27 October 1980
Assignment: Imagine that you are one of three children. Write a story about the first adventure you had when you twisted the bed knob and wished:
One September day, I found myself being woken up by a tickle. I woke up and found a piece of paper on my stomach. I read it and it said:
TO MARTIN: THERE IS A MAN OUTSIDE FIDDLING IN THE LITTLE BOX.
FROM,
YOUR BED.
“From your bed”! I screamed; “Yoooou”! “Help”! I jumped out of my bed and ran to my mother. “Help”! I jumped into her bed: “mom. There is a mo mo mo moving bed in my room”! “What” she cried “It’s your imagination son, you’re just thinking it”. She got out of bed and walked down the passage. I was tip-toeing behind. She suddenly heard a sound. It went like this: zzz snore zzzz grunt zzzz snore zzz etc. “Help” she cried and fainted. (Right on me)!!
I crawled to the door and came face to face with my bed. “But I didn’t turn your knob”, I said. “I know” my bed said. “But there is a man out-side I’m scared of”. “That’s only the postman, stupid”! “I know I am shy”, said the bed. “But I’m a nice bed, I promise”. “I know, I know”. I said.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
I just don't get it.
Why does Tiger Woods need to apologize to anyone other than his wife?
He is not a public official, his notoriety does not come from service he does for the public.
He has a skill, in a sport.
Is the implication that he won't win if we don't forgive him?
Is the implication that you won't watch golf or support golf if he isn't sorry?
I just don't get it.
Nor do I understand why it is news.
Why is it the top story everywhere?
Why is it the most talked about thing to have happened last week?
AMERICANS ARE WINNING THE MOST MEDALS AT THE OLYMPICS!
That's news!
That is something to which we should give our attention.
Not gossip.
He is not a public official, his notoriety does not come from service he does for the public.
He has a skill, in a sport.
Is the implication that he won't win if we don't forgive him?
Is the implication that you won't watch golf or support golf if he isn't sorry?
I just don't get it.
Nor do I understand why it is news.
Why is it the top story everywhere?
Why is it the most talked about thing to have happened last week?
AMERICANS ARE WINNING THE MOST MEDALS AT THE OLYMPICS!
That's news!
That is something to which we should give our attention.
Not gossip.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Posted on Centerville Elementary School sign
"Report Cards Go Home on Friday"
...you cannot pretend you didn't get one.
Tuesday, February 09, 2010
A Modern Woman
Sometimes I think through all the "services" a woman should have on hand... some are from my own experience, but then I'll hear something or read a blog where I realize there is another service that some women have on hand. To help those young ladies on their way, here's a list.
Hair stylist - cut and color
Aestheticism - wax, thread, facials
Nail tech - mani pedi, acrylics
Seamstress/tailor - everything should be custom fit for you
Dry cleaner
Nanny/mother's helper
Massage therapist
Ob/Gyn
Personal Trainer?
If you figure the schedule of how often you see all the personal hygene services, you can book up your life just with pampering.
How many of these do you have?
Did I miss any?
Hair stylist - cut and color
Aestheticism - wax, thread, facials
Nail tech - mani pedi, acrylics
Seamstress/tailor - everything should be custom fit for you
Dry cleaner
Nanny/mother's helper
Massage therapist
Ob/Gyn
Personal Trainer?
If you figure the schedule of how often you see all the personal hygene services, you can book up your life just with pampering.
How many of these do you have?
Did I miss any?
Sunday, February 07, 2010
Another Dose of Family
So, as planned, I'm making time and taking effort to spend more time with my family.
My cousin K and her brother M have daughters that are very close in age (months apart), so this is the season of the Batmitzvah. Their parents (my dad's sister and her husband) are on an around-the-world United ticket to go to all these events. Since K lives in Toronto, I figured, what the hey, I will go! Its a 50min flight! K has twins, so its a double-header celebration.
I flew up on Thursday so that I could participate in all the weekend's events.
Every morning, I was up early with my aunt and uncle. We would make some coffee/tea and breakfast and sit around and chat. It was very nice to have given them this time to get to know me better. As I've said before here (I think), I've gotten to an age where I know who I am, and I know what I know; I know what I'm willing to change/work on; and I know what is intrinsically me. When you are young having conversations like this with your elders, it can be difficult because you feel like you are defending who you are, you feel like you have to claim your specific-ness. It was much more fun to have these conversations at this age, where I can really contribute something to the general trend. We talked about politics, family, work, life, everything.
