Children really are still reading!!!

My baby sister sent this one to me; I hadn't seen it yet.
I'll sleep better tonight!

From this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/21/business/for-their-children-many-e-book-readers-insist-on-paper.html

Came this quote:
“When we go to bed and he knows it’s reading time, he says, ‘Let’s play Angry Birds a little bit,’ ” Mr. Thomson said. “If he’s going to pick up the iPad, he’s not going to read, he’s going to want to play a game. So reading concentration goes out the window.”


THAT's what frightens me, people!  NOT the geeky, dorky, shiny toy - I, myself, am the proud owner of a new Fire (although admittedly I didn't buy it for the books) - but the fear a child will choose the shiny toy over the book...  I want them to learn to love books, and choose an e-book, perhaps, when it's convenient, not all the time.  And it IS convenient, when traveling or commuting, for instance, but I don't want them to miss out on the pages, the ink, the smell, the experience of a b.o.o.k.



Borrowing Books from "Amazon Library"

This is a much bigger deal than simply e-books vs. print books...
I don't know enough yet to take sides, but this article and the accompanying comments are enough to spark some serious thought and debate...
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/content-and-e-books/article/49430-could-amazon--s-lending-library-end-in-court-.html

Taking down another tree...

We came up to the lake house this morning, by way of Weight Watchers, Walmart, and Hearth and Home.  We had a couple of rather inactive hours and then J decided to tell me he was planning to take down 1/2 a tree.  Well, he didn't tell me, really.  I heard a familiar rattle and looked out the window only to see the ladder leaning against a tree.

After 1/2 an hour of me complaining, begging, crying, he won.  "Fine.  Cut the tree down if you're convinced it won't hit our house, our neighbor's house or you!"  I wasn't real enthusiastic about this project.

So here's photographic record that he got the tree down.  Of course, it wasn't easy...

First he ties a rope above the place where he's going to cut so I can pull the tree in the direction we want it to fall, which is away from the houses.  I was supposed to duck behind another tree to make sure I wasn't hurt once we heard the ominous CRACK that meant it was on its way down.

We heard a small crack so he scampered down the ladder and ran over to me to take the rope and pull.  "HEAVE!  HO!"  And the tree didn't come down.

And that happened several times.  He'd cut more, he'd hear a cracking sound (he was up close and personal with the tree when he was on the ladder) so he'd quick come down off the ladder, run over and take the rope from me and try pulling.  To no avail.  That tree wasn't going anywhere!

He finally decided it wasn't coming down because it was caught in the twin tree next to it.  I wasn't that convinced that was the reason; the weight of the part he was cutting down should have been enough to make it fall... 

So after some serious contemplation...

He decided to cut the tree lower to the ground, make that bottom piece fall in the opposite direction from where he wanted the top piece to fall, and he started cutting...  And it worked.

That was one LOUD CRACK and he ran for cover on the other side of the tree trunk, away from the falling trunkS and the falling ladder and the falling SawzAll blade that was stuck in the trunk of the tree 25' above our heads!

So now he's out there cutting the trunks and branches into more manageable pieces, stacking the trunks for lumber for our wood-burning fireplace, and dragging the branches up into the woods.

And he's taking me to Olive Garden for dinner because I want a Sangria. 

A FUNNY look at e-books...

E-Books: A Threat to Marriage?

"The lightness of the e-book medium, literally and figuratively, holds a terrible allure and an insidious threat to the heavily booked-up among us. How many marriages, seemingly held firm by the impossibility of moving several hundredweight of vinyl or CDs out of a family-sized home, have already foundered post the digitization of music? How many more will break if apparently inseparable and immovable matrimonial libraries become something that anyone can walk out with in their pocket?"

--James Meek in the most recent issue of the London Review of Books

From Shelf Awareness, Monday, November 7, 2011 - Volume 2, Issue 1598

Am I pretty?

I read this blog called Carrying a Cat by the Tail!  Spuds is a single dad with 6 kids, 2 of them girls.  He posted a really funny piece the other day about Halloween and I linked to it a couple of days ago.

Today's post?  Not so funny.  Heartwarming?  Yes.  Important?  Double yes! 

