Friday, 10 October 2025
Thursday, 9 October 2025
JOHN G. JOHNSON, ESQ., R.I.P.
 |
| Walnut Street. Across from Washington Square Park. |
Prodigious art collector, creating the John G. Johnson Collection at the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Wednesday, 8 October 2025
GALLERY: USPS
 |
| LETTER BOX FROM 1948 |
 |
| SLOT STILL OPENS... |
 |
| ... DOUBT THAT YOU'D WANT TO DEPOSIT A LETTER |
Tuesday, 7 October 2025
STYLE: AIR CANADA FASHION
STEWS
From "Coffee, Tea, or Me" to "Me 2"
(Open Link Below)
: https://www.aircanada.com/media/in-our-stylish-eras-a-history-in-air-canada-fashion/
The PJ depends on reader support. Please help us by contributing financially to Philabooks@yahoo.com via PayPal, or by contributing editorial content via WritersClearinghouse.yahoo.com.| Established 1976 Richard Carreño, Editor © MMXXV WritersClearinghouse All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, 4 October 2025
Gallery
THE ARTS
The PJ depends on reader support. Please help us by contributing financially to Philabooks@yahoo.com via PayPal, or by contributing editorial content via WritersClearinghouse.yahoo.com.| Established 1976 Richard Carreño, Editor © MMXXV WritersClearinghouse All Rights Reserved.
Saturday, 13 September 2025
A Worker's Missing Parachute
SEARCHING FOR THE RIPCORD
By Atlas Reed
Invisible Labor: Service, Sacrifice, and Survival in America’s Workforce
From Military Contractors to Everyday Workers—The Cost of a Broken Safety Net
In early September 2025 I sold my car near a U.S. base in western
Germany. On its own, that’s an ordinary task. But for me, it marked
the final logistical hurdle in a high-stakes exit process triggered by
something far more disruptive: I was laid off in July, after more than
five years supporting U.S. military operations in Europe.
I worked at separate U.S. military command centers in Europe over the
past five years. In both roles, I supported critical military
operations—quietly, consistently, and professionally. And yet, when my
contract ended, I was given 60 days to uproot my life, or lose
employer-paid repatriation. I had 90 days to legally remain in
Germany.
There was no formal off-ramp. No transition plan. No safety net. Just
a deadline and the growing realization that I was now navigating
international bureaucracy completely alone, like many who work
overseas without family support
Tuesday, 1 July 2025
Hidden in Plain Sight:
A Walk-Through Jewish Kaiserslautern
By Justin T. Carreño
While exploring the city I now call home, Kaiserslautern, I came across several Jewish heritage or cultural sites—none of them marked by large plaques or interpretive signs, but all clearly maintained with intention. The Jewish cemetery is identified only by a discreet sign behind a hedge. At first glance, I nearly missed it. But once noticed, its quiet presence is obvious.
While exploring the city I now call home, Kaiserslautern, I came across several Jewish heritage or cultural sites—none of them marked by large plaques or interpretive signs, but all clearly maintained with intention. The Jewish cemetery is identified only by a discreet sign behind a hedge. At first glance, I nearly missed it. But once noticed, its quiet presence is obvious.
/WritersClearinghouse
This approach—subtle, almost hidden—is not the result of neglect, however. It reflects a deliberate balance between visibility and caution. In a time when antisemitism continues to be a concern across Europe, a lower profile can offer a degree of safety without erasing the past.
In fact, disturbingly, in Kaiserslautern in May 2025, stolpersteine (stumbling blocks) were vandalized, being torn out of the ground and stolen. Stolpelsteine are small brass memorial plaques in sidewalks in front of the last freely chosen places of residence of victims of Nazism. They commemorate people who were persecuted, murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the Nazi era. Authorities still don't know who the vandals were, and don't know if the crime was driven by antisemitism or anti-Israeli sentiments.
In addition to Germany’s broader political climate—including resurgent far-right parties like AfD—shaping how openly Jewish history is preserved and presented, history and culture are also factors. The city had a smaller prewar Jewish population, and much of its historical infrastructure—including the synagogue—was destroyed during WWII. Unlike cities with large, continuous Jewish communities or strong heritage tourism, Kaiserslautern developed around military and industrial functions, shaping a quieter approach to remembrance. While nearby rural areas may lean conservative, the city itself maintains a respectful, if understated, memory culture—marked by preserved historical sites, memorials, and educational initiatives.
I noticed the same intentional quiet at Hilde-Mattauch-Platz, a small square named for Hilde Mattauch, a Jewish opera singer from Kaiserslautern. After building a promising career in Germany, she was forced to emigrate due to Nazi persecution. She lived in England, then Argentina, where she continued performing and touring. Despite the upheaval, she returned briefly to Kaiserslautern in the 1950s to give concerts. The square named in her honor reflects not only her artistic legacy but also a life marked by resilience and displacement.
The Jewish cultural center was probably the most understated. I only recognized it after passing by several times—its only visible sign being a small menorah in the window. There’s no nameplate, no external marker. But the meaning is clear once seen: it’s a functioning, lived-in space for community life, maintained with discretion for understandable reasons. (In fact, the police are regularly stationed outside of the building).
Another quiet discovery lies beneath the surface—literally. In 1995, during construction work in the city center, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a 14th-century mikveh, a ritual Jewish bath. Hidden for centuries, the site had been buried and forgotten, yet its stones were remarkably well-preserved. Today, it’s viewable through a small glass panel in the pavement—easy to miss unless you're looking for it. There’s a discreet plaque nearby, but no elaborate display. Still, the presence of the mikveh offers a glimpse into a once-vibrant medieval Jewish community in Kaiserslautern, long vanished but not erased. Like so many markers of Jewish life here, it’s a quiet thread in the city’s fabric—a reminder that Jewish history was, and still is, part of this place.
