FB: 96-year-old Lily Renée fled her once-privileged life in Austria on the 1938 Kindertransport. She spent two years in England as a refugee before reuniting in New York with her parents whom she had feared dead. She landed a job as the first woman artist at Fiction House, a legendary Comic book publisher. She inked strong women characters including Jane Martin, a Nazi-busting aviatrix, and Señorita Rio, an anti-Nazi spy doubling as a nightclub singer. Check out this story.
 Twitter: 96-year-old Lily Renée fled Vienna on the Kindertransport.  She ultimately reunited with her parents in New York and landed a job inking powerful comic book heroines for Fiction House.

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    Lily Renée at 96: A Truly Courageous Comic Book Heroine
By Sharon Rosen Leib
At age 17, Lily Renée Wilheim Phillips boarded a train with other Eastern European Jewish children fleeing the Nazis.  Her Austrian parents sent her on this Kindertransport rescue mission in 1939, hoping to save their precious only child by arranging for her to live with strangers in England.
            Like the real-life action heroines she later inked as a comic book artist, Lily used her wits and determination to survive as a refugee.  She gave her all to British efforts to defeat Germany while she tried, to no avail, to get her mother and father out of Austria.  After England formally declared war on Germany, her parents’ letters ceased. She feared the worst -- the Nazis had murdered them.
            Unbeknownst to Lily, her parents managed to escape and make their way to New York. After they tracked Lily down in England, she sailed across the Atlantic on one of the last refugee boats out in 1941—and met her parents at New York harbor.
            Lily and her parents had lived a charmed life in Vienna as part of the highly cultured city's Jewish aristocracy. Lily's father Rudolph earned a handsome salary as an executive at the Holland America Line, one of Europe's finest shipping companies. "My mother was a homemaker who always dressed beautifully and took exquisite care of me," Lily recalled. As a young girl, Lily benefitted from the best education money could buy — including art and ballet classes and trips to the famed opera house and esteemed art museums.      
            Their New York lifestyle was nothing like Vienna. The family lived on a tight budget in their cramped one-room apartment. When Lily's mother spotted an opening for a relatively well-paying job as a comic book illustrator, she encouraged her to apply.  “But comic books?” Lily wondered.  She had never read one. Her mother bought a couple of the stapled newsprint books for 10 cents a piece.  After perusing them, Lily drew some samples. 
Her mother’s modest investment paid off. The editor at comic books' publisher Fiction House liked what he saw - both Lily's striking physical beauty (she worked as a part-time fashion model) and her detailed drawings.  At age 19, Lily became Fiction House's first female employee. She blazed a trail in a frat house-like young men's world. 
            Lily drew on her reserve of will and strength to survive her co-workers' leering stares, vulgar remarks and crude drawings of naked women in the margins of their comic galleys.  "I felt like they were undressing me with their eyes.  I came home and cried most nights," she said.  But she persisted and became one of Fiction House's most popular artists, drawing under the pseudonym L. Renée.  "I got fan mail from readers who assumed I was a man," she said.
     Lily “penciled and inked" strong, Nazi-busting women who became her alter-egos. She breathed vivid life into Jane Martin, a raven-haired female pilot who carpet-bombed Nazis in her khaki combat jumpsuit by day and entertained comrades wearing her couture floor-length evening gowns by night. Lily’s most famous heroine, Señorita Rio, used a Brazilian nightclub singer gig to cover her role as a counterspy fighting Nazis in South America. Lily drew the Señorita like a stylized self-portrait.  Her wavy dark hair, blue eyes and high cheekbones bear a striking resemblance to Lily in her youth. The glamorous Señorita donned a leopard-skin coat, stiletto heels and drop-pearl earrings to outsmart her targets. “I always dressed my heroines better than the men did,” Lily said.
      Now the 96-year-old matriarch of a prosperous American family living in New York and Southern California, Lily exudes the quiet strength, wily sophistication and dignity befitting a true action heroine. Her immense, bright blue eyes sparkle with ironic wit when discussing her late-in-life fame as a woman pioneer of comics' Golden Age. She continues to appreciate the au courant fashion and elegant decor that made her a sought-after comic book artist.
 Long after she shelved her comic book pencils and inking pens in 1949 to raise her family and pursue other creative projects, fans still consider Lily one of the best in the business. The once-privileged Viennese Jewish girl put her childhood art lessons to practical use in a challenging new world by wielding her pens to make good money.  In the process, she drew powerful women with high-European style and thus elevated an American pop-culture art form. Wow! Pow! While Lily’s fictional creations busted the Nazis, she established a hard-hitting legacy of her own as a true comic book heroine.