Spuds knows how important it is to make sure his daughters know they are beautiful.  Inside AND out. 

My parents never made a big deal about our looks.  No "You're the most beautiful girls in the world"" or "You're so much prettier than XYZ!"  I didn't grow up thinking looks were important.

But I'm a girl.  I got to a point in my life where I knew I wasn't as pretty as some of the other girls in my class.  I knew I didn't have a great body.  Admittedly, no one ran screaming into the wind when they met me, but no one dropped dead of shock over how beautiful I was, either!  If you ask me to describe myself, my description will always be the same:  "I don't see Jaclyn Smith in the mirror in the morning, but young children don't run away screaming when they see me!"

When we get dressed up and my husband tells me I look pretty, my first and only thought is "Not pretty, but better than usual."  I'm 50, soon to be 51, and it's taken me a long, long time to almost believe I'm okay the way I am.  And I credit my husband for that.  Not for the thousands of compliments he's tossed my way (NOT!) but because he makes me feel loved.  Accepted.  Okay the way I am.  In fact, BETTER than okay just the way I am.  Just what he wants in his life and in his heart.  And that makes me feel pretty.

Spuds doesn't want his daughters to grow up putting themselves down.  He's one smart cookie.  He knows how important it is that his girls know, with every fiber of their being, that they're beautiful, that their dad loves them and that he knows how beautiful they are.  And he's going to make sure they remember...  What a lovely gift from Daddy to his girls...

Read his post here...

http://blirred-reality.blogspot.com/2011/11/youre-perfect-and-beautiful.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CarryingACatByTheTail+%28Carrying+a+Cat+by+the+Tail%21%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

Books are magic...

from Shelf Awareness, Wednesday, November 2, 2011 - Volume 2, Issue 1595

The Book as Object: 'A Piece of History'


"You must hold a real book in your hand, smell the pages, examine the type face, the spacing between letters; must note the shape and size of the book, the weight of it. Only then can you experience the book’s full import. And its magic.

"A book as an object is a piece of history....

"Of course, new books are not quite the same, but you can be a book's 'first' owner, the first to hold, read and study it. You can learn from its binding and paper and weight and lettering and smell. You can hold a new book in trust for its future owners. You can become part of its history.

"Give your e-reader a rest, grab a real, printed book: and feel the magic."

--Helen Selzer, owner of Farshaw's Too, South Egremont, Mass., in a post on her blog Books Books Books.

This quote touches my heart.  This is a great way to explain how I feel - I'm not really ANTI e-books, I'm just so much more passionately PRINT books...  It's the magic I refuse to give up...

Halloween

I'm not particularly "into" Halloween.  For a while, as a child, I'm sure I was.  (Mom seems to remember me being excited to put on a costume...  I seem to remember loving bottomless Smarties...)

And when we first moved into our house, I was excited to decorate for Halloween and buy tons'o'bad-for-me'candy and give it to all the cute little kids who were going to be ringing my doorbell...

I'm Catholic but I live in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood.  We get some trick-or-treaters but we don't get nearly enough for me to dole out a candy bar or two or twelve to get rid of said bad-for-me-candy...  So for a while I bought a bag of candy I didn't really like so there'd be no temptation to eat it. 

You see where this is going?  There are starving children... and I ate the candy I didn't like, so I went back to buying what I did like - it wasn't worth feeling sick over what I ate...

Then I finally figured it out.

Don't be home on Halloween.  Go to your sister-in-law's house, go to B&N, go shopping, go out to dinner, have a colonoscopy, anything not to be home listening to the doorbell ring 8000 times because THIS year you didn't buy any candy...

So this year I went to my sister-in-law's (option #1 above!) and that was cool 'cause I got to see my little E dressed up like Madonna, right down to the fingerless gloves!  She was so cute!  [Oh, before I cause you all to have a mini-stroke at the thought of cone-shaped brassieres on a little almost-16-month-old, we're talking Like-a-Virgin-Madonna with a pink/white/gray/black tulle skirt, a poofy and lacy barette with hot pink ribbons/feathers in her hair, flat pink glitter maryjane shoes, black leggings, and a cute top with her initial "E" on the front...  nothing inappropriate...]

