Grammar lesson

 

Like other rallying cries, such as “Lock Her Up” and “Build That Wall,” “Stop the Steal” is a slogan used by the former president and his supporters that features single syllable words and is easy to remember and repeat endlessly. The difference, however, is that “Lock Her Up” and “Build That Wall” are grammatically correct phrases, while “steal” is not a noun and therefore cannot be “stopped.” We might ask people to “Stop The Laughter” but we would not ask them to “Stop The Laugh.” What are some grammatically correct alternatives? He could have suggested stopping any number of activities:

 

stealing thieving larceny thievery robbing pilfering pilferage purloining shoplifting burglary raid holdup

appropriation expropriation misappropriation embezzlement dacoity rip-off smash and grab snatch heist stickup peculation

Perusing this list, you can see why “stop the steal” became the phrase of choice – it has a certain charm that the others lack.

This got me to thinking about Joe Biden’s rallying cry, “Build Back Better.” I find it a rather awkward phrase. I suppose that political slogans and campaign themes do not have to be written in textbook English. At the same time, at least “Build Back Better” would seem to be a proper use of the English language. It is an example of the imperative mood, where the subject is implied, just like “Make America Great Again” or “Just Do It.”

It turns out that Biden did not coin this catchphrase. It was first employed to describe recovery plans after the massive Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004. The slogan refers to processes designed to recover from a catastophe by rebuilding the affected area, and making it even better than it was before the disaster struck.

In the context in which it is used, it seems to be a solid slogan. The alliteration is catchy, the phrase is precise and to the point, and it aptly describes the nature of the undertaking: all of which can also be applied to “Stop The Steal.”

Of course, all of this is rather moot. There was no “steal” here. Like a baseball game your home team loses, the score is what it is. You may go home disappointed but you have to live with it.

Meanwhile, stay healthy and warm.

Love,                                                          

Rebecca

 

Do you remember?

A friend posted the following on Facebook:

Shoutout to everyone who can still remember their childhood phone number but can’t remember the password they created yesterday. You are my people . . .

Here’s the scary part: I DO remember my childhood phone number: WY3-5579 (WY was short for Wydown). Our family had that number until we left St. Louis in 1969, when I was 17. Why in heavens name can I still remember it?

That got me to thinking that if none of my younger sisters remember it (they were 14, 11, and 4 when we moved to Connecticut), I would be the only living person who does. That was a sobering thought. But as luck would have it, my middle sister wrote back quickly that she does remember it. Amazing. Even more amazing is that our youngest sister knew it, too. She also remembered our maternal grandmother’s (whom we called “Nana,” the name I took when I became a grandmother about a year after she died) number, which can spell out “PAJAMAS.”

As for remembering recently created passwords…well, that is hopeless. I have a spreadsheet (password protected, of course) on which I store those.

The Washington Post included and article entitled “To selfie or not to selfie? Why the joy of getting vaccinated is drawing backlash.”

To selfie or not to selfie

At the beginning of the pandemic, I had a rather stark conversation with my pulmonologist who basically told me that I had to do everything I could to limit potential exposure because I would not survive this infection. So, needless to say, the opportunity to be vaccinated was very much welcome. Yet, although it has been over two weeks since my second dose, nothing really has changed. We still do not feel comfortable traveling to visit our children and grandchildren, none of whom have yet been vaccinated.

Today marks one year since our last visit to Sharon, the weekend of February 28^th to March 1^st, 2020. The twelve of us had Shabbat lunch together. Barry and I have distinct memories of our discussion about the virus that afternoon, and at the time our children thought we were being our usual overly cautious worrywart selves. I sure wish they had been correct!

Meanwhile, may the next month find us further along this dark road towards some light.

Love,                                                          

Rebecca

 

Through a nurse's eyes

 

This 15-minute video was posted on the New York Times web page yesterday. Warning: it is quite painful to watch, and may not be for everyone. But it really does shine a light on the unsung heroes in this pandemic, and hopefully encourages each of us to do all that we can to stay well. You would think we would be highly motivated to take care of ourselves, but a little additional incentive can never hurt.

 Death through a nurse's eyes

This evening begins the Jewish festival of Purim. Our last weekend in Sharon was just before Purim of 2020. The holiday fell on Tuesday, March 10, and it turned out I also had my routine monthly medical appointments that morning. A few days later, we were expecting to have Joshua and family in New York for the Sarachek Basketball Tournament, but like so much that was to come, it was cancelled. My Google calendar is still filled with activities on which I had later typed “CANCELLED.” It is hard to believe it has been an entire year of this new and far too solitary existence.

We are just hopeful that, over time, with increasing numbers of people vaccinated, life will return to some sort of normalcy. But for now, we continue to miss our family, and Zoom remains an inadequate substitute for which we must force ourselves to be grateful.

Meanwhile, we will be experiencing the traditional readings of the Book of Esther via Zoom.

Stay healthy!

