tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66967481683438087052012-01-23T13:46:21.208-08:00Creative non-fiction, ranging from (sort of) Jewish sermons through memoir and city sightings to general spiritual/psychological musings, by Dana VinicoffDanahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.comBlogger1021100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-88935280080656760672012-01-23T13:39:00.000-08:002012-01-23T13:46:21.219-08:00

Leslie Hassberg, who invited me to participate in the human banner on Ocean Beach (Tax the 1%), more recently sent me an e-mail about a group of singers called Occupella that she co-founded. Occupella sings at protests and BART stations in the  spirit of Occupy Wall Street. That sounded like major fun to me, so I started attending three weeks ago. My main concern was that I might not know the

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-28589001072117899542011-12-29T12:32:00.000-08:002011-12-29T12:47:15.382-08:00

Jan and I marched with the Occupy SF folks on national Bank Transfer Day, to chide the big banks for: (1) gambling with our money, (2) making overpriced loans to people who couldn't afford them, (3) not lending to small businesses that need it, (4) not renegotiating underwater mortgages (or renegotiating VERY SLOWLY while also foreclosing), and (5) leaving foreclosed homes vacant to become

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-71539173950366060482011-12-28T18:14:00.000-08:002011-12-28T18:20:37.420-08:00

So we had another meeting of the machzor class, and we were asked to write a bit on our concept of God, and how it agrees or disagrees with the liturgical language. Here's what I wrote:You are Great and unknowable, Builder of galaxies and Small Voice of conscience, and I don't know whether to kneel before You, sing a song of praise, or curl up in Your lap. Part of me is awed and unable to say

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-51782696579911268852011-10-31T09:40:00.000-07:002011-10-31T10:01:00.113-07:00

In part, retirement is for trying new things; and I've been doing so.Two months ago, a call went out for entertainers for a monthly gathering of LGBT patients at Laguna Honda Hospital. I volunteered to sing for the group, since I have a fairly decent voice and can be very funny. After warning the entertainment wrangler that I wouldn't have any accompaniment and I would be using notes to remember

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-74036840456758210962011-09-26T14:41:00.000-07:002011-09-26T14:57:40.253-07:00

Andrew Ramer hosted another gathering at CSZ to listen to words and look at images of the journey towards forgiveness, and then write our own words or draw our own images. We had three writing periods, and much of what I wrote was whining about my own mishegoss about being lazy.Here are a few bits that seemed to be worth sharing.I am often struck by the line in our machsor that says we have

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-53687836964128874042011-09-15T18:03:00.000-07:002011-09-15T18:43:12.113-07:00

August was a particularly full month for me: my aunt Virginia passed away and I flew to Washington State to attend her funeral mass; I completed my first 6-day silent meditation retreat in San Rafael; and I compiled and sang in the interment service for the mother of my sweetie Jan. Now that I'm between editing issues of the synagogue newsletter, have nearly completed my preparations for the High

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-5347812199122971752011-07-30T11:07:00.000-07:002011-07-30T11:12:25.868-07:00

I learned the other day that Queen Elizabeth II has a personal, white leather toilet seat that travels with her wherever she goes. A week before that, I wrote the following:When I moved downstairs after living a quarter of a century in the same flat, my whole life was disrupted. There were walls of boxes everywhere, and there were no coverings on the windows. My bedroom was functional, and I

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-85671151962675407302011-05-25T14:13:00.000-07:002011-05-25T14:45:23.147-07:00

Someone called my name as I was waiting on my yoga mat to begin my second "Gentle Yoga" class in the Castro. It was Sherrie Sawyer, whom I had just seen last week at an SFOP (San Francisco Organizing Project) meeting to work on encouraging the state legislature to extend existing taxes, and not solve the current deficit entirely by cutting much-needed government services to the poor and middle

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-63762746750286092062011-05-06T16:47:00.000-07:002011-05-06T17:13:00.804-07:00

In our last writing group, we were asked to write something on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I wrote two rather different things - first, what naturally came into my mind, and the second more consciously addressing the assigned topic.PBJ To GoI was in the midst of a nervous breakdown when I finally dragged myself off to recorder camp in 2003. My appetite had been AWOL for

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-2613372072524375882011-04-21T13:40:00.000-07:002011-04-22T12:03:08.868-07:00

for a writing group of older lesbians that I recently joined:I have always dreamed of having a library of my own, with built-in bookcases and a ladder. Last year, I moved downstairs into a new flat and had my carpenter friend build it for me. The room has a ten-foot ceiling, and he put four bookcases side by side, built them up to the ceiling, bolted them to each other and the wall, and installed

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-30114945896151096652011-04-13T12:50:00.000-07:002011-04-13T13:23:44.730-07:00

So it's been over a week since my show, Dykes on Broadway, premiered at Hillside Community Church in El Cerrito. I didn't write it or anything, but I do have a leading role in this one-act lesbian musical comedy. A second act has been written, but not yet produced. Anyway, we're booked for two more shows in San Francisco in June, at CounterPULSE, a performance space at 9th and Mission. Certainly

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-43352980469539813082011-03-24T10:16:00.000-07:002011-03-24T10:23:59.356-07:00

and I'm hanging out at Martha & Bros. on Church Street, watching a eucalyptus tree thrash in the wind and being glad that I'm in here and dry, and don't need to leave for several hours. And when I do leave, I have a goretex parka and a good umbrella so I can get home without melting.The plan for today is to go to the post office and renew my passport, so I can visit Vancouver on the way to an