Then I came to work today, and caught up on one of my favorite blog feeds, Carrying a Cat by the Tail.

Did YOU know God tastes like salt?  Intrigued?  Read Spuds' Halloween post!!!  You'll know from whence I speak...  Word to the wise:  do NOT be drinking your hot coffee or cold Dr. Pepper/Diet Coke when you read the punchline!!!

Pirating Books

Ran across this article in Publishers Weekly.  For a change this has nothing to do with e-books vs. print books. 

This is just an article about a lawsuit that hits close to home.  It's not a long article.  Check out the punchline:  "The company did note that Bit Torrent users on the demonoid.me site downloaded Photoshop CS5 All-in-One-for Dummies more than 74,000 times since June 6, 2010."  74,000 TIMES!!!

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/copyright/article/49342-wiley-goes-after-bit-torrent-pirates.html?utm_source=Publishers+Weekly%27s+PW+Daily&utm_campaign=a5b452b3ed-UA-15906914-1&utm_medium=email

Yea, e-books AGAIN!!!

From Shelf Awareness, Friday, October 28, 2011 - Volume 2, Issue 1592


Used Bookseller 'Not Afraid of E-Books'


"My customers still have all sorts of reasons for purchasing printed books. The collector of modern first editions; the new mother passing her childhood favorites down to the next generation; the reader of forgotten and esoteric texts unavailable digitally--all are seeking out an experience greater than the words on the page. The e-book can't replicate that experience, and it doesn't have to.
"E-books are fantastic at keeping us reading; traditional books are great at reminding us why we started in the first place. We're fortunate to live in a world where we don’t have to decide on one or the other."

--Michael Popek in his Wall Street Journal piece headlined "I'm a Used Bookseller, and I'm Not Afraid of E-Books." Popek is the author of Forgotten Bookmarks and a bookseller at his family's used bookstore in Oneonta, N.Y.


You all know how I feel about books vs. e-books.  This perhaps is the most even-handed clip I've ever posted on the topic...  And believe it or not, this TOTALLY is my opinion!

I CHOOSE print over e-books, but I would never tell YOU to make the same decision. 

That's probably what annoys me about other people who have such strong opinions - they try to force me to feel the same way or they tell me I'm wrong. 

But e-books, in my personal opinion, are just like politics:  I'm NOT wrong, I just don't agree with YOU!

Just like I will never tell you not to be a Democrat or a Liberal or not to be Green, I don't expect you to tell me e-books are the bomb and I'm wrong to be against them. 

Signed,

Proud Republican print book supporter!!!

Couple married 72 years dies holding hands

Some people might think I was crazy for posting a link to this story, but this is love, in my book...

Couple married 72 years dies holding hands

What a beautiful story! I LOVE that they were buried together.

A Blog Post - YAY!

So I know I haven't been blogging all that regularly lately and as a voracious blog READER, I know how that sucks.  Although I ALSO know you're not all sitting at the edge of your seats waiting for pearls of wisdom to fall from my lips on a regular basis; you probably didn't even miss me!

There's another blogger I read who's been a bit incommunicado recently, and she's decided to blog every day of October, using a list of blog subjects she got from someone else.  I've been keeping track of her subject and figure I'll use them to spark a little somethin' somethin' when the muse is on vacation...  AND I thought I'd start today...

I'm not posting in the same order as she did, and I'm not even going to IMPLY that I'll post every day for a month; I know me better than that!  But at least when I have a few minutes, I'll have a list of stuff to write about.  We already know my life is not really all that blogworthy...  LOL...

My List of Short Term Goals for This Month (and yes, I'm aware that the month is more than half over!!!

