[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 86 (Friday, June 26, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1264]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


            HONORING MARJORIE HIRSCHBERG, POET AND ADVOCATE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. FRANK PALLONE, JR.

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 25, 1998

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, it is my good fortune to represent Monmouth 
County, N.J., a beautiful, seashore county that produced our current 
Poet Laureate, Robert Pinsky.
  Another accomplished poet also called Monmouth County home. That was 
Marjorie Hirshberg who died last year at the age of 54, a victim of 
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease.
  Before succumbing to that most vicious, crippling disease, Marjorie 
wrote poetry on her computer, touching her cheek to a wand until she 
could no longer even move her head.
  Her mother said that through all of this struggle, Marjorie exhibited 
a bravery and spirit that gave strength to everyone--mother, father, 
husband and children and enabled them to cope with her rapid 
deterioration. ``Bravo, my child,'' said her mother in a recent letter 
to me.
  Well, I want to say ``bravo'' too, for the excellent and moving 
poetry that Marjorie Hirschberg produced and I would like to share two 
of these poems with my colleagues. I would also like to include an 
article that appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that 
highlights some of her many other contributions to the arts, women and 
children. The poems follow:

                  My Wonderful Mother is Eighty Today

     I would like to drive her through my neighborhood
     Honking the horn to let everyone know
     How proud I am of her.
     Visit all my friends with her
     Accepting tea and cake
     Or turkish coffee
     As tokens of their love and respect. Then
     I would take her to lunch some place
     Where the prices would scandalize her.
     We will talk of bess as suffragette,
     Of pearl and the coat and evey and the wagon. Sid
     Sid and the store and millie's phone call on
     January 1. And Bobby's announcement of joy to the world.
     Then we get to newborn Ethan in our shaker bed, Elizabeth of 
           the tumbling
     Brown ringlets. Of eloping with the brown-haired adonis who 
           came to the door
     All this while eating our fill, sharing two extravagant 
           desserts
     Then rolling home,
     Knowing the best daydreams
     Have a life of their own.


     
                                  ____
                                Old Dog

     I watch you lying in the sun on your better days
     Old, tired bones soaking up what little warmth
     The universe still holds for an old dog.
     Coat neglected, chewed, host to parades of
     Unconquerable, merciless fleas.
     And smelly, I do remember that,
     An undeniable, ugly fact.
     You really smell.
     But I remember too how you did love
     How children tumbled carelessly all over you
     And got adoring looks and happy panting in return.
     Recall that day a wild curly-headed toddler
     Made her break for the road
     And you shepherded her like an old pro
     Those deep, patient sighs from your position as a rug
     Waiting for me to walk you
     And then when I could no longer walk
     You wouldn't leave my side
     Believing like me it would be any minute
     That I would jump up and grab the leash.
     You became a nuisance to the ones in charge
     The smell, the bulk, the fleas
     (since we are being honest here,
     You always were part nuisance)
     So now shuttled between solitary in the hall
     And lonely pees in the yard,
     You seem a bit defeated
     Love hasn't conquered all
     We've both seen better days.
     Perhaps like me you live in hope that those days will return
     When neglect was just silly human foible
     Not the result of grief and numbness
     When much fuss would have been made
     About your lying on the chaise lounge.
     And you could dream each year
     Of next Passover and its bone
     When even you and I
     Will welcome the messiah.


     
                                  ____
         [From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Feb. 26, 1997]

  Marjorie Hirschberg, 54, Advocate--Fought for Rights of Women, Kids

                          (By Malcolm X Abram)

       Marjorie Hirschberg spent much of her adult life committed 
     to helping others. As a homemaker, she watched over her 
     family. As an advocate, she fought for the rights of women 
     and children. And finally, as a victim of Lou Gehrig's 
     disease, she underwent an experimental treatment in hopes of 
     providing a future for herself and others.
       Ms. Hirschberg, 54, died Saturday of respiratory failure 
     related to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis--the official name 
     for Lou Gehrig's disease--at St. Joseph's Hospital. The 
     funeral will be a 11 a.m. Sunday at Green Lawn Funeral Home.
       Ms. Hirschberg was a native of New Jersey who graduated cum 
     laude from Vassar and later received her master's degree in 
     special education from Bank Street College of Education in 
     New York.
       When her family relocated to Atlanta, she briefly taught 
     children with learning disabilities at the Atlanta Speech 
     School before becoming a full-time homemaker, according to 
     her husband, Dick Tauber of Atlanta.
       ``I was inspired by Marjorie. . . . She was the kind of 
     woman and mother I would want to be,'' said her friend Audrey 
     Galex. ``I've tried to pattern myself after her because she 
     had her priorities straight. Her family and the community 
     came first.''
       Ms. Hirschberg's devotion to the community was well 
     documented at her daughter Elizabeth's school, Sagamore 
     Elementary, where she taught a special education class and 
     worked with the PTA to bring in more arts-related programs.
       Ms. Hirchsberg was also active in women's rights issues. As 
     a member of the National Council for Jewish Women, she 
     lobbied for women's and children's rights at the Georgia 
     Capitol. She also co-produced ``Atlanta Women's Voices,'' a 
     public access cable program that discussed issues of 
     particular import to women.
       ``Something about her was very ethical,'' said friend and 
     fellow lobbyist Sara Ghitis. ``She was a gentle person who 
     had everything about her in the right place.''
       Ms. Ghitis said that when Ms. Hirschberg found out about 
     her disease, she was furious. ``She said, `I'm not ready to 
     die with all the things I have yet to do in this world,''' 
     Ms. Ghitis said.
       When the disease began to severely limit her communication 
     and motor abilities, Ms. Hirschberg sought alternative 
     treatments. ``Marjorie had a lot of courage to try this new 
     procedure,'' said Mr. Tauber. ``And she got to go to her 
     son's graduation, which meant a lot to her.''
       ``She told me that as long as I can see my kids, I want to 
     remain alive,'' said Ms. Galex. ``I lost a real role model.''
       Surviving in addition to her husband and daughter are her 
     son, Ethan Hirsch-Tauber of Atlanta; her parents, Ada and 
     Bernard Hirschberg of Red Bank, N.J.; and a brother, Robert 
     M. Hirschberg of Tustin Ranch, Calif.

     

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