who's on first?

this is a hard blog to write...not meant to offend...like it or hate it...unfriend me...but my blog is titled "what do you say, sherri darling"...and this is what i have to say...for all the time i may bitch and moan about the minutia of life and the grander injustices...the truth is as a second generation jew...well, history could have shifted ever so slightly and i am not sure i would be here to blog...i am talking about world war II and our country's rather "late in the game" entry...ever stop and wonder how the anguish and death of pearl harbor ultimately saved an entire people from eradication?...we did survive...scarred and leary...and went back to work, and life...but we became complacent...2017...please don't tell me how proud jews should be that a jewish man...kushner...is in such a high position...if you are italian and reading this would you be so proud if the man in that position...ivanka's husband...was the son of a mafia capo...please don't tell me how much our new president is for us jews...that is too soon to call...i don't care that his daughter converted...i don't want to hear about ivanka, and how her rabbi said it's okay for this and that...would that i had a rabbi on call to pardon a lifetime of shabbat indiscretions...and israel...yes, that is a hot button...intertwined with our faith, our history...but as american jews we seem to carry the burden of being good jews there and here...and here...when over thirty jewish community centers received bomb threats this month...and yes, in staten island, one where so much of my love for theater was cultivated...a response was needed loud and strong...president trump...he is not running anymore...he is there...he courted my vote...then, slapped me with america first at his inaugural...an ugly phrase coined by a movement here in america before pearl harbor...while hitler had marched through europe all the way to england...an isolationist group coined the expression...large and supported by many powerful leaders...and virulent anti-semites...urging america to not become involved...negotiate with hitler...america first...president trump was reminded of the connotation and chose to use it...how should i feel about that?...hey, kushner...be a mensch...sit your father-in-law down...disavow the supremacists...condemn the bomb threats...tomorrow is international holocaust remembrance day...and for a generation disappearing...no longer here to remind us...it is imperative to teach...to reach out...to remember...complacency puts you six feet under...

what's new pussycat?

i marched today up fifth avenue...many of you reading this did as well...some of you marched in smaller towns and big cities across this nation...and globe...and some were in the swell of humanity that descended on dc this morning...and others could not make these marches but we carried you in our hearts...in truth, i should not have had to march today...why, in the twenty-first century should i need to assert rights that should be a given?...why should there be a need to validate my worth against those in power who seek to diminish it.?...and for me it was not a choice...it was a need...i had to go...oh, and if you think today was just about planned parenthood, think again...yes, it was an important component...and this is not the forum for that debate...when the crowd swelled and we paused i looked around...all those people...women...all ages...men...children...the signs...the shirts...the determination...and, yes, the hurt under the pink pussycat hats...it was a glorious january day...i felt that it wasn't random that there was sun and warmth in the dead of winter...someone was looking over us in that blue sky...you know who it was?...i think it was the collective spirit of all those women...and men...who marched decades long ago...for causes that have become the very fabric of who we are as a nation...holding us in safety...urging us on...with eyes on the prize...grab this, mr. president...you poked the tiger...now watch us roar...

silence of the lambs...

i read an interesting statistic...and even if it is slightly off, it is horrifying...only 58% of eligible voters showed up this past november...even if you take away those who may have had legitimate reasons...it is sobering...the lowest voter turnout in 20 years...i can hear some of you...you are saying you just couldn't do it...there was no choice for you...and i can understand...to a degree...but look at the bigger picture...spin the globe..land on sudan...no oil there?...keep spinning...land on syria...death and despair...no way out...maybe you think...well, look at putin...look what he did...now there's a cease fire...true...but the cost...google assad and his human rights record...look at a map of syria...see that place called tartus...what a nice port...a lovely place for the russian navy to set up camp...because while putin and his boots slosh through the blood of children, that's what he sees...think of all those people...dead...what they would have done for a fraction of the rights we casually toss with the garbage...today and this weekend, we celebrate martin luther king...time to get beyond a sale day at macy's or afternoon at the movies...time to look at those who marched...and those who are marching this weekend...next weekend...and who continue to march for the respect of basic human rights and dignity...these are days to respect those who do...and for those who do march, to respect those who do not...the coin is two-sided...and different...but it is still the same coin...and for so many on this earth, we, the united states, are that shining coin...ripe with choice and rights...and so on this january 15th i choose to hold this quote from dr. king close to my heart..."our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"...

"i ain't down yet"....

