What Chutzpa, Joel Moskow as a concerned resident.

95 Gables Way
Jackson, New Jersey 08527
(732) 928-8846
April 8, 2010

Mr. Marvin Aronowitz
Editor-in-Chief
Metedeconk Moments

Re: WHAT CHUTZPA

To the Editor:
Just the other day, I ventured into the new JPMorgan Chase bank on County Line Road. The bank had only opened a few weeks ago so I thought I would give it a try with some of my business. A friend had just repaid a loan to me with a check drawn on JPMorgan Chase and I planned to cash the check at the bank and discuss some of its services.
When I reached the teller, I presented the check and asked her to please cash it for me. I was not a customer of JPMorgan Chase at the time. “There is a six dollar charge to cash this check,” she said with a tone in her voice that told me she had said these words many times before. I explained that it was the bank’s own check. “It’s six dollars to cash the check,” she repeated, this time in a more precise way. I thanked her, smiled to myself, and left the bank with the check in hand.
This bank, JPMorgan Chase, is one of the banks that took billions of dollars of mine and other citizens, in order to stay alive. The teller herself would be unemployed if it were not for our money. The staff of that branch would be unemployed if it were not for our money, and the branch itself would not exist today if it were not for our money. In fact, there is a good chance that JPMorgan Chase Bank would not be in business today if it were not for our money. Six dollars to cash a check, drawn on their own bank, What COLOSSAL GALL, and in plain English, WHAT CHUTZPA!
Every one of us knows about, and was outraged when we learned about the millions in bonuses that banks, living on our handouts, gave to their employees. I hope that now a few hundred local people will know of this little “six dollar fee,” and what this fee says to the people that helped bail this bank out of a self made disaster so it could stay in business. This is what JPMorgan Chase Bank thinks of the people who funded their very survival. Millions in bonuses to their employees and a six dollar fee, to cash the bank’s own check, to the public.
If you have as much as one thin dime deposited with JPMorgan Bank, you need to have your head examined. Take a good look at all of the fees this bank charges its customers and non customer alike, then, take your account and place it with a local bank, a bank that cares about the people it serves. In the future, when you hear the word CHUTZPA, you should realize that JPMorgan Chase Bank defines the word!

Very truly yours,
Joel H. Moskow

From Eileen Rosenbaum - Silverts Furniture, Freehold

I would like to share a very unpleasant experience that Mark and I had while shopping at Silverts in Freehold.

Our salesperson, Larry, who I believe is related to the Silvert family, gave us a price on an office suite. He actually wrote down the prices for the individual pieces on the back of one of his business cards. When we returned 1 week later to order the furniture, he told us that either he made a mistake on the pricing, or we wrote the prices on his card ourselves. He then turned his back on us and walked away without saying a word.

We did order our furniture from another store and found that not all sales people are as rude or dishonest as Larry and the folks at Silvert's Furniture in Freehold.

Eileen Rosenbaum

Community Property and DOGS - From The Sigman's

We have written various e-mails to community management regarding "community property and dogs" - thus far to no avail.
We understand that the appearance of the community is important to everyone including us (Cheryl and Steven Sigman - 3 Devonshire Way). We have been living here for over 5 years and have made many wonderful friends. Unfortunately, we've made a few enemies as well due to the lack of a designated area for our dog, Seymour, and the other four-legged residents that enjoy the over 55 lifestyle here at Four Seasons Metedeconk.
When we moved here we were welcomed to the community with two children over age 19 and one dog. This was one of the few communities in the area which did not limit us to only one adult child nor did they put a restriction on pet ownership. We have done all that we could to restrict Seymour to areas where there are no houses, although, there is NO AREA presently which is not designated as community property. We keep him on our property but sometimes dogs want to walk around and enjoy the neighborhood too. We clean up after him all the time and dispose of his wastes properly. It is not fair to expect us to drive him outside of Metedeconk to relieve himself - especially since, as we all know, the urge may strike more than once a day. Nor is it physically possible to restrain a dog from urinating even curbside and targeting only the sidewalls rather than the adjacent grass (community property, sorry!)
As pet owners and residents desiring to live within an attractive and friendly community, we firmly and vehemently suggest that an area be designated for dog walking and relief! We are just as tired of the negative comments and dirty looks from our neighbors as they are of us walking our pets on "Community Property".

A Neighbor's Family Loss - From Hal Wohl

‘Minyan Prayer Group’
Formed

It was the desire of a number of members of our community to form a ‘Minyan Prayer Group’ that would come to the aid of a Jewish family observing the Shivah (explained below). The group has the necessary materials for the conduction of the ‘Minyanim Service’, and would also supply the number of participants needed.

