Writer, Actor, Educator, Teenager at Heart
Writing
Me and Mimi, 1964
Mimi and me with our moms, 1967
Me and Mimi and my dad, 1963
Me, my sister, and Grandma Gertie, 1962
Gone Before Spring
Available in paperback and eBook through all retailers and some libraries
GONE BEFORE SPRING is the story of Ruth Ann Bloomfield who is determined to ditch the pesky girl next door, stay as far away as possible from her mean and much older sister, and convince her friends that her divorced Caltholic/Jewish family is cool, not lonely. When she enters 8th grade at St Bonaventure’s, (better known as St. Boner’s Adventure), Ruth Ann not only belongs to the popular girls, the Tandem Riders, she has also caught the eye of Tom LaBelle, the cutest boy in school. But when she develops a chronic disfiguring skin disease, Ruth Ann learns that friendship is more than sneaking Winstons and shopping at Mitchell’s Young At Heart. Growing up against the backdrop of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, and a rising counter culture, Ruth Ann must get out of her own skin to discover what truly matters.
No Doubt in my Mind
Available in paperback and eBook through all retailers and some libraries
The story of Ruth Ann Bloomfield picks up two months later, the summer before starting high school with new friends and new boys. A delightful relationship with Ruth Ann's gay cousin Jerry Michael make her complicated and often painful family life more tolerable and unexpectedly brings them all closer.
If You Looked Better I'd Take You
At school I passed out Tootsie Roll Pops. It was something a normal kid from a normal family would do. I worked hard at that, because at Holy Family nobody knew my dad wasn’t living with us or that he was Jewish.
After lunch someone knocked on the door. When Sister Reena slipped out and closed the door behind her, chalkboard erasers flew through the air. The door opened and silence filled the room. There stood my dad, with his hat tipped back and an unlit cigar in the corner of his mouth. The nun beckoned for me.
This originally appeared in Zeek at zeek.forward.com
Period Envy
The first time I spotted an actual box of Tampax, I was in my father’s pawn shop. I was sitting on a swivel stool behind the counter peering at the miscellaneous odds and ends on the back shelves through a pair of binoculars. When I recall the scene in my mind, I add the theme song for Peter Gun. There they were in their glory, nestled between a chartreuse leopard TV lamp and a box of Ritz crackers. I gasped several times and then zeroed in on the side of the box to read the famous slogan, “No Belts, No Pins, No Pads.”
This originally appeared in Lilith magazine--independent, Jewish & frankly feminist. For more, and to subscribe, go to www.Lilith.org
This also appears at Bust.com.
Me and my sister with our cats Ruff and Reddy from Gone Before Spring
Good Bye to Good Buys
“I NEED TO PISH,” she says, and hoists herself from the recliner. She grabs hold of the handle on her walker, and swivels around. Her tush plops down on the seat with a thud. Then she scoots to the bathroom, using her heels to propel forward.
This originally appeared in Jewish Currents at JewishCurrents.org and the Lilith Blog.
Aunt Dorothy, 1918-2015
The embroidered cloth that belonged to the author's Great Aunt Rifka. The text reads Gut Morgen ("Good Morning" in Yiddish) followed by Rifka's initials.
Gut Morgen, Rifka Leibowitz
I never met my Great Aunt Rifka or even saw a photograph of her. Yet I’ve always had a clear picture of her in my mind, sitting in a wheelchair, smiling. She has no legs (a result of diabetes) and she’s wearing a fur stole with fox heads.
This originally appeared on the Jewish Women's Archive
Jews Don’t Define Life After Death. So How Do I Explain the Dimes?
After the death of my son, a strange phenomenon began to baffle me — and comfort me.
This originally appeared on Kveller.com