à la carte spirit by ilona fried
memory
Remembering a Holy Maverick: Encounters with Reb Zalman (z”l)
The world lost one of its luminaries, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (z”l), in early July. At a moving celebration of his life last weekend, I recalled a few of the more powerful times when my life intersected with this amazing being, with a “heart as big as the world”, if not as large as the cosmos. Grief introduced me to … Continue reading
When a Memory’s Absence Tells a Story
A former boyfriend, from decades and another continent ago, e-mailed me last week to mention that Barack Obama had visited Germany, where he now lives with his wife and two children. He wrote: “I told my family that, thanks to you, I heard the senior Bush’s speech in Budapest in 1989!” Really? I didn’t remember … Continue reading
On fires, memory and writing
During a memoir class at Lighthouse Writers Workshop, my instructor, Harrison Candelaria Fletcher, gave us a free write assignment. Imagine you’re barefoot, he said, and walked into the yard of your childhood home. What would you feel? That early Tuesday evening some months ago, I could not recall a single instance of walking barefoot outside … Continue reading
For My Father
My father would have turned 82 a few days ago. His birthday always fell around Father’s Day which, if the grief is circling back around, can make this time of year doubly difficult. Ours was not the easiest of relationships, and his was not a “Hallmark” passing. Much was left unsaid at the time of … Continue reading
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