Drug Raid – The Cupboards Were Bare
By Judy Berman Minutes after an undercover police officer made a drug buy from the back window of a house, I heard him over the police radio. “It’s a go. There are three people in there.” Then, six...
View ArticleDodging a Bullet
By Judy Berman A huge red balloon floats ahead of you, just out of reach. It entices you to follow, and you do, until it loses oxygen and fades away. In a moment of clarity, that might be months or...
View ArticleLessons Learned From The Godfather
By Judy Berman Sometimes, life hands us a lesson when we’re least expecting it. That often happens to me when I’m reading a book or watching a movie. Who knew that a mobster movie like “The Godfather”...
View ArticlePonyboy – Stay Gold
By Judy Berman Living life on the fringes. Always feeling like you’re on the outside looking in. That’s the theme of the novel, “The Outsiders,” by S.E. Hinton. It’s one I can relate to, and I’ve been...
View ArticleMirage
By Judy Berman What if everything you thought was true turned out to be a lie? You didn’t know who to turn to or who to trust. Some times, life feels like that. But we emerge from the shadows and are...
View ArticleBad Bosses and Wise Guys
By Judy Berman The smell of hazelnut coffee still makes me queasy. It is a reminder of an ice queen who once ruled where I worked years ago. Clueless, out-of-touch, manipulative, narcissistic,...
View ArticleJimmy Stewart and the Real Bedford Falls
By Judy Berman The actors packed up long ago. The cameras and props are no doubt in storage. But I believe the setting for “It’s a Wonderful Life” remains intact. Many believe that Seneca Falls, New...
View ArticleAn Unexpected Twist
By Judy Berman How could I not see that coming? That’s often my reaction when I am shocked by how a movie ended. What did I miss? I have that same reaction to a joke’s punch line that surprises me or...
View ArticleA Black Heart and a Mobster
By Judy Berman The shadier side of life. It’s a look that few get to see, except in passing or on TV. As a cops and court reporter, some encounters were brief. But the impressions lasted a lifetime....
View ArticleYour Wish Has Been Granted
By Judy Berman I wander thru the crowd, pleased to see a familiar face. If anyone can grant me a wish, it will be this dark, mysterious stranger. His piercing, blue eyes meet mine, probing to...
View ArticleEscape to Freedom
By Judy Berman Sometimes, life hems you into a holding pattern that’s hard to break away from. You might be reluctant to strike out on your own when you have the status symbol of the decade: a job....
View ArticleDrug Raid – The Cupboards Were Bare
By Judy Berman Minutes after an undercover police officer made a drug buy from the back window of a house, I heard him over the police radio. “It’s a go. There are three people in there.” Then, six...
View ArticleGrapes of Wrath
By Judy Berman My role model is a paroled prisoner, an unrepentant killer. After four years in prison on a manslaughter charge, his concerns were only for “today.” Time and life’s experiences shifted...
View ArticleThe Ultimate Irish Wake
By Judy Berman Going out on your own terms is exactly what Walter George Bruhl Jr. did. He wrote his own obituary, and it’s hilarious. “There will be no viewing, as his wife refuses to honor his...
View ArticleThe Mob Built This City
By Judy Berman Did the mob once run Las Vegas? Some dispute that, but few would quibble about the explosive growth in Sin City as a result of the Mob’s presence. This reputation is one that The Mob...
View ArticleThe Beatles Pleased, Pleased Me
By Judy Berman Motown’s soul music and surfer music had me in its grasp. But like any fickle teen, my heart soon belonged to a shaggy-haired mop-top group from Liverpool: The Fab Four. Parents had no...
View ArticleNorth by Northwest
By Judy Berman Mistaken identify, darkness, light and double cross play significant roles in Alfred Hitchcock’s (1959) movie, “North by Northwest.” In diabolical plot twists that even Cary Grant found...
View ArticleFeeling Happy – New Attitude
By Judy Berman One Sunday, as I was leaving church, I turned on my iPhone and started dancing in the parking lot. One man smiled as he left the parking lot. A woman, however, seemed to be hurriedly...
View ArticleNo Place Like Home
By Judy Berman Sometimes, you don’t know what you got until it’s gone. That thought comes to mind when I consider a little girl who’s swept away with her best friend to a very strange land. She spends...
View ArticleThe Big Night
By Judy Berman Memories are made of this – family get-togethers. Any misty-eyed moment doesn’t last for long. That’s just our family’s way. Last weekend, we gathered at Buca di Beppo’s to celebrate my...
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