How I Spent My Two Days Off

I have a friend who regularly tells me I need to get out more.  He's right.

Last week, my sister had business in Washington, DC, and I went along for the ride.  I can't wait for a chance to go back.

Love Letter to Margate

Dear Margate,

Although our time together this week was short, we certainly made the most of it.  Thanks to you, a wonderfully gracious hostess, and her lovely, welcoming home, I relaxed enough that the stress-induced crick in my neck and shoulder nearly disappeared, my face got sun-kissed, and I spent time in a part of my home state that I don’t visit often enough. 

You’re a beautiful place, and you accommodated my friends and me well, serving up generous portions of warm sunshine, gentle breezes, and soft sand.  Mesmerized by the waves and their rhythm as they curled and dove into bubbly white foam that lapped at our feet, I could have walked your beach endlessly – north to Ventnor and Atlantic City, south past historic Lucy and on to Longport. 

In fact, when we weren’t sitting in sand chairs on the beach – talking, laughing, and watching the passing scene – we did lots of walking, strolling the boardwalks in Ventnor, Atlantic City, and Ocean City.  In that last spot, we sampled a few summer favorites, including popcorn, fudge, and Kohr Brothers frozen custard.  Needless to say, that wasn’t all we ate.  Seafood at Mike’s in Sea Isle City, pasta at Gaspare’s in Egg Harbor, and freshly prepared Asian fare at Little Saigon in Atlantic City – all washed down with Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (my new favorite wine!) – made for wonderful dinners.  Plentiful breakfasts and lunches – fruit, yogurt, and salads, deli, sticky buns, and other sweet treats – generously prepared by our hostess, rounded out our meals.

Alas, all too soon, our rendezvous was over, and I found myself back in Manhattan.  I’m doing my best, though, to hold on to the ease you inspired and the relaxation you encouraged, as well as to appreciate fully the priceless gift you gave me – good times and good friends with whom to share them. Thanks again for everything, Margate.  I’m grateful to have spent time with you.

xoxo,

~ JanetheWriter.

A Charming Keepsake of a Charmed Life

After reading Jenna Weissman Joselit's recent story in the Forward about charm bracelets, I unwrapped mine from the tissue paper in which, as she rightly points out, it "languish[es] in a drawer, [rather] than adorn[s] a wrist."

Nonetheless, my beloved keepsake remains as pristine and shiny as it was on my bat mitzvah day, when I received it, two charms already dangling from its sterling silver links.  The first, a small, flat disk, declares "A Date to Remember" above a small banner on which is engraved my birthday:  1-29-63. On the back are my initials, beautifully etched in the fanciest of scripts.  The bracelet's second charm, a mezuzah, is a small rectangular box adorned with both a Jewish star and the decalogue, engraved on the back with my bat mitzvah date:  2-6-76.  A third charm, a chai, was a gift from a friend whose name is engraved on one "leg" of the hey.  My name, engraved on the other "leg," with the date, 2-6-76, across the top rounds out the bracelet's "inaugural" charms.

An assortment of additional charms marks the milestones of my teenage years: my sweet 16, confirmation, and induction into the National Honor Society.  In between are souvenirs from family vacations:  a lobster cage from a week in Boothbay Harbor, ME, a beach shanty from a trip to Rockport, MA, and a Mickey Mouse charm from my sole visit to Disneyland.

More than milestone markers or souvenirs, though, the charms -- individually and collectively -- serve to remind me of the charmed life, overflowing with warmth, well-being, and love that my parents worked so hard to ensure for my sister and me.  Lucky for me, memories of that charmed life live in my heart, too, relieving me of the need to wear the bracelet on my wrist, where it only would "get in the way of...nonstop texting and tapping."

Hey Verizon, Get Back to Work!

This afternoon I returned from a wonderfully restful and relaxing family vacation in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. Camped out in a three bedroom, two bathroom house just a short walk from the beach, we (my parents, sister and seven-year-old nephew) spent lazy days reading on the sand, building sand castles, and frolicking in the warm, wonderful waves of Risden’s Beach. Our evenings were filled with arcade games, ice cream and mah jongg with some friends staying in nearby Ocean Grove. It couldn’t have been a better week.

For some reason, while I was away, Verizon decided to take a vacation too. I returned to my apartment to find no dial tone on my phone and no internet access on my computer. Suddenly, unpacking, opening the snail mail and checking email all took a back seat to calling Verizon and, while the customer service representative on the other end of my cell phone waited, plugging a phone into the jack in the back of the closet near the bathroom, where the phone line comes into my apartment. When there was no dial tone there, she astutely told me, “It’s a problem with the network.” Duh.

Long story short: I’m currently paying for internet access at Starbucks, answering email, and writing this blog post. I'm preparing to return to work on Monday and I think Verizon needs to do the same -- now!