My blogging history:
2012: diagnosed with and underwent treatment for Primary CNS lymphoma in my brain.
2012-2013: blogged on Caring Bridge.
2013: moved to Blogger.
2017: diagnosed with bladder cancer and blogged through 14 chemotherapy treatments and 37 sessions of radiation therapy, each with its own t-shirt and musical selection.
2018 to February 2020: Treated every 3 weeks with pembrolizumab for spread of bladder cancer to lymph nodes. As of June 2020, continue to be cancer free.
I would be hard pressed to think of a better way to spend
the end of any year than with one or more of our grandchildren, and we were
especially blessed to have this chance to make up for the summer week we had
missed with Maya.
We kept so busy – we built a Lego kit of the London skyline,
saw the new animated movie “Ferdinand” at a Manhattan theater with large,
plush, seats,
had dinner at Noi Due,
spent a day at the Liberty Science Center
in New Jersey, including the newly opened planetarium,
went to the annual train
show at the New York Botanical Garden,
saw “School of Rock” on Broadway,
spent
a day at The Jewish Museum where Maya made a dress inspired by the exhibit of
wedding apparel,
and had dinner at Corner Café in Riverdale.
Each evening we
watched (on our DVR) “The Price is Right.” Barry and I find this game amusing
and watching it has become a part of the visit for each of our grandchildren. Maya
does amazingly well despite the fact that she has not bought too many kitchen
appliances, electronics, or cars.
One of Maya’s charming attributes is that she is quite a
conversationalist. She enjoys chatting about all manner of things and asks many
spot-on questions. We ended up spending quite a bit of the ride back to Sharon
talking about the “match” program that selects medical school graduates for
residency programs. I cannot quite remember how we got on to that topic but
once we were there she was completely engaged in it. That is Maya.
It has not been a particularly easy year and there are so
many things about which to be concerned. But I am filled with deep gratitude for
my wonderful husband and daughters and those six pairs of eyes staring into
what I cannot stop hoping will be a bright future.
If you type “Watergate scandal” into your browser, you will
quickly find that the infamous event that eventually led to the resignation of
the 37th president of the United States, Richard Nixon, occurred on
June 17th, 1972, which was Barry’s 21st birthday.
Somewhat less memorable are the events that occurred just a year earlier,
beginning on June 13th, 1971, when the New York Times first
published portions of the “Pentagon Papers,” an immense classified report that
chronicled America’s involvement in Southeast Asia from World War II to 1968. The
Times had received these documents from Daniel Ellsberg, a former marine who lost
faith in the Vietnam War effort while working for the government. A judged
ordered The Times to cease publication after Attorney General John Mitchell
accused the paper of violating the Espionage Act. Shortly after this decision,
the Washington Post, under the leadership of publisher Katharine Graham who had
just inherited the position from her late husband, and editor Ben Bradlee, decided
to pick up the story and continue publishing.
The new movie, “The Post” chronicles those fateful weeks in
1971, with Tom Hanks as Ben Bradlee and Meryl Streep as Katharine Graham. Back
in those days I was not an especially avid reader of the New York Times, but
Barry was, having read it since junior high school in New York City where it
was distributed to interested students at a minimal cost (he remembers 4¢). I do not remember paying much
attention to any of this until we were married on July 1st of 1973
during the United States Senate Watergate Hearings.
I believe the movie was a fairly accurate portrayal of the
story, but I will leave that assessment to those who are far more knowledgeable
of the details than am I. What I will say is that it was really well done and
expertly written and performed, and a great lesson in an important part of
American history. Barry, my in-house Watergate guru, really enjoyed this movie.
Easy as it may be to write about Watergate and Richard Nixon, events that occurred over 40 years ago, it is quite a bit more difficult to write about current events. I have tried very hard to stay out of politics on this blog, and I promise not to get started on the tax reform bill. But I am attaching two recent pieces that I happened to see on-line. The first is about how our perspective on what is “normal” may be shifting in the current political climate. And the second imagines an event which will never happen, namely, our president apologizing for what many undoubtedly consider inappropriate behavior, particularly towards women.
I am writing this as Maya is on her way to New York, escorted by her other grandparents who spent the weekend in Sharon, to spend her week with us, the one she missed last summer following my bladder cancer diagnosis. We have many fun activities planned which I will share over the coming days.
