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I Can’t Let Go
I
can no longer suffer in silence. I
Everything I download is saved to my
have what I call D.I.H. — Digital
computer’s desktop. Do I delete the files
Information Hoarding. In self-diag-
when I’m done using them? No. Do I create
nosing myself, I was presumptuous enough folders to put them in? Yes, but only after
to think I had discovered a new
all the files on my desktop cover up
psychological phenomenon. That
the screen saver photo of my kids.
was quickly put to rest after a
These folders are always labeled
Google search netted 608,000
“stuff ” with a date, like “November
results already confirming its
2015 Stuff.” What’s in these folders?
existence.
I don’t know. I don’t look at their
The great and all-knowing
contents. But make no mistake, it’s
Wikipedia refers to the condi-
really important stuff. Oh, if folders
tion simply as “digital hoarding
Alan Muskovitz labeled “stuff ” were my only prob-
or e-hoarding … (an) excessive
lem. Let’s move on to the saved files
acquisition and reluctance to delete elec-
on my iPhone’s notes app.
tronic material no longer valuable to the
My phone is where I digitally write “to-
user. The behavior includes the mass stor-
do” lists, reminders and creative thoughts.
age of digital artifacts and the retainment
Currently I have 82 notes saved on my
of unnecessary or irrelevant electronic
phone. Do I read them? No. Do I print
data.” Yep, that’s me!
them? Sometimes. Then do I read them?
One need only refer to the 22,118 mes-
Almost never. As a matter of fact, the notes
sages in my email’s in-box to confirm this
linger in limbo for so long that I eventually
diagnosis; 3,022 of which I have yet to open handwrite a note to myself that says “read
because they’re usually just coupons — 90
the notes on your phone.” It gets worse. I
percent of which have already expired.
have actually emailed myself reminders to
That leaves 19,096 emails I’ve read but
read my notes. (Note to self: I have a seri-
haven’t deleted. Why? Because … I … can’t! ous problem.)
Come on, I might need that information
When I finally put aside time to actually
one day, right? Oh, if thousands of saved
read my notes, the nightmare really begins.
emails were my only problem. Let’s move
Why? Because I don’t understand my own
on to the “mass storage of digital artifacts.”
notes. Thanks to the wonder that is spell-
check, my computer or iPhone autocorrects
my poorly typed messages creating differ-
ent, often bizarre words.
For example, I have a note on my phone
that reads: “ramzi dalloo.” I Googled those
words and they actually exist! It would take
someone proficient in deciphering codes to
resurrect the true content of my messages.
Finally, there’s the impact my digital
hoarding habit has on my ability to DVR
television shows. Inevitably I end up con-
fronting the dreaded pop-up message: “You
only have 1 percent of your total recording
space left. You may want to delete some
recordings.” Excuuuuuuuse me?! I’m about
to record America’s Got Talent and you
want me to (insert chilling sound effect
from the shower scene from the movie
Psycho) delete something! I can’t do that to
the 27 episodes of Colombo, The Twilight
Zone and the latest Tigers game … OK,
maybe I could delete the Tigers game.
Are you a fellow digital hoarder? If so,
I feel your pain. Email me and share your
story. But not today; I already have 1,217
old emails to catch up on.
*
Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-over/acting tal-
ent, speaker, emcee and a regular guest host on the
Mitch Albom Show on WJR AM 760. Visit his website
at laughwithbigal.com and “Like” Al on Facebook.
guest column
Poland’s Jewish Community
Lauren Levinson | Special to the JN
I
came to Israel, I felt a connection, I
wanted more, I knew I belonged here
and I fell in love with the country. So I
found a way to come back — for longer, as
an English teacher in Netanya.
For the past 10 months, I have served as
a Masa Israel Teaching Fellow and, along
the way, I have gotten to know the country,
learned some Hebrew and become a part
of the community. I have benefited from
seminars, speakers, professional network-
ing opportunities, excursions to religious
and historical sites, new friends from all
over the world and, perhaps most impor-
tantly, perspective.
Being in Israel, I hear, I witness and I
have lived like an Israeli. Through partici-
pating in the Masa-GLI Global Leadership
Summit, I have been challenged to think
harder about everything an Israeli lives
through. That experience led me to a once-
in-a-lifetime trip exploring Jewish Poland
alongside fellow young Jews participating
in the Masa-GLI Wilf Family Holocaust
Education Program.
Going from Israel to Poland and then
back to Israel made for a significant jux-
taposition for me. After walking through
concentration camps as well as living in
Israel, I understand in a much more per-
sonal way that it is more than a blessing
that Jewish people today have a homeland
in Israel.
In Poland, I had the chance to piece
together a story that most Polish Jews can
relate to, but that I had never been privy to
before. I learned firsthand from the young
Poles I met that they had seen prejudice
against Jews. And I talked to people who
did not learn they were Jewish until they
were teenagers and then had to grapple
with reconfiguring their own perceptions
of their families’ pasts.
My understanding was deepened
through stories from the chief rabbi of
Poland and as I prayed during services
in Polish synagogues. In a country with
1,000 years of Jewish history, I celebrated
in Jewish community centers in Krakow
and Warsaw that are less than a decade
Masa-GLI Wilf Family Holocaust
Education Program 2016 participants
Sarah Horvitz, Lauren Levinson and
Rachel Schy in Poland earlier this spring
old — because post-Holocaust and post-
communism, only now are Polish Jews
fully revitalizing their culture and living
their faith again.
After the Holocaust, many Polish Jews
who survived kept their Jewish identity
hidden because they didn’t feel safe. They
raised their children without the religion,
whether that meant practicing Christianity
instead or adhering to no religion at all.
Those children then raised their children
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You must make sure retirement funds
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If you’re retired and in this situation –
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continued on page 8
July 7 • 2016
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