On April 29, 1986, a catastrophic fire erupted in the main downtown Los Angeles Public Library. By the time the fire was under control, tens of thousands of books had been destroyed, including irreplaceable historical documents. Many firefighters were injured fighting the blaze, and it remains the worst library fire in United States history. Last...
Sometimes, the connection between my childhood and that of my children and their children seems as if it should span hundreds of years rather than decades. That is certainly how I felt reading an article guiding parents who are considering allowing the use of facial recognition technology by their children’s camps. After all, who wants...
A ‘Your Mother’s Guidance’ post by Rebecca Masinter Numbers 24 contains the blessings that the prophet Bilam said to the Jewish nation when he was hired by King Balak for the opposite purpose. Perhaps the most famous line of all of his prophecies is one that Jews say as part of each morning’s prayers, “Mah...
My husband (second marriage for both of us) and I live in a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom house. Our 24-year-old nephew is living in the house with us for the purpose of learning my husband’s trade and going to college part time. I am feeling uncomfortable with this arrangement as he is not my blood...
Even as I wrote it, I was disturbed by my last week’s Musing. The Musing’s premise was that we shouldn’t be surprised by hypocrisy in our politicians. I think, sadly, that this is true. When many citizens demand that elected officials sanctimoniously parrot standardized phrases and then vote on the basis of those politically correct...
Question: I have a son-in-law who feels a need to confide in Facebook as if this is a close personal friend. What would motivate a person to spill their guts on social media? Susan T. Answer: Dear Susan, Society often swings from one extreme to another. I think that most of us laugh when we read...
Question: While I was asleep, a friend of mine had the nerve to look at all the texts on my phone. Now, that friend is confronting me about some of what he read, stuff that he would not even know if he had not invaded my privacy by looking at the text messages. I am...
