Roberta Mandel and I started a very close and intimate friendship way back in 1955 when I was still very young.  No, it was not a sexual attraction – it was more of a long lasting bonding that superseded selfish personal needs and curiosities.

I had a very successful woodworking shop on Guerrero Street.  My workers (helpers) were all young, talented men.  They were loyal, hard working people, and diligent in their daily duties.

One summer day as I sat at my desk, I sensed that the hum in the shop had stopped.  The men were at the front window and main door gazing at something fascinating across the street.

And then I observed why.

On top of an old car stood a very young, blond, shapely woman, wearing the briefest of bikinis.  She was washing the car.

Guerrero is a busy street with much automobile traffic.  The cars were slowing down; men gazed, blew horns, whistled, and made rude gestures.

The blond woman on the car ignored everyone.  She went on with the meticulous cleaning and polishing job.

About an hour later I was surprised when this very sexy young woman came into the shop carrying a long wood board.  Without any introduction she asked me if I had a table saw. She wanted to cut this piece of wood so she could make a bookcase.

Of course I could cut it, and I did, and even helped her to take it up to her flat right across the street from my establishment.

She invited me in.  The room was sparsely furnished with a few inexpensive chairs that appeared to have been purchased from Cost Plus or Pier One.

She quickly explained that she just moved in, was recently married, and that her husband was a doctor attached to the University of California Hospital on Parnassus Street.

She was building a bookcase that took up most of the space in this living room.  She had bought some cinder blocks to hold up the boards that would eventually hold the contents of the many boxes of books piled on the floor.

I looked at the books.  They were medical references, heavy volumes, and also some Judaic writings that I knew and cherished, having some in my own library, and I told her so.

Impressed, she mentioned that her husband’s name was Dr. William Mandel, and she would like me to meet him.  She asked me to come in after I closed the shop, as Dr. Mandel would be home soon.  I immediately knew that we would get along well as we were from the same tribe.

Little did I know how much my life would change by meeting this stranger that evening - how he would become the biggest influence in my family.  His advice and suggestions, and his simple, yet elegant plain ways, would encourage my pursuit of the arts, especially my painting, and of my wife’s endeavors in writing and publishing four books of poetry. He helped our daughter Debra in her quest of becoming a Ph.D. in Microbiology; specializing in Dermatology.  He was responsible for many other important deeds and events in our lives.

And, we too, became a good part of their adjustment to married life.

Bassya enjoyed teaching Roberta how to cook.  She took her under her wing and introduced her to our friends.  Our circle became large; very large. We often shared our meals and our outings to cultural and social events.  We became a family.

Roberta is a native San Franciscan.  Her parents were well educated and cultured people. Her father was a teacher at Commerce High School.  Her mother was a piano teacher, and Roberta became a brilliant piano player and transcriber of jazz music.  She had her own traveling group that played on college campuses and other institutions.  This was how she met Bill.

Bill Mandel was born in Philadelphia – an only son.  When I met him, he looked familiar, but of course I had never met him before.  It took me five years to learn why I recognized him.

I was watching a television program that played clips and episodes of earlier programming. One such clip was a segment of the once very successful show called: "Quiz Kids."  Bright young people gave answers to questions thrown at them at random.  The brightest was the fat, short kid.  Yes, this was the future bright doctor: Bill Mandel.

Bill was a medic attached to an Air Force base located in Champaign, Illinois.   Just before his discharge, he chanced upon Roberta.  They met, fell in love, and soon married.  He was invited to join the staff at the great Jewish Hospital in Denver, Colorado.  It was there that he introduced a new procedure of treating T.B. patients with massive doses of oxygen.

His innovative discovery became a very important medical treatment.  Bill’s method was written up in various medical journals, and Dr. Bill Mandel became famous.

This procedure was brought to the attention of the research department of the University of California Hospital that specialized in T.B. research.  As a result  U.C. Hospital invited Dr. Mandel to come to San Francisco to practice.  They offered him a scholarship, and a free hand in research and technology.  The head of the U.C. research unit was the well-known, and highly esteemed, Dr. Lloyd Marcus.  He became Mandel’s superior and overseer.

Bill accepted.  It did not take long for him to become a very well known, highly respected,  medical researcher.  Besides the research work, he organized lectures and seminars that were extremely well received in the medical community.

Bassya and I attended some of these events, although they were much above our heads. Roberta was always present - enjoying the spotlight on her husband.

Dr. Marcus also was always present.  I notice that he was constantly looking at Roberta.  I told Bill and Bassya that this great Dr. Lloyd Marcus was making "goo-goo-eyes" and had the "hots" for Roberta (both common expressions of those days for overt sexual interest).

We all smiled, as we knew that this young blond woman had eyes only for her husband. Besides, I had already concluded that Bill’s wife is an asexual woman.  She rejected sexual advances from all men; including me.

One morning Roberta came into my office.  She was highly agitated, almost hysterical.

Bill was away as Dr. Marcus had sent him to Sacramento.  Dr. Marcus had just phoned her to say he was coming over soon.  He wanted to talk to her alone; wanted to:

"Know her better."

Roberta is no fool.  She knew the score.  How could she ward him off without insulting him, yet not  jeopardize Bill’s position?

We finally worked out a scheme.  I would use the telephone!  I watched her flat.  The famous doctor drove by a few times. He looked around to see if the "coast was clear."

He finally parked his car, got out, hitting his head on the door.  He was wearing a hat that was knocked off when he hit his head, and it rolled down the pavement.  He ran after it and pulled in down over his ears.  It was plain to see that he very nervous.

He then reached down to the seat of the car and pulled out a small brown paper bag quite obviously containing a bottle of some sort of booze.

I smiled as he rang Roberta’s bell.  Ten minutes later I rang her phone.  She answered:

A few minutes later I phoned again.  This time it was a "girlfriend", and shortly thereafter, again; now as "a relative from out of town."  Finally, after about an hour of telephone interruptions, the good man left.  He slinked down the street looking very dejected.

Saved by the bell!

It wasn't long before Dr. Bill Mandel took an important leadership position in another major Bay Area hospital.  He was responsible for implementing significant positive changes in techniques of treatment, and in improving hospital administration.  He finally retired to lecture and write.

Our friendship continued until his death a few years ago.

Time passed.  My daughter Debra was now in charge of a research department of Dermatology in the same U.C. hospital.  I visited her often and got to know her staff.

One time sitting in the cafeteria with one of her associates, I happened to mention Dr. William Mandel.  Yes, she remembered him well as she had worked directly for Dr. Marcus.  I had to tell her about her employer making a play for Roberta, and how I saved her.

She laughed and said:

She told me that he, like some men, was completely impotent – he always dreamed of finding a woman that would awaken him! He tried and tried, and always failed.

Roberta is still around, still attractive and sexy, still playing the piano professionally.  She lives alone with two cats.  Didn’t I tell you that she is an asexual person?