1.  Start Christmas shopping
2.  Start planning a redesign of our lake house bedroom
     a.  Decide on a face for the fireplace
     b.  Shop for a new mattress (the old will go into the spare room Murphy Bed)
     c.  Clean out dressers and nightstands
     d.  Bring standing lamp up to lake house will be done this weekend!
     e.  Reorganize walk-in closet
     f.  Donate and/or discard old clothes
     g.  Start shopping for nightstand lamps
     h.  Decide on photos, wall art
3.  Start planning a redesign of my lake house scrapping room/spare room
     a.  Purge, donate, discard
     b.  Adhere poster on posterboard and hang on wall
     c.  Clean out the closet
     d.  Winter jackets go downstairs to cedar closet will be done this weekend
     e.  Clean desk will be done this weekend!
     f.  Start shopping for folding table for sitting room so we can scrap up there
4.  Organizing and reorganizing my kitchen
     a.  Clean out cabinets
     b.  Clean out refrigerator
     c.  Discard old condiments, canned goods
     d.  Get rid of tools, mugs, anything we don't use or have too many of
5.  Take my sister and mother out for my sister's birthday
6.  Scrapping Day 10/15/11 done!
7.  Finish swapping out spring/summer clothes for fall/winter clothes 1/2 done!
8.  Change bedsheets to fall/winter flannels done!

Think I'm too ambitious?!?!?

R.I.P. Dan Wheldon

So sad.

33-years old and gone.

It was a horrific accident - 15 cars crashed and burned 13 laps into the race.  Dan Wheldon was air-lifted to a nearby hospital where he died of "unsurvivable injuries." 

We watched the accident on the news after it happened.  The phrase is "like a train wreck..."  Watching it on the news, it was so horrible that it brought us to tears, but you couldn't look away.  After they announced his death, the MCs said they'd play the crash footage one more time, but out of respect wouldn't play it again.

The 19 drivers whose cars were not damaged did a 5-lap tribute around the track, in honor of Dan.  His car number, 77, posted at #1 for the remainder of the afternoon.  For the first time since 1999, they said, they were cancelling the remainder of the race.

33.  M's age this year.  So sad.  What a waste.  I'm so sad for his family.

Have been incommunicado...

... and not for any good reason...

Work's been busy, or I've been busy working...

Here are some photos from recent weeks...

Last Sunday we took a motorcycle ride down to New Hope, PA, with T (one of our 2 best men), and D and D (J's two partner teachers at work).  Here's a photo of J with one of the Ds...

Here's a photo of the main drag in New Hope.  We got down there, ate breakfast outside, walked around town for a little while, then left for home up the Delaware River, on the PA side.  It's so scenic; the road is right along the river for most of the ride.  There are so many beautiful riverside homes there, and you could see how many of them were flooded this past summer when we had rain and hurricane issues.  There are, sadly, LOTS of those beautiful homes for sale.

Took this "self-portrait" in the motorcycle mirror on Saturday afternoon, before we left to go home.  We were meeting our riders at the Tick Tock Sunday  morning and going home Saturday night meant we could go to church and get a good night's sleep before being out all day Sunday...

She loves to read.  She must have gotten that from her Cioci!  She gets the book and says, "Book, Unca Da!"  And wrapped as he is around her finger, just like that, our departure is delayed until she gets bored!  And her mommy is trying to teach her to say Cioci (that's aunt, in Polish).  For now, I'm "Kiki!!!"  And I can live with that until we get to Cioci!

The beginning of the school year means shopping for new sneakers.  No, we don't start in August, BEFORE the school year.  We have to wait until we realize we NEED them, rather than WANT them, and that's when we start school and last year's pairs just don't cut it anymore...

I spent yesterday scrapping with my friend E.  After December, when I finally get a smart phone of some kind, I'll be posting/updating in real time, not a day or two later, when I finally have some wifi at home...  I'm already looking forward to posting photos in real time, posting on FB when things are happening, or at least when I think to post them, rather than hours later when I'm home and trying to watch my sitcoms, read my books, eat my dinner, talk to my husband, clean my house, and get ready for bed...

Will try to update more regularly...

Rest in Peace, Steve Jobs

Yesterday, Steve Jobs died.  Now I've never been particularly iObsessed, I'm more a PC girl than a MAC girl, simply due to proximity.  I admit that once I played on a MAC Pro in Best Buy (or some model of MAC), ooohh, could I see why people go the MAC route!!

And I'll also admit that my "Congratulations, you're turning 50" gift to myself was an iTouch last December, and I like it!

