Nat Daniel as a young married man, circa 1945 (years after the time of this story), with my mom, Mollie (photo taken on the boardwalk at Long Branch, N.J., where I was born) To mark my dad’s 108th birthday this week (he was born on Sept. 23, 1912), I’m retelling a funny story about him. […]
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Uranus (Courtesy NASA, JPL-Caltech) August is Birthday Month in our family. Three in our quintet were born in August and one missed it by only a single day. Our daughters’ b’days are just two days — oh, and a few years! — apart. So it was that at this year’s arrival of those two days, […]
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Dry lightning over the Golden Gate Over the past several days, Sandra and I have been hearing from friends and extended family asking if we’re OK amid the wildfires currently burning all over California, and especially up here in Sonoma County Wine Country. YES. So far we’re OK. Thank you all very much for your […]
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Our wedding, Santa Barbara, California, August 8, 1987 This coming Saturday, Sandra and I will be celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary. It’s hard to fathom that by December, just four months from now, we’ll have completed a full 33 and a third passages around the sun together — married for a third of a century, […]
https://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/HD-SKD-kids-wedding-8-8-87.jpg12781800Howard Danielhttps://pen4rent.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/logo.pngHoward Daniel2020-08-02 18:16:282020-08-02 18:22:52It’s a Miracle She’s Stuck With Me
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 […]
Another Dad Story
/0 Comments/in Danelectro, Family, Humor, Recollections /by Howard DanielNat Daniel as a young married man, circa 1945 (years after the time of this story), with my mom, Mollie (photo taken on the boardwalk at Long Branch, N.J., where I was born) To mark my dad’s 108th birthday this week (he was born on Sept. 23, 1912), I’m retelling a funny story about him. […]
Update on the Wildfire Near Our Home
/1 Comment/in California, North Bay, Places I've lived, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County /by Howard DanielDry lightning over the Golden Gate Over the past several days, Sandra and I have been hearing from friends and extended family asking if we’re OK amid the wildfires currently burning all over California, and especially up here in Sonoma County Wine Country. YES. So far we’re OK. Thank you all very much for your […]
It’s a Miracle She’s Stuck With Me
/2 Comments/in Family, Hawaii, Humor, Recollections /by Howard DanielOur wedding, Santa Barbara, California, August 8, 1987 This coming Saturday, Sandra and I will be celebrating our 33rd wedding anniversary. It’s hard to fathom that by December, just four months from now, we’ll have completed a full 33 and a third passages around the sun together — married for a third of a century, […]
Dad Stories
/4 Comments/in Brazil, Danelectro, 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 […]