Stories I Tell Myself
Linda Brody Bakst on Brooklyn, growing up, identity and more
Category: Guest Post
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Editor’s note: I received the following email from my brother, Mark Brody. With his permission, I thought it merited sharing. I just read a headline, I only read the headline as that is all I can tolerate, which indicated that federal funding is being cut to the programs which provide tutoring to children. After reading…
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Note: The following was written by my husband Gary Bakst, lifelong Met fan, which means 65 years, except the Mets are actually 3 years younger than that. But you get the idea. Anyway, I hope you enjoy his prose as much as I did. I put Gameday on my laptop as I saw my afternoon…
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NOTE: Another view from the frontlines written by my husband, Gary Bakst. I saw a patient for a physical exam and there was a lump found on that exam. It was not one of those lumps that make you immediately think the worst. But it also wasn’t a lump that felt obviously innocent. It would…
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Note: This essay was written by my husband, Gary Bakst. Thank you, Gary!!! I will be sharing my take on this same event tomorrow. It had been 2 and ½ years since I attended a live sporting event, a concert, a movie in a theater, any sort of in person event. I surely don’t have…
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Note: The title of this piece might be surprising – given my usual topics. Fortunately, I have been rescued from my writer’s drought by my daughter. Today Leah returns to work after her 12-week maternity leave. As she was concluding her leave, and exploring her options for continuing to provide breast milk to her baby,…
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Note: The following essay was written by Gary Bakst, my husband. Thank you, Gary, for you thoughtful, insightful piece. The American dream is you work hard, and you get ahead. Your children should have a better life than you have. Their children should have a better life than theirs. And, to be fair, this country…
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by Leah Bakst Note: Last week I was chatting with my daughter Leah and somehow the subject of the first time we tried new foods came up. I’m not sure what brought it up, but Leah explained that she had particularly vivid memories of some of her experiences. The conversation took an interesting turn. “If…
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by Barbara Spilken Editor’s Note: Today’s post is written by my aunt, Barbara Spilken. It is about my grandmother, Nana. I have written many blog posts about her. Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your tribute to her. The photos come from the Spilken family collection. I woke up in tears this morning. April 18, 2021…
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Note: The following essay was written by my husband, Gary Bakst, a physician in New York’s Capital Region. Thank you, Gary, for sharing your experience and insight. It has been a miserable year for all of us dealing with COVID-19. The virus has killed over 500,000 Americans and infected about 30 million of us. Some…
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Note: This is another essay by my mother, Feige Brody. Here she looks back on her time accompanying my father to Wichita Falls, Texas, where he served in the U.S. Air Force. Mom was newly married and just 21 years old. I walked into Idlewild airport (now JFK) in New York in 1954. I was…
