Tea is somewhat of an enigma in my life. I don’t feel the same way about coffee, so today’s question is, “What is it about tea?” My first memory of tea was when I about 7. My uncle was visiting. In my house, no one drank tea, so when I saw a pitcher of something dark in the refrigerator, I... read more

Last December, I wrote a piece here, “Is Hanukkah becoming a Jewish Christmas?” and this year, I must say that it doesn’t seem as it is, after all. Then again, this year I’m not working at a temple school. But even while browsing through the stores, I have not noticed as much commercialism-although... read more

My neighbor asked me to come over to her house next weekend to take a look at her Christmas decorations. This will be something to see, as she paid someone to design a theme, do her shopping, and then put it all together. She said she has 39 strings of garland, with 100 lights each-and her tree isn’t... read more

The other day I wrote and wondered here about who comes up with line dances that sweep across the world. Today I’m pondering the same thing about chain emails. Do you get many of those? You know, “Send this to x amount of people and see what happens”, with rewards that range from seeing a funny... read more

While there are no dramatic episodes such as boat people from Haiti or Cuba being intercepted and turned back in choppy seas, there continues to be active debate about American immigration policy. The proposal of Democratic New York Governor Eliot Spitzer to allow illegals to obtain driver’s licences... read more

For some years, I’ve noticed that no sooner have Thanksgiving leftovers been refrigerated, entrepreneurs start hawking freshly cut trees. In my city, no fewer than 3 such businesses set up shop within 5 minutes of my house. I view them with conflicting feelings. Those tree-selling outposts provided... read more

Have you been having trouble getting some packaging open lately? Either someone is making it tougher to get to our goods or my fingers are getting weaker. Maybe it’s both. I first noticed this about 6 weeks ago after being served snacks on my flight to Las Vegas. It was a real struggle to get the... read more

In an effort to gain an electoral competitive edge, some of the leading Presidential candidates have begun flashing their star power, with positive poll results following this display of Hollywood clout, hubris, influence and, if this tactic goes over big, probably a new beginning for an old political... read more

Chances are, you’ve heard of Usher, a singer who’s been performing since a teen, and who is now coming into fame in his late 20’s. Even I like him and his music, and I don’t follow today’s trends too much. Anyway, I came across a video of him performing Gene Kelly’s “Singin’ in the... read more

With federal budget negotiations becoming more intense and worries about the national economy becoming more pronounced, the rumors about the Federal Reserve slightly cutting interest rates to stimulate the economy have come true, but the reaction of the markets is not what had been expected.  Along... read more