Designer logos are over

They're so twentieth century.

The idea of wearing clothes with brand names or words on them is a creation of the last half-century, and a distinctly odd, unattractive one. You read words; you don’t wear them.

A horrible mistake

My dear aunt, who died recently, was buried in the wrong grave. She owned four plots. My uncle, her husband, was in one of them, and she was supposed to be buried next to him, or jointly with him, so to speak, under the same tombstone. Instead, she was buried in one of the two other plots.

The whole thing gives me the creeps. It's almost funny, but it was horrible for her immediate family. They had an argument with the synagogue, which owns the cemetery, and did not want to move her because it would cost money--a backhoe would be needed, etc.

None of our family belongs to this synagogue any more, because they have taken a turn toward excessive piety, building a wall between the men and the women, among other things. Everyone in the family had joined other synagogues or left town, but my aunt kept up her membership, although she never went there, because she wanted to be buried next to her husband.

It reminds me of the old joke: three Jews are marooned on a desert island. When rescuers happen to discover them, they have built four synagogues. Why four synagogues? Well, the first was the one Abe belonged to; the second was the one Ben belonged to, and the third was the one Chaim attended. But what about the fourth? Well, that was the one nobody belonged to.

So for thirty years my aunt paid dues to the synagogue nobody belonged to, just so she could be buried next to her husband. And they blew it!

After much heart-rending, shrieking, and agony, she was moved. Her daughter felt that this had to be done so she would be at peace. Maybe she is.

As for me, I think that if I were recently deceased I wouldn't be worried about my burial place. Either I would have moved on to other things, or I would be angry and indignant at being forced to leave this world, where there is so much to love and enjoy.

Fall scene

 

How many black farmers can fit on the head of a pin?

86,000?

Credit checks for potential employees?

Why?

It used to be the best source [of information about potential hires] was to check job references. Nowadays, though, very few employers will give a honest job reference, or will provide any information at all. I know I am guilty of that — my company does not allow any manager to give out performance data on past employees. I only needed to be sued once over somehow interfering with someone’s living by giving honest information about that employee’s reliability to change my behavior.

I once called another library to ask about a potential hire. The director said, "We have a legal agreement not to say anything about Mr ___'s job here." No more needed to be said.

On the other hand, I have gotten glowing references from previous employers for employees who turned out to be awful. More than once. Thank God that you can fire an employee for any reason before he or she becomes a permanent civil servant.

roses in blue vase

 

I'm not quite finished with this one.

Warnings for bumper stickers

Just drove by a car with a bumper sticker that warned: "Novice Driver."

This is good as far as it goes, but I suggest the program be expanded. Some ideas for informative bumper stickers:

Incompetent driver
Drives while buzzed
Texts while driving (or Drives while texting)
Road Rage Addict
Flunked IQ test
Marginal motor skills
Road hog
Criminally insane
Serious anger issues
License suspended
Out of my way!

Swiss do the right thing

Ban minarets.

Good for you, Switzerland. By the way, love your cheese.

The broadview burglars

Has anybody noticed that they are all white guys?

Apparently it has been noticed. But what got my attention is the utter stupidity of the intruders. Why break down the front door--why not try an upstairs window instead? Lazy young people!

I also remarked that in the time it takes the stricken young lady to get to the phone, the burglar could have shot, knifed, or strangled her. I'd like to see her telephone etiquette then. Again, dumb, dumb, dumb!

No wonder they say crime doesn't pay.

Protecting College Students from Evil Capitalists

Congress is working on this.

So Congress is worried about students paying several thousand dollars and investing 18 months of their lives for a degree that may not repay their student debts. No word yet on whether they are looking into students who spend four years and $160,000 for Ivy League gender studies degrees, which we all know have simply enormous income-generation potential.

Lily white liberal columnists

They need a bit of diversity, doncha know?

They look like a bunch of callow youths to me.

Except Paul Krugman, Nobel prize winner and owner of cats called Doris Lessing and Albert Einstein. He's just plain weird.

My wine rack

I bought this at an estate sale for $7.50--just the rack, not the wine.

A Twenty-first Century Sherlock Holmes?

No fog?

Fashions are stupid

What could be more comfy than wearing long johns (now called leggings) under a Summer dress in 92 degree heat? Well, at least your butt won't stick to the leather car seat.

Maybe the new with-it look of wearing an undershirt (top and bottom exposed) under a tight shirt with tight blue jeans.

Or these:

Reality changes

Asbestos is eliminated by magic. Wow!

With Jews like this...

who needs anti-Semites?

An elegant name

One among many plaques at Christiana Hospital. I just loved her name.

Flowering tree July 2010

I don't know what this tree is called, but it is unusual in that it blooms in mid-Summer, unlike all the other flowering trees tht bloom in the Spring. I took the picture with my iPhone from my car window. That's why it's not so great. I was hoping someone would tell me what it was. Tat--you know about such things!

Shakespeare's first theater

Before the Globe.

Thanks to Brits at their best.

How American Jews speak

More precisely, what Yiddish words do they use, and what Hebrew words, in common conversation.

I find this topic fascinating.

I am taking Hebrew classes, and in my class are several people who are in the process of converting. 
They want to be Jewish.

What makes a person Jewish?  I myself am 100 percent Jewish, but almost completely Jewishly illiterate.  These conversion students know more about the Jewish religion than I do, and I come from an observant family.  So how come I am a Jew, and these converts have to go to a mikvah (ritual bath) and immerse themselves to become what I was, with no effort,  just by virtue of being born?

Somehow we never talked about most religious topics, including the Almighty.  We had our own religion, which I am sure most people do.  We ate kosher food.  But my cousin and I were packed off to the movies every Saturday afternoon, although this is forbidden.  I have a feeling the adults wanted to get rid of us for a while so they could have some peace.  So they were religious when convenient.

When I was coming up, most observant men did not cover their heads except in the synagogue.  Now the overwhelming majority of them do.  The synagogue I attend is observant--women are not allowed to read the Torah--but there is mixed seating, so it is not accepted as Orthodox.  Some synagogues have doubled down on separate seating by building a wall between the men and the women.  My brother and his wife, very observant Jews, left the synagogue where they were married when a wall was built separating the sexes.  That was a bridge too far for them.

Senator Joe Lieberman is an observant Jew, but does not wear a kippah.  I notice also that he walks to the Senate if he has to attend a session.  I'm pretty sure that Senate attendance is considered work and that the rabbis of old would frown upon his presence, especially if money is being discussed.  Money is not be be discussed on the Sabbath and one is expected to rest, not work.

Sages have devoted volumes to what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath.  Card playing, nix.  Chess okay.  Writing, turning on electric lights, preparing meals--all are forbidden.   Being observant can take up a lot of your time, which I am sure is one reason the Jewish religion has survived.  People adhere more closely to a religion that asks a lot of them.