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-44792714703688699222011-03-02T13:10:00.000-08:002011-03-02T13:20:03.557-08:00

So it's raining lightly outside, and I've completed my single expedition for the day, to physical therapy, the butcher shop, and my neighborhood cafe.I have several pending projects that need work, paying bills, gathering information for my income taxes, scheduling and doing one-on-one listening sessions before our SFOP retreat this weekend, and writing a report on the California government

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-92136354990954816512011-02-02T12:38:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:53:38.027-08:00

I was going through my collection of office newsletters in packing up my office, and found this story that I had contributed to a collection of employees' stories in our special earthquake issue:I was on BART when the quake struck; the train I was on was pulling into the Embarcadero Station. In coming to a halt, the train jerked around more than usual, but it seemed to be only a particularly

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-40094372208117444042011-02-02T12:15:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:37:30.810-08:00

Me in new aloha shirt. The fern grotto, followed by sunset at Poipu Beach and Waimea Canyon. Me on a canopy bridge, and me with Mark Scott at Allerton Gardens.Some river, and a rainbow at the foot of some falls.The top of said falls, followed by one of the myriad and ubiquitous feral roosters.Me on our lanai. Kilauea Lighthouse.

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-45695874299921041022011-01-26T23:19:00.000-08:002011-01-26T23:33:08.898-08:00

and my body's time zone is somewhere between here and there. I'll try to append some of my pictures of my time in Kauai.Here are some dolphins we saw while touring the Na Pali coast in a zodiac boat, followed by the view from the lanai of our condo, a shot of me ziplining, and a view from Limahuli Garden.

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-40725689039053408552011-01-07T19:07:00.000-08:002011-01-07T19:24:12.486-08:00

Jan (in Pleasanton) and I (in San Francisco) were on the phone when I mentioned buying challah rolls for Shabbat (which I'd never done before but suddenly got the idea to do when buying a cinnamon loaf at Acme Bakery today), and she suggested that we light the candles together - me in person and her over the speaker phone. We had done the same thing with Chanukah candles, so I immediately agreed.

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-22464318207334270382011-01-03T14:35:00.000-08:002011-01-03T14:40:28.012-08:00

The first work day of 2011, the day on which I would be heading back to the office if I hadn't just retired. I didn't roll over and go back to sleep, for long, because I needed to be up and moving by 9am, to be ready for visits from my contractor and the writer/director of the play I'm preparing for. I visited the laundry to trade dirty sheets for clean, came home, and had lunch.There was

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-90314304726553766642010-12-23T17:34:00.000-08:002010-12-23T17:43:09.146-08:00

I've left the office for the last time (leaving behind, it suddenly occurs to me, a set of earbuds that were plugged into my computer). Went immediately to have a massage, followed by a manicure, picked up some food and came home. I swept the sidewalk, had some phone conversations, and am watching the news much like any other weeknight.Don't know when I'll start to really feel retired. Maybe not

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-29669581850016292412010-12-13T11:54:00.000-08:002010-12-13T12:03:25.814-08:00

Two weeks, eight days, or 56 hours to go. I've started clearing out my office of stuff to go home and have started passing on books, papers, and files to the editor who is taking over my publications.Yesterday I paged through my archives of "Best of the West," the office newsletter, which I had kept going back to about 1985. I mostly looked at the pictures of so many people I used to know who had

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-13611929309822583322010-11-12T15:29:00.000-08:002010-11-12T15:39:15.769-08:00

Finally, finally, all the pieces seem to have come together: Several years after the death of my co-tenant-in-common, I reached a deal with his estate and got a loan to buy the rest of the building, got moved downstairs, renovated the upstairs to a fare-thee-well, and have finally leased it. For months, I have been promising myself and warning my co-workers that I'd set my retirement date as soon

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-40313796612990596662010-10-28T13:56:00.000-07:002011-03-24T11:57:48.990-07:00

After months of planning and research, Congregation Sha'ar Zahav, SFOP, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, and PICO California finally held our public forum on the morass that is California's state government. Authors Peter Shrag and Mark Paul set out the various reasons why we can no longer govern ourselves: too small a legislature for the size of our population, supermajority requirements for

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-82076710532448277622010-10-06T12:42:00.000-07:002010-10-06T12:51:00.282-07:00

Finally I have privacy in my back hall, and a much darker bedroom. And the library ladder is a thing of beauty and a joy forever.I've sorted my books into fiction and non-fiction. Within non-fiction, so far I've separated Judaica from all other stuff. Pretty soon I plan to subdivide fiction into at least two categories, and subdivide non-Judaica. The goals of the process are to be able to lay my

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-63514047001300403752010-09-17T13:57:00.000-07:002010-09-17T14:15:52.213-07:00

So, the recliner has arrived and my bookcases have been extended to the ceiling, and most of my pictures are on the walls, and most of the boxes are unpacked and gone. My library ladder has been delivered and is being installed today, and my new blinds are on their way. Every few days I get an idea about how my belongings could be more beautifully or more conveniently arranged, and I'm getting

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-86468397656849316312010-08-19T14:39:00.000-07:002010-08-19T16:05:00.424-07:00

