What must it seem like to outsiders—that foul mouth, the anger, the obstinacy? Yes, it’s embarrassing to hear Mom lash out verbally at someone, but my dad and I, while not used to it per se, know the rage is fleeting, and though unpredictable, it repeats itself with increasing frequency. We had lunch today with Mom and Daddy’s dear friends from England. My dad and Manny were in junior high school together. In fact, Manny was instrumental in setting my parents up on their firs

“Mom has been very belligerent this morning,” Daddy told me on the phone. I was on the last leg of my journey to their apartment, having boarded the shared taxi from Tel Aviv to Netanya. “She’s been shouting and yelling. She pushed me out of the bathroom and swore at me and called me a ‘dirty old man.’ Then she refused my help getting dressed. I wanted you to know.” I was still about forty-five minutes away, so there was not much I could do, but I did say hi to Mom on the pho

I went to a lunch today for two of Mom’s friends who are celebrating their 80th birthdays. Talk turned quickly to aging and finding secrets to health and longevity. “This is the best medicine,” said Ruth, laughing and schmoozing with her friends. She had almost stayed home but decided to push past her lethargy. “And it’s free!” said Bea, one of the birthday girls. “You should ask your doctor for happy pills,” chimed in Susie. What’s in a happy pill, I wanted to know. “Who kno