What now seems like a lifetime ago, David and I were working on our first documentary together. It was called Embracing Judaism: Reaching In, Reaching Out, Reaching Up. (Don’t look at me, I had nothing to do with the title—that’s all I was given and asked to create a documentary about it!)  Anyway, creating the documentary was a great experience for us—we met and interviewed absolutely super people including Rabbi Paula Mack Drill (she wasn’t a rabbi back then—I told you it was eons ago) Rabbi Jacob J. Schacter and Rabbi Woznica among others. And during Rabbi Woznica’s interview, he Read the full article…

So I am going to go running, and I’m a little jazzed. After all, I have been running for over thirty years so that’s far more of my life as a runner than a non-runner. And quite honestly, it can get a little boring. Years ago, when I started, I would pass the time talking. I would pick up my friend Arlene, from her home on 5th Avenue and we would enter Central Park and run miles and miles. One year, when we both had rented summer homes in Greenwich and we were both training for a marathon, we used Read the full article…

Tonight is the Yahrzeit of my father’s passing. This is one of those times that, there’s no doubt, it is a challenge being grateful. My Dad passed away at the age of 83, but he was far younger than that number suggests. With his Netflix subscription, he had basically watched a film a day, for the last three years of his life. And read a book every two days. Other than having a cigarette hang from his lips at a celebration or two, he never smoked cigarettes. He had a drink perhaps once or twice a month. He swam a Read the full article…

So I am smart enough to figure out that for David to go down to Florida and see his Mom once a month, even for two days, is a better idea than for him to wait around for four months to a half a year trying to cobble together a week- long vacation.  Four months, becomes five, six or seven, life gets crazy—but two days every month—well, we can manage to squeeze that in. So why I don’t apply that same principle to everyday conversations with my friends, I have no idea.  You know what I mean—I think about Jo-Ann Read the full article…

My Dad, may he rest in peace, was a stockbroker. Not just a stockbroker, but a great stockbroker. He parlayed a very little bit of money into a very nice nest egg– and it was through a great mind and vociferous reading. One of my most favorites of his adages (besides his oft repeated “fear and greed rule the market”) was that you only really have three stocks in life– and if one of them is down, it really doesn’t matter what’s going on with the other two. Meaning that if you didn’t have your health, it didn’t matter how Read the full article…

A funny thing happened on my trip to Israel over the summer. I got in touch with my ex-husband, whom I hadn’t seen in over – well, let’s just say, I hadn’t had any contact with him in literally a lifetime. We had gotten married when I was doing my Masters at Northwestern. We returned to Israel, lived there for a year or so, then returned to NY. The marriage didn’t make it much longer after that. We split up, he returned to Israel, and though the first year or so, we spoke on the phone occasionally, calling Israel wasn’t Read the full article…

It’s hard to imagine that I would ever put Angelina Jolie’s name in anything I ever wrote or talked about, much less in the same sentence with me. But I was thinking about her recent interview on 60 Minutes and her comment that she had done the most “dangerous” and the “worst” things, and that for many reasons she shouldn’t be here. Watching Investigation Discovery (ID) Television also makes me think about why I made it through the gauntlet of being young and stupid and so unequivocally sure that everything I thought, write, read or did was so smart.  I, Read the full article…

Without warning, the great freak Fall snow of 2011 came.  On a lovely Saturday afternoon, we lost power around 1:00 pm.  I thought it would come back shortly; no big deal.  By the evening, David had gone to edit and still no power.  Which meant of course, no lights, no eating (since I didn’t want to open the fridge and let all the cold air out) and worst of all no heat.  But I still felt grateful. ’cause I had my Iphone and my Ipad which were both reasonably charged.  Surely, this power outage wouldn’t last long– we’d never had Read the full article…

Be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit I can’t claim that for my own—it’s Albert Schweitzer’s, but I was thinking about it today after I got off the phone with my BFF and my Aunt. I have been soo busy (though not that busy that I won’t stop and take the time to be grateful at 2:30 pm!!!!) but busy enough that I really don’t feel that I have time to do anything but work.  Being grateful to have a job, and be able to spend a good part of my time creating films that deal with Read the full article…

Don’t ever think for a moment that I believe it’s easy every day to feel grateful.  Some days I think, I just can’t stand all this– too much work, too much nastiness, too many people looking out for their own damn ass and hiding their true greedy intentions under psuedo caring, too many times the bad guys win, too much unrelenting injustice.  I feel like I am in a continual whirlwind– it’s hard enough holding on to my hat much less be grateful! I think it’s hard to be grateful– because I am serious in trying not to simply “lip Read the full article…