Years ago, as a single woman living in New York, I came home one night to a message on my answering machine, no mistaking my mother's voice: “Close your windows, there's something coming from Jersey.” Apparently some sulfurous vapor had been released into the atmosphere from, yes, New Jersey, and … [Read more...] about ‘Close your windows, there’s something coming from Jersey’
Password(s)
I get a call the other day, automated, VISA randomly checking up on possibly suspicious credit card activity. I call back, a little leery, phishing expeditions rampant these days. After pressing one touchtone key after another, I finally get a live voice, a sweet woman who tells me she can’t get … [Read more...] about Password(s)
The Passover Games
It was in reading chapter 23 of 'Catching Fire' (otherwise known as Book Two of The Hunger Games trilogy) when it hit me with the full force of a plague of locusts: Lightning. Blood rain. Fog. Monkeys. This modern, dystopian tale has the markings of a recast Passover story. Think about it: … [Read more...] about The Passover Games
Modern Love
My husband does not own a cell phone. This is no Luddite, holier-than-thou holdout. He doesn’t need one, he insists, case closed. He has a two-line phone for his business and only recently made a big technological leap, from an old-fashioned answering machine (the tape was beginning to crackle) to … [Read more...] about Modern Love
Measuring Time
Like most people, I have several clocks in my house. One may tell me it's 11:30 a.m., another may say 11:35. This drives my husband crazy. I kind of like it, the notion that the measurement of time is only as accurate as the device. Some clocks like to run fast, others slow. Just read Alan … [Read more...] about Measuring Time
The Finish Line
There are so many ways to say something has come to an end, each with its own nuance. Kaput. Conclude. Terminate. C'est fini. C'est bien fini. No más. Finale, grand or otherwise. The end of a war is always a good thing, the end of a life dependent on the circumstances. Coming to the … [Read more...] about The Finish Line