The Muslims have Mecca, where millions gather every year for the Hajj. The bulk of Christianity has the Vatican, overflowing with believers at Christmas and Easter. And the world has Hollywood, where every year during “award season” entire city blocks are cordoned off as industry devotees prepare to worship the gods and goddesses worthy of the golden statues named Oscar, Emmy, or Grammy.
My husband’s grandfather, Louis Lipsky, immigrated from Slavuta, Ukraine 117 years ago. He left his native land for the US to escape violent pogroms, poverty, and war. Forty years later,…
When I started this blog, I promised myself I wouldn’t use any lightning-rod words that tend to send people scampering off to their narrow cultural corners. That included names of…
I hope everyone is enjoying the season of gratitude & light, despite the challenges all around us. This post is a break from the usual theme of Becoming Better People…
At the height of the 2020 BLM protests, I commented on a thread in an Italian-American Facebook group that sparked fury. Statues of Christopher Columbus had been vandalized across the…
I’m not a fan of using militaristic terms and even try to avoid using gun terminology that’s woven into idioms. But ironically, it’s motherhood—or at least the push to become…
“Liam got his period,” my middle-school-aged daughter casually mentioned. That was about five years ago, and it was the first time my brain circuitry fritzed around gender expression. When I…
Overheard at the doctor’s office recently: “Do you identify as Caucasian or non-Caucasian?” A secretary was screening a patient over the phone with what’s become a common question—one I hadn’t…
In my recent post (Don’t Box Us In), I explored a subtle way our society perpetuates a sense of racial division, which had me wondering how we might accelerate systemic…
I never shoot the breeze anymore, even in the middle of a casual conversation. You won’t see me sweating bullets under any circumstances. And nothing can trigger me, although it…