Mimi Pollack

Mimi Pollack

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.

Refugees will become hard-working Americans

With the wave of immigrants arriving at the border clamoring to be let in, I have been thinking a lot about immigration.  When Trump was in power, the border was basically closed, refugees and asylees had to wait in Mexico until their case was heard and that was a very long, inhumane process. In addition, many mothers were separated from their children. It seems like now the pendulum has swung from one extreme to another.  Do I agree with all the adults and unaccompanied minor rushing the border? It is creating unmanageable chaos and confusion.  However, I do understand why this is happening.  America is viewed as a safe haven for so many whose own countries or lives are in conflict, and they are desperate. [Mimi Pollack]

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International, Mimi Pollack, USA

Mimi’s Ark: Icelandic Horses in Encinitas

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]

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International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, The World We Share, USA

Crypto Jews: Finding and Embracing their Roots

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

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Jewish History, Mimi Pollack, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food, USA

JFS food delivery service needs extra help during pandemic

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]

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Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County

The Small Movement and Tikkun Olam

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]

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International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, USA

Pizza and appreciation delivered to health workers

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]

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Donald H. Harrison, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, Travel and Food

Scientists and artists collaborate in SDAI exhibit

There 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]

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Mimi Pollack, Music and Visual Arts, San Diego County

‘Stay in Mexico’ policy shifts charitable focus

After 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]

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International, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County

‘Bad Hombres, Good Wives’ surprises, pleases

Bad 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.

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Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast

San Diego holds its first Sephardic Festival

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.

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International, Lifestyles, Mimi Pollack, San Diego County, Theatre, Film & Broadcast, Travel and Food