We were going to be in Chicago and if we had any extra time we were overdue for a visit to the Art Institute. In anticipation, we took two membership cards from museums that are participants in a nationwide museum reciprocity program. When we arrived at the ticket desk, the young man checked the cards and advised that the Art Institute did not hon …
I had to do something. The pain of the massacre lingered. I couldn’t get my head around it. On Tuesday evening, Flo and I attended the memorial vigil at the JCC in Plainview. Among so many people struggling, as I was, to find meaning. Walking away I was struck by certain powers — The Power of Community, the Power of Music, the Power of Word …
I was recently reminded of a danger that hasn’t crossed my mind in a long time. Remember when we were warned not to use cellphones when we pumped gasoline? The danger that the fumes might ignite. And the other day, I pulled up for gasoline, got out of the car, pulled out my iPhone and opened the app from Exxon/Mobil to activate the pump. (T …
The words on the pen linger in my mind -- “Mightier than the sword.” The words bring back memories of studies in history and civics. The relevance of those words today is undeniable. We are caught in a frenzy of words thrown at us from so many sources -- some reliable, some less so. It is sometimes easy, but often difficult, to discern the differe …
In the whirlwind of the confirmation, the subject of nicknames appears in the periphery. Specifically, the memory of nicknames from our youth. So, I’ll share my story. An attempt to obliterate my nickname of long ago. They called me Benjie. When I went off to college, I was determined to leave my nickname behind forever. I would answer to Ben an …
Last weekend we were in DC to visit our granddaughter and her parents. Something special still stirs in me when I first see the Capitol and the city’s skyline. I thought about the first time I drove from New York to the nation’s capital. I was joining a group a students for a solidarity march. I was supposed to be on the bus but it was overbo …
We love to play Connect 4 and have several versions (including a “Captain’s Game” that replicates the old game played at sea). We’ve had our travel version the longest. It is small, very portable and travels with us everywhere. Over the years, pieces have been lost and we are getting precariously close to not having enough markers to play to the …
Flo often admonishes me to “Stop and smell the roses.” There’s a Chasidic saying, attributed to the 18th century, “Just as the hand, held before the eye, can hide the tallest mountain, so the routine of everyday life can keep us from seeing the vast radiance and the secret wonders that fill the world.” As Flo says “Stop and smell the roses.”
We are all exposed to statistics all the time. Among those are the “side effects” of medicines. I generally shy away from medicines. Statistics about the long term side effects have motivated me to reduce the one maintenance drug that was prescribed many years ago. Recently, I was advised to take the new shingles vaccine. The adverse side effects …
The owner of our auto body shop (doesn’t everyone with a car have “their” body shop?) has a thoughtful word of advice. “If it can be fixed with money, it’s not really a problem.” Think about it.
It happened twice last week. Someone waited to let me on the elevator first. “Age before beauty” he said. He was obviously younger. I joked with him in protest. Then, a few days later, a man held a door for me into a building. “Age before beauty” he said. Although younger, I didn’t perceive a great age difference. (Maybe my perception was off.) …
Many years ago, we went out to dinner at a nice restaurant with some friends. Our server came by and asked if we had any questions about the menu. Our friend said, “I’ve heard that the portions here are very small.” “Last time I’m ever going out to dinner with her” I said under my breath. That scene was in my mind the other evening when we were …
Our neighbors are fanatics about coupons — asking us to make sure that those hallowed sections of the newspapers are not sent to recycling without their review. I was somewhat skeptical about coupons until a few years ago when certain prescription medicines became over the counter and I noticed considerable savings being offered by certain drug man …
She was standing in the empty parking spot in Lenox, Massachusetts. I signaled that I was pulling in and she waved me off. My gesture of “Are you kidding?” was ignored. I parked around the corner. Saving a spot. The kind of behavior that might be expected in New York City. Might also get you killed. Unexpected in a small town in the Berkshire f …
I met her at my Mother’s. Like my Mother, she is a Holocaust survivor. Hers was a different journey… a different story. She was born in Germany in 1934. As a young child, she escaped to France and was moved to a children’s detention facility in Marseilles. Incredibly, her Mother found her in Marseilles. A ship was leaving for the United States. Mot …
