Ten Years of This Normal Life

September 11, 2012

The original logo for This Normal Life It was ten years ago that I started writing This Normal Life, my personal blog. And for ten years, I have posted a minimum of one essay per week. Actually, in the first year, I published more like 2-3 a week, but as the blog became more established […]

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Escape from Novogrodek

September 7, 2012

Jack Kagan has one of the most breathtaking – and little known – stories of heroism and escape during the Holocaust. Kagan was one of 250 Jews forced into a “work camp” near Novogrodek, Belasrus. I say “work” camp because it was clear that their fate would ultimately be the same as the 15,000 Jews […]

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The Personal Beach Concierge

August 29, 2012

I have a love-hate relationship with the beach. Speaking with friends, I know I’m not the only one. But I may have a solution…and a potential moneymaker to boot. The love part: dipping in the warm Mediterranean waters of August (after the jellyfish of July have jumped ship); feeling the sand between my toes; chilling […]

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Lost in Africa, Israel

August 15, 2012

We were on a guided tour of South Tel Aviv to get an in-person look at what dominated the news a few months back when my friend Eliot and I got lost. We were visiting the Central Bus Station and we had to use the bathroom. When we came out, our group was gone. As […]

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A Date in Jerusalem

August 9, 2012

Every year on our wedding anniversary, my wife Jody and I try to get away to a bed and breakfast/spa, somewhere in Israel for a night or two. This year, however, the prices were even higher than usual – the cost for a vacation in Israel was double that for a flight and hotel in […]

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Israeli Wine Tasting Festival Grows Up

August 2, 2012

The first year we visited the annual Israeli Wine Tasting Festival held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem in 2006, there were a modest number of wineries all lined up on the single gently sloping outdoor passageway from the museum entrance until the main buildings. Six years later, the festival has grown – and grown […]

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Israeli Summer Camp at One of the Hottest Places on Earth

July 25, 2012

Our 14-year-old son is heading off to summer camp this week. This will be his fifth year at “Kayitz b’Kibbutz,” a Bnei Akiva style overnight camp set at Kibbutz Shluchot in the Jordan Valley, just south of Beit Shean. The camp caters to both native born Israelis and visitors from overseas (the main language spoken […]

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You’re in the Army Now

July 18, 2012

If you had told me when I was growing up in the U.S. in the 1960s and 1970s that I’d have children in the army, I’d have said, “no way – get out of here!” Those were the years of Vietnam and the army didn’t exactly figure into our suburban lifestyle. And yet, here I […]

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Retiring to Protea Hills

July 11, 2012

It’s too bad I haven’t hit retirement age yet. Because when I do (and it won’t be for a good many more years), I know where I want to live: Protea Hills, a brand new retirement “village” in the final stages of construction high up on a mountain at Moshav Shoresh, about 20 minutes from […]

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Surprises at the Israeli Presidential Conference

July 1, 2012

When Elie Klein, one of the PR execs working behind the scenes at the just concluded Israeli Presidential Conference in Jerusalem, told the coterie of bloggers – including yours truly – that they would have the chance to meet President Shimon Peres in a small group question and answer session, I was stoked. Now well […]

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