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Every Story Matters: Remembering the Horror and Heroism of October 7

6 Oct
Israel flags

“Every story matters.” That’s something Guy, our excellent tour guide, said on the first day of my trip to Israel in June 2024. It’s a quote that’s stayed with me all these months since I first heard it.

I was visiting Israel as part of a Jewish National Fund (JNF) volunteer mission, and indeed, over the course of my time there, I heard many stories about what happened on or because of October 7 — stories of horror, cruelty, and sadness, but also stories of heroism, resilience, and hope. Every single one of them was significant.

This week marks two years, 24 months, 104 weeks, 732 days, since October 7. As the war in Gaza has dragged on and propaganda has altered the narrative for people around the world, the events that started it all, the reason Israel went into Gaza in the first place, have unfortunately receded into the distant memory of too many. Some deny what happened, and others would like to brush aside the attack entirely, but we cannot allow that day to be forgotten. We must remember it. Bearing witness and sharing stories are the best ways to make sure nobody ever forgets what happened.

Thankfully, to commemorate the anniversary, there are lots of stories being shared. For example, HBO Max and Paramount Plus each have series that dramatize the events of October 7, Amazon Prime Video has a new documentary, Eli Sharabi’s book Hostage shares the ordeal of his 491 days in Hamas captivity, and the award-winning film The Road Between Us is now in theaters. (Yes, there’s also cautious optimism that we may be close to a deal to end the war and finally bring home the remaining 48 hostages, living and deceased. But that’s another story altogether.)

I did my best to write down or somehow capture as many of the stories I heard or experienced on my trip. Of course, it was difficult to remember everything and every detail. There were so many.

Nevertheless, here, in abbreviated versions, are some of the notable ones. To protect people’s identities, I’ve removed most of the last names.

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Witchy Woman: That Time I Interviewed Idina Menzel

15 Nov
Idina Menzel in Wicked on Broadway

Maybe you’ve heard, but the movie adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical Wicked hits theaters later this month, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. It looks fantastic.

As of this posting, I have not seen the movie. (Womp womp.) But here’s a fun fact: Back in the day, when she was starring as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, I interviewed Idina Menzel. The interview took place more than 20 years ago, in March 2004, before Menzel won the Tony award for the role. (And before Frozen, and before John Travolta called her “Adele Dazeem”, and before everything else that happened after she left the show.)

The article was the cover story of the May 2004 issue of Continental — yes, the inflight magazine of Continental Airlines. Menzel and I spoke over the phone, but I did go to New York shortly thereafter to see her in the show. And then, after Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth bewitched me in their iconic roles (the latter played Glinda), I went backstage to hang out with Ms. Elphaba in her dressing room — after she’d showered and washed off all the green makeup, of course.

Unfortunately, these were the days before iPhones, otherwise I’d probably have photographic proof of this. Oh well.

Another fun fact: Six years later, in 2010, I interviewed Chenoweth, as well. (Again, over the phone.) It was when she was starring in the first-ever Broadway revival of Promises, Promises. During our conversation, I asked Chenoweth why she thought Wicked had touched such a chord in so many people. “There is in every one of us a little bit of Elphaba and a little bit of Glinda,” she explained. “Elphaba, who is green and is immediately outcast because of that, actually has quite a tough little exterior but is not so tough on the inside. Glinda is pretty on the outside, but what drives her? Insecurity. And then she grows into heartbreak. The show is about love and forgiveness and friendship, and those are the reasons why it has become a classic. Nothing makes me prouder than to have been a part of something like that.”

Anyway, I know you aren’t reading this post to learn more about me. You want to read my article about Menzel. So here it is, in its entirety. Enjoy!

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They Lived. They Danced. And One Day, We Will Dance Again, Too

25 Apr
We Will Dance Again / Nova Music Festival Exhibition

What’s happening on college campuses across the country right now is nothing short of disgusting and distressing. Thousands of students — and faculty members, too — are protesting and creating encampments in support of the Palestinian people. 

Or so they say.

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Another Year Comes to a Close, but Challenging Times Won’t End

29 Dec
The road continues, photo by Mason Wildfang

We have reached the end of another year, and I don’t know about you, but I am exhausted.

The first half of this year was good, and I had a lot of fun. But the second half? Definitely more stressful and challenging.

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These Were the Good Old Days

30 Jun

I have no idea where the time went, but here we are at the mid-point of 2023 already.

The fact that these six months seemed to go by so quickly is, I guess, a testament to how much fun they were, overall. There were concerts and shows, lots of movies (36 as of this writing), three trips to Florida (not always fun, admittedly), a good birthday, lots of great TV, meetups with friends, my niece and nephews’ first visit to Boston in three years, and plenty more.

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2022 Was a Rollercoaster of a Year, But It Was a Better One Overall

30 Dec
Reflection

Well, we’ve come to the end of another year, and what a difference 12 months makes. A year ago, I was frustrated and disappointed, feeling like there was no end in sight for the pandemic and like I was on a bridge to nowhere.

