Family – Page 5 – Finding My Wings

2017 UPDATED: A Book + Dad + You = A Great Gift

When I was growing up, books and reading were always very important. Like many other fathers, my dad spent long hours at work and volunteered in the community. He read the local newspaper daily but much of his other reading was reports and minutes and quotes and diagrams.

While he still spends lots of time volunteering and reading reports, Dad dedicates time each day to reading for pleasure. An engineer by training and methodical to a fault, his reading tastes are now rather eclectic. Dad reads memoirs and mysteries, histories and titles with a touch of fantasy. His willingness to read outside the box is delightful and gives us many opportunities to talk about topics that otherwise wouldn’t come up.

With my father in mind, here are some titles that your father or another important person in your life might like to receive this Father’s Day. No need to worry about size or color, and there’s no ugly tie involved. Love you Dad!

If you don’t have a local independent bookstore, consider choosing to support one in another community when you shop online. Many will also give advice and take orders over the phone. Find one at www.indiebound.org. Continue reading 2017 UPDATED: A Book + Dad + You = A Great Gift

Foreign Policy in My Own Backyard

It’s more than just a saying that all politics are local. Not even five months ago Alan Gross was released from Cuba after years of protests, negotiations and pleadings to and from his family and the U.S. government. Just a month later, Warren Weinstein was killed in a U.S. drone attack on al Queda targets in Pakistan after more than 3 years as their hostage. Unexpectedly, both these men became pawns in a never-ending international chess game, businessmen-soldiers in a world economy where the dangers of going to work may be far greater than bad drivers or airplane tragedies.

So, how is that local? The Gross family lives in Rockville, the Weinsteins as well. We likely shop in many of the same stores, go to the same movie theaters, and dealt with the very same Pepco power outages. While we are not friends, we are neighbors. Both men were doing their jobs when captured. Alan Gross was working on a USAID project expanding internet access in Cuba, contrary to the wishes of the regime. Warren Weinstein had been working for several years on economic development projects in Pakistani tribal areas. When these men took their jobs they were well into their careers. Whether the draw for the assignments was the challenge, the money, the exotic locale or a decision to try to make the world a better place, each left his family to do a job.

And their families are all too similar to mine. Elaine Weinstein and Judy Gross are both mothers of two daughters, like me. And they are both members of our local Hadassah chapter, just like me. And while Dan’s efforts to make our corner of the world a better place take him just around the Beltway, their husbands were drawn to projects around the globe where the American belief that access to information and education will improve society are not necessarily shared.

Tonight as we sit at our table celebrating the end of the work week and the special peace of the Sabbath, I will think of the Weinstein and Gross families. May they continue to receive the support they need to deal with their suffering and may they find a measure of peace.

Not Closing the Book on 2014, Just Turning the Page

There’s no escaping that one year is ending and another beginning. My personal philosophy is to embrace all new years as they occur since a reboot, not a do over, is often needed. So many aspects of my life are tied to books and readers that I’ve decided look at this transition as turning the page. Continue reading Not Closing the Book on 2014, Just Turning the Page

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