When my daughter Koren was five years old, I took her to the Los Angeles Zoo with her sister, Channie (10). We were strolling through the monkey area when I noticed Koren missing. Channie and I hunted the area in a panic. I never felt so frightened in my life. Fortunately, five minutes later, we…
I was a member of Temple Judea, a reform synagogue in Tarzana, California, for twenty-five years. Even after a virus robbed me of most of my hearing and forced me out of my tenured sixth grade teaching assignment, I stayed a temple member. Though I couldn’t understand a word of the rabbi’s sermons or capable…
Amelia Montgomery returns to her childhood home in Shady Knolls, New Jersey over Christmas to escape the stresses of her lucrative life as a New York City commercial real estate broker. She also needs to dodge Jake Grayson, her domineering ex-fiancé who won’t accept her desired break-up. Amelia takes refuge in her family home with…
Magz, a senior at Saint Christopher’s High School, can’t wait to graduate and leave Santolsa, a sleepy desert town in the middle of nowhere. Her parents are never around, busy running from one business trip to another. Her best friend Jack is like a brother to her as they fend off bullies and a boring…
Dear Pop, My daughter and I recently read the Koolura Series and loved all three books. We were pleasantly surprised that an inexpensive Kindle could be so good. School will be starting soon, and I was wondering if you know where we can find inexpensive print books for Lindsay to read on the bus and…
While schools are prepping for the 2019-2020 school year, parents need to think about the bullies that previously terrorized their children. What can we do about those annoying bullies? The first anti-bullying crusade was launched after the April 20, 1999 Columbine massacre when two seniors at Columbine High School in Colorado murdered 12 students and…
It’s that time of year again when parents of students heading to their freshman year are packing trunks and getting ready to face their first year of college. I escorted both my daughters to their chosen schools. One went to the University of California at Riverside, and five years later the younger one attended the…
Dear Pop, I often see my young granddaughter playing with her mother’s smart phone. She watches videos or plays games. What’s your take on this? LA Granny Dear LA Granny, Experts warn that addiction to digital devices prevent young people from forming normal social relationships. After a session on one of the machines they are…
Kendra Falstaff has big plans to leave Middleton, a small town three hours from Toronto, to attend the university and become a lawyer. Employed by her Aunt Irene at a small restaurant in town, Kendra and brother Jimmy were also raised by their aunt after their mother’s untimely death. Unfortunately, Kendra’s plans seem washed away…
Dear Pop, I have a teenage son who really needs hands on discipline. His father died last year and his uncle keeps offering to be his father figure and take charge of his discipline. I can’t control my son, as I have never laid a hand on him. Should I let his uncle punish the…