Obviously, I Didn't Die

Apparently, I was a victim of Influenza A. How anyone can tell A from B or C or XYZ is beyond me, nor do I care enough to find out. What I learned from the experience is that having had the flu shot before I  went to Israel in October may have helped to mitigate the worst of it. Additionally, during my attempted self-diagnostics is that Aleve really works on the body aches and joint pain. Not being a doctor and all, I can't recommend anything past mint or jasmine green tea and chicken soup to cure whatever ails you, but NSAIDs were my best friends last week. And for all of you who were trying to keep tabs on me (and you know who you were) I did manage to go to the movies on Christmas Day to see AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH.

I want to talk about that for a moment. Ziggy was still sucking air when the first one came out and we opted not to go, which was unusual for a guy who was heavily into computerized film making. I eventually saw it on tv and it was meh. I did not see the second one. But for reasons I cannot really explain, I wanted to see this one, so I went with a friend. It was visually stunning, of course, and the 3D was very effective. There was stuff going down I could not grok or even follow, but I was able to figure out what I needed. HOWEVER, there were some parts of the story line that niggled at the back of my neck. I knew I would have to think through some of my random thoughts. 

This episode is clearly anti-colonial and a whole lotta people are saying this is a thinly veiled version of Israeli colonialism. I call bullshit on that. Jews are the indigenous people of the area via language, culture, religion, burial, and written history. Period. End of discussion. The return of Jews to Israel should be the poster story for all indigenous people longing to return to their homeland. Show me ANY cultural documentation demonstrating a 5000-year PALESTINIAN presence in that land, and then I'll ask for your crack supply. Oh, for G-d's sake, they have always called themselves refugees in Gaza, Jordan, and Lebanon. And that's exactly what they are. If they were so damned interested in having a functioning state, there was ample opportunity beginning in 1948 to have one. Just ask a Palestinian when the last time they had an independent Palestinian state on that land, or a Palestinian currency. They can't. It never existed. 

The last independent NON COLONIAL government on that land was the Kingdom of Judea and that was dismantled in the first century CE by Rome. Following the Bar Kokhba Revolt in 132 C.E,  Hadrian, the Roman emperor at the time, changed the name to Syria Palaestina and the name of Jerusalem to Aelia Capitolina in an attempt to sever the relationship between Jews and their homeland. It didn't work. From that point on, Jews remained on the land, albeit in fewer numbers, considered Hebrew to be their language of prayer and literature, and lived under a series of rulers right through to the Ottoman Empire. When Great Britain took over, it was just another in a long line of foreigners who wanted control of the Holy Land.  But the Brits did something else: they agreed to partition the land. Hence, the birth of the state of Israel in 1948. Click here for a succinct timeline.

Why bring this up now? 

For two reasons. First, if someone tells you they don't hate Jews but they are anti-Zionist, they are full of shit. WE ARE ZION. We are the people of Israel. We come in many colors, many traditions, many foods, many dialects, but when push comes to shove, we can always reach each other in Hebrew...whether it's through a line of liturgy or a passage in Torah. It is in Hebrew and that is our language. The oldest known inscription spelling Yerushalayim as we know it today is 2100-years old, dating from the first century B.C.E.  While the inscription is Aramaic, it uses Hebrew letters and says, "Hananiah son of Dodalos of Jerusalem."  Islam was founded in 610 C.E. Do the math.

The second reason is because I am sick to death of the hypocrisy. We own the banks, the media, governments across the globe according to the Jew haters. If that was the case, don't you think we'd be doing a better job of taking care of our own people? If we actually ran the world, do you think Yasser Arafat's daughter Zahwa would be a billionaire living off money skimmed from the PLO and aid to the Palestinians? Hate needs a scapegoat and Jews have been serving that purpose for a couple of thousand years....yet we're still here. We returned home, started "start-up nation," became a major player in technology and medicine...yet we are vilified for existing. Israeli civilians are attacked, murdered, mutilated, raped, kidnapped, and burned, yet Israel is the aggressor because it defends its citizens? If those same terrorists crossed the border from Canada to, say, Buffalo, what would you expect the United States to do? 