 

Gal Gadot earned rave reviews and the hearts of many filmgoers for her star turn in DC Comics blockbuster film "Wonder Woman".  Yet the Israeli actress received a fraction of her co-star Chris Pines' going salary rate. The film's male producers paid Gadot the less-than-princely sum of $300,000 for performing the physically demanding lead role of Diana Prince aka Wonder Woman.  Pines' pay out for playing Captain Kirk in the most recent installment of the Star Trek series was $6 million.  While Gadot has said she is happy with her salary, the injustice meted out to the upcoming "Justice League" star raises questions about persistent gender inequality in Hollywood.

Gal Gadot, due to being a relative unknown, earned $300,000 for 'Wonder Woman'.  Chris Pines' salary has not been disclosed, although he reportedly  earned $6 million for his last Star Trek movie so safe bet that he earned more than Gadot did for making this movie. At 37, Pines is also five years Gadot's senior and has a lot more acting experience. Gadot, who is 32, said she is "grateful and happy" about her salary - part of a three-film agreement along with "Batman vs Superman" and "Justice League" at $300,000 apiece. She is poised to earn much more for any Wonder Woman sequels due to the higher-than-anticipated box-office returns on this film.
Gadot's brief bio:
www.imdb.com/name/nm2933757/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
She completed her compulsory two-year Israeli military service as a teen. Her star turn in "Wonder Woman" is a tremendous source of pride for Israelis!
Chris Pines' brief bio:
www.imdb.com/name/nm1517976/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
​Personal note: I love the fact that he was, like me, an English major at Berkeley and studied abroad for a year in England.
Also love his blue eyes!  His IMDB bio has a compilation of wonderful quotes from various interviews with him.
Locations: 
www.imdb.com/title/tt0451279/locations
lists all 19 film locations in Italy, England and France and scenes filmed in each location.
Writing credits: Allen Heinberg (producer and writer), Zack Snyder and Jason Fuchs (story by) and William Moulton Marston (Wonder Woman created by)

The Patriot-News' straightforward "just the facts" approach to breaking the story of a grand jury investigation into allegations that Jerry Sandusky molested multiple  male minors earned a well-deserved Pulitzer.
Jan Murphy and Bob Flounders, the two reporters, crafted a compelling set of facts with minimal cooperation from authorities.  The institutions where Sandusky coached football and raised money wanted to deep six this story.  The reporters combed through police files and reached out to the alleged victims' parents, school administrators and legal authorities.  Although brief, the story must've taken months to research.  
To break a story of this magnitude requires extensive fact checking and corroboration from multiple sources.  The simple but irrefutable recitation of facts hits hard by what it doesn't say.  Why were authorities so evasive?  Why was the can kicked down the road?  The reader can deduce that Sandusky's power and fame immunized him for years.  This enabled him to prey on young boys with a sense of invincibility.
Striking, tragic irony that Sandusky titled his autobiography "Touched: The Jerry Sandusky Story."  The interim superintendent of school's description of a victim's allegations as "strictly a touching type of situation" echo the touchy title. I bet the reporters intended this ironic reference.  The story contained another implicit irony - Sandusky's Second Mile charity was   building a facility to include housing for 100 children.  Could some of these children have ended up being Sandusky's future victims?
This story bears remarkable parallels to the still-breaking story of the former USC Medical School Dean's drug abuse and the measures USC took to cover it up.
Personal Note: While a deputy attorney general, I worked on two cases involving male athletic coaches who molested young boys on their teams. The coach/player relationship presents an opportunity for molesters to cultivate and prey on young victims seeking recognition and approval. I find crimes involving this type of subversion of trust and exploitation to be the most disgusting and disturbing of all.

Sunset from La Jolla's  Birch Aquarium during Steve Poltz's Green Flash Concert.