In the afternoons, we would run errands with K, help her get ready for the 3 big events she had planned:
Shabbat dinner, Kiddush (lunch after service on Sat), celebration lunch with friends and family on Sunday.
I am so impressed with my cousin K. She spends her time running after her 3 kids, keeping her home running, working full time, and if you know here on Facebook, thinking, looking, enjoying the world. When you are with her you find that she does all of this with a serene calm, not flustered by any of the bumps that are inevitably in your way. Not once did she show any stress about these three huge events that she had organized for the weekend.
Friday night dinner was basically prepared by her friends. Throughout the day on Friday, people stopped by with the dishes they had prepared. The brisket and turkey came from a local caterer.
We set a table for 25 people... in a long row of three tables.
The guest list was all family, but 1. K's husband's brother and sister with all their sons, his parents, a cousin and her family, K's parents and me, and a friend. It was a warm, cozy, family evening thick with the traditions of a Shabbat dinner.
Saturday was a big day for the girls, they had prepared speeches to be delivered after the service. We were at Shul for most of the service saying hello to friends and family who came for the celebration. In the middle of the service, the Rabbi called up the Dad and gave him the blessing for the girls. Then the men started dancing, doing a hora right there to celebrate the girls. They were signing the mazeltov song... ok, not quite like that.
After the service, the ladies all moved to the front of the Shul and the girls went up on the bimah to give their speeches. The piece of the Torah that was read that day was about Moses and the plagues, so they talked about what that portion meant to them, and how that related to their recognition as adults. They did a fantastic job. K got up to give a speech too, and it was so special to be there celebrating with them.
We went to the Kiddush, and yikes! there were SO MANY people smooshed into the room, you had to fight your way in to the table, back out, over to the drinks... I just ate everything as quickly as possible so that noone would bump into me while they were fighting their way around.
We made our way back home, for some afternoon rests. K and the girls began the process of beautification for their big party that night with their friends. There was too much to do with two girls, so they asked me to help. We all crammed into K's bathroom with nailpolish, makeup, curling irons, nylons, and excitement. It was really fun to watch these two get ready for one of their first parties, all primped up in their special dresses for the occasion. It was moments like this throughout the weekend that allowed me to see who they were. Just like I had given time with my aunt and uncle, they gave time for me.
After the young'uns went off to whoop it up, my aunt, K, and I went over to the Sunday brunch venue to prep. The venue was the "party room" at K's parents-in-law's condo... so while we were setting tables, laying out plates, setting up sound systems, putting away drinks, K's mom-in-law was helping by running up and down to get those little things that personalize a space.
The Sunday brunch was the last of the big events. It was a mixture of friends and family. I left from the venue for the airport with the Chicago side of the family. Our flights left within an hour of each other.
It was a great weekend! Full of celebration, family, and community. I am very grateful to have finally realized that I can experience my extended family so close to where I live. I can't wait for all the forthcoming experiences we will all have together.
My cousin K and her brother M have daughters that are very close in age (months apart), so this is the season of the Batmitzvah. Their parents (my dad's sister and her husband) are on an around-the-world United ticket to go to all these events. Since K lives in Toronto, I figured, what the hey, I will go! Its a 50min flight! K has twins, so its a double-header celebration.
I flew up on Thursday so that I could participate in all the weekend's events.
Every morning, I was up early with my aunt and uncle. We would make some coffee/tea and breakfast and sit around and chat. It was very nice to have given them this time to get to know me better. As I've said before here (I think), I've gotten to an age where I know who I am, and I know what I know; I know what I'm willing to change/work on; and I know what is intrinsically me. When you are young having conversations like this with your elders, it can be difficult because you feel like you are defending who you are, you feel like you have to claim your specific-ness. It was much more fun to have these conversations at this age, where I can really contribute something to the general trend. We talked about politics, family, work, life, everything.
In the afternoons, we would run errands with K, help her get ready for the 3 big events she had planned:
Shabbat dinner, Kiddush (lunch after service on Sat), celebration lunch with friends and family on Sunday.
I am so impressed with my cousin K. She spends her time running after her 3 kids, keeping her home running, working full time, and if you know here on Facebook, thinking, looking, enjoying the world. When you are with her you find that she does all of this with a serene calm, not flustered by any of the bumps that are inevitably in your way. Not once did she show any stress about these three huge events that she had organized for the weekend.
Friday night dinner was basically prepared by her friends. Throughout the day on Friday, people stopped by with the dishes they had prepared. The brisket and turkey came from a local caterer.
