Chickensh*t

Chickenshit? I think not.

I admit it, I'm a fan. I heart Bibi!

Of course I'm talking about Benjamin Netanyahu, the gutsy, articulate Prime Minister of Israel. Sometimes I'll agree with the more aggressive policies of other Israeli politicians like Avigdor Lieberman and Danny Danon, but mostly I'm glad Israel is governed by Bibi's pragmatism, steady hand and sober thinking. 

I'm mightily dismayed that anyone, much less my own government, would refer to Bibi as "chickenshit". Oy! But it's undeniable, even Obama admitted it and gave a weak, very weak, acknowledgement (not an apology).

Aside from the obvious - this is no way to treat your great ally - who can possibly make the argument that Bibi is a chickenshit? A man who fought in the 1967, 1968, 1972 and 1973 battlefields. Who kept on fighting after he was wounded. Whose brother, Yoni, was the commander of the elite Israeli army commando unit and the only Israeli soldier killed in action during the daring operation in Entebbe Uganda, an operation that successfully freed many innocent hostages. How dare any pencil pushing idiot with a patronage job call Bibi anything but a hero and a national treasure and a true friend of democracy and America?

Thank you Bibi. You have had a rough road sometimes and have steadfastly fought on every front - the military battleground and the political combat zone  - for Israel's survival.

 תודה לך

Aldi

Although I normally eschew all things German or originating from German companies, I must admit, Aldi is an exception.  In my new life as a (want to be more frugal) retiree and with St Louis based Save-A-Lot too far away, Aldi has become my favorite grocery store. The prices cannot be beat and you get checked out super quickly since bagging is done by you (me).

And my suspicions have been confirmed - they even beat WalMart's prices: 

"A recent survey of prices on 37 standard grocery items by Cheapism.com, a Web site that seeks out the best cheap products, found that discount grocer Aldi beat Walmart's prices by 15%. When we independently checked regular prices at both stores, prepackaged ground beef was among the items that we found for less at Aldi than at Walmart. In fact, ground beef was $1 less per pound at Aldi."

Along with Dollar Tree, Bealls Outlet and Ross Dress For Less, Aldi rounds out my favorite haunts for good deals. I hit each of them at least once a week. Ok, you're right, WalMart is still in the mix also.

A retiree can't be too careful with her pension bucks, can she? 

;-) :-)

Three Retirement Goals

I read this article today:  "Three Retirement Goals People Never Achieve". Being a goal-oriented person and thus anxious to achieve all retirement goals, I was very intrigued at what those goals could be.

Number 1 - Save a million dollars. I think having the funds necessary to secure one's own image of a comfortable retirement is far more important than some arbitrary number.

Number 2 - Write a book. I can understand how every person thinks they have learned something meaningful in their life and wants to leave a record of their existence.  In my case, this desire is well satisfied by my blogging efforts.  It's like writing a book that never ends!

Number 3 - Hike the Appalachian Trail.  Not a goal I have ever even thought about.  But if I had wanted to hike anywhere, I would have done it when I was in my twenties, hahaha.

I did and do have Retirement Goals. Learn to play Maj Jong (check). Create a warm and welcoming "forever" home (check).  Leave stress and worry behind (check).  Make new friends, entertain at home, get involved in community and social groups (on my way). 

The best  Retirement Goal?  Cherish each day - we have less of them to look forward to!!

;-)

In My Queue

I try to stay current with the times but I do have a guilty pleasure that I fear dates me as a an old relic from the last decade.  I still enjoy getting DVDs in the mail from Netflix.

Although I've tried several times to switch to or at least add streaming Netflix, I find the movies and TV shows I want are just not there. At least not yet.  It's a rare occurrence to not find something I'm seeking available on DVD.  A notable exception to this rule is "House of Cards", a Netflix original series. Its latest seasons are only available with a streaming plan so when Season Three debuts I will have to sign up for streaming once again.

Last week I ordered Exodus from 1960 and this week I ordered Hopscotch from 1980.  Netflix is always on target with their recommendations. They guessed I'd give Hopscotch 4.4 stars but if I remember it correctly I'm sure it rates the five stars I gave it.  In any case it will fun seeing it again; 1980 was a long time ago, hahaha.

It's in my queue along with 17 others (and 28 "saved" titles)...

