Pat Taub
My Christmas Tree
Although I’ll be alone this Christmas, I’m not eliminating holiday décor, although it’s been greatly reduced from former years. As a young wife and mother, I went crazy, stringing garlands all over the house, baking gingerbread cookies for the tree, and even sending out homemade gift baskets to relatives. Decades later, I’m happy with a tabletop artificial tree and a few holiday namesakes on the mantle and throughout the house. Here’s an image of my Pottery Barn tree.
Caste
I just received my copy of Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, which several friends told me, “ It’s a must read.” I had read an excerpt in The New York Times and knew I wanted to read it, but life got in the way until I kept hearing all the buzz and ordered a copy. Wilkerson’s thesis is that America has a hidden caste system that relegates Blacks to a permanent lower caste. Her beautiful writing offers portraits of the famous and not-so-famous trying to navigate their prescribed caste.
Rising
Recently I discovered, Rising, a TV Internet news show hosted by Crystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti. Ball is a progressive while Enjeti is conservative. They respectfully disagree but often have more in common than not, especially in their mutual outrage over Congress’ failure to pass fair stimulus checks for the record number of unemployed. Rising differs from the major network news shows, not just in representing both political camps, but also in their in-depth analysis of current events.
The Paris Murders
This week I binged on the Netflix French series, The Paris Murders. It’s not the best TV crime series, but it’s highly entertaining. The lead is a flaky but brilliant female criminologist played by Odile Vuillemin. She’s the big crime solver in her police division, while, get this: her work wardrobe consists of fashionable coats, dainty heels and a huge yellow pocket book, which never leaves her side. Good plot twists.
Odile Vuillemin, the brainy criminologist in “The Paris Murders”
Here’s a holiday message that feels non-denominational, or suitable for all:
