Blog

LIFE IN THE SLOW LANE

By David Perlstein | January 31, 2025 |

Some people are quick about things and respond to life in the moment, but I live life in the slow lane. When you do that, you learn to laugh at yourself. After all, other people are laughing at you. So, how slow am I? I’m so slow, I get dizzy watching paint dry and grass…

Read More >>

HOSTAGES AND HOSTAGES

By David Perlstein | January 24, 2025 |

This past week, approximately 1,500 hostages were released, yet only three were transferred from Hamas to Israel. Adds up? Depends on how you define “hostage.” Israelis welcomed home three young women dragged off on October 7, 2023: Romi Gonen, Emily Damari and Doron Steinbrecher. Where does the above number come from? Last Monday, Donald Trump…

Read More >>

FIRE LESSONS 

By David Perlstein | January 17, 2025 |

I live in San Francisco, but the fires in Los Angeles County are personal.  My son Yosi lives in South Pasadena. To his north, the Eaton Fire destroyed much of Altadena. Thankfully, the threat to untouched South Pasadena has greatly diminished. The challenge now is recovery and lessons learned to guide it. Can Altadena, parts…

Read More >>

THE GULF OF WHAT?

By David Perlstein | January 10, 2025 |

Donald Trump may keep Carolyn and me from going on the Panama Canal cruise we’ve occasionally talked about. Last Monday, Trump held court gave a press conference at Mar-a-Lago sure to fuel the MABA movement. Make America Bigger Again. The lust for empire, which marked much of this nation’s activities in the 19th century, has risen from the ashes. Enough, you…

Read More >>

FIVE CRUCIAL NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS 

By David Perlstein | January 3, 2025 |

The New Year’s morning terrorist attack in New Orleans reminds us that the world seems to grow darker, but I have ways to brighten my soul.   I take tragedy in New Orleans somewhat personally. My son Yosi used to live there and played drums and fiddle with two bands. Carolyn and I visited a number…

Read More >>

ANOTHER MIDEAST MUDDLE 

By David Perlstein | December 19, 2024 |

With Syria’s Bashar al-Assad and the 53-year-old Assad family rule overthrown, an old adage arises in the Middle East: Be careful what you wish for. But wish we must, then take care following up. The Middle East has been a highly unstable region not just in recent decades but throughout history. For centuries, competing caliphs…

Read More >>

MEMORY’S FRAGILITY 

By David Perlstein | December 13, 2024 |

Last Saturday marked a momentous occurrence in American history, yet no one seemed to remember. Perhaps you have to be at or near my age, 80, to commemorate December 7 as Pearl Harbor Day. On a Sunday morning in 1941, Japanese planes bombed the U.S. naval base in Honolulu, Hawaii, and nearby Army Air Force…

Read More >>

A BIRTHDAY, A MARRIAGE AND HEALING 

By David Perlstein | December 6, 2024 |

My wife Carolyn turned 77 last Tuesday, and we’ve been married 55+ years, both of which I address to a fragmented America. Carolyn proudly proclaims her age. Many people fudge theirs, hoping to prove they remain strong physically and mentally to get that next promotion, job or desirable partner. Vanity plays a role. The legendary…

Read More >>

THE SLEDGEHAMMER CREW

By David Perlstein | November 22, 2024 |

What do you say when someone forces you to revise your Friday post on Thursday: Hallelujah! Yesterday, Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration for Attorney General. (Donald Trump then picked former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.) The FBI had investigated Gaetz for sex with a minor but didn’t prosecute. The House Ethics Committee stopped investigating when…

Read More >>

15¢ A SLICE 

By David Perlstein | November 15, 2024 |

Inflation, a prime issue for Donald Trump voters, took me down memory lane. A (small) 14-inch pizza (eight slices) from my neighborhood go-to, Village Pizzeria, runs $21-$31. When I was a kid in 1950s New York, a slice of cheese pizza cost 15¢  Hamburgers in my Queens neighborhood also cost 15¢. Then Hamburger Train—a model…

Read More >>