The Age of Adaline . Aging

     I recently watched the movie The Age of Adaline. In a nutshell the movie is about a woman who does not age past the age of twenty-nine. Unfortunately everyone else in her life does including her daughter. Its fascinating especially because its the story of a woman and not a man.
     The cold hard truth is that not everyone ages at the same rate. Some people look old at thirty while others don't look old until they are seventy, I myself am fortunate to look a lot younger than my years. I appreciate it but with such a bracha there is a  balance to be made that others don't have to worry about. I am still carded when I buy wine which admittedly as flattering as it is annoying. Men who are way too young for me are interested in me not for the wrong reasons . Until they figure out my real age. If I told people that I was fifteen years younger than my real age they would believe me.
     Then again, as a single woman its amazing to look young. If I had kids and they looked younger than me then it might be a different story. Then again it would still feel great. I have met older women who had mothers who looked younger than them or  looked like sisters and they were sixty something and eighty something respectively.
     The crazy truth is  often  people treat people the age they look and not the age they are. That's what makes it all so confusing and so easy to lose track of time. I think that that's why people do age. It reminds   us of the the passage of time.
      Despite my musings, The Age of Adeline is  a good movie because it really makes a person think about aging. 

A Twist

I recently saw an event advertised for a women's only concert at a secular Jewish venue. The woman singing is frum and observes the laws of kol ishah. She does not sing in front of men. The only thing is, this secular Jewish event space decided to be pc and the ad said that this is a women only concert  and for  those who identify as women. Well... biological women are women but those who identify as women , except for biological hermaphrodites are men. Is it kol ishah to sing in front of trans women? Aren't they really men? They often transform to women who like women not women who like men . Isn't that the what the whole issue of kol ishah is? Biological men who who desire women no matter how they dress? It really upsets me that this venue had to put into writing their desire to include men who identify as women in this kol ishah event. I would think that this would make this more of an issue than if they happened to let men who identify into the event in a don't ask, don't tell type of admittance. If a man who identifies as a woman shows up to the event and the singer did not realize they would be in attendance then I bet it would be less of a kol ishah issue. If the singer knows that this is going to happen then it would seem like she thinks this kind of kol ishah is permitted, which I would guess that it is not. If these transgender women like men then I think it would be less of a kol ishah issue. Gee whiz. These are  issues I never thought I would be contemplating.

Greta Van Susteren of FOX News the Tel Aviv Attack

    Its nice to see someone supportive of Israel. Bless you Greta Van Susteren.

Terror

      I am still in shock about the terror attack at the gay nightclub in Orlando a week ago. I am glad that  it was Shavuot when it happened so I could not listen to Obama's statement or any newscaster's  opinions for a few days.
      I have a few thoughts that I would like to share. I do not think that increased gun control laws would have stopped this attack. Hello. Terrorists have ways of securing guns to do nefarious things. I myself do not own a gun nor do I want to. What if the bouncer at the Pulse club in Orlando had a gun and knew how to use it? Maybe the devastation would not have been as great.
      The funniest reaction I have heard is that the LGBT community is upset that people are making this such a universal tragedy instead of just  an LGBT tragedy. To this I say, " Huh? " Isn't that what they want? Don't they want the whole world to be shocked and saddened because this was a horrible act to happen to people not just that its a horrible act to happen to LGBTs ?
        As for our fearless leader Obama, all I can say is that the snippets I have heard of his reaction is more upsetting than the actions of the terrorist. He still thinks that if we all joins hands and sing "Kumbaya" there will be peace. I guess it works for him because he and Michelle can escape quickly to their secure bunker if necessary. What about the rest of us?
        The terrorist last week was on a no fly list . He was known to be belligerent and apparently he wasn't being watched well enough because this still happened. Its good news bad news. He didn't appear on the terror scene out of the blue, but its rather horrific that no one was able to stop him .
         I do think that the number 49 is significant in this massacre as this shooting happened on the first night of Shavuot. Shavuot is 49 days after Pesach. The Jews had descended to 49 levels of toomah before matan torah. I don't know how to process all of this , but I am sure some rabbi already has. If I bother to look I will probably find one of their guesses.
        I am sending condolences to the friends and families of  those who were murdered in terrorist attack in Orlando. I wish all those who injured in the attack a refuah shelmah. I wish all of us a peaceful world.

It Could Be Way Worse

    Everybody's parents have quirks. Recently I have been reading a memoir by an aquaintance of mine. Her mother was really loony tunes. Its amazing she survived it without ending up completely insane. I would never have guessed that she had such a traumatic childhood. As always one can't tell everything about a person just by looking at them. One really never knows what adversity some people go through whether one is rich or poor. Crazy doesn't discriminate. After reading her book I have a new appreciation for my own parents. I must thank this aquaintance when I do see her. 

Cute

   This is cute

Silence is Golden

      When I was in 19 I had a friend who got married. This friend did not have her first child until she was 23. When she first married I would ask her if anything was new meaning if there was maybe a little someone on the way. After about a year of me asking her this she told me not to ask her this anymore. She wanted a child at the time but it just wasn't happening. After that I never ask anyone if they are expecting. I wait for them to tell me. If I don't find out until they have the baby its okay too. I don't need to be the big yenta who is always in the know.  By now I have had too many friends who have wanted babies but had a hard time having them . Or maybe they never had any.
       The worst thing to do is ask someone if they are pregnant if they are trying hard to have one. The funny  thing is, random people have asked me if I was pregnant which has given me a mixed reaction. On the one hand I am flattered because they think I could be pregnant , that I could get to be a mother.  On the other hand it makes me not want to ever wear again the outfit that made someone think I was so heavy that I looked  pregnant.
         If someone is pregnant everyone will eventually find out anyway. No need to ask. The most one has to wait to find out is nine months. One does not have to be the first to know the news. Whenever one finds out this kind of news one will be happy for their friend.

Ofra Haza - The Wailing Wall (HaKotel)

    I know that Shavuot and not Pesach begins tonight, but I love this song . Next year in Jerusalem.

Celebrate Israel

     It was another rainy Celebrate Israel parade yesterday. The concert was cancelled. Not very many people showed up due to the weather. I arrived at the tail end of the parade, but I felt it was important to show up no matter how late. I love Israel and wanted to show my support.  It was wonderful to see the awesome spirit of those who marched and those who stood cheering them on on the sidewalk.

Miracles Do Happen

    A four year old boy somehow managed to slip into the gorilla cage at the Cincinnati zoo. The zoo shot the gorilla in order to save the little boy.  It is nothing short of a miracle that this little boy is still alive and is recovering. I wonder what amazing things this little boy will end up doing now that he has survived .
   I really do not understand how this little boy was able to slip into the gorilla cage. To me this is inconceivable  that it could even be possible. How long has this cage been around? The mother should have been watching her son better, but I think that that the zoo is to blame and not the mom. She could have watched him better, but I doubt she thought it was possible that he could ever slip into that cage. I would not want to take a child to a zoo where there was any possiblity that the child could enter the cages no matter how well I was or was not watching them.
   I think that the only activists I can sympathize with are those who oppose zoos to begin with . If there wasn't a zoo this would not have happened. Otherwise, I agree that the zoo did the right thing by shooting the gorilla. That little boy's life was more important . Of course, now that this has unfolded the little boy has so much pressure on him. He has to live a life so important that a gorilla needed to be shot so he could live. Then again, I think that even an ordinary life would justify it.  Hopefully the Cincinnati zoo will make sure that their cages are more secure so no more little children will be able to sneak into the gorilla or any other animal cage.