Bonfire My father Arthur was born in 1912 in the Catskill town of Liberty NY some years after his parents,  my grandmother Esther and my grandfather Sam,  emigrated to the States from Ukraine.  (See The Wheat Field)  At first they had settled among other Eastern European Jews in New York’s lower eastside where Sam worked as… Read More

Library Cookies Catching myself with my hand in the cookie jar the other day I found myself smiling at a sweet memory. I’ve written about my years as a high school librarian,  my colleague Ann,  and our boss Dorothy.  (See Dolly and Me at the DMV). In the back of that school library was our large,… Read More

Remembering Gerhard,  The Dude Abides We first met Gerhard through our friend Renee.  He was the English professor who years earlier had been her graduate school thesis advisor. The two had remained very close and Renee invited Gerhard to join our group of friends who took turns hosting each other at dinner,  and who in… Read More

Baby Grand My father was a self-taught classical pianist and throughout my childhood the sounds of his music rang through our house.  And in my mind’s eye I can still see him sitting at the baby grand playing a piece by Chopin or Beethoven.  (See Moonlight Sonata) That baby grand followed my folks from the house… Read More

The Duck Pond My parents,  lifelong New Yorkers, would escape the city’s summer heat for vacations in the mountains –  in New York’s Catskills or New England’s Berkshires. Yet as they got older it was the winter cold that drove them out of the city.   And like many east coasters,  Florida became a desired… Read More

The Gift of the Marzipan Magi Our friend John’s parents,  like my husband Danny’s,  fled Europe in the late 1930s as the Nazi horror was unfolding.  John’s folks went first to Shanghai,  and then on to the States,  where a few months later John was born. (“I was made in China.”  he’ll tell you.) During… Read More

Princess Summerfall Winterspring (Not exactly a “four seasons” story,  but I plead poetic license!) I’m sure generations younger than mine find it hard to believe many of us had no TV in our early years.  In fact my family was the last on our Bronx block to get one.  And so every weeknight at 5:30… Read More

Post Office Philosopher  Recently two of my out-of-town friends had birthdays and as both are serious readers I thought they’d enjoy a good book I’d just read. So I bought two more copies,  wrapped each for mailing,  and headed to the post office where I found John my favorite postal guy behind the counter, “I’ll… Read More

Catskill Farm Memories My father was born on a farm that bordered a small lake in the Catskill town of Liberty,  NY.  Years later his folks added an addition to what had been their farmhouse and began taking in boarders who came up from the city seeking the country air.   And eventually my grandparents… Read More

Ethel and the Turkey Leg  Since my friend Ethel died recently at the age of 85,  I’ve been thinking about what made her such a special soul. Ethel and I met in the 1980s at Jane Addams,  the South Bronx vocational high school where she taught cosmetology and I ran the school library.   Like… Read More