Happy Jewish New Year, or Shona Tova, as some like to say.

I am a lapsed Jew.

I grew up in a kosher home with religious parents who ardently followed all the traditions and directives without question. Somewhere along the line, both my brother and I failed to move forward with that belief system, which really happened to a generation of us. My brother often lights candles on Friday night for Shabbot. My only Friday night tradition that I do with any regularity is to leave my computer on so it goes through its Norton Anti Virus scheduled program of looking for bad things that may have attacked my livelihood.  

This year Jewish New Year coincides with my sixth anniversary in Tucson. It's hard to believe that I've only lived here six years, but I think surviving six summers is somehow akin to animal years which is why I feel like I've lived here much longer. I think I've been writing Noshing Around for 3.5 years which does not seem like dog years.

Jewish New Year is a time to reflect (I just did), to clean out your closets and in this case, to unclutter my desk. Eat, drink and be merry. Your day of atonement (Yom Kippur) is right around the corner.