I am not a fan of reality or contest TV shows, but this year I am hooked on The Voice. And it is all because of a 17 year old girl from New Jersey. Here is why. My niece has been going to camp in Maine for years. One of her best friends there is Caroline, from New Jersey. Over those years my brother and sister in law have gotten friendly with …
This morning the Salvation Army is sending over a truck to pick up some office furniture that's in my garage. That's the technical description of what's happening. The real story is the desk I sat at for over 20 years, the flat files I used for artwork that was lovingly made for clients and the files cabinets that housed the history of the Tobol Gr …
I am a pre "Baby Boomer" and as such have witnessed Seismic change. Examples are:1) "No Smoking" in restaurants, bars, trains and planes2) People picking up dog poop 3) Medical marijuana4) Legalized gambling5) Legalized abortion6) Same sex marriage7) Fitness training-gym rats8) Running for exercise9) White wine10) People carrying their telephones …
I was first asked to give a DNA sample several years ago. The request came from a cousin who had learned that a graduate student was doing research and compiling a database of Jews of Eastern European heritage. The purpose, or one of the purposes, was to possibly connect distant relatives whose parents and grandparents had been killed and/or displa …
I've seen a lot of embarassing things in my lifetime...but how would you like to be one of the wonderful citizens of the city of Toronto. Mayor Rob Ford continues to feed the evening news with wonderful sound bites that Saturday Night Live must struggle with to actually find something funnier than the real thing. Again, my guess is it's only funn …
For the longest time, when my mother couldn’t sleep she would shop in the middle of the night. Not at the mall, but from the privacy of her own television. And, she was a really good customer, most often buying those things that caught her fancy in threes – one for herself, one for my sister and one for me. I still have the grilled cheese contrapti …
My youngest daughter was diagnosed ten years ago, at the age of eight, with ADHD. Since her diagnosis, her ADHD has always been managed with medication. As Sydney has grown, we have had to change her medication from time to time because, at some points in her development, certain medications have stopped working. When changing prescriptions we have …
It is clever. And it works, if by guilt alone. My mail has at least one solicitation for a contribution each day, some days I get many. From hospitals, research groups, schools, care facilities, veterans groups, Jewish organizations, museums....you name it, they are looking for money. I give to whom I chose, but now they are making it diffi …
I know you're on the edge of our seat wondering what he will do after baseball. Well wonder no more...Derek Jeter is starting a book publishing imprint company called "Jeter Publishing" in partnership with Simon & Schuster. Apparently all his time on the disabled list last season had him thinking about life after sports. It must be difficult …
Since I started walking our puppy on the early shift before 6:00 I have discovered a new and favorite time of day. After Charcoal does her business I get back in bed and loll in a warm semi conscious state. In that state of grace, like when in the shower, many interesting and creative thoughts drift by and, possibly since I am semi conscious, I …
Yiddish is an old language. Some say it is a dying - if not already dead - language. No room for technology and Yiddish? Not so fast... Flo shared this story with me. Recently, she was in the Jewish Museum in New York for the opening of the Art Spiegelman exhibit when she overheard a group of "older" people asking "What is the Yiddish word …
I don't mean this to be argumentative (not that I ever would, lol) but I hear continuously about the "Core Curriculum" controversy that is exploding throughout the social media world. I have to admit that I don't have an opinion on it and I really don't understnad it. My son is in 6th grade, his first year in Middle School, and I don't notice any …
I was expecting a “proud mama” moment on Saturday as we headed into the city for Gotham’s First High School Oratorical Competition. My daughter was about to lead an event that had her “mark” all over it and which fuels her passion. Now, don’t get me wrong, she did not let me down. It was quite a “proud mama” experience. But, the (almost) better e …
Thank you to my friend Marlene Fischer for suggesting this blog topic. One of the largest law firms in the world has been in the news recently due to the content of an internal "Presentation Tips" memorandum that went viral. The memorandum was created by the Women’s Committee and distributed to only the firm’s female associates. Included in the …
There are three movies out now that have some common themes. They are Gravity, Captain Phillips, and All is Lost starring Robert Redford. They each in their own very different settings deal with danger, life and death, and courage. All is Lost is all Redford. Literally. Though the dangers of a man alone at sea were predictable, it was stil …
