Simone Says

  When I lived in Beirut in the 1930’s, I used to feed a stray cat who hung around outside our house. I would lower a container of leftovers to him from a kitchen window. People’s relationship with cats goes back to antiquity. Cat images are found on walls of ancient caves as well as […]

While we are still feeling the sadness of the Notre Dame fire, let me mention a few things about Cathedrals in general. A definitional element of every Cathedral is that it is the site of the Bishop’s residence from which he spreads the word of God as revealed by the Pope from his throne. Thus […]

    I saw Notre Dame Cathedral for the first time in December 1946. I had just arrived in France from Tel Aviv and cathedrals were not part of my life experience. I did not know a gargoyle from a chimera. As I stood on the vast esplanade in the piercing cold and looked at Notre Dame, […]

Algerian President  Abdelaziz Bouteflika recently announced that he would be running for a fifth term. He did not make the announcement personally. In fact, he has not spoken a word in public for the last five years. He spends most of his time in Switzerland, being treated for an unknown illness. His only public appearances […]

Advice columns in newspapers have always been popular. Some readers skip the news and go to the advice columns to see what problems are bothering other people. It’s amusing to postpone looking at the answer imagining how you might respond before you look at what Dear Abby or Ann Landers has to say. The British […]

I have been asked by my editors to introduce the “Ask Simone” feature. What better way to do this than to ask myself some questions which I will then proceed to answer. Today’s topic is OPERA. So here goes! 1. If you wanted to introduce a total novice to opera which one would you select? […]

  To think and act against the fashion of the day is the beginning of wisdom. It is said that to get to the source you have to swim upstream.  Salmon swim that way to lay their eggs and to maximize their offspring’s chances of survival. Other fish too swim from the ocean to the […]

From the Editor….Here’s a video of Simone coming down the middle part of the 52 stairs from her front door to the street (taken about two weeks ago)  Our author turned 97 on January 14th and we wanted you to see her in motion. I complimented her on how well she was navigating. She replied, […]

Political scientist Valerie M. Hudson wrote: “Men agreed to be ruled by other men in return for all men ruling over women.” It is because of male domination at home and in the political arena that women’s march toward full equality has been painfully slow and tortuous. This year 110 women, nearly all Democrats, were […]

Music is a contact sport. An electric current passes through the conductor to the orchestra and through the orchestra to the audience. Audiences clap or shout “Bravo” (unless they boo and hiss.) This response in turn rebounds back to the performers. Gutsavo Dudamel understands this phenomenon extremely well and maximizes the connection. Dudamel is the […]