July 7, 2009
This week was a little different, because Dani is leaving for Washington D.C. tomorrow. She is starting her job in a few weeks, and needs time to get organized in her new apartment. So, we planned to meet grandma and grandpa for lunch today. Dani chose Di Pescaro, and then Anat and Sevonne joined us too, which made it into a party.
I thought Dani already had her security clearance for the Department of Transportation and Security, which is her first client from Deloitte, but she explained to us that she had finished filling the lengthy forms but won’t hear back from them for a while. The G’s came late, so Sevonne waited until they arrive to tell stories about the Hindi/Philippine wedding she attended in Michigan this past weekend. She had a beautiful sari made, and all the friends wore them, but they needed help in tying them in the special way. Her hand was still painted in swirls from the Henna ceremony, which she absolutely loved. She said the food was amazing, and there were four parties, each with a different theme and for a different purpose. The one thing Sevonne did not enjoy was the two hours of speeches at the actual wedding.
We talked about our custom of doing those long speeches and toasts at the rehearsal dinner. Dani commented that we probably talk about weddings more than most families, even though no one even has a boyfriend. I thought it was good to talk about, so that everyone is clear about expectations and even has an understanding about what is good or bad about the different ways of putting on these events. Becky brought up the idea of a destination wedding in good old Colorado Springs, an idea Grandma did not like.
Gabie was with us for lunch, and hardly spoke, except that when Grandpa told him he should come to the Banner Family Council meeting, he immediately said that he had plans to go to Nickel City. We all laughed a lot throughout the meal, and I started feeling sad that these days of hanging out with all three of my children are no longer going to be easy to arrange now that Dani is moving to D.C.
Today was the family council meeting, at Pete Miller’s in Wheeling. David was in charge of organizing it, and he had already sent out an agenda and a worksheet for the kids to fill out with ideas about their own values and what values we as a family should hold. Just when we were about to leave for the lunch meeting, Gabie asked for a ride to Northbrook Court to meet his friends and go to a movie. Later in the day, the Cohen girls expressed surprise that I allowed it, because their mother never let them hang out at a mall. I said that was funny because I’m pretty sure I remember Janet spending a lot of time with different groups of girls hanging out at Old Orchard.
So, we started with imitations; whoever did the best imitation of a family member got a prize. Anat had a few not friendly-spirited imitations of Janet and me, but Matt won with a brilliant monologue in which he slipped from one person to the next, ending with an impression of Joe, who often puts his head down on the table and goes to sleep at family events. He won the Starbucks gift card that Emily tried to steal as they were leaving.
David had everyone talk about our values as a family, and divided us into groups to remember incidents that displayed values we want to emphasize. First though, he sent Grandma and Grandpa home, because our family business consultant, Joe Atrachan, who has very white teeth in his faculty picture, told us that this is the best way to have a meeting. Grandma was not happy with the arrangement and had to be told several times that it was Joe’s idea, not David’s. In any case, they ended up having to leave because Grandma had an appointment.
In talking about the second generation, and how the younger cousins don’t really feel a part of everything, Cindy suggested that the big cousins call the little ones on occasion. The big cousins have these cousins’ dinners, and Sevonne spoke for the group in saying that it has been a huge bonding experience and that all their friends are jealous about all the fun the cousins have together.
We talked about the idea of the next council meeting, should we have another family vacation, should it be a lunch? David appointed different people to research things like where our charitable donations should go, where we should next meet and other family oriented questions.
Once again, there was a lot of laughter, and a lot of good eating (although they didn’t love the restaurant as much as others).
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Thursday, June 4, 2009
June 3, 2009
It’s the day before Sevonne’s 27th birthday, and she is leaving for a couple weeks of fun in California. Becky and Sevonne talked about the trip, and who she’s going to visit, all in Orange County. Grandma kept asking her questions about things in LA, and Sevonne kept saying that she’s not going to LA, but Grandma couldn’t understand someone going to LA, right next to LA, and not going to LA. Sevonne explained that she was visiting several different friends who were all in Orange County.
