Our Back to Shul BBQ this past Sunday was jam packed as friends old and new got reacquainted. We had the opportunity to listen to some remarks by our president, Rich Meyer and Rabbi Posen. We also were moved by Cantor B's stirring rendition of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach's Return Again.
I am a suburbanite through and through. While other people live and die by the big city and the need to be part of it, as Steve Perry knows, I’m just a small town girl. I like being big-city-adjacent. I feel much more at home in my personal vehicle than taking public transportation.
Let me first wish you all a sweet new year. I look forward to communicating with you in this space about matters large and small. I also invite you to let Marci Atkins know if there are particular topics you might be interested in hearing about. If it sparks something for me, we may address it here. This first "column" is a bit long, but I wanted to provide some background.
If you’re like many Americans, you spent some time this spring living vicariously as citizens of the Commonwealth, anticipating the arrival of a second child to Prince William and Duchess Kate. Though we can assume baby Princess Charlotte will be her older brother’s equal in the eyes of her parents, in the royal line of succession, she will always be behind him.
Is there anything more unnerving than walking into a room while people are having a conversation, and at the moment you enter, the conversation stops? There’s a good chance the conversation just hit a natural pause or lull, but it’s easy to jump to the conclusion that the conversation must have been about you.
Two friends are out walking their dogs, and one friend says to the other, “Yesterday I taught my dog to whistle.” The second friend turns and says, “That’s incredible! Can I hear it?” The first one says, “Of course not. I only taught it to him – he didn’t learn it.”
I can be stubborn. It’s innate, and it’s among my less than desireable qualities. My mom will tell you I was a stubborn child, and I have no doubt she’s right, given the stubbornness Shiri exhibits more and more as she approaches two years old.
