Suprise Me

If an event happens once, it can — and probably will — happen again. Read More

Never underestimate the fortitude of a passionate, teenage survivor carrying the weight of her brothers and sisters on her narrow shoulders. Read More

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Eva Le Gallienne as Peter Pan 1928 ”Do you believe in fairies?” When my mother was young her parents took her to Broadway to see Peter Pan,  the title role played by the actress Eva Le Gallienne who famously flew on wires over the heads of the audience. The London-born Le G as she was called,… Read More

    I’ve always been a bit of a word nerd. I love the way they sound, the way they feel on my tongue, and the way they can paint vivid pictures in my mind. But I’ve also learned that words are a double-edged sword, capable of both great beauty and great destruction. One of… Read More

Two children’s books — one from the middle of the 19th Century, the other from the end of the 20th, have a special place in my heart, for different reasons. One was a gift to my grandmother from her mother; the other I read to my daughter almost a hundred years later. My favorite children’s… Read More

Seating Plan Years ago when our son was busy studying his bar mitzvah Torah portion,  we were busy planning the celebratory luncheon that would follow the service.  (See Ghostwriting in the Family) We picked the restaurant,  selected the menu,  made up the guest list,  and sent out the invitations. We invited family of course,  our friends… Read More

There is no future reward after caring for an elderly person. Our best efforts end in death. Read More

Three-Ring Circus A working woman who’s also a wife and mother can often feel like a juggler in a three-ring circus. I was working at a job I loved when I discovered I was  pregnant,  and I happily applied for a maternity leave to start two weeks before the baby was due.   (See My Brown-Eyed… Read More

Cantor Gladys Gladys and I both lived uptown,   she on Manhattan’s westside and I on the east.   Yet we first met not in the city,   but in Lakeridge,  the Connecticut community where we both spent country weekends.   And once we discovered we both loved Scrabble,  we’d play together as often as we… Read More