september 17, 2001


Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, begins at sundown today.

So much of this holiday is about renewal and hope for the coming year. There are wonderful traditions that seem even more potent in light of September 11th: the round challah we eat on this holiday symbolizes the cyclical nature of the year, and of life. Some say the shape is a symbol of our hope that the New Year will roll around smoothly, without sorrow. We dip apples in honey and say a blessing asking that the New Year will be sweet and good for us.

I am so thankful to be able to celebrate this holiday with my family and friends.

L'shana tova to everyone.
inked at 8:01 AM | e-mail me | link

september 16, 2001
NFO Interactive members, mentioned below, have now donated $72,992.35 worth of points to disaster relief charities.
inked at 9:18 AM | e-mail me | link


Yesterday was good. We kept the radio and TV off for most of the day. Really, there wasn't much new being reported.

I scrounged up what seems to be the last of any red, white, and blue craft material in Connecticut (don't even think about trying to buy a flag -- they are backordered everywhere) and made streamers for my car antenna and small pins for my family.

I got together with my family, and we talked about more than the attack. (Taking the Throgs Neck Bridge to Long Island, I saw the skyline of Manhattan without the WTC towers.) One of my cousins is days away from giving birth to twins -- a boy and a girl. She let me feel her stomach while they kicked up a storm. It was incredibly cool, kind of like touching someone's body through a thick comforter.

Today I'm going to do laundy and go food shopping -- things I was supposed to do Tuesday and just haven't been able to manage since. The routine is very comforting to me. I feel more in control than I have in the last five days.
inked at 9:16 AM | e-mail me | link

september 14, 2001
I'm a member of a market research group called NFO Interactive -- I earn prize points for answering a couple of surveys a month. The company has offered to donate a penny for every prize point that members are willing to give up. I have 1,070 points, and I just donated them to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund. As of this writing, they have "collected" more than $22,000. I think this is a wonderful example of corporate philanthropy, and I hope other companies with similar models consider taking this type of initiative.
inked at 2:29 PM | e-mail me | link


God Bless America
inked at 1:58 PM | e-mail me | link


I couldn't make it through work yesterday. I took a half day off and left at 1:30. J and I went to the beach. We sat on a cluster of rocks for hours, just talking and looking at the L.I. Sound. Watching birds and boats and squirrels and monarch butterflies and a school of fish jumping in and out of the water. It seemed to help. I felt calmer. I thought I would be OK at work today. But I'm not. Every American flag I see makes me weep. Kind words make me weep. Reading about the tragedy makes me weep, not reading about it makes me weep. I feel selfish for being so sad when everyone I know is safe.
inked at 8:19 AM | e-mail me | link

september 13, 2001
Yes. Senator John McCain: "I say to our enemies, we are coming. God may show you mercy. We will not."
inked at 12:47 PM | e-mail me | link


In the middle of it all, the birth of our friends' first child, announced yesterday, serves as a reminder that life goes on.
inked at 7:52 AM | e-mail me | link

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