We first vacationed in Miami and Miami Beach in the winter of 1945. My parents fell in love with the beauty of the area and one year later I was able to move here permanently. I attended the old Miami Beach High school and lived with my grandparents in the Herbshire Apartments on Euclid Avenue.

I played trumpet in the Miami Beach marching band and loved living near the beaches. Almost every day after school we headed for the beach at 14th Street. This was the meeting place for all of the high school students. In the evenings I usually played basketball at the nearby Flamingo Park until dark, and on weekends I played trumpet with a small group at the local youth center.

I ate all of my meals with my grandparents, but on weekends we would eat at the famous Wolfie’s Deli. In 1948, I attended the University of Florida, where I completed my pre-medical studies.

I married in my last year of college and my first child, Michael, was born at Mercy Hospital in Miami in 1952.

I was accepted to the University of Tennessee where I completed my medical training and internship. My daughter Cathy was born in Baptist Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., in 1955.

I returned to Miami to complete a residency in pediatrics at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

I bought a home in beautiful Coral Gables and lived there for approximately the next 20 years.

I opened my pediatric practice on Coral Way and 87th Avenue in 1959, and met my first patient as I was nailing my sign on my door. For the next 20 years, I made house calls to about every home in that area.

My parents lived on Miami Beach and almost every Sunday we would visit with them and take the children fishing off the shore in the bay. They loved to fish and could hardly wait for the weekend to come.

I was a big sports fan in the early days of the Miami Hurricanes and the Miami Dolphins. I always had season tickets and never missed a game. It was great fun going to the old Orange Bowl, and I was sad when it was torn down for a more modern facility. I will always have great memories of the wonderful times we had there.

I was thrilled when the Miami Heat team was introduced in 1988 and, of course, was a season ticket holder.

I remarried in 1987 and, for the next 20 years, my wife was my office manager in our new office in Kendall. My wife and I retired about seven years ago and we now live in the Redland with our dog, Lucky.

My wife, Johan, has been very active in the community for the past 25 years, lending her time and expertise to many volunteer organizations, including Guardian Ad Litum, Voices for Children, and Neat Stuff, all dealing with children’s issues.

Since my retirement, I have had a chance to hone my photographic skills and I am now exhibiting my work at the beautiful Art Fusion Gallery in the Miami Design District.

I am still an ardent and loyal sports fan but, at my age, I am more comfortable watching the games sitting on my couch in my pajamas and eating a bowl of ice cream.