Thanks, Zach
Dear That’s Life, Since the start of this column, there are numerous stories over the years I have left untold. Some are just for my Shabbat table, meant to be shared only with close friends and family, inappropriate for publication. Despite being excellent material, I have opted to use that internal filter I so rarely [...]
The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow
Dear That’s Life, Some weeks are easier to write than others. Whether it is sitting down to write something exciting, intelligent or even intelligible, sometimes the computer screen remains blank longer than I would like before I am able to put my thoughts down on “paper.” Numerous factors often impact on my ability to fluidly [...]
Trending Now: Bad Parent Sightings
Dear That’s Life, Trust me when I tell you I have never said anything that remotely important which resulted in numerous rocket-fire comments as did a comment I posted on Facebook. It is not that I wrote something so off-color, inappropriate or outrageous which would warrant a public flogging. In fact, and thank G-d, the flogging [...]
Yes, Sneezy: No, Doc
Dear That’s Life, If I did not know better, I would think I’ve been nesting. Black contractor garbage bag in hand, I was busy yesterday cleaning out various closets and cupboards in my house despite the barrage of mishloach manot being delivered and the constant playing of the “The Purim Song” near my front door. [...]
Is Purim Over Yet?
Dear That’s Life, At the risk of being stoned by a masked and angry mob for saying this: I do not like Purim. I enjoy the megillah, love the story with its hidden meanings and appreciate the miracles, but on the whole if we skipped it, I’d be fine. As a child I relished the [...]
Can You Smell That Smell?
Dear That’s Life, Certain smells bring me right back to my childhood. In an instant, I can be transported back to being a little girl in footie pajamas, standing at the top of the stairs. I cannot always predict when it will happen, when the moment will strike, but I know it will happen at [...]
Mezuzah Magic Part Deux
Here’s a Quick Update: It took eight hours and two sofrim (Torah scribes) to check all the mezuzot in my home. After carefully and painstakingly going through each one, they were all declared kosher. Not one was pasul (completely not kosher) and were put back up, a bracha having been made on the one on the [...]
Mezuzah Magic
Dear That’s Life, I’ve been putting too much pressure on my magic eight ball. It’s not fair to rely solely on one source for guidance and since my karma is still off, I decided to turn to something more tried and true and not manufactured in China. I am having my mezuzahs checked. The importance [...]
Car Magnets: Less is More
Dear That’s Life, By its very nature, the Five Towns is a more of a bungalow colony than distinct neighborhoods. Maybe because we are all yentas, to one extent or another, and maybe because we seem to run in the same circles – supermarkets, after school programs, shuls, etc. – anonymity comes at a premium. [...]
A Card Carrying Member
Dear That’s Life, I have not been to a comedy club in a very long time. No need to have someone else make jokes about his life when mine is pretty funny on its own. A good time was had by all primarily because the company was good and not because of the entertainment. The [...]
Prepare for Take Off – It is Going to be a Bumpy Ride
Dear That’s Life, There is a distinct difference between a vacation and a family trip. A vacation is when you go somewhere, wile away your cares, skip the laundry and sit on a beach drinking a mai tai. Okay — maybe I’m projecting. It does not have to be exactly like that, but a vacation [...]
Let Me Check My Calendar
Dear That’s Life, A case of mistaken identity can often be very funny or be very embarrassing. About two months ago I struck up a conversation in a parking lot with a man I thought was a neighbor of mine – except it was not. I stood there talking for a good couple of minutes, and [...]
A Call in the Dark
Dear That’s Life, Like all parents, we may be woken in the middle of the night by one of our children for a variety of reasons. Someone could have had a nightmare or someone could have had an accident. Both are real possibilities and both have to be dealt with in their own way. I [...]
By Candlelight
Dear That’s Life, By the time this article hits the street, Chanukah will be just about be over and the neighborhood will stop smelling as if it has been submerged in a Big Daddy Deep Fryer. Having one’s house smell for eight days as though you have been frying absolutely anything and everything, the smell [...]
There Goes My Hero (Watch Him As He Goes)
Dear That’s Life, For what seemed like a supersized Sukkot (two three-day blocks of no showering will do that to a person), people complained about the abundance of family togetherness, the incessant eating, the bizarre weather and the Yankees. Some were just trying to look for a glimmer of proof that life was returning to [...]
Hebron
Dear That’s Life, When I was a kid, there was a game on Sesame Street called “Which of these things do not belong here?” Watching the screen, you had to call out which of the four items shown was out of place and did not belong with the others. As if we were playing that [...]