And now … well, if I’m not entirely in a positive frame of mind, I’m at least in a better place. Generally.

2022 was, in many ways, the kind of year I’d hoped 2021 would be: Less crazy. More normal. More fun. The pandemic clearly isn’t over yet, but this year, I found ways to live with it and be more comfortable in scenarios that worried me a year earlier.

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My 2021 Soundtrack Reflects the Times (and Music) I Want to Remember

13 Dec

When directors make movies, they work with a music supervisor and a composer to create a soundscape for the film that will deliberately help drive the narrative, boost the desired emotional impact, and leave a distinct impression in the minds of viewers. When done well, hearing a particular song or musical motif included in the movie may trigger memories of that work.

In real life, the process happens somewhat in reverse: The “narrative” of our lives moves forward organically, and the music that triggers memories of certain times and events is not necessarily planned. And, rather than the music itself telling a story, it’s up to us to look at the collection of songs and pick out the themes from the soundtrack in hindsight. In this way, music serves to remind us of the times we’ve lived through, and the music that was playing while we lived — with this caveat: The soundtrack often reflects the times we want to remember. More importantly, it’s made up of the music we want to remember.

I listened to a lot of music in 2021, and my “Now” playlist was everchanging. But as noted, the soundtrack of my year — a.k.a. my 2021 Time Capsule Playlist — largely reflects what was good about these last 12 months.

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The 2021 Happiness Project

4 Jan
2021 ice sculpture

It doesn’t take much to make me happy. 

Eating a slice of good chocolate cake or a warm chocolate chip cookie. Hearing a catchy pop tune. Receiving a phone call from a friend. Enjoying warm weather in the middle of the winter. Experiencing good customer service. All of these are simple pleasures that make me a smile.

Some people think happiness is something you have to seek out, or that it results from big events. Those people need to stop and appreciate the little things more often.

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The 2020 Happiness Project

2 Jan
sunflowers

Not too long ago, I found what I considered to be a “rock star” parking spot on Boylston Street, just a few feet away from the Copley subway station. It was a Sunday afternoon, and since there’s no charge for parking then, I simply got out of my car and walked away, off to go about my business.

More than an hour later, as I was walking back to my car, I saw a pink something or other on my front window, tucked under the windshield wiper. It looked like a parking ticket. What the hell! Wasn’t parking free today?

Turns out, it wasn’t a parking ticket, but a list of 21 behaviors that would apparently help me find “The Way to Happiness.” I laughed. The source of the information — the L. Ron Hubbard Library — was a bit dubious, but I had to admit, the list had merit: Take care of yourself. Honor and help your parents. Do not steal. Be industrious. Try not to do things to others that you would not like them to do to you. Fulfill your obligations. Do not murder. And so on. You get the idea.

I’m surprised one of the items on the list wasn’t “Show gratitude.” After all, according to Harvard Medical School, “gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships.”

As you might assume, I was grateful the flyer wasn’t a parking ticket, as I originally thought it was. And I was thankful for the folks who put it on my car, because the realization and the flyer itself both made me smile.

Corny as it may sound, I’ve learned in recent years that the secret to living a happy life is to appreciate things like that, and to document them. To that end, I started my annual “Happiness Project” in 2015 with that very simple premise: At the end of every day, you should write down one thing that made you happy, whether it’s something you did, something you ate, something somebody said, a TV show you watched or movie you saw, a tweet, or something else. It doesn’t have to be a big thing, just something that made you smile. (And yes, the name is a nod to Gretchen Rubin’s “Happiness Project,” which started as an experiment and became a best-selling book, and movement.)

Five years later, I can say it works. At the end of every day, in one long, running blog post for the year, I note something happy that happened. It’s not an intentional thing; I’m not trying to be happy. After all, as Niall Williams recently wrote in the New York Times, happiness is “a thing that [can] not be pursued, only realized and chosen.” I’m recognizing that, even on the seemingly bad days, there’s always something worth remembering that made me smile, no matter how small and inconsequential it may have been. In essence, I’m expressing gratitude every single day.

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In Spite of Everything, There Was a Lot to Celebrate in 2019

31 Dec

December sunsetI’ve gotta be honest: 2019 was a very good year.

Sure, in many ways, it was not. There was the toxic state of U.S. politics polluting our mindsets each and every day. The Mueller Report. Impeachment. The tweets. Ugh. There were many mass shootings and hate crimes. Rampant anti-Semitism. Hurricane Dorian and wildfires in the Amazon and California left destruction in their wake. Friends and family members battled cancer and had other health challenges. The Notre Dame fire was a historic tragedy. Multiple people I know lost their jobs and are still looking for work months later. We said goodbye to folks like Luke Perry, Pete Frates, Cokie Roberts, and Bill Buckner. And, much closer to home, I said goodbye to my aunt Leslie just a couple weeks ago.

Indeed, every day seemed to have its share of challenges.

But in spite of all that, and at the risk of being myopic or selfish or narrow-minded, when I look back on the past 12 months, I actually have a lot to be happy about. For example … Continue reading →

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