Travel
Incident on a Plane
At the end of the flight, two boys sitting one row apart stood up and discovered each other. Neither of them could…
Lessons From Eight Junes
June is definitely a time for endings and beginnings. Proms. Graduations. Weddings. New jobs. It got me thinking about all the Junes in my life. My parents started their married life together on June 23, 1963. My son will become a bar-mitzvah next June. One of my grandmothers died in June. And one of my friends, too. I tried to think about some significant Junes in my life, and this is what was born….
Guest Blogger Merrill Wasser on The Alphabet: A Mundane Topic?
Today’s guest blogger is a cousin of mine, Merrill Rose Wasser. She lived in Kunming for about a year while on a…
Lessons From Annual Daffodil Day
For the last ten years, my friend and I have taken our sons to the local Daffodil Park on May 1st. I don’t know how it happened, but I missed it this year. Daffodil Day? Not. Even. On. The. Radar….
How The Struggle To Survive Spring Break Was A Lot Like The Jews' Exodus From Egypt
This year, Spring Break fell on the same week as Passover – the Jewish holiday which commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. (Think Charlton Heston in The Ten Commandments.) This year there seemed to be so many similarities between Monkey’s heinous April “staycation” in Western, New York and the oft-repeated, seemingly never-ending Passover story that I simply could not ignore it….
Lessons on Valentine's Day
Today I shall chronicle some very special Valentine’s Day memories….
My Weird New York State of Mind
I am terrified of New York City. There I said it.
This has nothing to do with the recent bedbug scourge; I have been afraid of The City for at least 20 years. …
Teens Leavin' On a Jet Plane
In 1985, when I was a senior in high school, my parents allowed me to go on Spring Break to Ft. Lauderdale with my four closest friends. We flew on (the now defunct) People’s Express for $39 each way. (I know this because I still have the ticket stubs in my old scrapbook.) We stayed in a completely unfurnished condo, some of us sleeping two to a bed; we shopped and prepared an amazing spaghetti dinner which we cooked for ourselves (careful to put placemats on the floor so as not to get sauce on the new carpet). Now, we were “good girls,” so we didn’t get into too much trouble — but we did do some things that I am kinda sure our parents would have deemed questionable. (I will not post the evidence here.) I will simply ask:
If your high school-aged child asked if he/she could go and spend a week in Florida with friends — without any adult supervision, what would your answer be?…
Stuck Behind a Bus
Ever been stuck at a red light behind a school bus? Of course you have. You know that moment when the kids suddenly realize, “Hey! We’re not moving! And there’s a car back there with a person in it!” And then they all start frantically waving?
It’s definitely a decision moment….