Jews are already heading back into hiding. UK PM Starmer pointed out British Jewish children are the only ones attending school behind armed gates yet just yesterday, he welcomed Alaa Abd El-Fattah to England despite his repeated calls to kill all Zionists. Jewish shops are closing all over Australia...and that was before the Bondi Beach massacre. Every shul, community center, and day school in this country have armed guards. And the haters will blame us for not being shot up enough. And it's global. 

Here's a happy New Year thought for all those who think Feckless President Felon is a friend to the Jews: if you saw what he did to Ukraine and Zelenskyy, understand he will throw Israel and the Jews under the same bus the minute the revenue stream slows to a trickle. The Goniff-In-Chief has not interest past the lining of his own pockets. As he manipulates mergers and acquisitions, he enriches his family coffers steadily and without shame. His big plans for Las Gaza....will never be completed because he will default as he has done countless times before this, leaving others to clean up the mess. 

And waiting in the wings for this collapse will be Mayor Mamdani who keeps appointing pro-Palestinian hate mongers to positions of power in NYC's government. As soon as the wheels come off the pretend protectionism of this administration, Mamdani will stand back and let the haters hate out loud and in person. 

Meanwhile, back at the government teat, JD Bedbug, Pete Hogshead, and others are all loudly proclaiming the new Christian America we will all be enjoying as we seek salvation. They are celebrating the birth of Jesus by cutting off access to healthcare for millions of Americans, destroying the families of thousands of immigrants with legal ties to this country, bombing other countries without congressional consideration as they shit on the institutions that are the pride of this country. But that hasn't stopped any of them from putting out very religious messages from their government offices. Makes me wonder whose religion they subscribe to, because it sure ain't the one Jesus was preaching.  See for yourself: Trump Administration Emphasizes Religion in Official Christmas Messages from the NYTimes.

As 2025 draws to a close, We, the People need to have a reckoning about who we are as a People. After growth and progress, are We, the People really willing to revert to the way things were in 1900? 

Measles are surging back to life in America. Rubella and Pertussis are already rearing their ugly heads.  Polio is in the wings. Are we ready to sacrifice our children on the altar of Trumpian stupidity?  Make sure you know that answer to that because that very issue will become the centerpiece of the next real societal war. 

One last thought: may your New Year be happy, healthy, and peace-filled. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

If your kids aren't up to date on their vaccines, fix that

NOW.

Waiting is not a wise option.

The Conundrum That Is Christmas

Dayton's Santa Bear - 1989

I have long had a love/hate relationship with Christmas. Like any American kid, I loved the tinsel and glitz, candy canes and hot chocolate that showed up all over the place. I've written about this before and you can follow the link to read it, but the story is actually much longer. 

When I started working at Dayton's in downtown St. Paul, I was assigned to the third floor where I got to use what I already knew in china, crystal, and silver. And with that job came the annual ornaments, the Christmas Shop, and Santa Bear. My coworkers thought it was hysterical that I'd never really decorated a tree before and they were bound and determined to change that. I kept picking up the sparkling glass balls by the tops...and promptly releasing them from the pins. I exploded more ornaments that first year than I can to remember...,much to everyone's hilarity. But I got them back....I knew the words and could sing every carol that came over the PA. I had neglected to mention that while I didn't know how to deal with ornaments, I had spent a number of formative years being paid to sing carols...in several languages. 

Swarovski - 2001

Over the decade plus I spent at Dayton's I became a Christmas specialist, handling special orders for annual ornaments from the likes of Waterford, Swarovski, Baccarat, Steuben, Lalique, and even Lladró.  I had a book of over 100 clients who relied on me for their annual editions, as well as additions to Christmas china collections. I loved making everyone happy and excited for the coming holiday. Yeah, some of it was shlock, but there was a whole lotta elegance and loveliness to be had. And I was a queen of crèches. I worked with families that added pieces each year, who wanted a French one or a Polish one, or an Austrian one. I was really good at figuring out how to repair and even replace pieces. Many a night I would go home and scour the internet trying to find a  specific piece. I might not have been able to sell it, but I often handed links and information to broken-hearted family members. Used to drive my bosses nuts....but they couldn't argue with the store loyalty and future sales it inspired.

