,isn’t it! Very enjoyable, as usual, Rochelle.
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Dear Neel,
Those who go through life unscathed are most likely lying about it. 😉 Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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brilliant. i couldn’t have written this story in 100 words.
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Thank you so much, Plaridel. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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How sad she lost her brother to suicide. She was an extraordinary actress, so feisty, I love her films. Think she had an electric presence on the screen. Thank you for telling us more about her.
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Dear Francine,
I agree. She was magic on screen. Such a presence. Thank you for reading and leaving such a nice comment. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Very well-told. A great actress.
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Belated Happy Birthday too Rochelle. I just seen your birthday was recently. Hope you had a great day! 🙂
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Thank you twice, Lisa. It was a very pleasant birthday. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Nice anecdote from the life of Katharine Hepburn. I am more familiar with Audrey Hepburn. Are they related?
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Dear Abhijit,
The two actresses weren’t related. Thank you re my story. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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What a horrible experience. I love Katherine Hepburn but never knew this detail. And what a horrid comment for her father to make, even if there may have been some truth in it.
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Dear Andrea,
Sadly there was too much truth to the casting couch. My grandfather made a similar statement to my aunt who wanted to pursue acting. Apparently I had a great aunt who was a silent film actress who did sleep her way in.
The Hepburn family, Katherine included, claimed the suicide was a tragic accident. It wasn’t widely publicized.
Thank you for the read and the comment. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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I have always liked her work. Interesting backstory that I never knew. Thanks for sharing.
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Dear Jo,
Thank you for reading and leaving a nice comment. She was one of my favorite actresses, too.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Fascinating – and tragic. Thanks for the insight into her life, and for the link. I loved reading about her. She was a strong and tenacious woman, wasn’t she?
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Dear Margaret,
She was definitely a tenacious woman. She doesn’t seem like someone you’d want to have a disagreement with. One of the greats and one of my all time favorites. Thank you.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Wow, great snippet here, you always have me fascinated by history and the little pieces we don’t know about.
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I’m sorry I missed sending you a greeting on your birthday, Rochelle. Happy Belated Birthday.! I depend on Facebook and they didn’t send out a message to me for some reason. I’m sure you had a great day as you have a close family and many friends. 🙂 — Suzanne
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