It’s been almost a year since my last blog post. If this sounds like the movie version of someone entering the confession booth in church, I mean no disrespect to those who know and practice the real thing.
Last year’s plethora of posts celebrated our post-pandemic return to China and other travel on “their” (our kids’) side of the International Dateline. Posts were packed full of adventure, revisited and first-time destinations, newfound relatives, and family history resources.
Eli and I are in Beijing again. Suffice to say, we are happy to spend time with Mirah and Rivah and their parents, and will celebrate the beginning of Passover with them before returning to the US on April 25.
So much for “where in the world are Eli and Linda?”
For this trip we left Milwaukee on Saturday morning, March 16, flying to San Francisco via Denver. Two not very long flights, but enough time to enjoy something I rarely get a chance to do: read The New York Times thoroughly.
So, I guess my confession is: I still get a print newspaper, and no, it’s not the local The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. I know for some The Times gets a bad rap and has a bad reputation for its coverage of politics and Israel, and for general elitism. I can’t totally disagree with any of these critiques but do ask what makes any news source “reliable” or “traditional” today. However, “when it (The Times) is good, it’s very, very good.”
I have been a subscriber since 1987, according to my account profile on its website. There was no digital version then. My subscription includes it now, and of course, I utilize it when I am not home. Actually, the fact that we are not home very much helps me justify the price of subscribing now. Suspending home delivery when we are away yields a credit to my account. These credits spread out the timing of paying full-price over a longer than normal period. For a while I defended the cost as helping to pay my son’s salary when he was a Times correspondent and Chinese website editor in Beijing. But that rationalization vanished for “political reasons” four years ago, and no doubt the company also managed his eventual buyout without my contribution.
However, too often the daily edition competes for my sleepy attention at 11 pm. The Sunday Times fares better, but I rejoice when I have finished by Tuesday or Wednesday. Sometimes, also a confession, I skim and skip.
So, thoroughly reading that morning’s paper turned out to be a treat that led me to some pieces that resonated with my current life and feelings:
Sarah Wildman’s on her daughter’s death, one year later (I actually ripped this from the paper and saved it): https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/14/opinion/child-loss-grief-anniversary.html
Frank Bruni’s on friends: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/14/opinion/friend-breakup-friendship.html?searchResultPosition=4
Michelle Goldberg’s on antisemitism and anti-Zionism: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/11/opinion/antisemitism-vs-anti-zionism.html?searchResultPosition=2
Context:
The Sarah Wildman piece:
We were headed toward Beijing when we got the news that Eli’s son, Jonathan Frank, died suddenly of an apparent heart attack on February 19. At the time we were aboard a ship in the Tasman Sea between New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. It was two days before we were able to disembark and fly home, which we did on my birthday, February 22–now known as “the longest birthday ever, aka ‘Groundhog Day‘ the movie–because crossing the International Dateline eastbound just repeats the day. We left Sydney at 5 pm and landed in Dallas at 2 pm, all on February 22. Confusing, but mostly exhausting. And a sad trek that replaced the lovely post-cruise plan of a beach weekend in Sydney (and seeing Cousin Anthony Igra again), a four-day stay in a now Covid-restriction-free Hong Kong, and arrival in Beijing on March 1
This journey home preceded the surreally unbelievable ordeal of burying a child, albeit age 52. Eli had spent hours with Jon in person and on the phone only a few days before we left on our trip–despite a somewhat fraught relationship for the previous seven years.
The Frank Bruni piece:
We endeavor to remain in communication with friends who do the same. There is nothing like a recent death in the family to give one context, perspective, and insight on the topic of friendship.
And the Michelle Goldberg piece:
Antisemitism vs. Anti- Zionism? Welcome to our world since October 7, 2023.
I want to thank the Times for this food for thought and fodder for a blog post. In truth, given the price increases over the past few years (and an email announcing another, even since we left home), I had given serious thought to going digital only. But the joy of time to savor meaningful content has convinced me to remain old-school with home delivery (when I am home, of course). That day’s experience was surely no coincidence; I hope devote the time to a good read of the daily edition more often.
That said, I think I am going to call up and renegotiate when we get back to the US. Thirty-seven years of loyalty deserves the kind of break the Times offers to potential new subscribers.
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