And now I have my own polyvinyl resin digeridoo (complete with a carrying case and instructional video) to play on while waiting for the rest of my home to come together. It's nearly as tall as I am, and nearly indestructible, which I really like - I felt very intimidated by the agave didge I was renting from the teacher. I kept waiting for some horrible accident to happen while it was in my

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-5053385877624438922010-08-18T13:21:00.000-07:002010-08-18T13:33:40.508-07:00

For many, many years, I have had a dream of a home library - wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling built-in bookcases with a library ladder on a rail so I could reach the books on the upper shelves. Ever since I decided to move downstairs, I've been planning how to accomplish this.Bids to build the library from scratch made my jaw drop, and so did bids from carpenters who would take my existing set of

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-85818488972810403952010-08-02T10:21:00.000-07:002010-08-02T10:35:28.763-07:00

The actual moving came off without incident, except that Comcast jumped the gun and cut off my service at 4028 a day early. And I was quite correct - my first looks at the empty flat were very sad indeed, and trying to navigate in the new flat between walls of boxes and without curtains on most of the windows was really awful.That said, I've made - with the help of Jan and my organizer - great

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-25533051952976260692010-07-29T19:45:00.000-07:002010-07-29T19:52:23.027-07:00

So here I am, surrounded by the 70 carton boxes that contain most of my worldly possessions, but I made sure I'd still be able to sit on my couch and watch TV tonight, take a bubble bath, and sleep in my own bed.Tomorrow, thankfully, I do not have to go in for jury service. So I can sleep in, direct the movers, and start unpacking.Stay tuned.

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-50107597488251695882010-07-27T15:14:00.000-07:002010-07-27T15:25:19.616-07:00

My pre-move organization is now complete; packing is scheduled for the day after tomorrow, and the move for the day after that. Then I have the weekend to unpack enough to get by with.I've informed the post office, my bank, the phone and cable companies, and my housekeeper of the move, and will have many other address changes to achieve. The worst part, I expect, will be looking at my old place

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-28010262828006217102010-06-16T15:26:00.001-07:002010-06-16T15:32:06.207-07:00

So my pack strap broke last week, motivating me to clean it out with the help of my organizer and move what was left into a temporary pack while I got it repaired. I'm back in the old pack now, but it's nearly five pounds lighter - which is good for both its structural integrity and my own.That helped get me in the frame of mind to tackle the books, and we went through about half of my library. I

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-88449410657569321762010-05-28T16:18:00.000-07:002010-06-03T09:35:50.664-07:00

So, I haven't written a new post for a few weeks, since I've been so busy posting the old writings that I've been turning up in my decluttering efforts. Which, incidentally, are getting down to brass tacks - books and music. Considering each of the 2000 or so books that I own to determine which ones I'm willing to part with is something I've been putting off as long as possible. It would be

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-23073893293906694382010-05-15T11:56:00.000-07:002010-05-15T12:01:16.443-07:00

Probably also from the mid-1980's:I cannot cry unless I expressly give myself permission. When I feel a lump in my throat, I must choose whether or not to cry. Sometimes I give myself permission to cry, and sometimes I don't. Usually the times I deny myself tears are reasonable postponements. If I'm singing at the funeral of a relative, for example, I can't cry and sing at the same time, so the

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-52390512205594259812010-05-12T20:33:00.000-07:002010-05-28T15:14:12.398-07:00

You name it, I've been it. My Catholic mother had me baptized as an infant. Then I lived with my Jewish grandparents and went to Sunday School at a Reform synagogue. Then I lived with my atheist father. In college, I was converted to Christianity by Campus Crusade for Christ. Later I studied and worshipped with Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship. Meanwhile, I had joined a Presbyterian church

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-54524868686285287182010-05-12T19:39:00.001-07:002010-05-12T19:45:21.531-07:00

I can share this with you because I still have, and recently rediscovered, the mimeographed literary magazine in which it was published during my high school years:Fog, all around me, sheltering mefrom my world that was torn asunder. When will the sun shine again?I can't see through the fog,Nor do I want to see my world that was. I look forward

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-24251583334669437602010-04-24T12:21:00.000-07:002010-05-28T15:15:25.260-07:00

Chorus: Hang in there, baby, hang in.Hang in there, baby, hang in.We're like that kitten hanging by her chin;Gravity's against us, but we don't give in.Hang in there, kitten, hang in.Verse 1: We're up against the system,pollution and the bomb,anxiety, depression,and the list goes on.Hang in there, sister, hang in.Verse 2: It's hard as womentrying to survive,but we have hope and couragewhile we're

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-19350653377450320732010-04-24T11:35:00.001-07:002010-05-28T15:16:40.012-07:00

When I joined a gay synagogue and left the Lutheran church, I came out as a lesbian and got involved in feminist pursuits. My main avocation was writing and performing with Mothertongue Readers Theater. I worked on anthology scripts concerning identity, survival, sexuality, and peace. And now I present some of my pieces:My name is Dana. I've always thought it meant Dane, a native of Denmark,

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-16740806582138744472010-04-22T21:39:00.000-07:002010-04-22T22:09:03.469-07:00

Music starts chills to runningup and down my spine.I'll love it always._________________The cross of Your Spirit,the burden is great.It led You to wilderness thirst.Its leading is painful,for wisdom comes late;we stumble and hurt ourselves first.The cross led to Easter;the desert, a spring.The wilderness bursts forth in flower.Your peace dwells among us;Your joy makes us sing;Your righteousness

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-88088252843482122222010-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:002010-04-24T18:52:13.296-07:00

