Book excerpt: The book's stories are connected by connections--the ways families try to hold themselves together as generations move from one another in both time and place. The stories examine these issues just as families face them--through everyday life experiences like giving underwear as gifts; dealing with elderly parents from thousands of miles away; trying to understand what your grandchildren do for a living; obsessing over retirement planning; and the adventures of Hawaii's only teller of Jewish stories. Like everyday family life, the stories are both serious and funny.