But this man has touched everyone's life in some way or another.  If you're an iFan, there you go.  But even if you're not, you probably have an iPod or ten, or an iPhone v. something-or-another...  At the very least you've heard of apps.

I saw on Twitter last night that Albert Brooks said Jobs was "our Edison."  You know what?  I don't think he's far off the mark.

Saw this on Molly Irwin's blog - and I decided I wanted it in MY archives, too...


“When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.


Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

- Steve Jobs

It's been a while...

I have no idea what's been going on, what's been happening to me, to us, that has kept me away from this blog.  I feel as though I've been sucked into this huge black hole, where time is not, and where I just can't have enough hours in the day to do all I want to do...  Enough sobbing, I'm sure you all know what I mean...

So what's been going on, you ask?  (Despite my opening sentence, I'll try to remember...)

Let's see...

I.ORDERED.A.KINDLE.FIRE.  That's the most exciting thing that's happened in the past couple of weeks.  Originally I was going to wait a bit before I mentioned it to J (he's not the techy one in the family and doesn't understand why I need one when I have a phone, a laptop, a desktop and an iTouch).  And to be honest, now that I reread that, I really don't "need" one...  I want one!  Heck, it's only $199.  My iTouch was more!!!  So I'm waiting with baited breath for November 15th...  If you don't know what the Fire is, here's a link:  http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Color-Multi-touch-Display-Wi-Fi/dp/B0051VVOB2/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1317511225&sr=8-5  But I told him the other day about the new tablet and he asked if I wanted one, so I told him I ordered it already... 

I thought my allergies were bothering me.  I started with a wheezing chest cough and no other symptoms.  Gradually, over a week, I added runny eyes, a congested head and ears, and a runny nose.  (Attractive, no?!?)  So, being the genius I am, I deduced that it's really a cold, not an allergy.  And that wheezing cough?  A couple of years ago I had a really bad winter cold, and ever since, I've had a lingering wheeze in my chest.  When I lay on my back, I cough, in a wheezy way...  And now, it's getting aggravated by this cold...  I'm not too happy about this.

FYI, I LOVE House Hunters on HGTV.  (Just thought I'd share!)

J is in the basement, building a new floor for the laundry area.  We got a new washer and dryer a few years ago and the washing is walking all over the floor!  We never had that problem with our old machines.  Today, when he moved the washing machine and pulled up the old floor, it became (naturally!) a much bigger job than he anticipated.  While he likes doing work like this, he likes to plan for it, and he really didn't know there was so much damage underneath.  He thought he could just tighten the existing floor, but it got to bad over the years that it needs to be entirely replaced.  So, he's replacing it...

Went to the gym this morning. I did 35 minutes on the treadmill, using the pre-programmed weight loss plan.  It's an hour long program and boy, did it kick my butt!  I'm not much for hills, but this plan included an incline that went as high as 6.5; not all that much, I suppose, if you're fit, but to me?  It may as well be Mt. Everest!  Then I moved to the bike, and I did 4 miles on the bike, again using the weight loss program.  That's not half as bad.  And then I started some weight training.  I did a couple of sets on the chest press and a couple of sets on the butterfly machine.

I did a 1/2 hour with a trainer the other day.  I must say, the program is fine, but she didn't impress me at all.  I signed up on a Friday night and they said she'd contact me within 48 hours to set up an appointment.  Well, Tuesdsay night, when I went to the gym, I asked and they said they would text her and that if she didn't contact me within 24 hours, to call her and they gave me her telephone number.  She didn't, so I called.  She had an excuse for not calling me, my file wasn't in her binder.  Okay, she's a trainer, not a psychic, so we just made an appointment for 2 weeks later on a night that worked for us both.

I got there early to do some time on the treadmill; she suggest 7 minutes.  Not 5.  Not 10. 7.  Okay, moving on...  I did about 15 minutes on the treadmill then went over to the counter to ask if she was there yet.  Yes, she's waiting for her appointment.  That's me, so they flagged her over.  She was there, but she started whining about not having paperwork for me, where is it, without paperwork how's she going to get paid... 

