Pondering Hatred
Why are we so deeply entrenched in our own ideas that we cannot understand others? This little fellow reminds me of myself today, as I ponder a quotation I heard the other day on news commentary. It isn’t the exact quotation, but the idea is simple enough: One cannot dispel ignorance with arrogance. This sounds easy enough, but our passion for our beliefs is strong. When we become heated in our arguments, filled with the zeal to convey our truths, we tend to disregard what the other person (or persons) is saying. We are too deeply entrenched in our own ideas to truly hear the thoughts of others. I watched a documentary recently made by a Pakistani Muslim woman journalist who came to this country to interview people and learn about white supremacy. Her interviews...
Where do I gather my inspiration?
Many of my friends never knew that I used to write song lyrics before my memoir (Myopia, a memoir) was published. It was one of my great joys when I lived in New York City in the early years. My friend, Guy Strobel, and I would sit for hours at his piano, up four flights in a walk-up in Hell’s Kitchen. An actor, writer, composer and singer, Guy has always made me laugh. He is not unlike Peter Pan, although he is quite mature. I think of him as a creative wood sprite who just happens to have lived most of his life in the Big Apple. For several years, I lost track of Guy. We moved from NYC to Placitas, New Mexico, and I had stopped writing lyrics for several years prior. Smack dab in the middle of a bilateral knee replacement that I was undergoing, Guy telephoned...
Where is my pride?
I was born in America, and America is my only citizenship. Am I proud to be an American? Yes and no. When I was a little girl, I was raised to respect and love my country. It was the 1950s, and most of my friends and their families felt the same way. For some unknown reason, like many other white children raised in the North, I did not connect to slavery as something northern. Those down there in the South were responsible. I was unable to connect the dots until the rise of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. My friends always included people of color. I knew nothing of the trials that people of color could endure in this country. Due to the fact that I am Jewish, I was obsessed with Anne Frank, and what could possibly happen to me. But I...
Whatever are we doing?
As humans, we have a long history of separation. It’s time to make peace with the price we pay for the killing fields. My memoir has already been written. Myopia, a memoir was published in 2017 by IP Books (International Psychoanalytic Books). When folks ask me if I will write another one, I look at them aghast. If it took me thirty years to write this one, what sacrifices would another one require? I cannot imagine. In any event, my thoughts on that particular topic have been exhausted. But as I reflect on the changes occurring in this country today, and then ponder the history of the world, I find myself devoting more blogs to the questions that arise for me. I am first generation here. My father fled from some of the worst pogroms in Russia. The family who...
On the ‘elevator pitch’: My travels to the Jewish Book Council
A verbal contract for travel was noted in my marriage agreement. My husband has kept that spoken clause without fail. We have been to many places in the world, but my husband always said that I only wanted to travel to places where I needed a passport. He was delighted when we received a passport traveling through the national parks. Now that I have books to promote, I am traveling more in the United States than I even did as a child. In my book travels, I have met many lovely people. Some of them I am able to now call friends. This is a benefit of travel anywhere, but when so many folks visit Santa Fe on holiday, I have more opportunity to see them again. Crossing the ocean is a bit more of a challenge. And I am reducing (slowly) my challenge as a shy and...
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