Sevonne will be back on June 16, and we talked about doing a Shabbat dinner that Friday. Anyway, Sevonne chose Hole in the Wall, so I got several emails from family members worried about getting a table, worried about waiting etc…but Sevonne offered to go early and arrange the table, which is what happened. You know who you are; now that I’m organizing a law center, I can certainly organize a family lunch!
Matt told us that he is searching for a replacement car, and found a2002 Audi A4 with 35,000 miles; I think that’s one of the cars Dani likes. He asked about selling the Mustang to Emily, but Milton made it clear that she has not gotten the expected grades, and they won’t be helping her buy the car or pay for insurance. At our end of the table we all felt bad for Emily, because she is so smart and could be getting wonderful grades. We joked about finding a good mentor who might be able to motivate her. Meanwhile she finished finals and thought she did okay. Her boyfriend Grant came along to lunch, but as usual we didn’t hear a word from him (not his fault this time since they were at the other end of the table).
Matt told us about taking handicapped people sailing this summer, and how he just bought a new super-sonic life vest (Marty understood the nuances but the rest of us just nodded politely). He also told a funny story about wanting to date Jen Lev, who is about 3 years older than him, and how she did a shoulder move that he demonstrated to all of us. We laughed that she is out of his league.
Ibby told a story about running into the Levs when they were in Italy, and how actually they ran into two Glencoe families, which is pretty funny. Ibby’s stories led to remembrances of other ‘running into people in different locations’ stories.
David came since it was Sevonne’s birthday celebration, and went for a while to the other end of the table to chat with Milton and Emily. Matt assured the table that he was indeed going to take Gabe, Joe, and Sam to a day of paintballing, and this time he is going to give us enough notice. Marty said, “You mean this time you might call us at 11:00?” Last week he called at noon to go right then!
Marty told us that Joe has decided to transfer to Elm Place; he has a couple of friends also transferring from Schechter. Some of us had hoped he would stay through middle school, but as Marty said, it was Joe’s decision.
Somehow we got onto a discussion of stupid criminals; because Matt asked if Gabie still has his bb gun. I told a story I’d read in the paper about a nanny who used a bb gun to stop a robber and make him wait until police came. The best story was about the robber who got locked in the garage and had to eat dog food but couldn’t get out. He was arrested for home invasion, but then he sued the family because there wasn’t a way for him to get out of their garage. And he won!
Sevonne emailed everyone today: Thank you everyone for making lunch so fun! Can't tell you how good it feels to have you celebrating life... I'm sure you know :) Missed those who couldn't be there. Love you!!!
It’s the day before Sevonne’s 27th birthday, and she is leaving for a couple weeks of fun in California. Becky and Sevonne talked about the trip, and who she’s going to visit, all in Orange County. Grandma kept asking her questions about things in LA, and Sevonne kept saying that she’s not going to LA, but Grandma couldn’t understand someone going to LA, right next to LA, and not going to LA. Sevonne explained that she was visiting several different friends who were all in Orange County.
Sevonne will be back on June 16, and we talked about doing a Shabbat dinner that Friday. Anyway, Sevonne chose Hole in the Wall, so I got several emails from family members worried about getting a table, worried about waiting etc…but Sevonne offered to go early and arrange the table, which is what happened. You know who you are; now that I’m organizing a law center, I can certainly organize a family lunch!
Matt told us that he is searching for a replacement car, and found a2002 Audi A4 with 35,000 miles; I think that’s one of the cars Dani likes. He asked about selling the Mustang to Emily, but Milton made it clear that she has not gotten the expected grades, and they won’t be helping her buy the car or pay for insurance. At our end of the table we all felt bad for Emily, because she is so smart and could be getting wonderful grades. We joked about finding a good mentor who might be able to motivate her. Meanwhile she finished finals and thought she did okay. Her boyfriend Grant came along to lunch, but as usual we didn’t hear a word from him (not his fault this time since they were at the other end of the table).
