From the category archives:

The Old Country

Purging a Lifetime of Memories

November 16, 2007

My parents announced recently that they would be moving out of our childhood home of over 40 years into a retirement community in a few months. That meant that the time had finally come for me to go through all the papers and junk that’s accumulated in the closet of my old room since I [...]

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The Price of a Night’s Sleep

December 7, 2006

You know the old saying “time is money?” Well, how much would you say time spent sleeping is worth? As I found out on a recent family vacation: exactly $119 plus tax.
We were driving down the California coast from San Francisco to San Diego, stopping for the night at inexpensive motels. Our first night was in Monterey and I [...]

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Thanksgiving in Israel

November 23, 2006

Every year, just about this time of the month, I get a flurry of emails from friends and colleagues all with pretty much the same message. It goes something like this:
“Happy Thanksgiving, that is if you celebrate it over there…er, do you?”
So, what do immigrants from the U.S. to Israel do on the fourth Thursday [...]

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The Middle Ground

November 9, 2006

There are a few constants in this world: siblings will rival, property taxes will rise, and following a trip to North America, I will wax nostalgic for the “old country.” Our most recent family vacation was no exception.
The trip was book-ended by two gala smachot – festive family events that included the bar mitzvah of [...]

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Exotic Orlando

May 5, 2006

Here are two words you don’t normally hear in the same sentence: “Exotic” and “Orlando.”
Exotic is more frequently associated with places like Tahiti and Thailand or even Monte Carlo. Orlando, on the other hand, is heavy on such decidedly non-exotic offerings as Early Bird Specials and Premium Outlet Malls.
But for me, on a recent business [...]

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No Place Like Home

September 1, 2005

It was a rainy afternoon in Freiburg
on the last day of our recent family vacation in Europe. It seemed a
shame to stay cooped up indoors despite the thundering skies outside.
Our German/Israeli friend Chana who, along with her three kids, was
visiting her brother, had a suggestion.
 
“Why don’t we go to the pool?” she said.
 
Now the last [...]

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The “Settler” from West Jerusalem

July 24, 2005

(The following op-ed piece appeared on HonestReporting.com.)

For the past three years, I have been writing a decidedly non-political blog called “This Normal Life.” My goal has been to present slices of what passes for “normal” life in today’s troubled Israel.
I have very deliberately avoided presenting any particular religious or political point of view and have [...]

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