Kenneth Weene

Damn, how could I forget it? Zip is going to be furious. Everything she’s taken care of, and I forget the matzoth. And it’s almost sundown. Well, I’ll grab a box and hopefully they’ll have the express checkout working. Moses Cohen’s mind was racing, but that was nothing new. “Occupational hazard,” he always rationalized. “Lawyers do a lot of thinking.” Maybe it was all that thinking that made him absentminded. It seemed like things were always last minute. But the matzoth for the Seder, how the devil did I forget the matzoth? And Zip’s parents; they know I’m not observant, but… He walked as quickly as he could towards the back of the grocery, where the ethnic foods were shelved, where he was sure there would be a Passover display. I won’t tell her father it’s from the grocery. He’d make a stink. Just like him. Every rule something to yell about. Like he’s fooling me. Some people. If we lived back then, he’d be one of the Pharisees. Yeah, I can see him now.  Even in his stress, Moses smiled at the thought of his father-in-law cloaked in priestly robes. Shit. One box, one box left. He reached for it. At the same moment the blonde woman reached for it, too. They stood for a moment in a tableau. “I’m sorry,” the woman said. “This seems to—“ “Be the last box,” Moses finished for her. Another moment of silence. He continued. “Tonight’s the first night, and I need the matzoth...

There has been a lot of discussion about a right wing war on women. I don’t believe it, not for an instant. I do not believe that the conservatives of America are waging war on their wives, their daughters, their mothers. Quite the contrary! I am sure they are dedicated to the women in their lives, even fiercely dedicated to protecting their women. And the women of America need protection. Have no doubt about that. There are so many problems to be faced, challenges to be overcome, and concerns to be addressed. For one thing, more women than ever are facing life without a man. More women than ever are single parents with children who depend on them. More than ever women are faced with earning a living and providing not only for their own frivolous needs but for the sustenance of their children, for paying the rent, and, yes, paying their taxes. It is overwhelming being a woman today, and the conservative wing of the Republican Party wants to help. With that in mind, let us consider some of the battles in this so-called war on women. The best place to start: contraception and abortion. As we well know, many women get pregnant without intending to do so. Indeed, we can certainly question if they even understand what that means. It is only after the fact, when one is faced with caring for a child that a woman can truly understand the condition into which she has gotten herself. To...

  For over a month I have been following and thinking about the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.  Why? Because there is something iconic in this story, something that speaks to the very heart of our society and how we as a nation think.   The facts:   A young man, a teenager, walked to the store and bought himself an iced tea and a package of candy. On the way back to his grandmother’s home, he called his girlfriend. It was raining, and he had the hood of his sweatshirt up. There is no way to know if he would have had that hood up had there not been rain.   Another young man, not very much older than the first, was driving around, saw the first man, decided he looked suspicious, called the police, and continued to pursue the first youth. There was a scuffle or confrontation of some kind. The second man pulled out his handgun and shot the first.   The victim was a black youth named Trayvon. The shooter was a man of white and Hispanic background named George, George Zimmerman.   Now some less firm facts:   George Zimmerman wanted to be an officer of the law. He was on a self-appointed mission to keep his community safe. He frequently saw people whom he didn’t know and reacted by calling the authorities. He presumably saw Trayvon Martin as suspicious and therefore potentially dangerous.   Trayvon did not start the evening feeling defensive. He did, however,...