Suprise Me

Lessons from My Mother   My mother told me, Stay with your own kind. We Jews think alike; we’re all of one mind. But those limitations I could not abide. I had my own values; I had my pride.   So among the many choices of Jews in town, a Catholic and Protestant is what… Read More

One day back in 1976 a German shepherd came out of nowhere to show up at our kitchen door. He was not emaciated; he looked good. But he was thirsty, so we took care of that. He decided to move in, sleeping in the mudroom of our tiny rented cottage in a dusty southern Idaho… Read More

Melting (Soup) Pot One afternoon taking a break between chores I stopped for lunch at the 2nd Ave Deli,  one of my favorite eastside haunts. After a leisurely meal I was waiting on line to pay my tab when I overheard the following conversation at the take-out counter: Young Asian woman:   “What soup do… Read More

This Mother’s Day, I salute my mother and all who understand and appreciate the importance and challenges of what she called being “just a housewife.” Read More

Among the many heroes who emerged from the ashes of the Oklahoma City bombing in April, 1995, were three Golden Retrievers from Miami, Florida, with the unlikely names of Aspen, Maggie, and Brandee. The dogs all belonged to the Metro Dade County Fire Department and were also a part of the FEMA Task Force 1… Read More

That is what I thought of with the Retrospect Topic ‘Changing Times’ – not the clocks to be moved forward but the 1960s and then beyond. I was 14 when Bob Dylan’s song ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ was first released and it foretold for me, it prepared me for, my coming of age challenges… Read More

Boycott As a child I don’t remember  questioning the authority of my teachers,  I loved school and remember no run-ins there. My parents were easy-going and so neither do I remember much contention at home,  although as a teenager I had the usual adolescent battles with my mother,  and remember storming out of the house… Read More

Daisy was a wonderful singer and taught me many songs, including "Where Have All the Flowers Gone" and "Go Tell Aunt Rhody." Read More

Things that have made me laugh over the years: phony phone calls, Firesign Theatre, Dave Barry, cat filters on Zoom, and my son. Read More

Reunion A few months ago I wrote about three places,  each of which I can claim as a home town.  (See Parkchester, Celebrate Me Home,  The Lady with the Torch,  Kente Cloth) I was born in Charleston, SC yet for most of my adult life I’ve lived on Manhattan’s eastside.  But the east Bronx neighborhood of… Read More