Love,                                                          

Rebecca

Guess we are getting old

Barry and I have long been fans of humorist David Sedaris. He has written many amusing and insightful books, and he periodically shares short essays on “CBS Sunday Morning.” His contribution to this morning’s show really resonated for us “old folks.” Please take a couple of minutes for a welcome laugh.

David Sedaris on his trip to the Apple Store

On a more serious and sadder note, the death toll due to COVID-19 will likely top 500,000 – half a million - today. The numbers of new cases and deaths do seem to be headed in a good direction, but there remain no guarantees, and we must continue to be vigilante.

Stay safe and warm.

Love,                                                          

Rebecca

Disappointment

Just a little past the one-year mark since the first death here in the United States, we are rapidly pushing towards 500,000 – that’s half a million – deaths due to SARS-CoV-2. For every family and community who has lost a loved one, the number might as well be infinite. For the rest of us, it remains almost unimaginable.

But what has been quite real even without the ultimate loss are the almost daily disappointments. For us, it has been the inability to spend time with our children and grandchildren. Still, we take great solace in the fact that we are still able to “see” them, albeit electronically, quite frequently. But for them, the disappointments are far more real.

First there was last summer, when all plans for camps were suspended, including “Camp Nana Sabba.” Then, although all the children all returned to school at least part-time, the fall came and went without a basketball season for our oldest grandson. As a junior and third year member of the Maimonides team this year, he would have surely had a lot more time on the court. But it was simply not meant to be. Piano lessons were also not to be.

Our younger daughter and her husband had long been planning a 20^th wedding anniversary trip to Hawaii in December, which had to be cancelled.

Two of our granddaughters, cousins who are now 15 and 14 years of age, had been planning to run a small day camp program for 7-8 younger children during this February school break. The program was to take place in the large, open garage of one of our long-time Sharon friends, in the hopes that the weather would not be prohibitively cold. They spent many hours planning activities and shopping for supplies, and I have to say we were incredibly proud of them for their creative thoughts and hard work. And then, at the end of last week came the news of a few cases of Covid in the community, and it became clear that the plans had to be cancelled.

As they have been asked to do again and again this past year, they have taken this in stride. I wish I could be as patient and understanding. Instead, I find myself hopelessly frustrated and incredibly sad, and while there is simply no solution to this but acceptance, it is hard not to wonder if our country could have handled all of this a lot better than we have.

The best we can do is to hope that, over the coming months, enough people will be able to be vaccinated that we can bring this under better control and slowly return to more normal lives. But, sadly, we still have a long way to go on this current path.

Meanwhile, when all else fails, there is always baking Hammantaschen!

 Love,                                                          

Rebecca

All ones and twos

I was fortunate to receive my second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center yesterday, three weeks to the day after receiving my first dose.

I could not help but noticing the two dates on which I received the two doses:

1/21/21 and 2/11/21

Each date has three ones and two twos. There may be some meaning that is escaping me at the moment, but I am glad to have had the opportunity to have been vaccinated. We certainly recognize that this does not completely eliminate the chance of infection, but perhaps it does lessen the anxiety somewhat.

Of course, the truly celebratory day will be when our entire family has been vaccinated so that we can see each other in person once again.

Meanwhile, we were glad to participate with Julia, albeit remotely,  as she and her classmates received their first prayer books at school. Each of the children made a cover for their books with their names on it, and each chose a particular blessing on which to speak. Julia chose the blessing thanking Gd for “providing for all our needs,” and she included thanks for providing the “medicines and vaccines so that I can be with friends and family.” She is shown at 13 minutes and 41 seconds into the video.

Not surprisingly, I am a bit tired after receiving the vaccine yesterday. But I wanted to share that good news and wish all of you a safe and healthy weekend.

Love,                                                          

Rebecca

 

Not all that super to me

First, an addendum to my last post about the film “Amadeus.” One surprise was seeing a familiar face in the role of Lorl, a maidservant secretly hired by Mozart competitor Salieri to spy on the family. The role was played by a very young (23 years old) Cynthia Nixon, aka Miranda Hobbes from “Sex and the City.” Here are some clips from the film.

  

In another a cappella music-related note, Jimmy Kimmel had on an impressive group of five young singers from Arlington, Texas called Pentatonix. Members are vocalists Scott Haying (baritone), Mitch Grossi (tenor), Kirstin Moldonado (mezzo-soprano), Kevin Olusola (vocal percussion), and Mat Sallee (bass).  Here is their performance from “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”

 

I suppose most people are writing and reading about Super Bowl LV. In solidarity with our grandson Joshua, I tried to watch but I have to admit I fell asleep part-way through. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were already way out ahead, and, as I am sure you all know, went on to win 31 to 9 over the Kansas City Chiefs. I tried, I really did, but I just do not find the game at all interesting. Maybe I only like round balls.

In case you missed it, here is the half-time show. I did not really enjoy this any more than I enjoyed the actual game.

Meanwhile, it snowed again, and more is coming. We are just hoping we will be able to safely travel to my appointment for dose #2 on Thursday morning.

Stay safe and warm and healthy!

Love,                                                                   

Rebecca