Decluttering, cleaning out a closet, the basement, the garage or your entire home may be one of your 2018 summer projects. If this plan turns into an action, you will probably uncover something from your family’s past. You may even experience a moment or two of nostalgia as you decide whether this item gets thrown out or saved for the next decluttering project.
After my husband’s grandfather died, we went to visit his home one last time. My in-laws were going through the house and deciding what to keep, sell and throw away. My husband’s grandfather was a prominent community rabbi in Syracuse, New York, and his wife, the rebbetzin, was a distinguished “first lady” and dignified “out-of-town” hostess. Their home was filled with beautiful artwork and china. Among the many belongings we found beautiful ashtrays, sterling silver cigarette lighters, and cigarette holders. Pieces of history, these items were from a time when cigarettes were offered to guests by their hosts and it was considered “chic” to smoke, especially after a fancy meal. How many of you remember making a clay ashtray as an “arts and crafts” project to give as a present to your parents?
My brother-in-law is in the process of cleaning out his house and he found a book of matches from Bernstein’s on Essex! For those readers born after the early 1980s (or who only recently moved to the New York area) “Schmulka” Bernstein’s was the (only) place to go for excellent Jewish deli and kosher Chinese food. The servings were huge, the restaurant was open until the wee hours of the morning, and it was a popular meeting place for Jews of all backgrounds and ages. It was in a Lower East Side neighborhood that wasn’t always the safest, but that was not a deterrent—the place was always packed! This book of matches spurred a lively 30-minute family conversation down memory lane, reminiscing about good and bad dates, hot pastrami sandwiches, the number five combo platter, and of course the waiters. I also noted that even in my later youth, restaurants still gave out matches as a promo and you sometimes even got them at weddings and bar mitzvahs with the appropriate logo on the cover. I recall that in many old detective shows, something about the victim was discovered based on a matchbox found in his jacket pocket.
According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 42.4 percent of all adults in the United States smoked in 1965. Today, that number has dropped to below 17 percent. Smoking rates have steadily declined over the years due primarily to an increase in public understanding that smoking causes cancer, heart and lung disease, and other serious health problems. There are individuals who still smoke, and as adults, every person has the right to decide whether he or she wants to smoke. As a society, however, we prohibit smoking in most public areas, we no longer offer cigarettes at dinner parties or matchboxes at affairs, and establishments do not advertise by giving out matchbooks.
While smoking remains the greatest preventable cause of cancer, you may be surprised to hear that being overweight or obese is the second-greatest preventable cause of cancer. We are not surprised that heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and many other major health problems are caused by excessive eating of sugar, meat, fried foods, etc. As a reader, you may now be thinking, “Here we go—another article about the evils of sugar and unhealthy eating, blah, blah, blah.” I often feel like Lucy in the Peanuts comic strip—my mouth is moving but no meaningful words come out. And I do understand the reaction: how many times can we hear, read and be told the same thing? But that does not change the reality or the importance of the message.
Like many cultures, we Jews have many wonderful holidays and opportunities for get-togethers and community and family events. There is nothing like spending time with good friends and enjoying good food together—in that order. But I am hereby proposing one change to our community-sponsored get-togethers where children are in attendance: We should no longer publicly (i.e., in shuls and schools) serve drinks that have added sugar. This would include soda, sports drinks and fruit juices. I have heard it argued that it should be left to individuals to decide if they wish to drink something sweet, and the community should not dictate what people drink. Recently, however, I was conversing with a friend at a kiddush and we were standing next to the refreshment table. I noted that virtually the only people who drank soda were teenagers and children. Last week, when I arrived at my own shul, three young girls were drinking soda in the shul’s kitchen; I can guarantee that their parents did not want them doing so at 9:45 in the morning.
In a recent article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, a community in Maryland undertook a campaign to decrease the consumption of sugary drinks. Following a three-year campaign using television advertising, digital marketing, outdoor advertising and social media to educate the public about the harm of sugary drinks, there was a 20 percent drop in the sales of soda and sports drinks. The community partnered with schools, child care centers, and public organizations. The public health message was “Think about your children’s health!” While diet soda was not included in this particular study, diet soda consumption did not in fact go up, since most parents are already concerned about the health risks involved with the intake of artificial sweeteners during childhood.
We are a community that cares very much about our children, as is evident by the number of day schools, high schools and youth programs. We work hard our whole lives so that our children can get the best Jewish education and have fabulous summer experiences. Parents will spend their last dime to give their children the therapy and tutors they may need. As a community, let us together support our children’s health by not offering sweet drinks at our schools, shuls and communal events.
I hope that, one day, some of our children and grandchildren will be cleaning out the garage and will, upon finding an old Coke bottle, have their own “remember when” moment. Impossible? I assure you that at one time everybody thought the same way about ashtrays and matchboxes.
I am interested in hearing from you if you would join me in this campaign.
Shabbat shalom.
By Beth S. Taubes, RN, Health Coach
Beth Taubes, RN, OCN, CBCN, CHC,CYT, is the owner of Wellness Motivations LLC. She motivates clients of all backgrounds, ages and health conditions to engage in improved self-care through nutritional counseling, fitness training, yoga practice and stress-reduction techniques. Beth can be reached at [email protected] or wellnessmotivationsbt.com.
