http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog Everything you ever wanted to know and more Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:48:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en The rabbi was intoning the prayer for the dead.    The crowd around said amen at all the right spots    And like a wild herd watching the wolf    All craned their necks towards the headstone.    And when the widow arose    They all inhaled and moved around her.    They waited breathless for her to say the Kaddish    And when ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/309 Looking for a way out of this box    I do not want to lose the box    Or the thing that thinks and feels    And searches to escape.      “Everything is infused with ego,”    Said Dr. Freud and gave Bill Clinton his cigar    Who wondered what to do with the burning tip    And closed his ears when told,    “Just smoke ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/307 On a late afternoon, I went jogging in my neighbourhood.   Except for a few giant trees and the old stone house on the corner   I was older than everything I saw.   I was older than the asphalt that felt like the brittle bones of aging men,   Older than the sidewalk, older than the grass   Older ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/306 Today, the sounds of construction awoke me.   The pounding of steel pylons into the ground   Shook the floors of my house and rattled my teeth.   And when I left to go to work   I felt all the lost and hopeless,   Surrender to the thunder and power,   The roar of the cars, the movement of steamrollers   And the ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/305 Close to the end of their long search for truth I found two old men Who wanted no part of it. Broken spirits whose weathered bodies Could not bear the load, Whose decaying teeth fell out So their words no longer had a bite And their powers were left suspended in a glass on the night stand. The ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/304 I  Heading back from the hunt,   My canoe cuts through the clear glass surface   Of the Gatineau lake.   The setting sun strikes silver scales   And ricochets to show the flopping fish   On the metal bottom of the boat.   The lake is large, the journey long   And soon the fish lies still,   Its mouth still open, as if gasping   For the ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/303 Ikh zitz yezt do un vart Un vos vet kumen?                                                                                             A likht fun oybn                                                                                                    Vos vet als erkleren Un mikh farblinden? A mensch mit blitzindige oygen Un a hand vos men zeyt fun bayde zayten Nor ayns iz vaykh vi putter Un ayns iz hart vi shtayner. Un az er makht arop azoy di hant Tzetrent ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/302 I didn't realize it but I started to think about my father yesterday.  It was the day after the anniversary of  his death.  I had lit the memorial candle in our house but the day seemed to pass without any twinge or reflection. There was just this thickening fog or mist ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/301 I saw Shalom Ottawa today and on the show, when I made it I felt not more relaxed but more energized than with previous ones.  It came across  particularly with Benita who was very animated.  I had more fun doing the interview with her too.  Anyway, the main thing for me ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/300 Hi there.   I’ve just come home after another day full of activity, some of which was actually enjoyable.  I went to a staff meeting today and learned more about what kind of people work in our organization.  On the bright side, they are almost all people who are strongly motivated to ... http://www.rubinfriedman.com/blog/archives/299