à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Courage
Counting Cats in Jerusalem
“I’ve counted 78 cats so far,” my niece, who recently became Bat Mitzvah, told me a few days ago. Three of us, the Bat Mitzvah gal, her eight year old cousin and I were walking back to our temporary Jerusalem “home” from an impromptu swim at the pool. “Look! There’s more!” she said, her face … Continue reading
After a Death, an Ant Reminds Me to Choose Life
A writer I admired passed away on Saturday, March 2. I met Robyn Richey Piz in a class at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, and she invited me to join a writing salon. I knew her mainly through the story she chose to tell about living with a chronic medical condition. Her evocative and even ethereal prose … Continue reading
Can I Talk My Walk?
In our talkative culture, there appear to be many people who repeatedly say they are going to do something, or frequently verbalize frustration with a situation, yet who don’t translate their words into action. Their well-meaning (or fed up) friends might prod them to “walk their talk” rather than continue harping about whatever it is. … Continue reading
More on “No”
Flipping through the New York Times over the weekend, I was struck by two powerful “no” stories, coming on the heels of my last post. One was about a Ghanaian-German player on an Italian soccer team who, in reaction to racist taunts from fans of the opponents, kicked the ball into the stands, removed his … Continue reading
The Many Flavors of Fear
As a young girl, I marveled at Baskin Robbins and its 31 flavors, a vast universe compared to the standard chocolate, strawberry and vanilla, or, if we were being fancy, pistachio. At one point bubble gum was my favorite, although I couldn’t figure out how to keep from swallowing the gum along with the ice … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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