Book Report on My Friend, Noah Seidenberg - Who I Would Like to Meet

For this month’s contest, Which Three Active Rainers Would You Like to Meet in Person, I would love to meet my buddy from Chicago Land, the one, the only...Noah Seidenberg!

Noah and I became friends when I joined Active Rain back in May.  He was my third subscriber.  Noah won me over by always complimenting my photography and my smile.  Almost every post I've ever written that has had a photo of me in it, Noah always compliments my smile - and reading his comments always make me smile more :)

I went back to do some research for this post so I wanted to read some of our past emails to add in little tidbits about Noah and his life.  I soon noticed that would be a daunting task because we have literally pages and pages of emails that we have sent each other.  It would take me an entire day to go back and read them all!

Noah is a great friend and a good man with a kind heart.  He loves his Margie.  They have been together for 31 happy years.  Noah is always mentioning how shy Margie is and how he tries to sneak a photo of her onto Active Rain every now and then (without getting into trouble).  Noah is a character, and a great practical joker who loves to make people laugh.  His practical jokes often land him into (affectionate) trouble with Margie.  He jokes that he should just wear a necklace with a giant "I'm Sorry" tag on it as a blanket statement since he is always getting into trouble for his silly antics.  Like Steve Martin, Noah proclaims himself as "I'm just a wild and craaazy guy" who likes to make people laugh and have fun.

Speaking of fun, Noah likes to have lots of it.  When he is not out having fun with his customers (who often become friends) at his office at Coldwell Banker - Evanston, Noah can be seen rollerblading the streets of Evanston almost every morning. His normal route is 7 miles along the lake weaving around like Peggy Fleming on ice skates. What a great way to start the day!  Of course, no day would be complete without fresh juice and Noah likes to juice fresh fruits and vegetables daily.  His favorite is strawberry and red grape juice.  He must be the epitome of health with that diet and exercise regimen.

Noah grew up on the South Shore until age 12, then moved to the North Shore before settling in as a homeowner in Evanston, a suburb about twenty minutes from Chicago.  Noah and Margie own a classic colonial home with unique architectural character and beautiful woodwork with high ceilings, tall windows, elegant hardwood floors and a fireplace.  Noah considers himself very fortunate to live just a block away from Lake Michigan, with Lakefront Park just steps away, where he and Margie often go for walks and take beautiful photos.

Noah is a good photographer, although he is humble and doesn't realize it.  Here is one of photos.  It could be framed in an art gallery.  Noah is also a budding videographer and we have been discussing his purchase of a tripod so that he can take his expanding interests in photography and videography to the next level.  Margie is a very supportive partner and often goes with Noah when he goes on his photo shoots or home inspections.  They have a great relationship. Noah remarks how he loves receiving romantic little text messages while at work or coming home to a simple 'I Love You' note written on a napkin.   What a wonderful relationship to still have all that romance after 31 years.  That is something very, very special. Here is Margie standing across the street from one of Noah's listings.

Margie is a great sport.  Although she is shy  and quiet, she goes along with (puts up with) Noah's antics.  She will even go to a bar to watch the World Series with him while Noah roots for the St. Louis Cardinals even though she has no interest in sports or drinking beer.  However, she was good enough to pose for this photo for Noah showing a half guzzled mug (that he drank) just to make him happy while they enjoyed dinner at Charlie Beinlichs, one of Noah's favorite pubs which has been open since 1950.  Noah says they make the best burgers in the world.  I'm not sure though if that tops his favorite sausage, mushroom and onion pizza :)  

Margie is a top notch dental assistant as well as being Noah's sidekick.  Noah loves all of the cute designs on Margie's scrubs.  He says that it actually makes it fun to do the laundry :)

When Noah is not selling real estate or doing laundry, he and Margie love spending time on on their boat.  They have a Sea Ray power boat  Here are a few pictures taken while Noah and Margie were out boating - one of the Chicago city skyline, one of Noah captaining the boat and one of Noah enjoying another of his favorite pasttimes, waterskiing!  He does it as much as he can, often for several hours, and logged about 25 days of waterskiing this last summer.  Go Noah!

Noah also enjoys snow skiing, particularly at Aspen, and especially loves the views skiig at Lake Tahoe.  Another interest that Noah has is that he is a history buff.  He recently read the book 'Lincoln' and really enjoyed it.  Noah loves to give tours of his Chicago Land as there are may interesting sites to see.  If you are lucky, maybe he will even rent a convertible to take you out on a nice sunny day.

