Repercussions of a Greeting Card Holiday

by Randi Hoffman


v-day cards
Valentine’s Day falls in the dead of winter, and this has been one of the coldest, snowiest and wettest. Romantically, I can imagine a roaring fireplace in an isolated cabin, some brandy, no children, reading Marguerite Duras’ The Lover to each other. But I am lucky if I get some cheap chocolates and flowers from the East Village Key Food.

It is a holiday of disappointment, even if I know in the back of my head that my expectations are unrealistic. […]

Bat Mitzvah Revisited

by Randi Hoffman

bat mitzvahSitting at my computer in my bedroom I can hear an old man screaming at my daughter. He says, “Get back here! You are being very disrespectful!” She is sitting at her father’s desk in the living room, crying and staring at the ground. The normally cordial and gentle rabbi is on Skype attempting to go over her Torah portion with her.  She had gone on a quest searching the apartment for Wite Out without informing him, leaving him looking at an empty chair.  This is not a good situation, and I have a feeling it will end badly.  […]

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