à la carte spirit by ilona fried
Relationships
For My Father’s 90th, Musings on Love and Loss
My father would have turned 90 on June 15. A few months after he died in 2003, I discovered this photograph of him from 1949 or 1950. He’s 19 or 20, posing in a beret, wool coat and tailored pants. His shoes gleam. His wide stance suggests confidence. His sly grin hints that he’d just … Continue reading
Attention is Love. Where is Yours Today?
Some people will celebrate today with flowers, chocolates, red and pink candies, heart shaped cakes, cards, gifts and/or romantic dinners. Festivity is fun, yet if one were to strip away the veneer of romance one would discover that to love another is, simply, to give one’s attention to them. Yet, offering our attention and being present with another human being … Continue reading
Convoluted Kaddish for a Complicated Relation
[note: this post is 2-3 times longer than usual] “Oy, es iz shver tsu zayn a Yid!” — Oy, it’s hard to be a Jew The world changed in large and subtle ways in early November. The day before the U.S. election I received a short e-mail from a distant cousin in Munich. She told me that her … Continue reading
Elie Wiesel: My Father’s Mirror or His Shadow?
“That is my major preoccupation, memory, the kingdom of memory. I want to protect and enrich that kingdom, glorify that kingdom and serve it.” – Elie Wiesel “I marvel at the resilience of the Jewish people. Their best characteristic is their desire to remember. No other people has such an obsession with memory.” – Elie … Continue reading
Dropping Weight: Notes on My Great Art Giveaway
In the midst of my KonMari decluttering, I wondered what to do with some of my mosaic art. Diverse pieces created between 2007 and 2012 had not sold when I actively engaged with this medium. During those years, I designed and maintained a website and a Facebook page. I served as vice president of a mosaic art group, … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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