;-)

Shalom Rav

Shabbat services are definitely not the time to engage in political discourse but when Nachman, whom I like very much, voiced his approval of President Obama and expressed disdain for my feelings about the administration's policies toward Israel, I had to respond. Why do I feel Obama does not support Israel, he asked.

In the few moments before the service started I rattled off a handful of recent occurrences that could not be misinterpreted as anything but the administration's slighting and endangerment of Israeli security. It was obvious my friend (I really like this man) did not know much about recent US-Israel relations; he was speechless.

This 30 minute youtube video does a nice job of factually explaining Obama's policies toward Israel but it only goes up to 2012. The last two years have been much worse for US-Israeli relations.

I wanted to get back into the Shabbos mood and not think about politics for the next hour and a half.  It really helped when Nancy, Nachman's wife, got up from the choir to sing her beautiful version of Shalom Rav, "Abundant Peace".  Tears always gather in my eyes whenever I hear her sing this magnificent prayer for peace.  I really hope our current President, and the ones who follow him, feel the same way.

On the plus side, Nachman and I are still friends and I hope to go out with them soon for a politics-free dinner.

;-)

Dollar Tree

I've discovered Dollar Tree, the magical place where everything costs a buck. You will be amazed by all the stuff you need and can get there. Load up the cart and check out for a pittance!

So what do I buy there? Don't laugh but here's a sampling of my Dollar Tree purchases that I love and would go out of my way to buy again.

Makeup. I know a classy lady like me is expected to spend a mint on the fancy makeup products shown in glossy magazines. But the $1 pressed powder compact from Dollar Tree is slim (for fitting in my purse) and works great. I've tried the lipsticks, concealer stick, nail polishes and even hair dye (!) too with no complaints. I can't wait to try more but I have to work through my substantial in-home stockpile first, hahaha.

Cups. I had to buy coffee cups for centerpieces for my Beatnik Coffee House and found the perfect thing at Dollar Tree. Wal-Mart and Big Lots could not touch them even for three times the price. 

Hydro-cortisone and Benadryl cream. Hubby used a boatload of these when going through his bad spell with Prednisone and Dollar Tree had the same formula for much cheaper.

Baby Oil. Toilet Bowl drop-ins. Cleanser. Paper plates and party goods. Greeting cards and gift bags. Sugarless candy. Chewing gum. Office supplies. Tea candles. Cooking utensils. yep, yep, yep

Shop guilt free! Give Dollar Tree a try!

;-)

O Canada

If Chicago and Florida are my first homes and Israel is my second home, then Canada is definitely Number Three. Much of my family lives there and I myself lived Up North for three of my earliest and most impressionable years.

Canada has been in the news for the past few days because of two terrible terrorist attacks that claimed the lives of two Canadian soldiers. I can't help but feel a personal connection to this wonderful country and its fantastic Prime Minister (I wish he were our President).

When I returned to the United States from my three years in Canada I was in third grade. I sang "O Canada" instead of the Star Spangled Banner and I spelled lots of words with "e"s instead of "a"s and I also stuck in a lot of "u"s and other superfluous letters (like grey, behaviour, catalogue, colour, labelled etc.)  Truth be told, I still find myself spelling a few of them the "wrong" way.  I couldn't recite the Pledge of Allegiance and I only knew about the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving because my All American mother insisted on celebrating them.

I still love returning to Canada for a simcha and seeing some of my old haunts, our old house (brand new and barren when we lived there but now old, stately and well shaded), the graves of my ancestors and my old elementary school. Canada has become tremendously more diversified but it is still clean, beautiful and COLD, hahaha.

O Canada. You still have a piece of my heart...

:-)

Live Entertainment

We always enjoyed live entertainment - a stage play or some music - but I never dreamed we'd be doing so much of it here in The Villages. Both the Temple and The Villages offer a wealth of choices and I see a little pile of tickets are accumulating on my desk.

Next Saturday will be "The Songs of Stephen Sondheim" and the Saturday after that will be "Starry Starry 5".  A few days later is the Jewish War Veterans' "Sweet Land of Liberty" and a few days after that the "Café Time Machine". All this entertainment wraps up with "An Evening with the Rat Pack" on December 6th. And all of these events help support worthy causes so I'm doing a mitzvah as I have a night out. Stuck in the middle of all this will be the event I put together for the neighborhood - the "Royal Oak Beatnik Coffee House".

