songbird's crazy world

Interesting cloud formations. #skywatchfriday

Facebook has this great (or perhaps not-so-great) feature that reminds you of what you posted on this date last year, the year before that, the year before that, etc.  I’ve been on Facebook for 11 years, so I have a lot of memories. So I get to relive the major events, like the college graduations and bar mitzvahs and weddings. But lately I’ve been seeing a lot of small memories...the restaurants, the baseball games, the concerts, the Broadway shows, the movies, the walks on the beach...all the little events from our pre-pandemic life. All the things we took for granted.   Sigh. The state is slowly opening up.  Even here on Long Island, where we haven’t hit the benchmarks needed to reopen, there is an easing of restrictions. But normal, or a semblance of normal, is far, far away ... 

In a choice between healthy eating habits and my sanity during this pandemic....

1. In a single sentence tell us something about your 40's. If you haven't reached that milestone yet tell us (in a single sentence) something about whatever decade you're in now. I survived. No, really, that's a good description.  I had a cancer diagnosis just before I turned 45.  I was sick as a dog while planning my younger daughter's bat mitzvah.  An then, when I was back on my feet, I found myself dealing with the trials and tribulations of two teenage daughters, 2. Life begins at forty. Agree or disagree? Tell us why. And if not at forty, when? I had a rebirth at 45, does that count? 3. Share a favorite book, song, or quote with a number featured in it somewhere. 4. A picture's worth a thousand words, a stitch in time saves nine, back to square one, catch-22, on cloud nine, my two cents...pick a number phrase and tell us how it applies to your life currently. My two cents.  I am not shy about expressing my political opinion.  A...

Sunday July 18, 1999 was Yogi Berra Day at Yankee Stadium.  Berra, a staple of NYC baseball for decades, had recently reconciled with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown to Berra by none other than Don Larsen.  In 1956  Larsen pitched, and Berra caught, a perfect game for Game Five of the World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. And then David Cone took the mound against the Montreal Expos...and pitched a perfect game.  It was only the third perfect game in Yankee history. Here's the last out.

And it's a "your choice" week. Today is a good day to revisit 1985. I was 25 years old, working my first full time job, moving in to my first real apartment. And the music I was listening to? Wham! A-ha Huey Lewis Prince And Madonna

Edited/renumbered for consistency 1. Where did your name come from? My real name or the name I use here on the internet?   My real name is Robin.  In accordance with Jewish tradition, I was given an English name and a Jewish name.  My Jewish name is Raisel, I was named after my great aunt Raisel.    My father wanted to name me after his mother, Dora, who died before I was born,  but there was a problem.  Jews from Eastern Europe only use the names of deceased relatives when choosing a name for their children, and ... well, my mother's mother was also named Dora.  She was very much alive when I was born, and very superstitious,  Using her name would be tantamount to wishing her dead... I use "songbird" on the internet because a robin is a songbird. 2. Where were you born? Right here on Long Island.  The hospital where I was born no longer exists, I think there's a drug rehab clinic there...