I would have to say that the safari I just went on, organized by OAT, Overseas Adventure Travel, will go down as one of the highlights of my husband’s and my life. For me, it was an adventure completely out of my comfort zone. It was my husband who really wanted to go. He lovesContinue reading “African Safari, May 5-May 20, 2026”
Author Archives: joannejagoda
Six Nights in Havana
Even my daughter, a seasoned traveler who had been to Cuba on her travels many years ago, was concerned about our planned Jewish Heritage tour to Havana. The news in the last weeks had been distressing with reports about severe food shortages and the dire conditions the Cubans had to deal with on a daily basis.
Grandma Stella, Summer 2008
The young woman in jeans ripped at both knees and purple dyed hair tenderly brushed
away strands on the comatose patient’s forehead and didn’t try to hold back her tears.
The Zephyr to Chicago
I’m sitting impatiently in the waiting room at the Emeryville train station on a fine spring day bobbling my leg and nibbling on a candy bar from the vending machine.
Ginny’s Window
Jeremy Pierce squirms on his cardboard “mattress,” pulling up the sleeping bag under his chin. The snores and moans of the other kids in the makeshift camp under the 880 freeway ripple the dark.
Angel in a Blue Prius
I wasn’t expecting to encounter an angel who drove a blue Prius.
A Phone Call in the Afternoon
When the phone rang in the afternoon in California in November of 2024 and I heard my daughter’s voice, I knew instantly something was wrong.
Ernie’s Miracle
I will never forget him though he has been gone since 2002. He made me believe in the
resilience of the human spirit. He made me believe in miracles.
Thrift Shop Blues
find a broken pencil in the back of your kitchen drawer
One More Time
find a broken pencil in the back of your kitchen drawer
Joanne Jagoda 