Hey, I have MY receipt to show I paid; you can use that!  Oh.  So rather resentfully, I felt, we started my session.  She was better while she was actually working with me, but I really don't like her very much.  We finished my session, then she started on the paperwork again...  I just left, thanking her for the session.  The girls behind the counter told her they'd take care of it, that she has nothing to worry about, that she'll get paid...

Today I asked them and they took care of it.  It was misfiled in the other trainer's binder and he inadvertently flagged me as done, so they just switched his person to my trainer and they both got paid...  Ah, the joys of robbing Peter to pay Paul...  If it works...

Boy I miss the days before HIPPA and privacy laws and all that nonsense...  Today I was on the phone with Optimum for 10 or 15 minutes and after all the account numbers and passwords, they had to talk to J because he's the account holder.  His name is on the account.  Yea, go ahead and ask him about the password for wi-fi, or about the user ID for the account...  I dare ya!

Back in the day I used to set up PSE&G and phone accounts for my friend Dave all the time.  I'd just say I was Mrs. DW and we were moving and could we switch accounts from address #1 to address #2 and could you come set up cable on Thursday because one of us could be there that day and yes, I'd like to keep the same phone number when we move next week...  And Dave would just move into his new apartment, and everything would be set up for him...

Well, I'm going to take a break now and heat up some leftovers - J said he needed another 15 minutes or so and I guess it's been about that long...  He made a delicious sauce the other day, with fresh tomatoes and fresh eggplant, and all the herbs, all from our garden.  We've got tons of peppers, a few more eggplants to go, and our crops will all be gone...  We had such great veggies all summer long, save so much money on fresh vegetables... Winter is going to be tough!

More later...

Funniest Post Ever - full disclosure: it's not mine!

For the record, I have not yet read anything else at all by The Bloggess but I will be playing catch up all weekend.

And for the record, this is the single, funniest, MOST HYSTERICAL BLOG POST I HAVE EVER READ.

PLEASE take 2 minutes and read this.  I promise you won't regret it.  (Apologies in advance for the mild profanities.)

http://thebloggess.com/2011/06/and-thats-why-you-should-learn-to-pick-your-battles/

Reading - make 'em love it!

My mom is a huge fan of James Patterson.  She loves his short chapters, the quick action, the fact that you can't get bored - something is always happening.

I know he's a huge supporter of reading and that he's involved in various literary endeavors...  And I found this...  "How to Get Your Kid to Be a Fanatic Reader."

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/28/opinion/patterson-kids-reading/index.html?hpt=op_t1

Thanks, Mr. Patterson, for pushing reading, books, and literacy...

"Books 'Are Memories'"

Books 'Are Memories'


"Books can be passed around. They can be shared. A lot of people like seeing them in their houses. They are memories. People who don't understand books don't understand this. They learn from TV shows about organizing that you should get rid of the books that you aren't reading, but everyone who loves books believes the opposite. People who love books keep them around, like photos, to remind them of a great experience and so they can revisit and say, 'Wow, this is a really great book.' "

--Daniel Goldin, owner of Boswell Book Company, Milwaukee, Wis., in an interview with OnMilwaukee.com.

From Shelf Awareness, Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - Volume 2 /  Issue 1556

Bar Mitzvah #3

DISCLAIMER:  ANY and ALL misinterpretations of the Jewish faith are mine and mine alone, and not presented here with any intended disrespect.  This is only my observation of the neighborhood in which we live and the customs and traditions of the Ortodox.


Our neighbors have 5 boys.  Their middle boy, E, was bar mitzvah'd yesterday.  We are very close with the family (they are absolutely wonderful!) and they kindly include us for all the celebrations.

We went to the school for 8:45am, stayed for the ceremony.  Then we had appetizers, then lunch, and finally left for home at 3pm.

At 6pm we went next door to have dinner.  We stayed until 8-ish.  At 9pm we went back to the school for E's dance!  He wanted to celebrate with a dance for all his friends!

I admire them for how they live their lives based on their faith.  They have a lot of rules.  I will admit that several times yesterday, I thought, "I'm glad I'm Catholic."  They are very superficial reasons, and please know that I mean absolutely no disrespect.

