Judy Gruen

Many years ago, I was heading into a store with two of my children, then around 10 and 12. In the parking lot we passed a young man talking on his cell phone. Though we were clearly in his range of vision, he shot off a volley of expletives during his call. He didn’t seem angry; it was just the way he talked. I was incensed that he did nothing to censor himself when children were right in front of him, and shouted, “Watch your language!”
My kids were mortified. (Can’t take Mom anywhere, they ...

After 25 years of teamwork, I reluctantly retired one of my most dedicated kitchen workers: my trusty Panasonic Kitchen Wizard. This humble mid-sized appliance helped me to make thousands of meals.
It sliced, it diced, it blended. It shredded coleslaws, whipped up dressings and marinades, and massaged flour, eggs, sugar and oil into cookie dough. You name it, my Kitchen Wizard did the job reliably. It never called in sick. It never complained, not even when the kitchen was nearing 90 degrees ...

In the spring of 2001, a friend of mine lost both her parents in a three-month span. Adding to this emotional juggernaut, she was planning her son’s bar mitzvah at the same time.
“I simply can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you,” I told her.
Soon after, I not only imagined it, I lived something close to it. In May, as I was ordering invitations for my eldest son’s bar mitzvah, my mother was discovered to have end-stage cancer. Long misdiagnosed with severe arthritis, Mom became alar...

As the cashier at the grocery store began to ring up my purchases, she glanced at me and asked, “Did you find everything you were looking for today, ma’am?”
I expected the question — it was company protocol to ask. Even on occasions when I hadn’t found quite everything I had looked for, I’d still answer blandly, “Yes, thank you.”
That day, I decided not to answer by rote. I read her name tag and said, “Yes, thank you, Toni.”
She looked back at me for a just a second and visibly brightened. “G...

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