The driving forces behind the effort to organize such a group were Irwin Schubert, Joel Moskow, Hal Wohl, and Ike Shalom. The group currently has 31 resident members, and their wives, making a total of 62 people. Any member of our community in need of the services of the group, or knowing of a neighbor who is in such need, please call:

Hal & Marsha Wohl – 732 928-5621

An Explanation of Jewish Customs during
The Mourning of the death of a family member

As explained from the writings of Stephen Butterfass, for Religious Living on the Web

The period of mourning, for a Jew, begins as soon as the burial is over. On the first day of mourning, as an act of consideration for the needs of the mourners, Jewish tradition mandated that the bereaved were not to eat their own food as their first meal after the funeral. It is a mitzvah (a blessing) for friends and neighbors or for members of the community, to prepare a meal of condolence to be provided the mourners on returning from the cemetery. This practice is common to all branches of Judaism and should be considered an important act of sensitivity to another's need.

Visiting a house of mourning to comfort the family by your presence and to join together in prayer is also considered a blessing. The Jewish community is expected to join a minyan to honor the dead and comfort the bereaved. You need not have known the deceased or the family. What is required is the performance of the mitzvah. Those who visit a house of mourning should neither ring the bell nor knock before entering. The tradition also frowns on frivolous conversation. Visitors were traditionally not supposed to speak with the mourner until spoken to.

Following the funeral, there are seven days of intense mourning, called Shivah, or "seven". During these seven days, the tradition stated that it was forbidden to wear leather shoes, to work, to cover mirrors and pictures, not shave, and the sit on boxes or low stools, among other customs. The practice of observing shivah for a full seven days is not obligatory in Reform Judaism and should be a personal decision. Reform practice seems to consider three days as the minimum period of mourning and for the holding of minyanim, prayer services, at the home.

GE Gold Dishwasher - Jo Ann Devory

Has anyone had a problem with their GE Gold Dishwasher?

Ours is only 1 ½ years old and the entire electronic panel burned out! During one night, last week, I smelled wires burning and found that the dishwasher panel was lit up and blinking like a Christmas Tree! I pulled the circuit breaker. Since then Sears/A&E repair service came and determined the entire circuit panel is not working and will be replaced at a cost of over $200! If others in our community have had the same problem, we may start an effort to have GE recall/pay for repair. Please leave a message on the Blog or contact me: 732-276-6591 or devory02@optonline.net

Computer Services - Senior Discounts - From Estelle Weiss

An excellent computer repair person, who is very reasonable and reliable.
He charges less for senior citizens and has fixed my desktop and laptop on separate occasions.

He really knows his stuff with regard to hardware and software. He does computer repair and maintenance, network design and installation, hardware and software upgrades.

He has a flexible schedule and comes to the house. On a scale of 1-10, I give him a 10.

Armen Orbelyan
EZ-Tech Computers, L.L.C.

732-914-8247

Email: ARMEN_COMPUTERS@YAHOO.COM

Scams, Rip-Offs Plague Seniors

By Lloyd Tamarin

It seems that scams & rip-offs, aimed particularly at seniors are becoming more & more frequent.

The Asbury Park Press just had an article about the overpaid lottery, or ‘E-bay’ sale where a purported teller’s check in excess of the prize or price is sent to the "mark" with a request that the overage be wired back. Of course the initial check turned out to be bogus. The banks are sort of "un-indicted co-coconspirators" as they don't inform people of the difference between "available" & "collected" funds. Note that the bank will let you draw on available funds but the check my still be returned unpaid leaving you stuck.

I called the reporter about the "Free Coin" scam which consists of full page ads in the non-collector papers, such as the Press, offering 4 presidential $1.00 coins for "FREE" upon payment of a "processing fee" of ONLY $28.00, plus shipping & handling. One can go to Sovereign Bank and get the coins for $1.00 each. For the second time, I did not receive the promised response from the Press

I am looking at a letter from that I received from the National Deed Service inc. which has an impressive Pennsylvania Avenue address in DC. For only $79.50, all inclusive, you can get a certified copy of your deed which something called the ‘US Government Federal Citizen Information Center’ recommends that you have.

This is, indeed, a great idea. I called the deed office of the Ocean County Clerk, and for 25 cents per page for a copying fee, and a $2.00 fee in person, or a flat fee of $10.00 for this service by mail, you can get your copy.

I am a RETIRED lawyer and can offer NO legal advice, but I would be willing to offer my web address; stakerabstract2@aol.com for our community members who see something too good or too bad to be true, for a free opinion as to whether or not something is legit

Lloyd B. Tamarin

Concerned Resident