Household Words, 6

This is an unusual Christmas. My brother Jerry is in Europe, studying British history, and my brother Louie’s friend was having a big party, so he won’t arrive until Christmas Eve. The other odd twist is that my cousin Monique had come. When we were kids, Monique double-dated with Jerry, and I was stuck with […]

Work

More than 60 percent of ultra-Orthodox men in Israel do not work, compared with 15 percent in the general population, and he argued that full-time, state-financed study should be reserved for great scholars destined to become rabbis or religious judges. “Those who are not that way inclined,” he said, “should go out and earn a […]

New Year’s Eve

I began one year by eating five expensive chocolates with a friend– we split them with a credit card, on the bar, and then went at them one at a time, tasting and discerning with eyes closed. The first thing I did in 1998 was ride the Tower of Terror. You’re in a pretend elevator, […]

Household Words: Part 5

My mother went to bed early. Her voice honked when she wasn’t sniffling, and all her pockets were full of twisted Kleenex. My father sat in his chair watching television, some woodworking show, though he isn’t too handy. Do all fathers have a chair in front of the television? Would I? I’m making tea for […]