From left to right Hannah Leib, Steve Poltz, Rich Leib and Sharon Rosen Leib.

Eli Sanders won the 2012 Pulitzer feature-writing prize for "The Bravest Woman in Seattle" beyond fair and square.  His finely observed, nuanced and raw piece transcends feature writing to become a hybrid between true crime, narrative nonfiction and sociological analysis.  He covers so many hot button issues - a lesbian relationship, a black perpetrator, sexual assault, trial strategy, a porous justice system, good Samaritanism and criminal psychology - like a compassionate human camera.  
His lead about window coverings was risky and odd but inspired. I wouldn't have made that choice. I might have started with the prosecutor pulling the woman's hair back to reveal the stab wounds because that highlights her bravery - mirroring the headline.  But his originality captured some of the mundane details of a highly sensational trial and made it more real. He used it to build suspense and to humanize the victim by demonstrating her sense of humor and resilience. Powerful!
His speculations about what the killer "maybe was thinking" . . . defy some reportorial norms.  But they highlight the human struggle to make sense of the incomprehensible.
The respect, admiration and empathy Sanders demonstrated for the survivor made the story a flawed masterpiece.  His description of how everyone in the courtroom cried during the survivor's testimony brought tears to my eyes.  
He powerfully summed up the emotional touchpoints of her testimony - the strength of her relationship with Butz, how Butz touched her killer's heart and said "there must be some good in here," what she screamed when she learned Butz was dead. His use of pull-out quotes put the story in the victim's words. I view this as  a master class in how to make trial testimony come alive and tell the story
Sanders explanation that she testified because "You must hear - must know-must listen - this happened" rang true. This also used powerful alliteration.
I'm impressed by the masculine sensitivity he demonstrated. He now qualifies as one of my personal journalistic heroes for being such an enlightened male.
This piece exemplifies a story demanding that objectivity be punctured.
On a personal note, I had a hard time reading the piece because my eldest daughter was sexually assaulted in Bulgaria in December (no penetration, thank G-d).  This story made me realize just how much worse the assault could've been.
I'm attaching column here.

One People with One Heartby Sharon Rosen Leib January 30, 2017
 
“I know you’re a doctor and I’m worried about my baby girl being so far away from home,” I said, protectively wrapping an arm around 22-year-old Oldest Daughter’s shoulders. I was about to leave her in Sofia, Bulgariafor a 10-month stint as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant. What would happen if she got sick?
When I made this entreaty to Dr. Alexander Oscar, the 38-year-old secular head of Bulgaria’s Jewish community, I blew my journalistic cover. Dr. Oscar, whom I’d been interviewing for an SDJJ story, dropped his guarded professional demeanor. His dark eyes instantly brightened and he grinned at my maternal outburst, “She’s your daughter? I thought you were both journalists,” he said. “Please, don’t worry. Of course we’ll take care of her!”
I departed the following day with greater peace of mind. Oldest Daughter was in good hands. Bulgaria’s Jewish community would watch over her.
In my darkest nightmare, I never could’ve imagined why we’d need the community’s support so soon. One weeknight in early December, Oldest Daughter stepped outside the front door of her apartment building to wait for a cab. A heavyset man in his 30s made brief eye contact with her. Then he grabbed her, covered her nose and mouth and shoved her face down onto the sidewalk. She tried to scream as he reached for her skirt. Fortunately, her heavy winter clothing proved a formidable barrier. Unable to disrobe her, he mounted her back, humped her and ejaculated on her coat. When he saw the cab’s headlights, he fled. The entire incident lasted only a few minutes. Oldest Daughter was traumatized but relieved she hadn’t been raped or suffocated to death.
Instead of panicking and jumping on a flight to Sofia (which would’ve taken at least 48 hours), I emailed Dr. Oscar for urgent help. I had two very specific requests: number one — to find a good English-speaking therapist to assist my daughter process her post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); number two – to have a security camera installed outside her building that would alert her via an iPhone app to anyone lurking outside her door.
Dr. Oscar emailed me back within hours saying, “Shalom, the Organization of Jews in Bulgaria will do anything necessary to help.” He’d already contacted Eric Rubin, the United States Ambassador to Bulgaria, who also happens to be Jewish. Ambassador Rubin told Dr. Oscar he’d take immediate action and forwarded the name of an English-speaking Jewish therapist. Both Ambassador Rubin and his wife Nicole emailed me directly expressing their concern and ensuring me that Oldest Daughter would get whatever support she needed.
Julia Dandalova, head of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s office in Bulgaria, also contacted me. She let me know she’d be speaking to the Sofia Jewish community’s head of security about having a camera installed outside Oldest Daughter’s apartment building. Within days, Dr. Oscar, Ms. Dandalova and Ivan Panchev, the head of security, met with Oldest Daughter to discuss the type of security cameras to be installed. They took care of all the details and installed the cameras.
The U.S. Embassy connected her with an outstanding therapist who has been helping her process the attack and her feelings in the aftermath. In short, Bulgaria’s Jewish community stepped up and took care of my daughter in her time of crisis.
My husband and I are tremendously comforted knowing that Sofia’s Jewish community continues to have our daughter’s back. I wrote Dr. Oscar and Ms. Dandalova that their incredible support made me realize more than ever that we Jews are one people.
Dr. Oscar responded, “One people with one heart (am echad b’lev echad).”

