Looking at the Bright Side, Mostly

By Esther Pearlman

Need Some Cheering Up?

Look Inside…

Looking at the bright side takes some work during a pandemic, but Esther does her best. In this latest collection of stories, the author mostly turns to the pre-COVID past and shares a unique, often comic take on her life’s happenings. The stories travel from her creative world of art and writing, to the home front, to her growing up and mothering years, and more. Rounding out the collection are poems from her sons, Larry and David, and ways to connect to her creative grandchildren, Julian Roc, a musician with music videos on YouTube, and Krystal Pearl, a member of the cheer team of the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers with exercise videos on YouTube. Join Esther and her family for a lighter view of life during these challenging times.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781664149441

Esther Pearlman

Esther Pearlman is a writer, artist, wife, mother, friend and much more! She believes we all should give ourselves a hug for riding out this pesky COVID-19. She and her husband Marty live in Santa Monica, California, where she loves to photograph strangers walking by to use as a basis for her portraits—wearing her mask and keeping her social distance, of course! Esther believes the best is yet to come. Her clever and lively artwork illustrates this book, including the cover.

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by Esther Pearlman.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 12/21/2020

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

823380

Dedicated to my husband Marty,

to my children

and to the rest of my family.

"This is precisely the time when artists go to work.

There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity,

no need for silence, no room for fear.

We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal."

– Toni Morrison

Basking in the Sun

by Esther Pearlman

What’s you doin’ under the palm trees

Relaxing and basking in the sun?

Don’t you know the sun is too strong?!

And there are people who would say the sun is wrong.

But you know it feels so good to be bad.

And the vitamin D from the sun won’t harm you.

Who’s to say what is right or wrong?

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

CREATIVITY

Gonna Be In A Music Video

The Shoot

I Was On KABC!

Meeting Elliott Gould

Working On Photos At Penny-Smart

Mar Vista

My Editor, My Friend—Robin

HOME, SWEET HOME

Leaks!

How To Train Your Roots

The Uncooperative Vacuum Cleaner

What I Did Today

How I Get My Water

Happy Birthday, Marty!

My 80th Birthday Party Speech

The 80th Birthday Celebration

Marty, Me & Thee – Family Holidays

LOCAL WANDERINGS

What’s The Deal With Shoes?

Business & Pleasure

Chat With A Gardener

Night Out At The Theatre

Funny Things That Happened Today

Not Seeing Eye To Eye With New Dentist

Remembering Where You Parked

COPING WITH COVID

Passing The Time During COVID-19

Mother’s Day 2020

What Was Your Last Outing?

YESTERDAY

Ballet Shoes

Straightening Up

Bike

Facing Discrimination

The Jewish Club

Sad Good-Bye

Dating A Movie Star

Engagement Ring

Bygone Days

Whose VW Is It?

Taking It On The Chin

Seniors

TRAVEL

The Italian Tour

OTHER PEOPLE

An Amazing Woman

You Should Always Knock First

Put-Down

MIXED BAG

For The Love Of Dogs

Cats & Dogs

A Problem With The Protein Powder

POEMS BY LARRY

POEMS BY LARRY

Mom’s 80th Birthday Poem

DJ Extraordinaire

Piper And Puka

COVID Cowboy

Father Remembrance Day

What To Do Without Mom

Being A Goy

Unmute Yourself

POEM BY DAVID

Crabby Crabs

Rock Out With Julian Roc

Get In Shape With Krystal Pearl

About The Author

Galleries

Need Some Cheering Up? Look Inside…

"Digging deep,

Get out of my way."

— Esther

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank my husband Marty for all his support. Thanks also goes to my children, Larry, David and Jennifer, and their spouses for being supportive too. Larry contributed nine original poems for this book. David also contributed the poem, Crabby Crabs. Jennifer created the beautiful photo montage that was shown at my birthday party this year. You’ll see it by the stories about my 80th birthday party. Hello to my grandchildren. Toward the back of the book, I have info on how to view my grandson Julian’s music videos and my granddaughter Krystal’s exercise videos on YouTube. As you can see, we are a talented, creative family. Marty is a wonderful writer too.

I thank Robin Quinn for helping me organize and polish this book. Also I appreciate the PR help I get from master publicist Irwin Zucker.

Note to Reader: This book reflects the author’s present recollections of experiences over time. Some names and characteristics have been changed, some locations have been altered, and some dialogue has been recreated.

INTRODUCTION

It isn’t easy being in this atmosphere of worrying about catching something like COVID-19 from somebody else. You can’t go out unless it’s for grocery-shopping or a trip to the health food store for vitamins. I feel like I’m waiting for something to happen, anything. I miss seeing people.

But I have a lot of memories to write about. Like the Dean Martin song, Memories Are Made of This, my memories are rich and full. It was exciting having so much happening! Not having a care in the world. We got to see each other!

Once in a while there is still excitement, but in a new form. When it was Mother’s Day, Marty and I had a Zoom session with our loved ones. An advantage was that I didn’t have to put on makeup. Instead of fixing my hair, I just wore a hat. Of course there were no hugs, which I missed. Nothing quite does it like a good old-fashioned hug and kiss.

I say, Give yourself a big hug. You deserve it for riding out this pesky Coronavirus.

Over time I’ve learned to look at the bright side, most of the time! Just thinking about looking at the bright side makes you feel so much better. Just like Judy Garland told us with her song Get Happy, forget your troubles and go to a happier place.

Turn off the media for a day and just relax. Remember the good times and pray for better times. Take good care of yourself. Take your vitamins. Get outside in the sunshine and go for a walk around the block. Turn on some music and dance around the room. Stretch out on the coach and read this book.

The best is yet to come. I believe you deserve the best.

CREATIVITY

Image%203-Creativity-Section1.jpg

GONNA BE IN A MUSIC VIDEO

Today I spoke to David Stuart Klein over the phone; he is making a music video. I will appear, wearing a cloak. I am to wear all black. He will be featured, playing guitar. I will be a part of a group.

My face will be covered at first. But after he performs, I will be wearing a colorful outfit and have a positive reaction to his music.

I suggested that he look at my videos on YouTube. "There’s my interview last year on The Briefing Room TV show with host Chuck N. Baker. You’ll also find ‘Esther’s Kitchen’ and the three-parter, ‘Maggie, Get the Ball.’ The last one is ‘How to Paint