Brooklyn, New York, 1959, visiting Aunt Sarah Here is my mother at age forty-one. She never left the house without make-up. She had her hair done regularly. She took great pride in her appearance. Fifty-four years later she is in a wheelchair in a Rehab Center in Plantation Florida losing hope. Her hair is a mess. Her makeup is tucked away somewhere not even thought of. This is the second rehabilitation center she has been in since her fall in her apartment. The first one was in Margate. My mother complained bitterly that she was being neglected, that she had … Continue reading →

Stuyvesant Town, in front of 653 East 14th Street, ca. 1949 I wish I could race back in time and be in this photo for just a moment, see my mother this radiant and happy and feel what it was like to be that child who was holding on for support. For just one moment. Now, the scene has changed and I am the parent attempting to make my child-mother comfortable and secure. I have to say honestly that I hate this feeling, I don’t want to be in this position, I want to be the child, but that time … Continue reading →

At the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens ca 1944 On February 7 my mother became dizzy and fell in her apartment; she fractured her right arm, went into the hospital, was sent to rehab, got sick in rehab, went back into the hospital, was sent to another rehab where she remains. Her insurance doesn’t cover more than ten days and now we have to pay fifty dollars a day for the indignity of food that is unappetizing, for occasional neglect, loneliness and discomfort. There is little choice; this is the healthcare system. This is where the broken go with the hope of … Continue reading →