For those of you who are observing holidays this week, enjoy!
Shutterfly is having a sale on their photobooks that ends
tonight at midnight, so I spent most of today trying to pull together all the
pictures from Thanksgiving and Chanukah to make up a photobook. Now I can share
a few here.
Maya playing at the “piano
party” (what we used to call a recital)
All together for candle lighting and dinner
Nana and Noah selfie
Maya made an edible arrangement for Chanukah (except for
the glue, I guess)
A few other pictures
Meanwhile, I have one last Chanukah song, which I believe I first
saw in a Facebook post from my friend Bat Sheva last week.
As parents of a baby born in 1977 at 28 weeks gestation weighing just 1090 grams (2 pounds 7 ounces), Barry and I definitely believe in miracles!
As I searched for interesting music to share during this
week of Chanukah, I found one that
was a bit surprising – a 1956 recording of a popular Yiddish Chanukah song performed by the late
folksinger/composer Pete Seeger.
Here are the lyrics to the song in English:
Chanukkah, oh Chanukkah, come light the menorah1
Let's have a party, we'll all dance the hora2
Gather round the table, we'll give you a treat Dreidels3 to play with and
lakes4 to eat
And while we are playing, the candles are
burning low
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago
One for each night, they shed a sweet light
To remind us of days long ago
1The menorah is the special candelabra used
on this holiday.
2The hora is the traditional Jewish circle
dance.
3A dreidel is a small four-sided top. The Hebrew letters found on the
four sides correspond to the phrase “a great miracle happened there.”
4Latkes are fried pancakes made of shredded potatoes and onions mixed
with eggs and flour and fried in oil.
I am having so much fun with Chanukah songs, so I am going
to keep up that theme for all eight days.
Today, I share a 1999 recording from Tom Lehrer, who sang of
spending Chanukah in Santa Monica.
Here are a couple of pictures from last night. We got started a bit after Noah had gone off to bed, and Joshua was at basketball practice. The whole family will be together on Sunday evening so I look forward to having some more to share.
In a little while we are heading over to Maya’s school for a 4th and 5th grade Chanukah concert. It is bitterly cold here today so we are spending this evening in our apartment but we will hopefully be able to make it to synagogue tomorrow morning and to lunch with Dina and Aaron and the children.
This evening we will light three Chanukah candles, and today
I share the newest release from an acapella group called The Maccabeats who got
their start as students at Yeshiva University 10 years ago and have released new
songs for each Chanukah for the past five years. “The Sill” refers to the
custom to light the candles in front of a window to publicize the holiday.
The Maccabeats: Candles
on the Sill
Ten years ago we played our first set
We were singing for
just family and our friends
And our hearts beat
with the rush that comes from a cheering crowd
We were younger then
Who could know that
then
We’d rise at dawn
for early shows
Praying backstage
before we go
Cry together tears
of joy and hope
Who knows where
this goes
We just hope you
come along
We find our way
Led by the light of
those eight nights and days
Singing to Al Hanissim
And we bless the
days each year
Thankful we got here
Beautiful memories
lighting the candles on the sill
A week in deep dark winter's when we celebrate
Shining bright on
the shortest days with the ones that we love
Don’t know what we
did to deserve this light
Hoping we learn to
use it right
But we were younger
then
Take us back to when
We found our voice
despite our fears
Through ups and
downs over the years
We never dreamed of
being here for so long
And as we grow
We just hope you
come along
We find our way
Led by the light of those eight nights and days
Singing to Al Hanissim
And we bless the days each year
Thankful we got here
Beautiful memories lighting the candles on the sill (3)
One for teachers of song
Two for those who
sing along
Three for new
friends who share
Four for old
friends that care
Five for partners
by our side
Six for sources of
our pride
Seven for those who
raised us and eight
Can’t wait to go
home
We find our way
Led by the light of
those eight nights and days
Singing to Al Hanissim
And we bless the
days each year
Thankful we got here
Beautiful memories
lighting the candles on the sill (3)
I had no idea where this song came from, so I did a little snooping around and found that the original song was done by a fellow named Ed Sheeran, who wrote and recorded “Castle on the Hill” in January of this year.
