Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of May 22, 2022 — Guns Edition
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Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of May 22, 2022 — Guns Edition

Uvalde cops lie. They are cowards. They are partly responsible for the death of 19 children and two adults. But, hey, at least they got to return home safely to their family so they can talk about how hard their job is—handcuffing parents who are begging them to be brave and do the thing they swore to do: protect their community.

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My Authoritarian Rabbi Ruined Judaism for Me
David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel David Himmel

My Authoritarian Rabbi Ruined Judaism for Me

I am the rabbi. You are the student. It is not your role to question me.”

It was clear to me in that moment that I wasn’t going to get my answer. Either I had accidentally exposed a blind spot in Rabbi Goldstein’s knowledge and he was embarrassed or he was an authoritarian asshole who hated having to adjust his lesson plan for his students. I chose to assume the latter.

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The Unhinged Prince of Hollywood (…Or, How Will Smith Auditioned for the Brett Kavanaugh Biopic)
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The Unhinged Prince of Hollywood (…Or, How Will Smith Auditioned for the Brett Kavanaugh Biopic)

Smith displayed the most overused and exhausted Hollywood trope in real time in real life: toxic masculinity. Swooping in to defend the honor of his fair maiden. There was nothing valiant about it. Maybe Jada thought so, but the rest of the world didn’t. So maybe it’s best to keep their antiquated gender dynamics in their bedroom.

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The David Himmel Method for Getting Over Breakups
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The David Himmel Method for Getting Over Breakups

You’re going to be okay. You’re worth more than your broken heart has you believing. You’ll live to love again. Or you’ll live. And that’s enough. Because you are enough. Be it for yourself or someone else. Someone who won’t leave you in a puddle of misery the next time around. And if they do, you’ll be ready for it.

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Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of March 6, 2022
David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel David Himmel, Post-It Wall Notes David Himmel

Notes from the Post-it Wall | Week of March 6, 2022

There’s a cop who lives down the street from us. They fly a Blue Line American flag. This week, they swapped it out for a green American flag with one of the stripes replaced with four leaf clovers with the Ireland flag colors in them. So, not only does this officer of the law degrade the American flag by flying ones with manipulated colors, they’ve incorporated another country’s flag into our own. Patriotism is strange. But what should I expect from an Irish Chicago cop?

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The Forgotten Woman in the Gold, Oval Frame
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The Forgotten Woman in the Gold, Oval Frame

The woman stood in a gold, oval frame. The frame hung above the small desk in my grandparents’ bedroom for at least since I was born. This was the desk where my grandmother, Nonny, wrote notes and cards and checks. The desk where she kept things like pens and stationary and correspondence and a few important documents.

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