We set a table for 25 people... in a long row of three tables.
The guest list was all family, but 1. K's husband's brother and sister with all their sons, his parents, a cousin and her family, K's parents and me, and a friend. It was a warm, cozy, family evening thick with the traditions of a Shabbat dinner.
Saturday was a big day for the girls, they had prepared speeches to be delivered after the service. We were at Shul for most of the service saying hello to friends and family who came for the celebration. In the middle of the service, the Rabbi called up the Dad and gave him the blessing for the girls. Then the men started dancing, doing a hora right there to celebrate the girls. They were signing the mazeltov song... ok, not quite like that.
After the service, the ladies all moved to the front of the Shul and the girls went up on the bimah to give their speeches. The piece of the Torah that was read that day was about Moses and the plagues, so they talked about what that portion meant to them, and how that related to their recognition as adults. They did a fantastic job. K got up to give a speech too, and it was so special to be there celebrating with them.
We went to the Kiddush, and yikes! there were SO MANY people smooshed into the room, you had to fight your way in to the table, back out, over to the drinks... I just ate everything as quickly as possible so that noone would bump into me while they were fighting their way around.
We made our way back home, for some afternoon rests. K and the girls began the process of beautification for their big party that night with their friends. There was too much to do with two girls, so they asked me to help. We all crammed into K's bathroom with nailpolish, makeup, curling irons, nylons, and excitement. It was really fun to watch these two get ready for one of their first parties, all primped up in their special dresses for the occasion. It was moments like this throughout the weekend that allowed me to see who they were. Just like I had given time with my aunt and uncle, they gave time for me.
After the young'uns went off to whoop it up, my aunt, K, and I went over to the Sunday brunch venue to prep. The venue was the "party room" at K's parents-in-law's condo... so while we were setting tables, laying out plates, setting up sound systems, putting away drinks, K's mom-in-law was helping by running up and down to get those little things that personalize a space.
The Sunday brunch was the last of the big events. It was a mixture of friends and family. I left from the venue for the airport with the Chicago side of the family. Our flights left within an hour of each other.
It was a great weekend! Full of celebration, family, and community. I am very grateful to have finally realized that I can experience my extended family so close to where I live. I can't wait for all the forthcoming experiences we will all have together.
Saturday, February 06, 2010
"Marsmen" (my brother at 9, installment 4)
4 JUNE 1990
MARSMEN
Marsmen Live in a space, well actually Marsmen live on Mars. One day Marsman 1 was working in his crater cruncher, he was making a moat around his house. It was dusty so he went to Marsman 2 for some tea. Marsman 3 walked past and came for tea too. We had talked for quite a while when Marsman 1 came up with an idea. “Why don’t we start a town?” He said. Good idea said Marsman 1 and Marsmanm 2 and Marsman 3. So that is why Mars is called “Marsmenmound”!
This is the east side of Mars where Marsmenmound is. See Marsmen 1, 2 and 3?
Here is the code:
1 is for Marsman 1
2 is for Marsman 2
3 is for Marsman 3
(Yellow dot) is for Marsman 1’s house
(Red dot) is for Marsman 2’s house
(Pink dot) is for Marsman 3’s house
And (11 dots) is for Mars.
The End.
The picture shows an orange fence surrounding Marsmound. Inside the fence are hundreds of brown circles. There are a yellow, a red, and a pink spaceship shaped house. In the front of each house is a Marsman (antenna and all) and a crate-cruncher.
MARSMEN
Marsmen Live in a space, well actually Marsmen live on Mars. One day Marsman 1 was working in his crater cruncher, he was making a moat around his house. It was dusty so he went to Marsman 2 for some tea. Marsman 3 walked past and came for tea too. We had talked for quite a while when Marsman 1 came up with an idea. “Why don’t we start a town?” He said. Good idea said Marsman 1 and Marsmanm 2 and Marsman 3. So that is why Mars is called “Marsmenmound”!
This is the east side of Mars where Marsmenmound is. See Marsmen 1, 2 and 3?
Here is the code:
1 is for Marsman 1
2 is for Marsman 2
3 is for Marsman 3
(Yellow dot) is for Marsman 1’s house
(Red dot) is for Marsman 2’s house
(Pink dot) is for Marsman 3’s house
And (11 dots) is for Mars.
The End.
The picture shows an orange fence surrounding Marsmound. Inside the fence are hundreds of brown circles. There are a yellow, a red, and a pink spaceship shaped house. In the front of each house is a Marsman (antenna and all) and a crate-cruncher.
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