I have confessed to being a news junky and if you read my thought pieces on Jewish Sacred Aging, you know which side of the aisle I stand. And, as my normal routine, I wake up daily and listen to CNN as I get ready for work, listen to it in the car, return home from work and listen for more news as I go through my evening routine till I feel I’ve learned enough for the day. And I must say, since the current administration has been in office, I have gleaned more about our government than all my social studies classes, college and advanced education.
But today was different: Big news could be a-coming! So as I drove from client to client I anxiously awaited to hear the jury’s decision about the president’s former campaign manager and what would his former lawyer plead to.
As I sat for a few minutes having lunch, with CNN on at home, the two big stories exploded within minutes of each other! As a former journalism major, I was in awe of the newscasters on how they handled all that was going on! And then I switched to FOX to see how they were handling the BREAKING NEWS and they were broadcasting a talk show! Made me laugh!
After lunch I was walking to my car to go to another client when a neighbor stopped and said, “Why the happy dance?” I responded, knowing her political views, “Didn’t you hear the news?” “Yes! So great! Maybe the president will now be going down!”
She and I have chatted before about the politics of day and she’s commented that I seem to be in the know all the time. I told her how much I listen to the news. She then said to me, “Why do you care so much?”
I responded with a line from one of my all-time favorite movies, The Way We Were, when Hubbell said to Katy (after she went on-and-on about FDR and the War), “Why do you care so much?
And she asked, “How can you not?”
As I continued on my way, I couldn’t help but hear in my head, “Why do you care so much? Why do you care so much? Why do you care so much?”
I had to pull off to the side of the street because the answer hit me like a ton of bricks.
The word JUSTICE kept shouting out at me. JUSTICE. We deserve JUSTICE for wrong-doing.
In 1962 my parents were killed in a car accident, a car that I was also in, by a drunk driver who got out and walked away, along with his pregnant wife and only spent six months in jail.
Where was the justice for my two younger brothers and me?
Our past is never far behind us.
As a Baby Boomer Bubbe who still feels 18 but has four grand kids to prove this is the 21 Century, Sandra writes to leave a legacy for the next generations. Her belief that these precious kids need to know their cultural and family’s past in order for them to live their future is all the muse she needs!
She has a Master’s Degree in Psychology and Cross Cultural studies, has written a family history, personal memoir and is completing her first novel.
Her grandmother’s journey to America and life is her source for her deep belief and love for Judaism.
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