Ed Sheeran: Castle on the Hill
When I was six years old I broke my leg I was running from my brother and his friends And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down I was younger then, take me back to when I
Found my heart and broke it here Made friends and lost them through the years And I've not seen the roaring fields in so long, I know I've grown But I can't wait to go home
I'm on my way Driving at ninety down those country lanes Singing to "Tiny Dancer" And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill
Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes Running from the law through the backfields and getting drunk with my friends Had my first kiss on a Friday night, I don't reckon that I did it right But I was younger then, take me back to when
We found weekend jobs, when we got paid We'd buy cheap spirits and drink them straight Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long, oh how we've grown But I can't wait to go home
I'm on my way Driving at ninety down those country lanes Singing to "Tiny Dancer" And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill Over the castle on the hill
One friend left to sell clothes One works down by the coast One had two kids but lives alone One's brother overdosed One's already on his second wife One's just barely getting by But these people raised me and I can't wait to go home
And I'm on my way, I still remember This old country lanes When we did not know the answers And I miss the way you make me feel, it's real We watched the sunset over the castle on the hillOver the castle on the hill
Yesterday, I forgot to give credit to Patricia, a former Pfizer
colleague, for posting a link to the Mayim Bialik video on Facebook, which is
how I first saw it.
Today’s link is from our daughter Simmie: Happy Chanukah
from the Space Shuttle Discovery!
We awoke to snow falling on Shabbat morning. We were unable
to make it as far as synagogue, but managed to make it to our friends Judy and
Lanny, who live just a block away and had invited us for lunch. I had
contributed a batch of “birds nest cookies,” which these days seem to be called
“thumbprint cookies.” I had not thought about
these cookies for years until Simmie made a batch of them a few weeks ago. They
are beautiful and delicious but extremely time consuming to prepare!
By the time we came home from Shabbat lunch just a few hours
later, Barry had a hard time pushing the wheelchair through the rapidly
accumulating snow. Fortunately, by Sunday morning the streets were fairly
clear, so we were able to keep our Sunday plans.
On Sunday afternoon we saw “Darkest Hour.” The film spans a
few weeks during the spring of 1940, when Winston Churchill took over as
British prime minister. His predecessor, Neville Chamberlain, had tried to
appease Hitler, who was moving closer every day to taking over the United
Kingdom. Hitler’s forces had invaded Belgium and France and pushed the British
army to Dunkirk in France. History tells us how the story ends, but the movie
takes us through the agonizing decisions Churchill was forced to make.
I would be surprised if Gary Oldman, the actor who played
Churchill, is not nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor. To be honest, the
name sounded faintly familiar but I had to look him up this morning to figure
out what other work he had done. It seems that he has played a wide variety of
dramatic roles, captured in a Variety piece entitled “Gary Oldman on His Path from
Sid Vicious to Winston Churchill.” Mr. Oldman’s earlier role was a reference to
a 1986 film, “Sid and Nancy,” which received an 87% approval rating on Rotten
Tomatoes. I do not think we had seen any of his earlier films.
After the movie we met our friends Ava and Jason for dinner.
They had some great suggestions for things to do with Maya on her upcoming
visit, and even offered to take her ice skating (she is now taking lessons), a
quintessential New York winter activity but something we are obviously not able
to do. Ava and Jason are so charming and so much fun I am only concerned that, if
she meets them, Maya will just want to spend the week with them rather than her
old grandparents!
After dinner Barry and I headed over to the 92nd
Street Y to see “Paul Krugman in conversation with Chris Hayes.” The discussion
was primarily about proposed revisions to the US tax plan. I should have been
taking notes because there were a lot of fascinating observations but I cannot
accurately quote anything. What is clear is that often the things we think make
perfect sense with respect to predicting the outcomes of various approaches to
taxation simply do not turn out as anticipated. One example he gave was tax
deductions for charitable contributions. Other countries have removed such
deductions amid gloom and doom predictions that donations would plummet, and in
fact that does not seem to occur. Interesting.
Lastly, I just saw some pictures on Facebook that make me want
to ask: which of these guys would you rather have carving your family’s
Thanksgiving turkey? Let’s just say that I prefer the first one unless he tries
to sing while he’s carving, and then I’d go with the second!
