Every Year

Every year I light a candle in his honor. Every year I put a photo of him next to the candle. Six years in, this is the first time I thought, "I wish I had a more current photo." Just a simple shot of him, seated in the best booth at the Big Deli in the Sky, where there's no draft and no waiting. In front of him, a nice bowl of chicken soup. Next to him, Mom. Sharing the booth, their closest friends, the Libermans, the Danzigs, swapping hilarious Hollywood stories. Wouldn't that be something? 

Milk It While You Can

Let's face it, nobody knows how to milk her birthday better than the SJG. Here I am, a day before my birthday, which, if I haven't already told you, is today, wishing for something very special, kina hora, poo poo poo: "I wish that this year, unlike last year, and the year before that, Blakey finally barks out Happy Birthday, just like I've spent many hours teaching him to do."

I may have to wait another year, maybe two, till the lessons kick in.

Queen Asks SJG To Solve "Megxit"

The Queen's big announcement from Buckingham Palace today went something like this, more or less: "After lengthy discussions regarding the Harry-Meghan royal exodus, we realized only one person could help us negotiate this rather awkward situation, and that is the Short Jewish Gal. You may or may not recall that she helped smooth things over when William and Kate, after repeated viewings of 'Fiddler on the Roof,' decided to convert to Judaism before their nuptials. We didn't see that one coming, I can assure you. The SJG graciously acted as their personal maven, teaching them how to dance the hora, speak Yiddish and say oy vey without ever losing their royal demeanor. Which brings us to our current dilemma. When the SJG reminded me via Royal Face Time of her deep personal connection with Meghan, having written 'When Sparks Fly,' that delightful Hallmark movie she starred in, and offered to help us sort out this epic shanda, how could I, in good conscience, decline? If anyone can end Megxit, it's the SJG. After all, she's been dealing with estranged relatives since the tender age of 12. As she told me just this morning, 'There's nothing a nice round of Hava Nagila can't solve.' Even better, she wants nothing in return other than unconditional, endless, daily praise and an invitation to tea. Sounds jolly good to me, don't you agree?"

Put This On

Q: What is a Jewish sweater?
A: It's what a Jewish child wears when his mother is cold.

Little Paul says to his father, "Daddy, Daddy, I want to get married."
His father says, "For that son, you have to have a girlfriend."
Paul says, "But I've found a girl."
"Who?"
"Grandma."
"Let me get this straight. You want to marry my mother? You can't do that."
"Well, why not? You married mine."

Becky was very rich. One day she phoned a famous young artist and said she wanted to commission him to paint her. He said his fee would be $10,000, and she immediately accepted. When she arrived at his studio for the first sitting, she gave him a check for $12,000. The artist was very surprised and asked what the extra money was for.
“I want you to paint me in the nude,” she said. “Do you have any objections?”
“Not for $12,000, I don’t. But I would have to keep my socks on. I need somewhere to put my brushes.”
http://awordinyoureye.com

It All Started With A Pointy Head

The pre-Bar Mitzvah boychick 

On this day in 1988, he came out with a pointy head. The four grandparents looked alarmed. They wanted to know what's with the pointy head, will the pointy head be a thing, will the pointy head go away, will it get worse, do we have to call him Cone Head, or Mr. Cone Head, what's the best nickname for such a spiky situation? Of course, we would have loved him no matter the shape of his head. And while his keppy did settle into normalcy, his devotion to spikiness remained. The bleached blond tips, gooped up and aiming skyward, extended well into his teens. Until one day, he decided to lose the spikes for good. We've always encouraged him to make the big decisions on his own, and we couldn't be prouder of his unpredictable choices. Math-averse in school, today he does digital marketing in the financial world. Not a big fan of studying foreign languages, today he speaks fluent French. See what happens when you fall in love with a French beauty? Good things. At 32, he's a daddy-to-be. So let me get right to the point: Happy birthday to you, Billy, and oh so many more.

Nicely Said

"As they say in the old country, it's nice when nice happens to nice." - Jon Stewart

"Let's face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me." - Audrey Hepburn

"Make nice, you two, or you'll never eat kugel in this house again!" -  SJG 

My Only New Year's Resolution

I never thought I'd be so excited for Monday. But today, I'm ecstatic. Why? I'll tell you why. Because I finally know it's Monday, as opposed to last week, when I couldn't tell you what day it was if my life depended on it. Fine, maybe if you shoved a calendar in my punim, shamed me, repeatedly, interrogated me for hours under a hot lamp, and held up a flash card that said, "Today is ---, you dummy," I might have been able to identify the day. But let's get back to basics, m'kay? According to the non-profit SJG Mental Health Institution of Sherman Oaks, the fact that today is Monday, and I know it's Monday and don't have to verify it with anyone is such a good thing. In 2020, I have only one goal, one resolution: I'd like to know what day I'm occupying without asking anyone in my immediate vicinity. That's it. This is my gift, not just to me, the well-deserving recipient, but also to anyone I hold captive until they tell me what the eff day it is, anyway. As for the date itself, who cares, I never know and don't expect that to change. In 2020, I'm keeping it simple. Who's with me?