Recent Comments
Sharon P. on A MINOR MEMORANDUM TO MY … 34orion on 84th Anniversary of Krist… James George on 84th Anniversary of Krist… Sue on September 11, 2021 Kate on Tomahawk and Crown: Part 2: Ch…
Author Archives: 34orion
The Green Flash
Like Maui I tried to be a good son. But while he was successful in his effort to make the days longer for his mother, I am haunted by my failure. The months of isolation have only served to make me more comfortable with my ghosts, not quiet them. Which is why I call her every day. I know she is no longer here. That doesn’t mean she is not listening Continue reading
The Green Flash
Getting into that cab, saying goodbye to Nadine is among the most difficult things I have ever done. I was leaving the person I cherished and loved above all others with no expectation of when or even if I would see her again. That type of goodbye belonged in movies. Not in my life. I managed to put on a brave face through our final embrace. I told her all the lies that one tells someone you love when the future is uncertain. It won’t be long. I will see you before you know it. You are tired of me anyway. We have Zoom. We were both remarkably stoic. Until we were out of sight of each other and then I let the tears flow. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
The Green Flash
Chapter 3: Day 2: Dawn According to legend, the god Maui not only created the island paradise we call Hawaii, but he also made the days longer. The story goes that he found his mother Hina, who was normally cheerful, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
The Green Flash
I awake to the sound of distant drums and muffled cheering. I suspect that somewhere on the Ritz’s property a group of native Hawaiians are giving some mainlanders a highly sanitized introduction to their culture. Perhaps a hula demonstration or Luau. I have no desire to get up and join them. It is too corny and I am too tired for any socializing tonight. But I am still wrestling with what brought us here in the first place. Not only the death of Conor but the circumstances that led up to it, how I had missed so much and the role I had played when everything went tits up. Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
The Green Flash:
Day 1: 8pm . Chapter 1: Well the first days are the hardest days, don’t you worry any more‘Cause when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your doorThink this through with me, let me know your mindWoah-oh, … Continue reading
The Green Flash: Chapter 1
Day 1: 3pm (Continued) It is my nephew, Liam. 6’4”, and despite his twenty-eight years a boyish face with rosy cheeks, dimples, and a beard that only needed to be shaved twice a week. Covid protocols be damned we gave … Continue reading
The Green Flash: Chapter 1
Day 1: 3pm Hawaii smells as heaven should. It felt that way because for the last fifteen hours I had been on an airplane wearing a KN95 mask and after smelling my own breath for that long anything would smell … Continue reading
Carol Z. Rothkopf: An Incomplete Memoir
The Book of Baum: Lazar Baum was the eldest, and apparently went West, probably during the Gold Rush of 1848. He was never heard of again. The Family Book of 1964 suggests that he could have been scalped by Indians, … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged blog, family-history, history, memoir, music, politics, religion
Leave a comment
Lilacs
The sign above the gate read “Arbeit Mach Frei.” It was May 12, 2011 and I found myself literally staring at the gates of hell. The entrance to the most notorious of all the Nazi Death Camps: Auschwitz-Birkenau. Being here … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
Leave a comment
A MINOR MEMORANDUM TO MY CHILDREN
ON THE EIGHTY-FITH ANNIVERSARY OF KRYSTALLNACHT, NOVEMBER 9 AND 10, 1938 I don’t intend to make this a big deal literary effort or a weepy emotional debauch. I simply want to tell you what I remember about Krystallnacht. … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
1 Comment
Blame it on Rio 