A Not-Unhappy Halloween
And Halloween had a happy ending. My son has decided at thirteen he's too old to trick or treat and too lazy to throw a party. Since I hate Halloween, we agreed to watch a movie together. The earlier part of the evening was spent at a much-more-game neighbor's house,...
The Rock Star Life of a Writer: The Book Tour
I know today is Halloween, but I am studiously ignoring that fact. Anyone who has spoken to me for more than five seconds in the month of October knows how much I hate Halloween. I hate costumes. I hate my children going out begging for candy. I hate the fact that I...
Books, Travels, and Sasquatch
So speaking of becoming a man (as I've done the past few blog posts), one of my oldest, dearest friends from college finally tied the knot this past weekend. I say "finally," because I remember the two of us in...
Bar Mitzvah Then & Now: 1953 vs. 2016
Sixty-three years ago, my father had his bar mitzvah. Six days ago, my son had his bar mitzvah. While the ceremonies themselves were likely the same--and since both were in Conservative synagogues, there are no photos documenting either event, although we staged a few...
Tomorrow, He Is a Man
My time as a blogger for the Deb Ball is over, which is both sad—I enjoyed the camaraderie of the group blog—and happy—my book has launched and I’m now working on my sophomore effort. What that means, though, in theory is that I will be back on this blog more...
Camp for Grown-Ups: Playing in NYC
The kids are at sleepaway camp till the end of this week. And, oh, have I been living it up! What exciting things have I done while they're away that I can't do when they're at home? left the fridge open while scooping out...
The Benefits of Used Books: Secrets in the Pages
Sometimes a used book is more than just a used book. On my last trip to New York, as you all know, I visited my favorite book store, The Strand. I searched for books about night clubs, New York, and Prohibition. I bought a ton of books, such as The Rise and Fall of...
Who Will You Vote For?
I love this board in the New York store Fish's Eddy asking who you'd vote for. Some wonderful responses, but I have to concur: there's real logic behind that Vanilla Ice pick!
An Independence Story
My son turns 13 next month, and I'm trying to give him more responsibility and independence. While we were still in NYC, my husband had to work and I took my daughter to Queens to visit one of her camp friends. I gave my son a few bucks and told him he was welcome to...
The End of an Era and the Start of a New
I'm finished with elementary school! Yes, okay, technically I finished elementary school in 1979, but it's ended for me again as my daughter "graduated" 5th grade and will be moving on to middle school this fall. But this is quite significant for me, as for the past...