Matt told us about taking handicapped people sailing this summer, and how he just bought a new super-sonic life vest (Marty understood the nuances but the rest of us just nodded politely). He also told a funny story about wanting to date Jen Lev, who is about 3 years older than him, and how she did a shoulder move that he demonstrated to all of us. We laughed that she is out of his league.
Ibby told a story about running into the Levs when they were in Italy, and how actually they ran into two Glencoe families, which is pretty funny. Ibby’s stories led to remembrances of other ‘running into people in different locations’ stories.
David came since it was Sevonne’s birthday celebration, and went for a while to the other end of the table to chat with Milton and Emily. Matt assured the table that he was indeed going to take Gabe, Joe, and Sam to a day of paintballing, and this time he is going to give us enough notice. Marty said, “You mean this time you might call us at 11:00?” Last week he called at noon to go right then!
Marty told us that Joe has decided to transfer to Elm Place; he has a couple of friends also transferring from Schechter. Some of us had hoped he would stay through middle school, but as Marty said, it was Joe’s decision.
Somehow we got onto a discussion of stupid criminals; because Matt asked if Gabie still has his bb gun. I told a story I’d read in the paper about a nanny who used a bb gun to stop a robber and make him wait until police came. The best story was about the robber who got locked in the garage and had to eat dog food but couldn’t get out. He was arrested for home invasion, but then he sued the family because there wasn’t a way for him to get out of their garage. And he won!
Sevonne emailed everyone today: Thank you everyone for making lunch so fun! Can't tell you how good it feels to have you celebrating life... I'm sure you know :) Missed those who couldn't be there. Love you!!!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Lunch will have more sizzle when Anat finishes her semester.
May 6, 2009
Malka Weiss (Uri and Nate’s mom, from Cleveland) joined us today; this was her first visit to Chicago since Asher died. She is such a lovely person, and I hope she enjoyed chatting with all of us at Max and Benny’s. She told us a bit about what’s happening with the Weiss girls; they all came home during her visit, and the twins are going traveling through Europe. Jessie is going back to NYC to get back to auditioning.
Sevonne jumped into telling about Jamie and Andrew; they bought a magnificent condo in Bucktown about which she waxed rhapsodic for awhile. High ceilings, three bedrooms, giant porch, gorgeous, etc…Andrew is back working for his father, Jamie still doesn’t have a job. Jonathan has been working in real estate with his dad’s firm, and we didn’t talk about Michael except to acknowledge that he’s getting married.
Milt asked Sevonne about Zach; he told Ibby that they’re going through a rough patch, but Sevonne says she told him it was over. She repeated my vision of her slumping at a desk when she’s at Tel Aviv U next year, and suddenly seeing a cute guy, so she sits up straight. Then she gets into a relationship with him, but there are hurdles to overcome.
Malka and Grandma were talking about the old county, and it turns out that Malka can’t remember the name of the concentration camp her father was in. Grandma said that some of the other cousins have also forgotten such things. Grandma and Grandpa saw an old guy from the next table whom they knew, but they couldn’t remember his name, until Grandma got it. He had been friends with Bob Pohn, Grandpa’s childhood friend. They’re probably around the same age, but that table of old guys looked like they were in their 90’s, and made Grandpa and Grandma look much younger.
Milton informed us that Ibby’s grandmother, GGMa, who was 104, died in her sleep on Thursday. He said, “She had 102 good years.” We all expressed surprise, and Malka asked, why are you surprised? We replied that we thought she’d live forever.
Milton also told us about their college visit to Indiana for Emily. She loved it, and they agreed that it is beautiful down there. Emily wants someplace warmer than Chicago (it’s about 10 degrees warmer; when David and I were there we were absolutely delighted to wear light sweaters even though it was still freezing in Chicago). Indiana is her first choice, and then he told us some of her safety schools, plus she talks about Miami of Ohio, but Milton thinks that’s just to please Ibby. Mom asked about Illinois, and Milt said she can’t get in; when she hasn’t liked a teacher, she has stopped working in that class, and so she doesn’t have a stellar grade point average.