I wrote this in 1971, can't remember what for, based on a girl whose sister was my best friend in Berkeley, where I lived until 1968:There once was a girl who was kind, gentle, and thoughtful, very thoughtful.She thought about her family. Her parents had long ago been divorced. She saw her father, who lived across the country, once or twice a year. He was an unimpressive, undistinguished, quiet

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-51925353327847143552010-04-22T21:09:00.000-07:002010-05-28T15:17:34.895-07:00

Here's an "A" paper I wrote in 1968, for a Composition class:My friends and fellow Santa Monicans, I am inexpressibly happy to be back today in the city of my childhood: this beautiful city with its beautiful beaches and beautiful people, so many of you who were once my neighbors. I am a graduate of deal old Samohi (I remember a certain Composition teacher ...), and this background has certainly

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-64195593140536226902010-04-21T20:10:00.000-07:002010-05-28T15:19:16.610-07:00

In my decluttering efforts, I recently ran across a stash of my writings dating back more than 40 years, back to when I was in the 9th grade. I'll publish the least embarrassing of these writings in my next several posts. The oldest piece was published by the Berkeley Unified School District in September, 1967, in a pamphlet entitled "Berkeley's Creative Children."I Don't Understand YouCan a

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-23903049412341234142010-04-16T14:06:00.000-07:002010-04-16T14:22:46.664-07:00

Here's an essay that I wrote five years ago for an online writing class, on fitting in:When I’m alone, I’m in bad company. That’s a piece of twelve-step wisdom that my mother imparted to me. It fit in well with my nagging sense of unworthiness. Now, that sense is not fact based; I have talents and skills and some admirable or lovable traits, and my efforts are appreciated at work and by my

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-64222506533791373072010-03-28T19:18:00.001-07:002010-05-28T15:20:18.814-07:00

In cleaning out my living room today, I found a piece I must have written many years ago. It's undated, and has no indication of its context. Maybe I wrote it in some writing class. I have a faint recollection that it may have been in response to hearing about a book entitled "Ruined by Reading" which was published in 1996. Anyway, here it is:Ruined by Reading? Au contraire!Three times while I

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-64296530739243786682010-03-22T12:18:00.000-07:002010-03-26T14:08:07.689-07:00

Every time I type this, it disappears. This is the third time, and then I give up.I'm about to leave for Green Gulch Zen Center for a few days of meditation for Jewish social justice activists, and I really need the break.Saturday morning, before I was out of my pjs, came a call from the director of the San Francisco Organizing Project asking if I wanted to be interviewed on TV as a supporter of

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-27956760637077068652010-02-03T16:32:00.000-08:002010-05-28T15:21:22.824-07:00

BTW, here it is:This week’s portion is Vay’chi, the last reading from the book of Genesis. It wraps up the stories of the patriarchs and matriarchs.The portion’s name comes from its first words, which state that Jacob lived in the land of Egypt for 17 years before he died. The narration covers Jacob’s preparations for death and burial away from Egypt, and his blessing of Joseph’s sons, Ephraim

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-58118931610673019622010-01-26T13:54:00.001-08:002010-02-03T13:45:42.484-08:00

Four of us from the San Francisco Organizing Project joined with 150 other PICO network leaders and staff in D.C. on the 12th and 13th. We held an Affordability Summit in a House of Representatives committee room, at which we swapped stories with a dozen members of the House and gave each one a big cardboard key, to symbolize that affordability is the key to effective health care reform.We then

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-76901862346181621062010-01-26T13:38:00.001-08:002010-05-28T15:22:28.319-07:00

Jan and I were walking to a Pleasanton restaurant in the winter evening darkness, when a dark tortoiseshell cat came up to us on the sidewalk. She came directly to me, and let me scratch her head, and bumped my ankles, and was really friendly. Jan thought she was her own tortoiseshell, Ava, and we picked her up to take her back home. We traded off carrying her, and she was just fine with me

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-43866125748126848152010-01-16T13:06:00.000-08:002010-01-16T15:43:42.809-08:00

Here's a little something I wrote on the plane: So, I'm flying to D.C. with Jordan to rally and lobby for affordability in health care reform. Todd got us both aisle seats, and my row is otherwise empty. The on-flight entertainment included a film I have been wanting to see, G-Force, which I enjoyed immensely. Although there purports to be free wifi, my itouch can't seem to connect to it. But

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-987780154658450352010-01-11T13:04:00.000-08:002010-01-16T15:45:41.793-08:00

So I'm about to take my first cross-country flight since before 9/11. And I've only flown short trips a very few times since then. I'm a little bit anxious, and planning to take a good supply of tranquilizers with me.But it's in a very good cause. I'm going with a group from the PICO community organizing network to lobby our legislators to pass health care reform with strong provisions for

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-14428025703362587112009-12-31T13:42:00.001-08:002010-01-17T16:33:00.829-08:00

And I haven't managed all the items on my "to do" list, but did deal with many of them. And I accepted an additional responsibility - the Friday night service on New Year's Day. My sermon is pretty much together, but I'm having trouble persuading my newish printer to print it. First it was the wrong kind of paper - too glossy. Then it was the absence of the printer driver, and the inability to

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-89471827540507646792009-12-27T17:26:00.000-08:002009-12-27T17:52:30.489-08:00