Noah and I like joking around via email.  I teach him hip words like Bling :) and he jokes about me being the Lexus driving pizza delivery chick because I moonlighted delivering pizza when I first started in real estate at age 19.  It is fun being friends with someone who jokes around and laughs as much as Noah.  While we mostly email, we have spoken on the phone.  We know that if we ever got together in person, we would just have the best time.

One of the things that Noah and I have in common (besides writing blog posts that go WAY over the suggested 3-500 words), is that we both love music.  Noah has been a music junkie since the age of 7 and we recently discussed my foray into classic rock wearing headphones and dancing to the music at the age of 5.  Noah began playing classical piano at age six and also plays clarinet and classical guitar.  We both love all of the old classic rock bands such as Pink Floyd, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Allman Brothers, Janis Joplin, Three Dog Night, Eric Clapton and Steely Dan.  Noah has actually seen the Rolling Stones in concert over 20 times.

He is also into jazz and blues and enjoys the music of Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Billie Holliday, Chuck Berry, B.B.King, Muddy Waters and blues artist friend Koko Taylor.  Just last night, Noah and Margie attended a concert with Brian Wilson (of the Beach Boys) and Jeff Beck. Noah loves attending the multi-day Chicago Jazz Festival each year.  We probably crossed paths there once when I was there.  That was when I found myself dancing next to football legend William Refrigerator Perry.  Noah also has a true appreciation for classic cars.

Waterskiing video - One of Noah's favorite activities!

In addition to talking about everything under the sun, we do actually discuss some real estate (imagine that).  I actually talked Noah out of taking a listing (which he thanked me for afterwards).  It is nice having someone who lives states away that you have never met trust you enough to value your opinion.

Noah loves selling real estate and has been at it for about ten years now.  He works with a wide range of clientele from first time home buyers to million plus condos,  He has run into some interesting personalities while working including meeting Mr. T from Miami Vice in an elevator while Mr. T was visiting his Mom and showing condos in the building where Marlon Brando lived.

Noah finds it particularly rewarding helping first time buyers purchase their home.  He likes explaining and guiding them through the process teaching them what to expect and developing a relationship formed on trust.  He develops great relationships with his customers and has been invited to dinner as a thank you after closing.  That shows how much Noah's customers like, respect and appreciate him.  A few weeks ago, Noah was invited to the restaurant of a gourmet chef for dinner as a thank you for finding their dream home.  Noah brought his Dad along to the dinner and they had a wonderful time.

Regarding family, Noah is extremely close to his parents who live just five minutes away. They are a very close family.  Noah is a good son and treats his parents to dinner at a restaurant every Sunday night.  It has been their Sunday night tradition for years.  How nice is that!  Noah's Mom is a professional artist and his 90 year old Dad is a world renown psychiatrist who has authored books. They have been married for 58 years. Since Noah's Dad no longer drives, Noah drives him to work every day.  He really enjoys the extra time that this gives him to share with his Dad who is his best friend - priceless hours that most people aren't fortunate enough to share on a regular basis.  Noah loves the children of his family,  Here is a photo of Noah with his niece and cousin's daughter.  They apparently acquired the family gene for love of music :)

Noah loves his area and gets to enjoy the best of both worlds - Beautiful architecture in charming towns with warm, friendly neighbors, the big city of Chicago with its sports, entertainment and many cultural sites with the lake, beach and many parks all within walking distance.  Noah proudly represents his area through writing blog posts on local events, businesses, tourist areas and just generally how much he loves the area.  Noah finds inspiration in quotes that are short on words, but long on lessons and has written a series of eight posts on favorite quotes. Noah has a great love for nature and has included posts on the Perseid meteor shower and blue moon.  Noah also has an adventurous streak.  When he was 18 years old, he drove all the way from Illinois to New Mexico traveling through several states with two friends.

Noah has a great appreciation for life, family and friends.  Noah is one person who I know is genuinely appreciative for all the blessings in his life.  He is humble and thankful for all the blessings he has, including his friends here at Active Rain.  Noah recently wrote two beautiful posts showing his appreciation for us, his friends.  He also wrote a post about how he would like to visit Active Rain headquarters to see where all of the magic happens.  Besides loving his family and friends, Noah has a great love for our country.

Noah really has become a true friend and I look forward to the day when we do meet.  After a trip to the Chicago Aquarium, I would love a ride on that power boat and to see the Chi City landscape from the water.  Hint, Hint Noah!  :)