2016 was a shit storm...sorry, but true...and i'm closing my eyes till midnight tomorrow...afraid another ap bulletin will scroll across the bottom of the tv...or another facebook or twitter post will flash a face...another gone...my youth and memories vanishing in quicksand...yes, there is perspective...these are not my family...or friends...but now it seems so many are my contemporaries...and that is enough for pause...and so the escape to the movies...start cramming them in before the oscar noms...oh, for how many years, before the immediacy of social media, did i sit by the tv...pen and paper...scribbling the names of nominees...strategizing which movies i needed to see...this was when the golden globes were still buried on tbs on saturday night(and still should be)...before the sag awards were a thing...oscar was it...on a monday in april...then march...then sunday in february...and so it's value has diminished...as so much has...and some of the movies this year are very good...but painfully sad..."jackie"...a bottle of vodka..."manchester"...two bottles of jack..."moonlight"...a few shots of tequila...ah, but "la la land"...maybe not perfect...but in the last days of the shit storm...before it was george and that beautiful voice...then debbie's daughter, and carrie's mom...i sat mesmerized...the colors and music washing over me...damien chazelle's vision was my sweetest memory of mgm classics..of gene kelly...fred astaire...ginger rogers...leslie caron...and yes, america's sweetheart, debbie reynolds...of dreamers...romance...what we lose along the way...and for that alone i was grateful...and it reminded me of the solace and saving grace of the arts...and so it would seem it is up to the artists...writers...musicians...and dreamers...to pull us across this finish line...leave 2016 in the dust...i'm checking out of this heartbreak hotel, carrie...i ain't down yet, debbie...'cause i gotta have faith, george...wishing for a peaceful 2017!

"One for each night, they shed a sweet light..."

and so it is almost Chanukah...and Christmas...and also thankfully, the end of 2016...when I look back at this year i can't think of a more appropriate song than that old temptations classic, "ball of confusion"...there is no peaceful corner of our globe...the "dead montages" in music, film, theater, and sports are staggering...our weather is more violent...there is little escape from the barrage of hate on social media...and i still haven't seen "hamilton"...and yet...so many are racing in preparation of holidays this weekend...baking and wrapping and hugging through the random cruelness of twenty-first century life...and all are anticipating 2017...what will it bring to this world...and to our loved ones...and many seriously wonder whether one person can change this world...well then. ..say a prayer when you light your menorah...or attend mass...or in the quiet moments early in the morning...whisper a prayer for someone who cannot...and then maybe promise one act of random kindness this new year...pay it forward even in the face of despair...spread joy even in the absence of hope as we cross this year's finish line and welcome 2017...

november rain

it could be snow...such is the rationale i use while additionally wishing my car was a boat...november's monthly average rain in two days...hypnotized by the wipers at red lights, my mind wanders...and i become increasingly depressed realizing we are one month from the end of another year...how many resolutions and plans can you squeeze into 31 days?...maybe easier to carry them forward...swish swish swish...do i have clothes at the cleaners?...swish swish swish...passing fairway...swish swish swish...what the hell should i make for dinner?...swish swish swish...what were those resolutions made in january?...was i serious or trying to hold back time?...ah, this rain...as sad as chapin's "taxi" playing on the radio...almost home...think i'll grab the afghan, a cup of chamomile and close my eyes...daydream...a sunny may afternoon...petty's "running down a dream" blasting...resolutions beckoning in a blue endless sky...

suffragette city...

i suppose reading this you might find it strange...blogging before the outcome of the election...but you see for me it's the bigger picture...or smaller...we stand in line today as a nation divided...it is ugly...it may get uglier in days to come...possible recounts...maybe a gore vs. bush nightmare again...but that is not the real issue...the real issue is where do we go from here as a nation...so many are amazed that we are at this point...vitriol...mob mentality...and it stirs something very unsettling within me...maybe it's after seeing "denial" a few days ago...or turning away from continued reports of rising anti-semitism around the globe...and on our campuses...maybe it's because of what campaign rhetoric has brought to the surface...or maybe it's because tomorrow is the anniversary of kristallnacht...and so many people do not even know what that is...and the knot twists when i realize that many future generations may never know what it was and meant because of how easily our histories are rewritten in the age of instant information and blind acceptance...and so now do i need to defend all i am?...isn't it enough that we all see our children the same way...wish for them the same things...it makes me shake...how did we get here again...how do you put out the fire of hatred...i pause...later i will exercise the 19th amendment...but sadly wonder...where is the amendment that will eradicate hate at the core...maybe this...put down the phone...breathe deep...crack a book