Suprise Me

Mothers are dead. Children are far away, one overseas who celebrates mothers in March, so may not know when Mother’s Day occurs here in the United States. Husband is on Martha’s Vineyard. I am alone with my thoughts. It doesn’t matter, but there is no one to fêtê me, no one with whom to celebrate.… Read More

In the tapestry of human existence, there are filaments that bind us together, threads that weave through the fabric of our days, shaping our experiences and defining our routines. Among these filaments, there is one that is often overlooked, yet undeniably present: the thread of laundry. Laundry, the humble chore of cleaning clothes, may seem… Read More

Naval Funeral My friends Tippy and Toppy had the fabled attention span of goldfish.  Whenever I made eye contact with them,   they’d meet my gaze for just a few seconds and then they’d turn away – as if they had bigger fish to fry. But they were dearly beloved friends and always  there for… Read More

I love art, music (mostly singing, but listening as well) and now spend much of my time writing for Retrospect; a cultural triple threat. I have written over 250 stories on everything from my first job; Posing in 3-D, to the harrowing story of my grandparents’ escape from the 1906 Russian pogroms to their trip across the… Read More

When I was a senior in high school, my mother was balancing a full-time job as an assistant principal, being a mother to me, my 14-year-old brother, and my 4-year-old and 3-year-old sisters — and being the wife of a man who didn’t help out a lot. She is an amazing woman, my mother. But… Read More

Before I gave Gladys and Erv Pfau their first grandchild, of unknown sex (I was 32 years old, had been married to their oldest son for 11 years but was too young to have amniocentesis, so we didn’t know if we were having a boy or girl until the moment of delivery), they gave the… Read More

Communicate to encourage each other and share our experiences.  Read More

Each time I see a street fair I think to myself that a clever vendor should have a sign that says: STOCK UP FOR YOUR NEXT YARD SALE !!! Read More

Anti-Authoritarianism My German-born father was rather strict and accustomed to getting his own way.   When I turned 14 and was about to graduate from junior high he wanted to send me to boarding school in Switzerland.  I refused, not wanting to leave my friends and family. “It’s like the army,”  he retorted,  “and I’m… Read More

Belle Potocsky and Zalman Beckenstein were married in the “old country”; Bialystok, Poland (part of Imperial Russia) in 1902. I have a dress that Grandma wore to a ball when they were courting. These were not “shtetl” Jews like in “Fiddler on the Roof”. They were educated and erudite. My grandmother’s dress is a beauty,… Read More