Dear friends, acquaintances, and strangers in Florida, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other hard-hit areas are cleaning up the devastation left in the hurricanes’ wake. The strength it takes to put ones’ life in order when ones’ home has been decimated is extraordinary. It takes a particular type of courage to…

The Hebrew Year 5783 is upon us. It’s a celebration of new beginnings. Sometimes called the great reset. We have a tradition of bringing bread crumbs, which symbolize our sins, down to the river to release them so we can start anew. For me the letting go of the recent…

I woke up this morning to a stunning sunrise. I slept well and was in a better mood than I had been the last couple of days. Sunrises bring hope. They help me to begin the day with gratitude. The day is lovely. It’s warm enough to avoid outwear, but…

Today is what twenty-one years post 9/11 looks like. All New Yorkers who were in the city that day, as well as those close to lower Manhattan, or around the country, and the world remember where they were the day the towers fell. For those who survived, their stories were…

It’s cool, clean and sunny in downtown Minneapolis this morning. I am taking my time this morning on this solo vacation. Yesterday I went to the largest state fair in the country on the outskirts of St. Paul. Wow! It was definitely not an experience to be had in the…

Pre-Covid, I took a wonderful writing workshop with Emily Raboteau at the Key West Writer’s Workshop. Not only was it a beautiful setting, but the guest speakers and the workshop itself were invaluable. One thing Professor Raboteau taught us was the necessity of proper scaffolding to support the writing. It…

My short bob is all over the place. I remember a time my mother would claim, “We have to tame your hair.” I still hear you, Mom, but I am wearing it untamed today. Maybe it’s the weather, maybe it was a deeply satisfying morning, but I’m feeling a bit…

I’m writing this on International Friendship Day. It has me thinking of past friends, some gone by mutual consent, some, as the wonderful Claudia Shear put it, are ‘location specific’, and some died too young. The rest still bring me laughs, tears, and meaningful moments either with posts, texts, emails…

Heat waves are oppressive. I’m walking slowly, drinking more water, and commiserating with everyone else who is melting in this humid weather. I have always preferred hot temperatures to cold, but sometimes it’s just too hot. As a child I’d ride my Schwinn to the Haddontowne Swim Club and cool…