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You flunk a math test. Your fiancé dumps you right before the wedding. You get rejected from the private school or college that is your first choice. You run for political office and lose. The one job you thought you nailed, you didn’t get after multiple interviewers said you were great. Even worse, “You’re fired!” a catchphrase attributed to a former President. Fredrich Nietzsche Do you take to your bed? Sit in a corner and feel sorry for yourself. Become stuck. Give up. Mope for days, or cry, vent, maybe talk it out with family and/or friends and then figure...

   Friendships, we have come to conclude, are a lot like spices. They add flavor and enrich our lives in varying degrees, depending on the particular seasonings we choose and how much we sprinkle into the recipe.  There are the “go to” spices like salt and pepper that we might add into foods every day and even with every meal—atop our scrambled eggs in the morning, on our avocado toast at lunch and then into the stock for our roasted chicken in the evening. We also keep on hand essentials that might add more kick--cayenne, garlic, onion powder and paprika....

Last year, Thanksgiving went Topsyturkey. Will we return to our long-held traditions in 2021? Probably most of us will do so now that we have been vaccinated and are still wearing masks indoors and often outdoors. We want, in fact, we crave traditions as much as we desire carbs, chocolate and sugar and a return to normalcy (whatever that means). In 2020, the pandemic was raging, shutting down many of our in-person social gatherings. Thanksgiving took a huge hit. Nearly 70 percent of Americans celebrated the holiday differently to stay healthy and guard the health of their elderly relatives. In addition...

My mother loved the village and town in Westchester County, N.Y., where she and my father moved in 1953. He died in 1992, and she stayed until 1995 when she decided suburban life as a widow was too lonely for her. The village and town in Westchester County, N.Y Also, the challenge of putting on a new roof was too much, she said, so she picked up and moved to New York City—25 miles away. There she remained until she died a year ago at almost 101 years. However, those years in a bucolic suburb were among her happiest, along...

  I march down West End Avenue in New York City and swing right onto 72nd Street early on a Sunday morning. I am volunteering with what is called the National Council of Jewish Women’s “Back 2 School Store” on Manhattan's west side. I thought it would be a great opportunity to interact with young kids and their families and possibly meet some new people in my adopted city after moving from St. Louis two years ago. It is a glorious day. Cloudless and cool. The bright blue-sky glistens as I enter the four-story NCJW building on a busy street...