Darryl was a wonderful person, but his outlook on the world was a little akin to Eeyore’s. So back when I was doing criminal defense for kids and was telling him stories about my clients over the dinner table, (“Yes, he stole a pizza delivery bike but he only rode it a few blocks and he’s such a cute little kid.” or “Can you believe the cops arrested her? She only tried to sell them $5 worth of crack!”), he … read more »

Last week I said that September feels like the beginning of the year, and this blog post is actually going to go out on Rosh Hashona, so for Jews, it really is. I’ll go over to my Mom’s house tonight and we will have apples and honey. Round things symbolize the circle of life and sweet things to hope for a sweet new year. She will also have a pomegranate – its many seeds represent the many good deeds we … read more »

Happy September! Happy back-to-school time! Sept always kind of feels like the new year to me – do you know what I mean? I was able to recharge my batteries this summer, and now I’ve started a few new things for the “new year”: I’m changing over some of my technology – so this is coming to you writing to you from a new platform, Convertkit. Riding my bike in the park (that killer hill is a real challenge!) Starting … read more »

Paulette Rigo recently interviewed me on her Thriving in Chaos Project podcast – the episode is called, “Can An Attorney Teach You How to Land on Your Feet?” Well, that’s an interesting question.  Of course, I’m not just “an attorney.” I’m Joy – with all of my life experience and my opinions and my genes (and jeans) and the things that make me me.  So I don’t know if “an attorney” can teach you how to land on your feet … read more »

Former NYC Mayor Bill DiBlasio and his wife, Chirlane McCray, are breaking up. Sort of. They’re separating but not moving out. Splitting but not getting divorced. Let’s just say they are transforming their relationship. Planning to date other people. The New York Times broke the story this week, which was picked up by the AP and all of the major news outlets. There are 743 comments on the NY Times website about this – people have strong opinions! They’re mostly … read more »

We are approaching Juneteenth, our newest federal holiday. You have probably heard the story by now. Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1963, declaring that “All persons held as slaves …are and henceforth shall be free.”  But it only could be enforced in the few Confederate states controlled by Union troops. On June 19, 1865, two-and-a-half years later, General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, the last holdout state, and ordered slaveholders there to free their slaves. … read more »

Well, once again, the world has changed completely – overnight. Like many of you, I’m in New York where the smoke filled our air so badly this week that the City basically shut down and we were all told to stay inside and close our windows. Who knew those wildfires in Canada, hundreds of miles away, would have such an intense effect on millions of people in the northeast US? As one of my clients said, it was like a … read more »

May 30th was our 10th kidneyversary. ‘What’s that?’ you ask. Well, I’ll tell you! My late husband, Darryl, had kidney failure in March 2012 due to sickle cell disease; so he went on dialysis. For months, he taught 6th grade during the day and then went to dialysis every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 6:00-10:00 pm. The schedule was rigid and grueling. To miss a session could be life-threatening. In his poem about it, “Measuring in Liters,” he wrote, The … read more »