It's fun to dress up a little and go out on the town. Especially if the town is The Villages and you'll see and be seen by your friends and neighbors, right?

;-)

Finding Me

I stopped by the library on a whim a few days ago.  I was in the neighborhood on another errand and decided to take quick peek to see if anything piqued my interest.

I spotted "Finding Me: A Decade of Darkness, a Life Reclaimed: A Memoir of the Cleveland Kidnappings" by Michelle Knight and I am now working my way through it. It's an easy read and more fascinating than I expected. And I haven't even got to the kidnapping and confinement part yet.

It is amazing what the human spirit can endure. I wonder how truly "together" she could possibly be. I suspect I would be placed permanently in a mental ward if even half of her life experiences were my own.

I'm wondering if it does require hard times and hard knocks to "find yourself" as a person. I have a sneaking suspicion the answer is yes...

Good luck Michelle. I wish the best in the rest of your life. You deserve it.

Retire on Social Security Alone

I read an article on "Places to Retire on Social Security Alone". I know they left out a very important place - Kings Point in Delray Beach Florida.

Kings Point had always been our "fall back" plan, the place we knew we could retire to if everything went to heck. In times of stress my mantra was "there's always Kings Point".

You can buy a small condo for about $40,000 and pay about $200. a month in both property taxes and maintenance. You get free bus service all over the area and great shopping, medical services, the library and the hospital are right on the route. You can hang by the pool or the three clubhouses for free and there are tons of free or almost-free activities and entertainment options. You get the beautiful Florida weather and Kings Point in smack dab in the middle of an upscale and safe area.

I'm glad we found our dream community here in The Villages but I'm grateful for the peace of mind I got all these years knowing that if worse-came-to-worse "there was always Kings Point".

Who needs a South American or overseas retirement when you can have Kings Point?

;-) 

One Year

One year ago today we drove our two cars, packed with essentials for an interim six week stay in a rental unit, to The Villages. We stopped in Brownwood and bought two Villages shirts to celebrate. It was the start of a wonderful new life, a grand adventure, and although I was already retired and hubby was/is still working from home, it felt like we had both just retired. It was the milestone that marked a lifetime of "planning for retirement".

My expectations have been more-than-exceeded. We have wonderful new neighbors and friends, a calendar packed with activities, a beautiful home and a golf cart.

The last year has not been perfect and it has been quite a bit of work to get completely settled but I can honestly say it has been one of the best years of our lives. I am thrilled with the prospect of spending my "golden years" in this enclave of happy seniors.

Hubby's poker group will be at our house tonight and I am going to the movies with ladies from the neighborhood.

Life is Good. Very Good.

;-)

The Love Affair

I read that the "love affair" with Barack Obama is truly over. I won't say "I told you so".

Believe it or not, I'm not really happy about this. I was hoping he would exceed my expectations and be a truly great President. Most of all, I was hoping he would steadfastly support Israel.

Instead my worst fears have come to pass. His administration was "appalled" when human shields were harmed by Israel's attempt to destroy rocket launchers aimed at their civilian population? Pre-approved shipments of arms to Israel were halted by the administration? And during a time of war no less. And Kerry hoping to have Israel's enemies and supporters of terrorism - Qatar and Turkey - "negotiate" a peace with Israel? Some "ally"!  And it was not the administration that sent additional funding for Iron Dome, it was our Congress in a rare show of unity.

Playing golf immediately after the puppy-dog sad look at the press conference on the beheading of James Foley. Failed policies and scandals galore. Transparency?? Forgettaboutit! I could go on and on but I won't.

The moral of this story? Looks don't matter. Come on America, admit it, you voted for a youngish, handsome-ish, articulate, upbeat man you hoped would be as good as he looked and sounded and would provide the country with its first black President. Like voting for Michael Douglas or Martin Sheen because they played a President you wished was real. As for me, back in 2008 I voted for a old guy with physical deformities caused by beatings and torture, with decades of dedicated service to America and political experience, and with the gumption to say what he thinks and mean what he says. You can't fool me with a pretty face and a slick sales shpiel.

I could say "I told you so". But I guess I just did...

