Mimi Pollack is a retired ESL teacher. Born in the United States, she moved as a child with her family to Mexico City, where she learned Spanish. She is particularly interested in immigrant and refugee issues, animals, and reporting on different cultures and ethnicities.
2020 was a strange, difficult, and even transformative year for so many. In my case, the pandemic made me feel very mortal and I decided to start checking things off my “Bucket List.” First up was going back to horseback riding after 20 years of not riding or being in the horse world. [Mimi Pollack]
How the Pandemic Led to Horses and Second Acts Read More »
Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County
Did you know there are horses in San Diego County with roots that can be traced back directly back to the Vikings? They are Icelandic horses and their ancestors were perfect for crossing the oceans on Viking boats as the horses were short–about 12-14 hands-, calm, and sure-footed. Icelandic horses today are not very different from their predecessors and Iceland has been careful to keep it that way. [Mimi Pollack]
Mimi’s Ark: Icelandic Horses in Encinitas Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA
By Mimi Pollack L’Chaim San Diego Magazine SAN DIEGO — My late fiancé, an 8th generation New Mexican, used to tell me about the secret or crypto Jews of New Mexico. He was convinced that although he was raised Catholic, some of his ancestors were “Conversos” or secret Jews who came to New Mexico when
Crypto Jews: Finding and Embracing their Roots Read More »
Jewish History, Mimi Pollack, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA
After weeks of mostly staying home since the COVID 19 pandemic started, I was looking for some volunteer work where I could do something useful for others, but still stay safe. Then, I read in this and several other publications that Jewish Family Service urgently needed volunteer drivers for their Project 19 Food Program, so I applied and after passing a background check and obtaining my Food Handler’s Card, was accepted. [Mimi Pollack]
JFS food delivery service needs extra help during pandemic Read More »
Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County
In December 2001, I was semi-kidnapped by a taxi driver in the state of Karnataka, a remote area in Southeast India. Although scary at the time, it ended being one of many adventures/ stories that happened during the three weeks I was in India, studying with His Holiness (HH) the Dalai Lama. [Mimi Pollack]
Adventures of a Jewish Buddhist Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, Travel and Food
By Mimi Pollack LA MESA, California — Growing up in the last century, it was not always easy being outside of the box. In most cultures and countries, one followed a certain path- go to school, work an 8-hour-job, get married, have kids, etc. For those of us who didn’t follow all or part of
Fern Platt Hall lives a life of good deeds Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County
What is the small movement? It is an informal group of people brought together by yours truly to find ways to help others, especially during this pandemic. This includes giving business to small mom and pop restaurants that may be struggling, buying pizzas for Grossmont Hospital staff, making masks for Rady’s Children’s Hospital, making masks for shelters in Tijuana, gathering and donating food and fresh fruit to a food pantry, and making headbands for hospital staff to alleviate the discomfort of face masks and ears. [Mimi Pollack]
The Small Movement and Tikkun Olam Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, USA
I called Dr. Kalmar, and he liked my idea. He spoke to the head nurse and Peggy Woods, the medical staff coordinator. It took a few days, but we were able to work everything out, following certain guidelines. With some of my savings and the help of generous friends, including Janna Leoff and Edda Temoche, I raised $240 for 20 individual pizzas. Nurse Karen told me they could not share pizza from the same box, so they had to be individual. [Mimi Pollack]
Pizza and appreciation delivered to health workers Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, Travel and FoodThere is a new exhibit at the San Diego Art Institute (SDAI) that should appeal to many tastes as it is an innovative show that pairs artists and scientists together. What a brilliant idea to combine art and science together! The new installation, “Illumination,” paired 16 artists with seven scientific institutions, along with ten artists doing their own interpretation of science, nature, and technology. The curator of this show, Chi Essary, did a wonderful job pairing the artists with their scientific counterparts. [Mimi Pollack]
Scientists and artists collaborate in SDAI exhibit Read More »
Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, San Diego CountyAfter the Trump Administration’s “Remain in Mexico” policy was introduced in the summer, many asylum seekers were forced to stay in Mexico. While they wait for their court date, the need for shelters and other assistance in Tijuana has dramatically increased. Enter two grassroots organizations that were started in 2018 and early 2019 to support migrants in the Tijuana area. In 2018, Birdie Gutierrez, the daughter of migrant farm workers, founded Bridge of Love Across the Border and began to collect much needed items which were sent to migrant shelters in Tijuana. [Mimi Pollack]
‘Stay in Mexico’ policy shifts charitable focus Read More »
International, Mimi Pollack, San Diego CountyBad Hombres, Good Wives, a delightful new comedy at the San Diego Repertory Theater, is a cheeky take on Northern Mexico’s narco culture and the relationship between men and women. Written by Playwright in Residence Herbert Siguenza, the play explores the age-old problems of relationships between men and women with a mix of The Importance of Being Ernest, Moliere’s School for Wives, a narco telenovela, and some “Guillermo” Shakespeare thrown in for good measure.
‘Bad Hombres, Good Wives’ surprises, pleases Read More »
Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast
Items in today’s column include:
*Many Jewish contributions to Jacobs Masterworks 2019-2020 Season
*A Sukkot Beatles Parody
*Political byes
*On a personal note
*In Memoriam
Our Shtetl San Diego County: October 13, 2019 Read More »
Donald H. Harrison, Eileen Wingard, Mimi Pollack, Music, Dance, and Visual Arts, Obituaries & memorials, Videos
I had to smile on Saturday night at the Sephardic Festival held at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center [JCC] this past weekend. There was a short film, Our San Diego Sephardic Voices, about the Sephardim in San Diego. One of the women interviewed said she was in a “mixed marriage” as her husband was Ashkenazi. Another woman spoke about the differences in food as the Sephardic eat much more rice than their eastern European counterparts.
San Diego holds its first Sephardic Festival Read More »
International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food
The nice thing about this book is that you can either read it cover to cover or go through the extensive Table of Contents and choose the chapters that catch your eye. The book is in chronological order starting in 1987 and ending in 2019.
I did the latter and there were 18 stories that I was particularly drawn to read, such as his stories on immigrants –“Immigrant Stories Told at the New Americans Museum”- and his stories on Jewish Family Service and how they have served the community for over 100 years-“JFS, Looking Back a Century, Recalls Rose Neumann>” Moreover, I liked his stories on people who converted and intermarried couples- “Christina de Jesus is a Jewish Song Leader” and “Intermarried Couple Honors Each Other’s Beliefs.” His curious nature has served him well in life.
‘Schlepping, Schmoozing’ celebrates S.D. Jewish stories Read More »
Books, Poetry & Short Stories, Donald H. Harrison, Jewish History, Jewish Religion, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County