Jewish culture

THE YIZKOR CANDLE by Jacqueline Becker as it appears in MSK anthology

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     It was time to light the Yizkor, or memorial candle.  We traditionally light it during the week of shiva, or mourning.  We light it at sundown just before we light the four major holiday candles.  We also light it on the anniversary of the death of a close member the family.  The candle represents the soul.  Yizkor is the command verb to remember.  It would translate into:  “He SHALL remember.”  Remembering is imperative in our religion.  The candle is meant to burn a full 24 hours. 

    When our department took our supervisor out to celebrate her retirement, we went to a small, lovely Mexican restaurant.  It was late afternoon and the staff began to light the candles on our table.  My colleague-friend, Debbi, looked at me and I looked back at her.  We were the only ones who understood.  We burst out in laughter.  We could not hold back as the tears streamed down our cheeks.     To be continued tomorrow…

I spent a fabulous hour with a group of readers at the Atria Roslyn Harbor

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I came to talk and I learned from my audience.  There are some fabulous things going on at the Atria in Roslyn Harbor.  Thank you, Megan for inviting me.  I feel privileged to have met a group of feisty, alert, active, engaged people who are in their nineties – some even very close to 100.  They inspired me, as I hope I entertained them.  Summer camp for seniors with a lot of activities ranging from exercise-  including rowing teams, to talks, to trips, these people are staying relevant! I raise my glass to toast them:  To health,  to health, to health, to health, to health! (Judith Viorst)

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN MY PRESENTATION. I JUST GOT ANOTHER BOOKING!

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This charming lady helped me get another booking.  I will be presenting RAGING AGAINST AGING at Atria Senior Living in Roslyn Harbor.  It will be an interactive discussion about the 5 major concerns we all face as we age.  I hope this crowd will Age, Rage, Laugh, Cry, Stretch & Kvetch with me!  A shout out thank you to Emily Willens of the Great Neck Atria!

 

TO-DATE OVER 100 OF MY BOOKS ARE OUT THERE IN THE WORLD

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I was raised to believe that all of human intelligence can be found on the shelves of our libraries.  I have been told that my book RAGING AGAINST AGING is a mix of wisdom and wit.  Anyone of the over 100 readers, please consider donating a copy to YOUR library.  And remember, I donate a portion of proceedings to Memorial Sloan Kettering for cancer research for the sake of my children and grandchildren.

My Book is in my library under new authors “B” for Becker

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My mother would say:  “Your father would be so proud.”  My husband is proud.  My grandson is proud.  I am proud.  My daughter is proud.

I grew up believing that a book was the ultimate achievement.  Mine took a lifetime to write.  Mine is about becoming the author of my life.

SHE HAD THE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOS I GREW UP WITH IN HER FAMILY ALBUM!

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I was never interested in my larger family.  I grew up in a small, insular community, and heard stories, and saw photos but no one put the stories and photos together.  No one gave these people life.  My mother was a very negative person.  So, I turned my back, went to therapy, and spent years trying to untangle the web my mother had created.  And now, I am lonely and aging, and my daughter had gotten my grandson interested in DNA and so, long story short, I managed TO FIND a real second cousin I never knew existed!  And here we are.    It is true you cannot pick your family members.  BUT imagine how great it is to find a relative you connect with and actually like!  It fills that emptiness and together you bond and fill in gaps and connect dots and share stories with.  And MARLA is a pro at this- for real.  I am just the lucky recipient!  And if Marla and I lived closer we would probably light the Chanukah menorah together!  And we will in our hearts!

10 Days to My Book Talk

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Feel free to contact mjctemple@gmail.com or call 593-6364 or email or text me.   HOPE TO SEE YOU THEN.

10 Days to my Book Talk and 12 until CHANUKAH!

16 days to CHANUKAH and people who DO NOT KNOW ME are buying my book!!!

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(I can tell because I get the stats).  THANK YOU FOR RECOMMENDING MY BOOK!  THANK YOU FOR YOUR WONDERFUL COMMENTS AND REVIEWS.  AND PLEASE REMEMBER, I DONATE A PORTION TO MEMORIAL SLOAN KETTERING.  LET’S DO WHATEVER IT TAKES TO FIND THE CURE!

 

IT ALL STARTED HERE ON WORDPRESS WITH ONE LITTLE BLOG!

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THANK YOU TO MY BLOG MASTER FOR PUTTING ME ON WORDPRESS.   I blogged a little blog.  A few people read it.  I blogged again – another little blog. People visited and viewed it.  I found I had an outlet to my voice.  I blogged again and again.  All little blogs. Now I have a book.  It is available for circulation in my local library.  One of my clients ordered a book and donated it to her local library.

“My father would be so proud,” my mother would tell me.   He revered books. My mother revered crafts.  As you can see, I had no shot at being a big business person from the very beginning!  But, I have already been on one podcast, one radio talk show, am scheduled to do a book talk, am scheduled to be on a local public access t v interview show, and will be on a podcast radio show -that operates out of Durham, NC.  And my book just debuted Oct. 6th!   “Not too shabby,” my friend would say.

If YOU WANT TO BUY A COPY FOR YOUR LIBRARY, THAT WOULD BE A FABULOUS CHANUKAH GIFT TO ME AND TO OTHERS WHO ARE AGING.  AND 18% of the proceeds goes to Memorial Sloan Kettering – if not for our sakes, then for the sake of our children.

p.s.  I AM FIVE FULL CHAPTERS INTO MY NEXT BOOK!

 

 

 

 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? This is a question to all who read my book.

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My blog master read my book.  She is suggesting that I turn this into theater – a one or two or three women play.

What do you think? Please answer if you have read my book.