I can’t help but see red.
Red is the color of an apple and a strawberry
Red is the color of blood and fire.
Red is when you unfortunately lose money or go broke.
Red is a can of Coke and the planet Mars.
Red means you got something wrong on the paper or exam.
Red sneakers, that’s okay too. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Even when you fall down, you should always rise up again!
(Credit Videos: Andy Blumenthal)
So I hurt my back last week.
Incredibly painful.
Difficult getting up from sitting or laying position.
Today, I was trying to walk it off a little.
One of my kids was walking with me taking good care of me.
We ran into a neighbor.
She was nice and asked about what happened.
I told her in brief and said how grateful I was for my daughter taking me for a little walk while I try to heal with G-d’s help.
She smiled and said how lucky I was (which I acknowledged).
I asked if she had any kids, thinking that she did.
But she goes to me:
I have no one!
I was a little surprised that she didn’t have anyone and how she said it.
I sort of repeated it quizzically.
She goes:
Well I did have a cat but she was 19 years old and I had to put her down.
I felt really bad for her, especially since I know she had an operation this last year and is planned for another one coming up.
I said that we’re her neighbors and friends and that she can call on us whenever she needs someone.
This whole thing just made me so upset–no one should be so alone.
I really pray that G-d has mercy on his children and that no one should be alone and that we should all have caring and loving people around us always. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
Thought this was a funny title for a book:
“Sh*t Happens So Get Over It.”
There are no perfect lives out there.
I reminded again this week how everyone has something: Mark Herd, Co-CEO of Oracle, died at 62 and and Elijah Cummings, elected to 12 terms in the House of Representatives, died at 68.
All the success int he world on the surface doesn’t mean that there isn’t plenty of schlimazel (misfortune) under the surface.
Unfortunately, sh*t definitely happens in life and we can get all spun up over it or we can take everything in faith and stride.
What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger.
What does kill takes us to the next phase of existence.
All you can do is your best, the rest is in the hands of the Almighty above. 😉
(Credit Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So this was really strange what happened to me before Yom Kippur.
My parents passed away 5-6 years ago already.
I always miss them so much!
Somehow, on Facebook, my dad’s Facebook profile came up, which I was surprised to find.
Looking at it, I saw under his friends was of course, my mom.
I didn’t even know my mom had a Facebook page (I don’t think she ever really used it).
But I was so curious, I clicked on her profile.
I saw the prominent blue and white button to “Add Friend.”
And I saw my hand reaching to press for that button.
I so wanted to reach out and be able to be with, see, communicate with her again.
Then I stopped myself realizing that the friend request, unfortunately, couldn’t go to Heaven.
If only it could…I would be so happy to press that button and have my mom hear from me again. 😉
(Photo of my dear parents from Florida)
So as we age, we’ve got to cope with a different reality.
Our bodies and minds may start to deteriorate.
We can’t do all the same things we used to do (even as we can maybe do others).
There can be a deep sense of loss as abilities, things, places, and people that were critical to us for many, many years may no longer be present with us.
When I used to speak with my aging father about he and my mom getting older, he would joke and say:
Yes, we’re getting older–what’s the alternative?
Then the other day, I ran into a nurse from the Jewish Social Services Agency (JSSA).
We chatted briefly about the good work they do in helping so many elderly and handicapped people.
And then she says to me about how she herself is starting to feel what it’s like to get older, and that she often tells her mom that everything hurts to which her mother responds:
You’re not supposed to leave this world alive!
Putting these together:
I suppose we all need to do the best we can to age graciously ourselves as well as help others in the process–because there is no alternative to aging and no one leaves this world alive. 😉
Memorial for the 23,741 fallen soldiers and 3,150 victims of terror.
Brave, strong, and dedicated to the survival of Israel.
May their memory be a blessing!
Also a beautiful video my daughter, Minna sent to me.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I received an email last night from the teacher of my Ulpan class.
She was passing along a message from a wonderful man in class letting her and us know some terrible news.
His son suddenly and unexpectedly died at just 28-years old this past week.
He wrote about how tragedy like this impacts a person and family, and that obviously he didn’t know when he would be coming back to class.
The message from this man who had just prematurely lost his son in the prime of his life really hit me.
Life is so tenuous–where everything truly hangs in the balance by a thin thread.
You can think you are building a fortress of success where no one and nothing can touch you, hurt you.
But life has its own catapults, battering rams, siege towers, and explosive moments in store.
You can’t really plan for these things, and you are never ready when they happen.
Having to bury a child is not the normal way of the wold, and the pain of this is unimaginable.
A child is the culmination of all our efforts and represents the future, even while we are the past.
I am so sorry for what happened to my friend from class and I wish him my sincerest condolences and that no one should have to go through such tragedy any more.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
It’s interesting…
There are a lot of good people out there, but there are probably more in your orbit that simply don’t care or worse.
You can have this problem or that.
If they even “give you the time of day,” people will nod, tell you how sorry they are, and probably relate some of their own misery.
The good people try to see if and how they may be able to help.
The others really don’t want to know, certainly don’t care, and just see you as baggage in the way.
But everyone has their problems!
If only people could look with compassion on each other.
We all struggle with our demons in this world.
Of course, we can’t let troubles get in the way of our doing what we need to do.
But people can make all the difference in just providing a compassionate ear and being willing to open themselves up to understanding others and helping each other or making reasonable accommodations so people can help themselves.
Listen, we all have our day–wouldn’t it be nice to be that person who is kind and generous to others and have others treat us that way too.
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
So I don’t know what went down with the students from Catholic Covington High School and the Native Americans in the video that was widely circulated the other day.
People claiming all sorts of racism and hate, and others saying nothing happened–usually the truth is somewhere in between.
In light of this, I wanted to share this awesome painting, and say we should absolutely respect the Native Americans and do everything we can to help them.
These are the indigenous people that were here long before we ever were, and let’s just say that they suffered and lost a lot when the first Europeans arrived on these shores.
We are all G-d’s children, and no one acting with integrity and peacefully should ever be mistreated or disrespected, no one! 😉
(Source Photo: Andy Blumenthal)
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