Here's what really makes America great: ethnic diversity; empowered, educated women; and a free, fact-based press.
Meeting my UCSD Extension Digital Journalism colleagues Tuktuki and Yesenia and our instructor, longtime freelance journalist Sylvia Mendoza, the first night of class made me proud to be an American (a rare sentiment during this Trumped-up era).
Tuktuki (or Tuks for short) arrived in the United States in August 2016.  She hails from Calcutta, India, where she worked as a freelance content producer and program head in radio and television.  She and her husband, who works at UCSD, came to California on a 5-year visa.  
In less than a year, she's become the Wonder Woman of volunteerism.  She's done much to make America great by donating her time and talent to the WorldBeat Center in Balboa Park, the UCSD Friends of International Students and the La Jolla Playhouse.
Yesenia, a Latinx intellectual and activist, graduated from UCSD in 2008. During her post-graduate years, she's devoted herself to making America great through profound civic and literary engagement.
 A politicized Wonder Woman, she spent two years at the American Civil Liberties Union advocating for repeal of California's death penalty. She also worked on developing the Democratic Socialists of America's platform to revitalize the Democratic party as a more progressive force.  
She recently cofounded and serves as poetry editor of Lumen, a digital literary magazine. Future plans include pursuing an MFA in poetry.
Our instructor Sylvia aims to impart the journalistic wisdom she's accrued through years of freelancing. Her high ethical standards and experience will up our games as writers, journalists and power-of-the-press advocates.

Another important thing to know before your parents go:

The Paperwork and Attendant Emotional Aftermath
Can Last for Many Years

I never realized what executing an estate entailed and how many years it takes.  Again people don't like to talk about death-related topics so who knew?

Of course every time a tax filing must be made relating to estate assets or whenever a piece of mail arrives bearing my parents' names the memories resurface.  This resurfacing becomes shallower and easier to take as the years pass.  Time does heal.  But the paperwork never seems to go away and the papers - no matter how mundane - evoke some type of emotional response. 

Just today I received an envelope overflowing with legal papers relating to my dad's asbestos claims.  He died over 8 years ago. 

I'm still dealing with the IRS regarding my mom's estate taxes (2 1/2 years after she died). The filings got so complex and arcane that they triggered an audit.  At least our IRS auditor Brandi from Florida is pleasant on the phone. 

I used to believe that all the legalities would soon come to an end.  Now I've accepted the fact that it could be another year or more before matters of estate wind down.

How did I end up as executrix when I have an able-bodied brother and sister?  It's what being the oldest daughter who used to practice law (never mind that I practiced criminal law which has zero to do with wills and trusts) gets you in life. 

And in all honesty it's been easier having one of us do the job.  That way we're not always circulating documents three ways for signatures, etc.  Especially good since my sister spends a lot of time in Africa.  I'm lucky that my siblings trust me to keep their best interests at heart and not abscond with the money.  Having a trusted executor is crucial because a lot of money/personal property may be at stake.


So before you sign-up for the job of executor please know that you could be in it for the very long haul and there's a lot of aggro involved.  If you expect the worst, it won't be so bad!