So, this time the adventure was my idea. I saw an ad for IFly Bay Area, an indoor skydiving facility that fits people into jumpsuits, goggles, earplugs, and helmets, and sticks them inside a wind tunnel with an instructor, and allows them to float on the air and do whatever maneuvers they are capable of. The ad said that anyone from 3 to 93 could safely do it, and I certainly qualify in that

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-7342207349139974092009-12-24T11:03:00.000-08:002009-12-24T11:11:49.074-08:00

I'm on day three now, and have been keeping up fairly well with my to do list. Exercising, getting out of the house, making telephone calls to friends, moving stuff into the recycling bin, scheduling outings, spa treatments, and an indoor flying session (in a wind tunnel; stay tuned for a report), and ordering a replacement for the broken dispenser pump on my handmade soap jar.The unsettling news

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-51700106787536472472009-12-22T14:25:00.000-08:002009-12-22T14:58:08.941-08:00

It's a good thing that I've been warming up by starting to clear out my home, because I just had to de-clutter and pack up the office in which I've been working for some 14 years. The company is abandoning that part of the floor and moving us into other offices.My office was plenty cluttered. I filled four bins with paper to be recycled, and removed an assortment of other items in hopes that

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-73490531273808494752009-12-03T14:30:00.000-08:002009-12-03T14:45:38.225-08:00

So I'm planning to move downstairs sometime soon (after living here for 26 years), and I've hired an organizer to help me make decisions, release stuff I don't need, and organize what's left in the new space.We started with the low-hanging fruit -- two places where I've piled stuff for departure and the attic. That took two hours and gave me a tummy ache. And the next few days my legs were pretty

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-15267643146076973842009-10-28T09:33:00.000-07:002009-10-28T09:37:36.426-07:00

I've recently acquired a foster cat, belonging to my former tenant, whom I'm caring for until she acquires a new home that can accommodate him.He mostly lives in the back yard, but I let him in when I'm home. He usually sleeps on my bed until 3:30 am, and then gets active and leaves when I open the back door for him.This morning, though, I seemed to feel his presence after I put him out. Maybe I

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-929092010190330752009-10-26T11:18:00.000-07:002009-10-26T11:36:20.479-07:00

So Jan wanted to take the Segway tour of Angel Island. I had been curious about the device and was game to give it a try. We got instructions, were guided aboard our devices, and were told to tool around this paved area to get used to them for a bit.They are electrically powered, and you get them to go forward, stop, or go backward by shifting your body weight from your toes to your heels. You

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-80259649918144235052009-09-11T12:55:00.000-07:002009-09-11T13:00:17.824-07:00

I was working on my High Holy Day music with the Cantor the other day, and she told me about 'chocolate meditation' that her three-year-old son was doing in school. They put a piece of chocolate in their mouths and pay attention while it melted. I've been asked to do similar things at meditation retreats and writing workshops.Later, she suggested that I create a phrase to consider before

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-75791139274965199512009-07-01T10:31:00.000-07:002009-07-01T10:38:42.092-07:00

After about two years' effort, Siddur Sha'ar Zahav finally rolled off the printing press and into our hands last week. It was formally inaugurated on Pride Shabbat 2009, but its actual first congregational use was the day before, when I used it to lead ma'ariv before the Ritual Committee meeting.It's a beautiful book, and it was brought into being by the labors of a cast of dozens. Most

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-45132934337062155532009-04-21T11:18:00.000-07:002009-09-11T12:55:13.253-07:00

When I'm not playing recorders, hanging with my sweetie, attending a meeting, or conducting worship, I'm sucking my thumb and watching TV and/or reading. So I haven't been writing lately. My bad. Here's a recent piece of Buddhist wisdom: Seeing ourselves plainly, we can change, and as we do so, it brings a feeling of great relief, as if we had dropped a heavy load. Ayya Khema, "Who is My Self?

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-68910584912829866272009-01-25T18:13:00.001-08:002009-02-04T11:54:38.237-08:00

So I was talking with a new friend about the ravages of old age, and my inner crone suggested that we may find them less trying if we view them with curiosity and kindness. If we look at the changes in our bodies and minds with simple curiosity instead of dread or anger. If we treat ourselves gently and be kind to ourselves about these changes.Hey, let's be kind out there.

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-38887787540166715962008-12-27T09:21:00.000-08:002008-12-27T09:31:23.210-08:00

Actually, it's my horoscope:Today's New Moon falls in your 11th House of Long-Term Goals, luring you to think about the distant future instead of the next few days. But instead of kicking back and slipping into a series of daydreams, it's best to take the bull by the horns and methodically build your ideal fantasy one concrete thought at a time. Planning is very useful now as long as you are

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-62827819286399095032008-12-18T15:09:00.000-08:002008-12-18T15:18:29.680-08:00

"People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child--our own two eyes. All is a miracle."Thich Nhat Hanh, "Miracle of Mindfulness"Which

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-24962739138149658262008-10-04T11:18:00.000-07:002008-10-04T11:19:34.809-07:00

Here's a great thought from today's Buddhist wisdom:No matter how bad a state of mind you may get into, if you keep strong and hold out, eventually the floating clouds must vanish and the withering wind must cease.-DogenA very good thought for when one's mind is otherwise full of uncomfortable stuff.

