Another Sunday, but this one will take me to a place that I love visiting. I am going to the Skirball Cultural Center, in Beverly Hills, CA, with my daughter Sarah, son-in-law Allan, and my two grandies Emily and Logan. They are having a special event today, entitled “Fiesta Hanukkah”.

“Celebrate Hanukkah with a Latin flair! This year, as part of the Skirball’s ongoing initiative to commemorate Jewish life in Latin America, the annual Hanukkah family festival invites families of all backgrounds to enjoy Latin Jewish music, art-making, and storytelling, as well as tasty variations on holiday food favorites.”

It should be a wonderful and fun way to spend the day with my family. I am excited about seeing the Hanukkah festival at the Skirball through their eyes.
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Today, December 6th, would have been my parents wedding anniversary. They were literally married the day before the attack on Pearl Harbor. I like to think they are together, in an environment of peace/shalom, dancing the foxtrot under the gazebo at Central Park or on the boardwalk at Jones Beach.
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All photographs were taken by me.
© Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permission.

I was touched and was impressed by William Styron’s novel Sophie’s Choice, a Holocaust novel that portrayed a Roman Catholic, Sophie, her Holocaust experience, and her later love relationship with a Jewish man. When I saw the new release, Letters to My Father, in the book store a while back, I just had to buy it.

I wanted to learn more about the man who could author a book like Sophie’s Choice, a book that was heart-wrenching, not only for the Holocaust and post Holocaust aspect, but for the choice that Sophie was confronted with, and had to make on a moment’s notice. When reading it, I felt the devastation and despair, and was stunned that it was written so sensitively.

I became thoroughly involved in the book from the first page to the last. It is fascinating on many levels, insightful, poignant, and filled with the stuff that inspirational memoirs are made of. The father-son relationship reigns supreme within the pages of this beautifully composed book of over one hundred letters plus additional content. The letters were written by Styron to his father, William C. Styron, Sr.

That Styron was able to openly pen them and discuss his feelings and thoughts to his father is a testament to the both of them and their strong father-son bond. From his insecurities to his personal life, Styron speaks to his father through the letters quite frankly and without fear of negative feedback. The closeness he felt to his father is extensively exhibited within the correspondence.

The reader sees the emotional growth developing in Styron, as he moves through his early years. From serving in World War II to his university studies, to marriage and living abroad, the documentation of his life is forthright and fascinating. He speaks to his father in a candid manner, holding nothing back. The content is intense and compelling, and offers a look into not only the mindset of Styron the author, but is also a psychological study as to the inadequacies that Styron felt about his writing, recognition for his work, and the difficulties confronting him as a writer.

That he felt insecure about himself, in his younger years, belies the maturity with which he wrote his novels. We are given glimpses into an author’s thoughts, emotions and relationship with his father like no other book I can think of. It is a beautiful volume, filled with copies of some of the correspondence. The book also contains some of Styron’s earliest writings.

This reader was completely taken in from page one, and finished Letters to My Father, basically nonstop. I came up for air to eat, but the book was beside me while I did. It lingers with me, as I write this. It is one of those books that are difficult to let go of because of the emotional involvement of the reader. It is an extremely inspiring book. I highly recommend Letters to My Father to everyone, not only to fathers and sons.
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I personally own and have read this book.
© Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permission.

Thursday December 3, 2009 – 16th of Kislev, 5770

It is once again time for Watery Wednesday photos. My photos are of a rainbow that I saw while moving to California. I was a passenger in my car when these were taken by me, through the raindrops of my car window.

The middle photo was taken through the passenger side mirror…I was trying to be a bit creative with my capture, and was not looking for, or expecting perfection…what with the raindrops, etc. I was just having fun.

For more Watery Wednesday photos from around the world, visit here.

Have a great day!

© Copyright 2007 – All Rights Reserved – No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography, book reviews, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my express written consent/permission.

Wednesday December 2, 2009 – 15th of Kislev, 5770

Once again it is time for Ruby Tuesday! Post any photo with red in it, and then view the other photos from around the world.

My captures are of trains that I saw along the way to California. I love trains, love the serene look to them, even if the sky is dark, especially when they are in the middle of nowhere.

Stop by Mary’s Ruby Tuesday blog, and leave some comments on the photos there.

Once again it is Ruby Tuesday time!

The above photos were taken on my journey back to California, as we entered Arizona…taken through the car window. I loved the second one for its sentiment, and have never seen a sign like that on the interstate/freeway.

To see more photos with red in them, visit Ruby Tuesday.

I’ve been reading (in between errands and unpacking and organizing) like mad trying to catch up on my favorite form of relaxation.

Have a nice day, everyone.

Once again it is Skywatch Friday. I have chosen a photo that I took on my trip back to California. It is a stretch of highway near Flagstaff, Arizona. It was a bright sunny day, and the clouds in the sky were magnificent. I have posted this one a few days ago, but want to use it for Sky Watch Friday. I refined it a bit, taking out the date, and resizing it.

The photo above was taken before arriving in Flagstaff.

Visit Sky Watch Friday to see more sky photos.
I am still unpacking, still taking care of business, and extremely content and happy about my move. All is going smoothly.

Shabbat Shalom, everyone!