This year’s birthday post for my mother also honors a landmark birthday for my sister, Kathy. The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming book, Nothing Really Bad Will Happen. This scene is based on a story told by my mother, Doris Lichtenthal Falcone about the day she brought home her third daughter, Katherine Anne. […]
Read MoreMy hairdresser was running late today, so I passed the time by responding to today’s writing prompt for Lynn Palermo’s February Writing Challenge. I haven’t posted anything in quite a while, and this turned out to be a fun writing exercise, so I’m sharing it with you all! I took a few liberties (see the […]
Read MoreThis post was inspired by the Day 1 Writing Prompt for Lynn Palermo’s February Writing Challenge. Dear Great-Grandpa, I know we must have met. but I was 2 years old when you passed so, have no memory of that My impression of you was formed by pictures of you looking stern and imposing and a […]
Read MoreMemories of the Holocaust evoke great sadness. So many people disappeared. So many families never had the chance to grow. So much horror and sorrow. Imagine being a six-year-old child and your mother says you must leave the only home you ever knew to go to a new country. As adults, most of us would […]
Read MoreNOTE: I intended to post this on the 15th, but… um… life. According to Thomas MacEntee’s Facebook post, today is National Hat Day. Thank goodness he made us aware of this very important observance! There have been some exciting happenings recently related to my great-grandparents’ hat business, LITAL (Vienna, Austria – 1899-1938). Many years ago, […]
Read MoreYears ago, among my family’s treasures, I found a small crocheted pouch. The ivory cotton thread was very soft. The top was a bit frayed. I pulled out the item contained inside—a small copper token, about the size of a quarter. The only thing I understood on the coin was the greeting: Prosit Neujahr 1938. […]
Read MoreIMPOSTER SYNDROME: “a collection of feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success.” Social Psychologist, Dr. Amy Cuddy When people refer to me as an author, I generally respond with something like, ” Well… Gee.. thanks, but I’m not a real writer.” Or maybe, “No. I’m not really. I just have a lot of stories […]
Read MoreFollowing up on my recent presentation, “Sharing Our Family’s Stories” (for the Jewish Genealogical Society of Connecticut), I thought it might be a good time to invite you to take my version of Mike Karsen’s “Legacy Pledge.” Mike offers you a choice of two gifts when you accomplish his pledge to share your family history […]
Read MoreIf you received a whole bunch of posts recently, I want to apologize! When I opened my WordPress program to create a new post, there were a whole bunch of previous posts sitting in my Draft Box. I’m not sure why, as those were all posts I had published previously. So, because I am hungry […]
Read MoreToday’s post is prompted by my daughter Caitlin asking what blood types my husband and I are. She read some research indicating people with Type A may be more susceptible to Covid-19. I knew Scott’s was Type O (whew!) since it’s on his dogtag from 1971. Me? No idea!! I checked my online medical profile […]
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Who We Are and How We Got This Way 