Sevonne told us that she has a lot of work with her computer today, and tomorrow morning she is going to a JNF breakfast. Marty’s friend is chair of the event, and Sevonne tried to convince Marty to join her at the breakfast; Mark Spitz is speaking. We tried to remember if he was or wasn’t the first Jewish swimmer to win the gold medal. Someone remarked that he set records only now broken by Olympic medalist Michael Phelps.
I explained that I can’t go to the breakfast because tomorrow I’m taking the 4:30pm train downtown. We have a lecture by one of David’s brilliant professors downtown, which we’re leaving early to take a cab down to the Ritz Carlton where we are joining our friends James and Aviva at a dinner honoring the outgoing president of Hebrew University.
It’s a tough night for us to go out since we’re leaving early Friday morning to go to Dani’s graduation in Washington D.C. I told everyone that we plan to go to one of the museums on Friday, and then we all go out to dinner(Raphi will be there, along with his nephew, and the nephew’s wife and baby). The ceremony takes place Saturday morning (Marty asked me if we planned to go to shul afterwards), followed by a reception. That afternoon we’ll all congregate at Dani’s house; she and her roomies have organized a catered dinner for all the families. Becky flies in at about 5:30 and will take a cab to the house, so we’ll all be together (including their father). Sunday morning Dani has arranged a brunch, after which we’ll have almost all day until our flight…maybe we’ll try to come home earlier if it’s raining as forecast.
Janet reminded the boys what they’re all giving Dani for her graduation. Sevonne remembered a pile of cash that she used for months and months afterwards, always feeling like it was free money. We are helping Dani buy a new car, and we’re giving her the beginnings of a graduate school fund that we saved over the years. From now on, we’re saving for her wedding.
Marty ordered three desserts, and they were all way better than expected, because I really dislike this restaurant and hope we don’t return (except for the desserts). I had the veggie burger, and it was just nothing; last time I couldn’t eat the omelet it was so awful. Marty had ordered a key lime pie, but a guy from the kitchen came out with instructions written on a dollar bill, and told us they were out of it. Marty ordered cherry pie instead, but Grandpa had to confirm his chocolate cake was still coming. The guy was clearly challenged, and of course an extra piece of cake was delivered.
May 13, 2009
Gabie was home because he missed the seventh grade Washington trip. We were actually already in Washington for Dani’s graduation this past weekend, so it didn’t make sense for him to go. We are having a lovely week of hanging out and doing nothing much. Gabie wanted to meet at Kamahachi, but because it’s Milton’s 50th birthday, he got to choose.
So, we met again at Bravo in the Glen, and Matt had just come home from college, Sevonne was there, and everyone else. Matt spent a lot of time kind of wrestling with Gabie, but he also took a few minutes now and again to massage my neck with his iron hands. There was a lot of talk about cars, and he isn’t sure about his summer plans, so I told him he can spend some time with Becky.
Grandpa was sitting across from both boys, and Marty was there also, but he left early with plans to pick up lots of Homer ice cream to celebrate at the office. Grandpa told the boys about a Nature channel show he’d seen that he very much liked, about renewable forms of energy. Gabie likes that sort of thing so he was actually engaged in the discussion.
Milt and Ibby told us a little about their weekend away, and all the plans for celebrating, that do not include a party. They’re having these gatherings, and we’re all getting together for a barbeque on Sunday night, and then they’re going with another couple to Oregon in a few weeks. They told a story about being on vacation somewhere west and it was warm and nice when suddenly the temperature fell 40 degrees and a storm was in full swing. They went back to the hotel and cuddled, but when they called home, Mom and Dad were at the beach with the kids. I was very sad that the restaurant didn’t do anything except put out a card; I’d asked for something with a candle, and they just forgot. I told the manager that we weren’t coming back to celebrate anything. But we unusually did not order any desserts since Marty was getting all that Homer’s ice cream for the office
Malka Weiss (Uri and Nate’s mom, from Cleveland) joined us today; this was her first visit to Chicago since Asher died. She is such a lovely person, and I hope she enjoyed chatting with all of us at Max and Benny’s. She told us a bit about what’s happening with the Weiss girls; they all came home during her visit, and the twins are going traveling through Europe. Jessie is going back to NYC to get back to auditioning.
