Suprise Me

For my parents, the gender roles were clear. My mother was in charge of the house and the family, my father dealt with the outside world and earned the money to support us. He might have disagreed with some of the decisions she made regarding us kids, but he would have no more told her… Read More

We spent the day before in Ogunquit, ME. I walked the beach with my dad and got a bit sunburnt. We had to drive 1,000 miles to get me from Huntington Woods, MI to Waltham, MA for the start of my freshman year at Brandeis University. It was September, 1970. Campuses across the US were… Read More

Our Garden You, the ruthless pruner, who fears not the bend of limb and tearing of tissue Somehow reflect a greater faith in the Divine plan and the blooming of Life.   Me, the timid intruder, who observes and reveres the struggle to survive- Ever too aware of the pain and trials of growth and… Read More

A saint's day isn't an appropriate holiday for nice Jewish girls, mom said. Read More

The Chain Letter and the Fender Bender The first story I wrote for Retro was about some rather costly auto body damage I caused when I was driving my husband’s beloved T-bird.   Needless to say he wasn’t happy about that.   (See Fender Bender) Years before we had another fender bender and although that time… Read More

The first time I saw snow was the year my family lived in Manhattan. My sister and I attended elementary school across the street from our building.  We’d bundle up in our new winter coats, pants, mittens, and boots. Just one winter: getting used to the smell of wet things drying on the radiator, taking… Read More

One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small. And the one that mother gives you, doesn’t do anything at all…. Go ask Alice, when she’s 10 feet tall. (Jefferson Airplane)   Music to every boomers’ ears. But, which side of the great divide did you settle into? Alas, are your memories enshrined… Read More

Something pretty funny did happen IN that car, though Read More

As a child I was a voracious reader, devouring all the book series that were popular at that time — The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames, Sue Barton, and Honey Bunch and Norman. Of these five, the only one that seems to have survived is Nancy Drew. Maybe a girl detective has more staying… Read More

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