On Gender Roles

On Gender Roles

I am the son my father never had. That is not to say I was ever confused about my gender or that I did not want to be female. What I know is that from a very young age, I could do whatever the boys could do. From participating in traditional sports...
On Healing

On Healing

Memories are powerful. For years and years, when I was out driving, if I heard a siren, tears would gush down my cheeks. When my son played the saxophone in the school band, we would go to his performances. Whenever I heard the drums, more tears...
On Being Jewish

On Being Jewish

I am Jewish, yet my sense of Jewishness is puzzling even to me. I am historically and traditionally of the Jewish faith, yet religiously I am an agnostic at best. The words of the prayers we say in temple on the High Holy Days don’t mean much to...
On Being Who I Am

On Being Who I Am

When people ask me where I’m from, I say “Rumania”. Yet, I can’t even think of it as my country. My memories from childhood during the war consist of filth, poverty, and oppression. Even after the war, I didn’t have a chance to put down roots and...