These discoveries demonstrate that remembrance here is not absent—it’s simply quiet, careful, and deliberate. The design of these spaces reflects a thoughtful response to historical memory and present-day realities. In Kaiserslautern, remembrance is integrated into the fabric of the city, not through grand gestures, but through quiet continuity.
This approach—subtle, almost hidden—is not the result of neglect, however. It reflects a deliberate balance between visibility and caution. In a time when antisemitism continues to be a concern across Europe, a lower profile can offer a degree of safety without erasing the past.
In fact, disturbingly, in Kaiserslautern in May 2025, stolpersteine (stumbling blocks) were vandalized, being torn out of the ground and stolen. Stolpelsteine are small brass memorial plaques in sidewalks in front of the last freely chosen places of residence of victims of Nazism. They commemorate people who were persecuted, murdered, deported, expelled or driven to suicide during the Nazi era. Authorities still don't know who the vandals were, and don't know if the crime was driven by antisemitism or anti-Israeli sentiments.
In addition to Germany’s broader political climate—including resurgent far-right parties like AfD—shaping how openly Jewish history is preserved and presented, history and culture are also factors. The city had a smaller prewar Jewish population, and much of its historical infrastructure—including the synagogue—was destroyed during WWII. Unlike cities with large, continuous Jewish communities or strong heritage tourism, Kaiserslautern developed around military and industrial functions, shaping a quieter approach to remembrance. While nearby rural areas may lean conservative, the city itself maintains a respectful, if understated, memory culture—marked by preserved historical sites, memorials, and educational initiatives.
I noticed the same intentional quiet at Hilde-Mattauch-Platz, a small square named for Hilde Mattauch, a Jewish opera singer from Kaiserslautern. After building a promising career in Germany, she was forced to emigrate due to Nazi persecution. She lived in England, then Argentina, where she continued performing and touring. Despite the upheaval, she returned briefly to Kaiserslautern in the 1950s to give concerts. The square named in her honor reflects not only her artistic legacy but also a life marked by resilience and displacement.
Another quiet discovery lies beneath the surface—literally. In 1995, during construction work in the city center, archaeologists uncovered the remains of a 14th-century mikveh, a ritual Jewish bath. Hidden for centuries, the site had been buried and forgotten, yet its stones were remarkably well-preserved. Today, it’s viewable through a small glass panel in the pavement—easy to miss unless you're looking for it. There’s a discreet plaque nearby, but no elaborate display. Still, the presence of the mikveh offers a glimpse into a once-vibrant medieval Jewish community in Kaiserslautern, long vanished but not erased. Like so many markers of Jewish life here, it’s a quiet thread in the city’s fabric—a reminder that Jewish history was, and still is, part of this place.
These discoveries demonstrate that remembrance here is not absent—it’s simply quiet, careful, and deliberate. The design of these spaces reflects a thoughtful response to historical memory and present-day realities. In Kaiserslautern, remembrance is integrated into the fabric of the city, not through grand gestures, but through quiet continuity.
The PJ depends on reader support. Please help us by contributing financially to Philabooks@yahoo.com via PayPal, or by contributing editorial content via WritersClearinghouse.yahoo.com.| Established 1976 Richard Carreño, Editor © MMXXV WritersClearinghouse All Rights Reserved.
Thursday, 19 June 2025
The Bookshelf: Now on Offer from Philabooks|Booksellers
The PJ depends on reader support. Please help us by contributing financially to Philabooks@yahoo.com via PayPal, or by contributing editorial content via WritersClearinghouse.yahoo.com.| Established 1976 Richard Carreño, Editor © MMXXV WritersClearinghouse All Rights Reserved.
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AVAILABLE FROM PHILABOOKS|PRESS
INQUIRE AT PHILABOOKS@YAHOO.COM
NO KINGS — Dictators, Strongmen, Bullies
By Alaina Johns
Broad Street Review
Continuing an unfortunate pattern, some major media outlets quickly downplayed the scope of June 14’s nationwide No Kings protests, mounted in opposition to unconstitutional actions by the Trump administration. I saw a Washington Post headline claiming that “thousands” participated, while preliminary counts from credible sources estimate that at least five million (and perhaps as many as 12 million) people joined more than 2,000 protests across all 50 states. Many BSR writers were among them, in person or in spirit. Here are the protests in their own words.
Why did we march?
“I went because I wanted to be counted among the millions of people who yearn for truth, justice, compassion, and democracy,” says Anndee Hochman, who joined a crowd in her Mt. Airy neighborhood.
“I marched because I always try to, but also because it seems that Americans STILL believe ‘it can’t happen here.’ Well, it is happening right now,” another writer says. “Trump has stolen my America,” Richard Carreño adds. “The one I wanted to pass down to my grandchildren and now, alas, they will never know.”
Another writer notes that videos of “beautiful, organically occurring dancing” in other cities’ recent protests convinced them to turn out: “as a dancer, I was inspired to bring my dancing body to the protest.” Cassandra Lewis Slattery, who attended a rally in Bryant Park, found meaning in protesting near the New York Public Library, which reminded her that “access to information and history … are essential for a democracy to survive.”
Tuesday, 27 May 2025
EXTREE! EXTREE! ON NEWSSTANDS NOW!
The PJ depends on reader support. Please help us by contributing financially to Philabooks@yahoo.com via PayPal, or by contributing editorial content via WritersClearinghouse.yahoo.com.| Established 1976 Richard Carreño, Editor © MMXXV WritersClearinghouse All Rights Reserved.
GALLERY: NEW EDITIONS FROM PHILABOOKS|PRESS
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