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-46089904315742727232008-10-03T16:08:00.000-07:002008-10-03T16:23:56.101-07:00

Regrettably, I celebrated the Jewish New Year by engaging in lashon hara, or evil speech, which is one of the worst sins in Jewish theology. I kvetched to one friend about another one. Such talk, however true it might be, is a no-no, because it does nobody any good. In fact, it brings some (at least) spiritual harm to the speaker, the listener, and the person spoken about.Such talk is also

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-66783289431255577802008-09-04T09:52:00.000-07:002008-09-04T09:55:59.218-07:00

That's something my mother used to say. Here's what Benjamin Disraeli had to say on the subject: Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.I've been having a serious problem with procrastination lately. Whenever I think about the chores that I'm not doing, I feel really bad. But when I take myself in hand and actually dig into them, it's not so bad. And I

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-56203672790477702162008-06-22T10:53:00.000-07:002008-07-02T11:44:20.103-07:00

I produced this year's TIkkun Leil Shavuot (late-night study in celebration of the Jewish festival of Shavuot) at my synagogue. I put together and co-led the festival evening service, recruited seven teachers and prepared and taught my own class on meditation, and dealt with logistics and publicity. As a reward, I arranged to have my favorite synagogian, Andrew Ramer, teach a class on writing gay

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-35072511243049931462008-06-12T09:29:00.000-07:002008-06-12T09:32:40.624-07:00

I just learned that the new Reform prayerbook, Mishkan Tefilah, includes the following as an alternative to the strict translation of Mah Tovu: May the One whose spirit is with us in every righteous deed, be with all who work for the good of humanity and bear the burdens of others,

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-56580354635229791702008-04-23T15:12:00.000-07:002008-04-23T15:19:04.830-07:00

Spring has sprung in my neck of the woods, and birdsong has blossomed forth along with the cherry trees. The increased hours of sun improve my mood immensely. And I'm learning to chant the festival melodies for a few verses of the Song of Songs for services this Shabbat.In case you're not familiar with it, the Song of Songs is a book of the Bible (Jewish and Christian) that is leaping with erotic

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-65688237640562410012008-03-29T13:03:00.000-07:002008-04-02T15:05:27.698-07:00

That I wrote in a Kavvanot Class that the rabbi led maybe a year ago. We were asked to write a blessing for what we wanted for ourselves, now:In the Divine image You created us, Adonai. We strive to measure up to that image, and fail, and get up, and strive again. Please teach us that we grow closer to Your image every time we get up, and give us joy in that knowledge. Blessed are You, Adonai,

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-44859372087612667202008-03-29T12:06:00.001-07:002008-03-29T12:09:49.059-07:00

For some strange reason, I left out one of the prayers that I wrote at the last session. It didn't get posted here, it didn't get sent to the prayerbook editors, and it will probably get left out.But I've been thinking about it the last several days, and finally located it. So, here it is, and I might as well send it on to the prayerbook people too. It's a second pre-Shema kavvanah, and they've

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-24019597925706467482008-03-21T15:08:00.000-07:002008-03-21T15:24:19.109-07:00

Happy Purim and Chag Sameach, All,I went to the synagogue's Purim party last night for the first time in a decade or so. One of the major attractions of Purim is the commandment to get drunk, and since I don't drink, I lack that incentive to attend. This year, I was asked to chant some of the Megillah, the Hebrew book of Esther. Since I want to keep up my chanting abilities, I agreed to do so,

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-243909312282380822008-03-06T15:54:00.000-08:002008-03-06T15:56:34.607-08:00

We're getting pretty close to finalizing the text of the new prayerbook, so we had what was billed as the last writing session a few weeks ago to fill in some of the gaps. Here's what I wrote:Wrestling with TorahCreator who spoke the world into being, we are about to read Your words. Some words are hard, and we bruise ourselves trying to batter them into a shape we can hear. Some words are so

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-44273200861961394322008-02-09T11:31:00.000-08:002008-02-09T11:42:33.261-08:00

Today's bit of wisdom from the Jewish quarter of Beliefnet is as follows:To smile at your neighbor is more important than to treat him to a drink.- Johanan b. Nappaha, Talmud: KetubotAs I'm in a particularly smily mood today, it resonated with me. Although I find myself smiling more when the sun is shining, there are other stimuli that work. And receiving good news is one of them.In that regard,

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-87967464319317468562008-01-01T10:07:00.000-08:002008-01-01T10:27:32.668-08:00

We had another writing session at shul last Saturday, and here's what came of it:Prayer for RainIn the beginning, You made the heavens to separate the waters above from the waters below. Creator of Life, the waters below are drying out. Please open the heavens and send Your life-giving rains on us here below.Thanksgiving for RainBlessed are You, Creator and Sustainer of the Universe, for the rain

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-66928780252139602652007-12-03T12:07:00.000-08:002007-12-03T12:10:12.205-08:00

I managed to attend all the writing portions of last Saturday's siddur-writing session, and here's what I produced:On Hearing a SirenA siren cries its note of terror--something's burning, someone is hurt, a tragedy has occurred. Please let the ambulance or fire engine and all who are aboard it travel fast and safe. May the team act with courage, wisdom, and kindness. And may the people who are

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-58733322308544094102007-11-30T13:48:00.000-08:002007-11-30T13:52:51.373-08:00

I'm reading a book called "Temperament: How Music Became A Battleground for the Great Minds of Western Civilization," by Stuart Isacoff. It's about, I kid you not, how systems of tuning musical instruments became the basis for major struggles in religion, philosophy, science, and economics.It starts with Isaac Newton and his theory of gravity, which "enabled him to declare the universe a place in

