Well, you probably know just about everything about us from our interests, but here's some more.
First... why a vest? I'd like to tell you that it all started growing up in The Bronx, when my father, Max Serkes, would give me... in his strong Russian accent... the same advice he took when he was a teenager "go vest, young man!"
But that never really happened.
We tried using sweaters or sports jackets... but I carry so much gear that the pockets sagged! Not surprising, since I usually carry a lockbox key, cell phone, Treo 600 cell phone/PDA/email unit, digital camera, checkbooks, note pads, post-its (don't leave home without it) and more! I thought that a vest might work well, so bought a nice fabric one from Royal Robbins on Gilman Street. Everything fit just fine... but the cloth vest didn't hold its shape well. We were attending a real estate convention in Las Vegas... and Carol found the perfect leather vest at Wilson's Leather. It works just great, and looks pretty good too! Now you know the rest of the story.
But now there's more! My friends John & Ellen Pinto hosted a dinner at One Market in San Francisco, where I met their friends, Peter & Susanne Rundberg of Fog City Leather. Peter made me a custom black leather vest (aka Ira's Purse), which I love!
We enjoy scratching the cats - Lucy adopted us from across the street. Gouger, Snidely and Beau are now together, helping to raise poppies in the back yard. Gouger died a few years ago, and I still miss him dearly. Lucy's parents (Marybeth and Tony and sons) are great, but her brother and sister cats and dogs were bugging her too much.
We really enjoy being with each other, eating out and going to movies (I bet you could tell that from our web site), travelling, eating spicy foods, riding on steam trains and photographing Art Deco buildings.
Carol's British (born in Newcastle-on-Tyne... and now a proud American Citizen) and Ira's Yiddish!, which makes for some interesting times.
We like to travel, and have been focusing on "infill" travelling the past few years - Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Missouri, & South Carolina . I'll have been to all 50 states once I visit North Dakota.
Oh yes ... we're licensed to sell real estate. Ira's RE License is 00936453 and Carol's is 01143916