Sevonne jumped into telling about Jamie and Andrew; they bought a magnificent condo in Bucktown about which she waxed rhapsodic for awhile. High ceilings, three bedrooms, giant porch, gorgeous, etc…Andrew is back working for his father, Jamie still doesn’t have a job. Jonathan has been working in real estate with his dad’s firm, and we didn’t talk about Michael except to acknowledge that he’s getting married.
Milt asked Sevonne about Zach; he told Ibby that they’re going through a rough patch, but Sevonne says she told him it was over. She repeated my vision of her slumping at a desk when she’s at Tel Aviv U next year, and suddenly seeing a cute guy, so she sits up straight. Then she gets into a relationship with him, but there are hurdles to overcome.
Malka and Grandma were talking about the old county, and it turns out that Malka can’t remember the name of the concentration camp her father was in. Grandma said that some of the other cousins have also forgotten such things. Grandma and Grandpa saw an old guy from the next table whom they knew, but they couldn’t remember his name, until Grandma got it. He had been friends with Bob Pohn, Grandpa’s childhood friend. They’re probably around the same age, but that table of old guys looked like they were in their 90’s, and made Grandpa and Grandma look much younger.
Milton informed us that Ibby’s grandmother, GGMa, who was 104, died in her sleep on Thursday. He said, “She had 102 good years.” We all expressed surprise, and Malka asked, why are you surprised? We replied that we thought she’d live forever.
Milton also told us about their college visit to Indiana for Emily. She loved it, and they agreed that it is beautiful down there. Emily wants someplace warmer than Chicago (it’s about 10 degrees warmer; when David and I were there we were absolutely delighted to wear light sweaters even though it was still freezing in Chicago). Indiana is her first choice, and then he told us some of her safety schools, plus she talks about Miami of Ohio, but Milton thinks that’s just to please Ibby. Mom asked about Illinois, and Milt said she can’t get in; when she hasn’t liked a teacher, she has stopped working in that class, and so she doesn’t have a stellar grade point average.
Sevonne told us that she has a lot of work with her computer today, and tomorrow morning she is going to a JNF breakfast. Marty’s friend is chair of the event, and Sevonne tried to convince Marty to join her at the breakfast; Mark Spitz is speaking. We tried to remember if he was or wasn’t the first Jewish swimmer to win the gold medal. Someone remarked that he set records only now broken by Olympic medalist Michael Phelps.
I explained that I can’t go to the breakfast because tomorrow I’m taking the 4:30pm train downtown. We have a lecture by one of David’s brilliant professors downtown, which we’re leaving early to take a cab down to the Ritz Carlton where we are joining our friends James and Aviva at a dinner honoring the outgoing president of Hebrew University.
It’s a tough night for us to go out since we’re leaving early Friday morning to go to Dani’s graduation in Washington D.C. I told everyone that we plan to go to one of the museums on Friday, and then we all go out to dinner(Raphi will be there, along with his nephew, and the nephew’s wife and baby). The ceremony takes place Saturday morning (Marty asked me if we planned to go to shul afterwards), followed by a reception. That afternoon we’ll all congregate at Dani’s house; she and her roomies have organized a catered dinner for all the families. Becky flies in at about 5:30 and will take a cab to the house, so we’ll all be together (including their father). Sunday morning Dani has arranged a brunch, after which we’ll have almost all day until our flight…maybe we’ll try to come home earlier if it’s raining as forecast.
Janet reminded the boys what they’re all giving Dani for her graduation. Sevonne remembered a pile of cash that she used for months and months afterwards, always feeling like it was free money. We are helping Dani buy a new car, and we’re giving her the beginnings of a graduate school fund that we saved over the years. From now on, we’re saving for her wedding.