Update on the Fall 2014 TV Season

OK, so now I've had a few weeks to view and critique the new Fall TV season, AKA The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.  Here are the Hits and Misses IMHO:

THE HITS
Madam Secretary - a big surprise for me: I like it! I thought it would be one big Hillary Clinton ad.
Homeland - not as good as the first three season arc but that was a very high bar...
Forever - really good
Scorpion - not bad
The Blacklist - still good but it's getting confusing
Gracepoint - Very good, new "must see" TV

THE MISSES
The Mysteries of Laura - ho hum
NCIS New Orleans - reminded me why I never got into NCIS Anywhere
The Flash - cute pilot but that's probably the last one I'll see
Stalker - just OK
How To Get Away With Murder - just did not grab me and pull me in

I CAN'T WAIT FOR
Elementary - back on October 30th
The next season of True Detective - may have to sign up for HBO
The next season of House of Cards
State of Affairs - pilot on November 17th

;-)

Panic Button

Time Magazine cover 4/8/1977
 

I read an interesting article a few days ago - "The Case For Panic". I can relate. More than once the past few months I have fought the urge to descend into full-blown Panic Mode.

I am not panicing about Ebola (not yet) having lived through the HIV/AIDS and SARS terrors. I am not worrying about the President's safety and the ineptitude of the Secret Service (I worry more about his ability to guide the country) nor do I spend a nano-second on so-called "Global Warming" now renamed to "Climate Change" (in case it accidentally gets colder instead of warmer). I remember the TIME magazine headline in the 70s that predicted "another ice age" is on the horizon hahaha. I don't worry about immigration because in a generation or two the "immigrants" will be "Americans", just like the formerly shunned Irish, Chinese and Eastern European (etc., etc.) immigrants became pillars of their communities. I don't worry about Obamacare because when folks get their gimormous premium increases next year there will be some changes made.

I do worry about the rising and scary tide of anti-Semitism across the globe, the ability of Israel to defend herself against hordes of haters and the rise of "radical' Islam, especially in Western countries. I worry about ISIS and that much of Islam has morphed from a gentle religion into a blueprint for society which includes government, laws, jihadists, hatred and punishments that directly conflict with our own values.

The article summarizes: it won't be long before things get "really weird".

Gee, things are pretty weird already...

Kol Nidre

The Former Congregation B'nai David

Tonight is Kol Nidre, the holiest night of the year. How do I know this? My father told me.

One of my clearest memories is of the magical night my father took me to Kol Nidre services at B'nai David on Foster Avenue. We walked there and back of course and Mapquest tells me it was only about a mile and a half. I'm sure it seemed much longer going home in the middle of the night.

It was the first year B'nai David was built. The windows you see in the picture were not yet put in and plastic sheets covered the openings. It was a windy night - and probably cold too - and the plastic flapped around eerily during the service. I was thrilled with the new synagogue as it meant we did not have to walk to Albany Park where my father usually fulfilled the duties of cantor and shofar blower at the old Beth Jacob synagogue.

The congregation at B'nai David loved my father and were amazed at his shofar blowing expertise. I was very proud.

My father told me that on Kol Nidre the Gates of Heaven are open. Should one happen to die on Kol Nidre they go straight up.

Both B'nai David and Beth Jacob are long gone now, transformed into Korean Churches. My father is gone too now, 21 years. But tonight, Kol Nidre, I know I will feel his presence once again.

G'mar Chatimah Tovah. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for Good.

New Year's Resolutions

We Jews are lucky, at least in this regard: we get two New Years each year and a chance to make double (or redouble on the last) resolutions.

This year, 5775, the theme of my resolutions is "less is more". Usually I believe "more is more" but I think I have overdone it a bit this last year. Chalk it up to the joy of moving to my new home and making new friends and having so many more options for fun.  This euphoria has led to an abandonment of restraint.

I've gained too much weight (even a few pounds makes a difference on my small frame).

I've bought too many new tops, shoes and definitely too many new jeans so I can skip Ross and eBay for awhile. (Super duper bargains will still be sought out however.)

Home decorating purchases and more tchatchke are now verboten.

The expensive new handbag (gorgeous but completely unnecessary) was returned yesterday.

I also resolve not to say "yes" to every offer of entertainment (unless it's free) if I really don't want to go.

Gotta go now. My friend June and I are going to Eustis to check out the Peddler's Wagon Holiday Showcase.  I'll get a chance to test my resolve!

;-)