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-37898556337140933182007-11-23T11:53:00.001-08:002007-11-23T12:05:38.952-08:00

There's an anonymous saying: Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel.I like the homespun imagery, and the hint that being thankful for blessings may help them stick around. This is a lot more positive an approach than a piece of Talmud that recently came to my attention, to the effect that one who enjoys something without saying a blessing is like a thief. Although that

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-90698834640364295932007-11-16T14:32:00.000-08:002007-11-16T15:06:07.179-08:00

I spent last week at my annual Elderhostel recorder workshop in the Carmel Valley. We didn't get rained on (much), the sun came out (at least part of) most days, and the food was particularly good - especially the whipped cream that was served with most of the desserts.I drew a sopranino solo in a Handel Concerto Grosso that we played in recorder orchestra, which had a few 'lively' 16th notes.

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-41139109321984894292007-10-23T13:25:00.000-07:002007-10-23T14:05:08.931-07:00

Two versions of Ma'ariv Aravim, a prayer that thanks God for creation:I see the face of the moon in a sky that's still light -- a little odd, a little special. The moon belongs to night (or night to the moon?), but it's lovely outside its usual setting. I'm moved to praise You, God, Source of blessings, for this beauty. And it's a comfort to know that the moon and sun perform their stately dance

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-57918623544871547752007-10-18T17:18:00.000-07:002007-10-18T17:32:51.625-07:00

I've been taking this class that is intended to result in the writing of several new prayers for our congregation's new prayerbook, or siddur. The teacher reads us prayers and poetry to get us into the spirit of things, tells us which prayers are needed, and then has us write in class. Here are the prayers I've come up with so far.On seeing a rainbow:Thank You, Source of all, for the rainbow, the

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-30935864081086520442007-10-04T14:07:00.000-07:002007-10-08T13:16:22.983-07:00

I'm still sailing from having successfully completed my performance at our company's annual art and talent show. In past years, I've just stood up there, alone or with another employee playing keyboard, and played (badly) some music.This time, I thought I'd make it more of a 'show and tell' event. I brought all seven sizes of recorders in my collection. I played a scale on each of the two

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-57116226038345958182007-09-30T13:26:00.000-07:002007-09-30T13:32:57.810-07:00

It's sunny today, and has been off and on most of this week, and my solar-powered emotions are on the upswing.Boredom has not been a problem, since I had some evening activity every night except Tuesday, when I stayed in and watched season premieres of my favorite TV shows. The week's events covered the gamut from a blind date through a visit with my state legislator.Yesterday I rested with

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-35213426424832302552007-09-23T10:21:00.000-07:002007-09-23T10:34:38.349-07:00

It's only fair that I post not only when I'm in a good spiritual place, but also when I'm in not so good a place.I slept in yesterday and ate a small breakfast, and got to shul by the end of Yom Kippur Shacharit, at about 11:30, and stayed there through the break the fast at 7:30. The service I led went pretty well, despite my anticipatory anxiety - it's been about a decade since I last put on a

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-36512805085367043972007-09-16T12:42:00.000-07:002007-09-17T14:26:06.279-07:00

Daniel Chesir was kind enough (or perhaps busy enough) to invite me to deliver the drash at his Shabbat Shuvah service this year, which he has led each of the 30 years since he co-founded Congregation Sha'ar Zahav. Since the rest of my preparation for the High Holy Days was going along OK, and since I had in fact been engaged in teshuvah during the month of Elul, I figured that it wouldn't be too

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-91833572703005364972007-09-01T11:44:00.000-07:002007-09-01T11:58:11.879-07:00

To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end in life.-Baruch SpinozaThis saying makes the same point as the story about Rabbi Zusya, who taught that he would not be asked in the World to Come why he was not Moses, but rather, why he was not Zusya.I'm trying to prepare for the High Holy Days with introspection and service preparation and a to-do list. The topic

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-23771278137665854702007-08-04T11:37:00.000-07:002007-08-04T12:16:15.643-07:00

So, I went to recorder camp the last week of July. I'd been holding off making the decision to enroll because it has moved to a new location this year, after some 15 years in San Rafael. I don't take kindly to change. After I realized that I was overreacting to the change, I signed up at the last minute, and am very glad that I did so.The new location, St. Albert's Priory, is a lovely place,

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-24767275591641409362007-07-30T15:28:00.000-07:002007-07-30T15:30:12.238-07:00

This week we begin reading the last book of the Torah, Devarim. The book presents the discourses that Moses addressed to the children of Israel just outside the land of Cana'an. Like the other books, it takes its Hebrew name from one of its first words - d'varim, which means "words." It also means "things." And the connection between words and things is nowhere more clearly shown than in

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-30745911254990766962007-07-06T16:50:00.000-07:002007-07-06T16:52:55.061-07:00

It seems that I never posted my bat mitzvah drash. Here it is: My Catholic mother had me baptized as an infant. Nevertheless, I belonged to a Reform synagogue when I was in elementary school, because I was living with the Jewish parents of my atheist father. I studied Hebrew and ethics, and led children's services. But I went to live with my father at the end of the sixth grade, and my

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-37495267007543397432007-07-01T14:32:00.000-07:002007-07-06T16:43:46.630-07:00

