Dad with me, probably 1945, Long Branch, N.J. On Father’s Day I’m recalling a few more stories about my dad, Nathan Daniel. They’re mostly “short takes,” so I’m presenting them in bullet form. One day, when I was about eight, Dad brought home a chunk of dry ice, something I’d never seen or heard of […]
Bladderball In this time of rioting and broad-brush condemnation of America’s police, both of which I find deeply troubling, I’d like to lighten the mood with a recollection of rioting as I witnessed it in “olden times.” When I was a student at Yale (1962–66), riots were a joyful tradition. Entirely apolitical, they were simply […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Bladderball.jpeg400400Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-06-14 16:57:522020-06-14 17:14:35Rioting: The Light Side
I’m 75 years old. As readers of this blog know, I’ve been around the block a time or two, and I’ve seen, read and learned a lot. What I’m seeing right now — America’s racial “conversation” (for some, our national yelling match) becoming ever more shrill and violent — deeply troubles me. I’m also deeply […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Racism.jpg10521600Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-06-07 19:24:522020-06-07 19:58:00Racism — A Few Things to Think About
Our country is in crisis. We must keep ourselves from tumbling into the abyss. The crisis is like a boiling cauldron whose four toxic ingredients — racism, a killer plague, a crippled economy and deep-seated political antagonism — are threatening to bubble over and spill us into the flames below. Racism: Nine minutes (!!) of […]
… carve a turkey … or slice a banana. Yes. And I’ve witnessed it. As regular readers of this blog will recall, last week I wrote about my grandson’s bar mitzvah. That got me thinking about my own bar mitzvah, back in 1957. That was a significant year. It was when the USSR put the […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/bar-mitzvah-turkey-1.jpg5681251Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-05-24 16:42:162020-05-24 17:44:07More Than One Way to Skin a Cat or …
Adam and Jodi blessing Jonah Yesterday we had a wonderful family celebration. Our oldest grandchild, Jonah, celebrated his bar mitzvah, the initiation as a Jewish adult (with all religious rights and responsibilities), which traditionally takes place at age 13. In ordinary times, a bar mitzvah is celebrated in a synagogue or temple in the presence […]
Brown E’s for dessert! April Fools’ Day — yes, that’s the correct way to write it — is now a little over a month in the rear-view mirror, and as followers of this blog will be aware, I’ve had other things on my mind since then. Nevertheless, my daughter Naomi found a great way to […]
Last week I wrote about the adventure of teaching Henry Harutunian, my ex-Soviet Olympic fencing coach friend, to drive. As promised, there’s more to his story. In those first couple of years after Yale, with a recent graduate’s typical enthusiasm for the success of his alma mater’s teams, I followed the ups and downs of […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Henry-in-Office.jpg12001800Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-04-26 15:13:102020-04-26 15:19:51Bittersweet Postscript to My Friend Henry’s Story
With my friend Henry Harutunian at Harvard, spring 1968 The story I’m about to recount took place over half a century ago, in 1966–68, when I was working on my master’s degree in Soviet area studies at Harvard. During the first year of this two-year, multi-disciplinary program, I continued my study of the Russian language, […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Henry-me-1968-Harvard.jpg12281818Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-04-19 17:26:512020-04-26 15:25:51Bringing Thrust and Parry to New England’s Highways
Poppies along the coast It’s been about three weeks since the Great Coronavirus Confinement began in earnest, at least at our house. Sandra and I have been out to pick up groceries or prescriptions a few times, but mostly we’ve had our food and medications delivered — and a few take-out meals as well. (Three […]
Dad Stories
/2 Comments/in Brazil, Family, Holidays, Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielDad with me, probably 1945, Long Branch, N.J. On Father’s Day I’m recalling a few more stories about my dad, Nathan Daniel. They’re mostly “short takes,” so I’m presenting them in bullet form. One day, when I was about eight, Dad brought home a chunk of dry ice, something I’d never seen or heard of […]
Rioting: The Light Side
/0 Comments/in Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard DanielBladderball In this time of rioting and broad-brush condemnation of America’s police, both of which I find deeply troubling, I’d like to lighten the mood with a recollection of rioting as I witnessed it in “olden times.” When I was a student at Yale (1962–66), riots were a joyful tradition. Entirely apolitical, they were simply […]
Racism — A Few Things to Think About
/0 Comments/in Hawaii, India, Places I've lived, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielI’m 75 years old. As readers of this blog know, I’ve been around the block a time or two, and I’ve seen, read and learned a lot. What I’m seeing right now — America’s racial “conversation” (for some, our national yelling match) becoming ever more shrill and violent — deeply troubles me. I’m also deeply […]
Our Deepening Crisis
/0 Comments/in Coronavirus, Thoughts /by Howard DanielOur country is in crisis. We must keep ourselves from tumbling into the abyss. The crisis is like a boiling cauldron whose four toxic ingredients — racism, a killer plague, a crippled economy and deep-seated political antagonism — are threatening to bubble over and spill us into the flames below. Racism: Nine minutes (!!) of […]
More Than One Way to Skin a Cat or …
/0 Comments/in Family, Humor, Places I've lived, Recollections /by Howard Daniel… carve a turkey … or slice a banana. Yes. And I’ve witnessed it. As regular readers of this blog will recall, last week I wrote about my grandson’s bar mitzvah. That got me thinking about my own bar mitzvah, back in 1957. That was a significant year. It was when the USSR put the […]
Our Grandson’s ZOOM Bar Mitzvah
/0 Comments/in Coronavirus, Family, Recollections, Thoughts /by Howard DanielAdam and Jodi blessing Jonah Yesterday we had a wonderful family celebration. Our oldest grandchild, Jonah, celebrated his bar mitzvah, the initiation as a Jewish adult (with all religious rights and responsibilities), which traditionally takes place at age 13. In ordinary times, a bar mitzvah is celebrated in a synagogue or temple in the presence […]
Brownies
/0 Comments/in Family, Holidays, Humor /by Howard DanielBrown E’s for dessert! April Fools’ Day — yes, that’s the correct way to write it — is now a little over a month in the rear-view mirror, and as followers of this blog will be aware, I’ve had other things on my mind since then. Nevertheless, my daughter Naomi found a great way to […]
Bittersweet Postscript to My Friend Henry’s Story
/0 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections, Russia-USSR /by Howard DanielLast week I wrote about the adventure of teaching Henry Harutunian, my ex-Soviet Olympic fencing coach friend, to drive. As promised, there’s more to his story. In those first couple of years after Yale, with a recent graduate’s typical enthusiasm for the success of his alma mater’s teams, I followed the ups and downs of […]
Bringing Thrust and Parry to New England’s Highways
/0 Comments/in Places I've lived, Recollections, Russia-USSR /by Howard DanielWith my friend Henry Harutunian at Harvard, spring 1968 The story I’m about to recount took place over half a century ago, in 1966–68, when I was working on my master’s degree in Soviet area studies at Harvard. During the first year of this two-year, multi-disciplinary program, I continued my study of the Russian language, […]
Great Escape
/0 Comments/in California, Coronavirus, North Bay, Places I've lived, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County /by Howard DanielPoppies along the coast It’s been about three weeks since the Great Coronavirus Confinement began in earnest, at least at our house. Sandra and I have been out to pick up groceries or prescriptions a few times, but mostly we’ve had our food and medications delivered — and a few take-out meals as well. (Three […]