But men and women can't dance together.  The women, after an hour-and-a-half of watching the men and boys dance their hearts out, dragged the potted trees into the corner to separate themselves from the men and danced with each other in a little 10'x5' space.

          I like dancing with my husband.  Even though I don't like dancing.

We spent 3 hours sitting on two different sides of a wall in the same room.  Men and women can't sit together at shul, or apparently, at their son's bar mitzvah.  For the first two that we attended, there were only temporary screen dividers that one rabbi actually moved away after one of the bar mitzvahs so that the women would be included in the end of the service.  At the other, S was at least able to peek around the corner to see her son become a young man.

          I like going to church with my husband and holding his hand when we say the Our Father.

What I DO love about living here is the strong sense of community and neighborhood.  The kids are outside playing with each other.  The moms are outside talking with each other (and with me!).  We know each other and recognize each other and care about each other.  We used to have more of that in the neighborhood where I grew up, but in recent years, as the "old folk" moved out, there's less of that.  My mom doesn't "know" her neighbors like she used to "know" her neighbors.  [I will admit that she does speak to them when she sees them and perhaps this is more my impression since I don't live there anymore and I don't know the neighbors anymore!  As a matter of fact, I'll talk to my mom about this later this week.  I DO know she doesn't have her best friends around anymore; J died several years ago and E moved away many, many years ago.  I know that makes it more lonely there for my mom but she manages!]

Here are some photos from the party yesterday...

This is their school.  They just completed it a few years ago, perhaps 2006?

This is the room the women sat in for the ceremony.  To our left were some permanent screens that prevented S from seeing E.  Apparently peeking is, if not permitted, understood, so they were quite upset that these new screens were installed!

The boys danced for 1-1/2 hours straight!!!

They dragged J in just long enough for me to get a photo of him with the neighbors and E!!!

I must admit it was incredible to see an entire room full of teenage boys dancing the Electric Slide!!!

If they can do it...  I might just give it a try next time!!!

10 Years

It's been ten years since 09/11/01.  Ten years since we lost so many family members, friends, acquaintances, and strangers.  Ten years since we lost our innocence.

I wanted to write something profound, something moving, something that might express what I felt that day.

I can't do it.

I've hit the same wall I hit when I try to write about my dad, who died in 1987.

I can't find the words.

Ten years ago I was at work and my mom called to tell me that a plane had hit one of the Twin Towers.  I ran down the hall and told my girlfriend M, then ran back to my office and turned on the radio so I could listen.

What I heard - well, it felt as though it stopped my heart.

A SECOND plane had hit the SECOND Tower.

It wasn't an accident.  It wasn't, God forbid, a pilot who'd lost control of his plane.  It wasn't bad visibility.  It was a beautiful, sunny, gorgeous sunny day...

We went to the boss' office.  We saw the Towers fall.

He sent us all home.  He told us not to bother leaving any messages on our phones.  "Just leave.  You need to be with your families."  That was, beyond any shadow of a doubt, the most sensitive and humane thing he ever said in the 15 years I worked at that company.

This was the in days before cell phones (at least in our family).  I called the school to see if all was okay there; J was only a mile or so as the crow flies from the Twin Towers, maybe a little more.  I couldn't get him.

I didn't hear from him until he got home after 6pm that night...  He said what he saw on the way home shook him to his core.  People walking on Route 3, shell-shocked, covered in ashes and blood and bandages.  No disrespect intended, but he said they reminded him of zombies...

I spent the next 48, 72, 96 hours GLUED to the television and/or the radio.

I couldn't believe it happened.

We were attacked.  Attacked in our own home.  Not once, but FOUR TIMES, twice in the City, and again in Shanksville and at the Pentagon.

That was the day I truly realized how much I had to lose.  My husband.  My family.  My home.  My country.  It's not the things that matter, it's what's in my heart.  And what's in my heart is irreplaceable.

I've had a headache today, all day.  I blamed it on the weather, on a late night last night (more on that in another post), but since the Advil Cold and Sinus didn't really work on it at all, I'm thinking it's reliving the pain of that black day 10 years ago...

Prayers to and for all who perished, to and for their families and friends, to and for our great country, that we all heal as best we can, but also prayers that WE.NEVER.FORGET.