But not everything was tinsel and sparkles. Like the little, old Hmong lady with an easy grin who walked through the store and skyways for her daily exercise. She spoke no English, but she loved to look at all the crystal ornaments and decorative pieces. We would greet each other, smile, nod, sometimes I would hand her something to examine up close. But she never bought anything, nor did I expect her to. She was there for the beauty of glass art. Each November, she would disappear, only to resume her walks the first week in January. I figured she was off to visit family. One year, she did not show up in January and I was worried. I had no way to reach her or anyone to ask. Then, in February, I spied her using a walker, a younger woman at her side. She waved at me and I rushed over. Turns out, she had taken a fall in her flat and this was her first day in the skyways. The woman with her was her granddaughter, Nye. I was so relieved to see her and told her how worried I was, and her granddaughter dutifully translated. 

As they were going on their way, I said, "I hope you had a lovely vacation." Her granddaughter looked puzzled and explained they had not been away. In turn, I told her, "Your grandmother disappears right after Thanksgiving every year. I thought you were away!" She translated for her grandmother who shook her head as she replied to her granddaughter who translated for me:

I do not wish to interfere with the Christians' holy day, so I just don't walk through this store. It's for Christians.

I was flabbergasted and laughed. Pointing to myself, I said, "I'm not Christian, either! I'm Jewish!" Her granddaughter translated and we all had a good laugh. I assured her she was welcome to come anytime. 

For the next few years, Mrs. Tran continued to walk through our floor, but never during the Christmas season. Then Nye came to tell me Mrs. Tran had passed away. We shared some stories about that little lady with the steel grey hair and the twinkle in her eye. Nye told me the Christmas story was repeated many times, and that she loved that we shared a secret of not being Christian. 

I thought a lot about perception after that. How did we really appear to others? As happy and joyful as Christmas decorations are supposed to be, is there, perhaps, another, less welcoming message silently telegraphed? Unconsciously...or perhaps consciously, is it exclusionary? Merry Christmas...or happy holidays?

The bottom line is Christmas is not my holiday. I know and love lots of people who celebrate the day and I'm happy for them. Everyone should have holidays to observe, whether they be religious or national or cultural. Holy days and holidays are meant to be shared, to provide insights into how one lives one's life. Sharing joy is never a bad thing to do...unless you are forcing someone to participate in a way that demeans or denies their freedom to choose what and how they will observe any special day. I happily sang Christmas carols with my friends because it was fun and something I could do to support their institutions without feeling I was denying my own. 

Okay, getting paid made it a job. Did that make me a hypocrite? I did not pretend to believe, I merely produced sound, so no, I don't think it did. I wasn't paying lip service to some creed. They knew I was Jewish. 

But was I a hypocrite? Maybe I was because the audience believed the sincerity in my voice. My singing, supposedly, enhanced their religious experience. Was it mine? No. But it worked for them. I never pretended to be Christian and the people I sang with knew that. Just like my coworkers at Dayton's knew I didn't have a Christmas tree at home or strings of lights around the house. I just did my job in the store. 

Which leaves me pretty ambivalent about the hoopla of Christmas. Yeah, I do wish people I know who celebrate a Merry Christmas, and more often than not, they wish me Happy Hanukkah and that's just fine. Strangers, I wish Happy Holidays just to be safe. If someone wishes me Merry Christmas, I don't get upset or insulted; I smile and say, The same to you! And have a happy and healthy New Year!  They're being nice. I can be nice back. Mom used to say It doesn't cost anything to be nice even when you don't feel all that nice. For the most part, she was right. 

That doesn't mean all those Christmas appeals with holly decorated address labels aren't  grotesque. They are. I think how much more they can use in their charity if they stopped with the aroisgevorfene gelt...wasted money. The ads on Insta and Facebook are freakin' endless. I suppose they tug at enough heartstrings....but not this one. 

So here's what I wish for everyone: May everyone have a safe, relatively stress free happy holiday however you celebrate or observe. Enjoy what you can, grin and bear what you can't, and most of all be grateful for whatever it is you have. 

The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week

Hanukkah begins Wednsday night.

It's a holiday about Jews 

fighting for Jerusalem to preserve 

our culture, traditions, values, and beliefs.

We've been commemorating it for 2100 years 

and we're not stopping any time soon. 

Chag Urim Same'ach to all

And to all a good night.