I've been meaning to pass on a few recently spotted vignettes:I saw a woman knitting with four or five double-pointed needles as she walked across the street (while I was crossing in the opposite direction) near my office one afternoon. It takes a serious command of one's needles to have the confidence to maneuver them while standing, let alone walking, because the stitches will drop off the

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-7856236443346286242007-06-24T12:41:00.000-07:002007-07-30T15:34:13.846-07:00

We had the last session of the creative writing class last Thursday, and were instructed to bring some entertaining readings. So, I revisited two of the pieces I wrote for the humor class two years ago, and read them at the class, to some acclaim. Here they are:The CometComets and meteors have rammed into Earth from time to time. In 1908, for example, a huge area of Siberia was devastated by a

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-78925169635327677622007-06-10T15:19:00.000-07:002010-05-28T12:25:35.679-07:00

The B'nai Mitzvah ceremony went smoothly for me and my three classmates. Our nerves seemed to be fairly quiet, most everyone was where they needed to be when they needed to be there, my Torah chanting was flawless (I was the only one who didn't need to be prompted), etc. I did puddle up as expected when the rabbi and our teacher laid hands upon us and chanted the priestly benediction, but the

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-70069596747449933392007-05-25T15:32:00.000-07:002010-05-28T12:26:27.859-07:00

Today is the day I've been working towards since last October. But it wasn't until this week that it actually occurred to me to invite my brother and some of my closer friends (I had invited a few others earlier on). It surely was thoughtless of me to wait until this late. Possibly I didn't want to make a big deal of it because it was so hard for me to decide to do it in the first place, and I'm

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-37038768503203756072007-05-13T15:51:00.000-07:002010-05-28T12:28:47.927-07:00

So, here are a few writings from my latest classes.When asked to describe one of several emotions that had been named by class members, I wrote:She's sitting with about six others in the waiting area of Assemblyman Leno's office. Although they arrived about ten minutes late, he is not yet ready for them. She volunteered to make this trip only a week ago, and has barely grasped the question she

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-4397261752229127962007-05-06T12:45:00.000-07:002010-05-28T12:21:03.264-07:00

Sunday, December 17, 2006Long time no postI've been kinda swamped at work and under some other complications, so I apologize for the gap since the last post. I was flabbergasted last week to receive an e-mail from a provider of payday loans offering to pay to advertise on this blog. I was amazed that anyone not only found it but thought it might have enough readers to justify advertising, but I

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-73452855427228228622007-05-06T12:00:00.000-07:002010-05-28T12:15:13.516-07:00

I'm just going to copy here most of the rest of the entries from my former blog:Friday, September 30, 2005FlirtingAn older gentleman flirted with me recently and it made my day. He said something like "Hello sweetheart," and smiled at me, and made small talk and complimented my hat. He was in no way, shape, or form a potential romantic partner, but it was fun and happy-making to be treated as an

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-19365264785661397312007-05-04T16:18:00.000-07:002010-05-28T11:38:16.675-07:00

I found some posts from my former blog using the Internet Archive. Here they are:Thursday, July 1, 2004Creativity in sculpting and moldingI mentioned in the preceding post that I sculpted a bit. Except for a brief period when I worked in soapstone (which is soft enough to cut with a paring knife), I've mostly carved on wax candles. I got rid of the wick (so no one would be tempted to burn my

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-31347264489530171182007-05-04T14:08:00.000-07:002007-05-04T14:20:46.657-07:00

I took another all-day writing workshop last Saturday, and started an 8-week class, "Introduction to Creative Writing," last night, so I'll have plenty of pieces to post. The teacher of my current class, Linda Watanabe McFerrin, pointed out that we all write in our lives -- shopping lists, e-mails, reports for work, etc. And one of our homework assignments this week is to make something of one of

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-3883835580576923422007-04-22T13:39:00.000-07:002007-09-25T11:47:04.421-07:00

I went to a full-day workshop on exploring my writer's voice yesterday, and did a lot of writing there. Here are some of the pieces that I wrote there:"I pray each morning thanking God for the people who are or have been in my life, even if they intimidate or aggravate me. I ask God to teach me that I, too, belong to the human family. Recently it occurred to me that at times I may be the one who

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-36317269394518824302007-04-08T12:21:00.000-07:002007-04-08T12:45:22.304-07:00

Easter Sunday falls in the middle of Passover this year. They usually are close, because the Last Supper was a Passover seder. In a Christian church on Easter Sunday is not the best place for a Jewish person to be, but there I was this morning, playing Telemann duets on the recorder with Andrew Levy. We didn't sing the hymns, nor join in most of the prayers (I could get behind most of the prayers

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-14547514086381262142007-04-04T18:21:00.000-07:002007-04-04T18:31:10.540-07:00

For most of my life, I've thought of myself as having a black thumb - not green, not even brown, but black. Most plants put under my care took one look at me and died. This situation saddened me a bit, but I didn't obsess over it. I just gave up on plants.Ten years ago, my company moved into new offices in San Francisco. My boss came by with three little potted plants and offered me one to

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6696748168343808705.post-4462635249608847592007-02-21T14:56:00.000-08:002007-02-21T15:10:46.317-08:00

Thomas Jefferson wrote:Nothing gives one person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.I was recently looking into a Jewish spiritual practice called mussar, and the first desirable characteristic to be developed in that practice is to maintain one's equilibrium at all times, avoiding both highs and lows. This smacks of the Buddhist practice

Danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14359156958481847390noreply@blogger.com0