tanley Blum has a battle cry that’s rallied him for most of his 94 years, and it continues to serve him well: Give me a problem and I will find you a solution. “Just let me have a crack at it,” he has demanded of many gatekeepers along his life’s journey. His persistence and determination created opportunities and, indeed, solved problems. He even holds 10 patents to prove his mastery over challenges. But he’s not nearly done. He continues to immerse fully in life, with every square on his large paper desk calendar filled with three to four activities – none of which are doctors’ appointments. It’s easy to be engaged by Stanley, a snappy dresser with an intense focus and thoughts that fly at a rapid pace. When conversing in his home at Wiggins, he is surrounded by great stimulation from a vast and eclectic collection of art work, much of which is Judaica that was acquired over the course of seven trips to Israel. Stanley also displays some original acrylic paintings, all abstractions in bold, vibrant colors, which reflect the style of local artist Hector Vega. His paintings are stunning assaults delivered through art and imagination, reflective of the collector himself – a man whose mind never rests. The real job here is for others to solve the mystery of how he became this joyful person, now dedicated fully to “making the world a better place,” as he likes to frame it. He’s accomplishing that goal through philanthropy, volunteering and a new mantra: meeting needs before people even know they exist. “That’s me. And it gives me a real thrill,” he says with a big grin. If one turns back the clock to search for clues during Stanley’s early childhood, one may find a rather grim picture. He was an only child, cradled and nurtured by extreme poverty. “I grew up with nothing. We were an inch from losing our house every month. And each week, we received four bags of groceries from my grandparents.” But two of those precious bags were shared with an aunt. That gesture significantly impacted Stanley. “I saw compassion,” he says. And its lessons seemed to become hard wired in his consciousness. He tells the story of how, when he was a little older and the finances were under better control, he witnessed a poor child offer to watch his family’s car for a nickel when they parked it to enter a restaurant. His father declined paying the boy. When the meal was nearly finished and dessert was an option, Stanley asked his dad if he would pay the boy a nickel if dessert was skipped. Stanley vividly remembers the incident and the feelings that surrounded it. His dad agreed to pay the boy the nickel, but also allowed Stanley to have dessert. The payment made Stanley’s heart swell, and he recalls this as being his first compassionate act. His mother shaped him by delivering inspiration through her support and praise, something that never went to his head. “When I came home with an ‘A’ or I was cast in a play or got on the debate team, she was very vocal and gave me lots of hugs,” he explains. “This just made me try harder, to get some more praise.” He was always a good student and this earned him one of 19 full four-year scholarships awarded to Jewish men at Rice University in Houston, his hometown. He studied business administration and graduated in 1941. After graduation, Stanley served in the military, in England, for three-and-a-half years. When the war ended, the military determined who should go home first, based on combat duty, so Stanley remained on duty in England for six more months. To keep the men occupied, the military created baseball, football, soccer and tennis leagues. Stanley was a relatively good tennis player, won matches, advanced to play at Wimbledon, and lost in the S Blum Cracks Code to a Well-lived, Colorful Life By June Scharf 10 Beachwood Buzz n June 2015 2015 2 Beachwood Buzz n December