Marty ordered three desserts, and they were all way better than expected, because I really dislike this restaurant and hope we don’t return (except for the desserts). I had the veggie burger, and it was just nothing; last time I couldn’t eat the omelet it was so awful. Marty had ordered a key lime pie, but a guy from the kitchen came out with instructions written on a dollar bill, and told us they were out of it. Marty ordered cherry pie instead, but Grandpa had to confirm his chocolate cake was still coming. The guy was clearly challenged, and of course an extra piece of cake was delivered.
May 13, 2009
Gabie was home because he missed the seventh grade Washington trip. We were actually already in Washington for Dani’s graduation this past weekend, so it didn’t make sense for him to go. We are having a lovely week of hanging out and doing nothing much. Gabie wanted to meet at Kamahachi, but because it’s Milton’s 50th birthday, he got to choose.
So, we met again at Bravo in the Glen, and Matt had just come home from college, Sevonne was there, and everyone else. Matt spent a lot of time kind of wrestling with Gabie, but he also took a few minutes now and again to massage my neck with his iron hands. There was a lot of talk about cars, and he isn’t sure about his summer plans, so I told him he can spend some time with Becky.
Grandpa was sitting across from both boys, and Marty was there also, but he left early with plans to pick up lots of Homer ice cream to celebrate at the office. Grandpa told the boys about a Nature channel show he’d seen that he very much liked, about renewable forms of energy. Gabie likes that sort of thing so he was actually engaged in the discussion.
Milt and Ibby told us a little about their weekend away, and all the plans for celebrating, that do not include a party. They’re having these gatherings, and we’re all getting together for a barbeque on Sunday night, and then they’re going with another couple to Oregon in a few weeks. They told a story about being on vacation somewhere west and it was warm and nice when suddenly the temperature fell 40 degrees and a storm was in full swing. They went back to the hotel and cuddled, but when they called home, Mom and Dad were at the beach with the kids. I was very sad that the restaurant didn’t do anything except put out a card; I’d asked for something with a candle, and they just forgot. I told the manager that we weren’t coming back to celebrate anything. But we unusually did not order any desserts since Marty was getting all that Homer’s ice cream for the office
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Final Break Up
April 2, 2009
We made a plan to meet at a new Thai place, but then just before lunch Sevonne told me that she would keep us company but wasn’t planning to eat that food. So I contacted everyone and we went, as is becoming usual, to EggShell on Lake-Cook.
Right away, we started discussing Sevonne’s recent and what she calls final breakup with the man Ibby had fixed her up with. We all liked him, and they’d already broken up but got back together. He is now in Connecticut doing a residency, and Sevonne wondered why she didn’t want to spend more time out there, but it became clear that even if she waits for him to come back to Chicago in five years, he might never be the partner she wanted. He didn’t give her the solid support she wants in a partner.
We talked about how hard it is; we all know single people who are struggling to find the right one. Sevonne refuses to try J-date; she wants to meet someone in a more romantic way, not by computer. And all of us sat around the table thinking how beautiful Sevonne is, and how surprising it is that she hasn’t been swept off her feet already. She informed us that she might do her MBA at Tel Aviv University, where she’s been offered a generous scholarship. It’s a pilot program, so there will be some cachet for being in the first group to get the degree. She doesn’t think she’ll make the best connections for business, but she’ll have a wonderful time, and it’s not far from the beach!
Milton told us about the surgery he’s going to have next Friday: it’s towards his neck, and he thinks he caused it by having the computer screen in a position that forced him to keep his head pushed forward for long periods of time. I’m writing this on the couch with my head resting back against the pillows and my computer on my knees. No chance of hurting myself, but I do feel sleepy a lot while writing.
David said that Milton is hoping to fly to a board meeting just 10 days after his surgery. I told him that it was really iffy…that he should give himself more time to recover. Milton said that in any case it depends on Sheldon Cohen, the board member who just found out that he has prostate cancer. They know that with chemo and treatment there is now a 98% recovery rate for that, but he has to figure out the right treatment. So the meeting isn’t definite. David hopes it’s moved because he has his final French exam that night after the meeting, and he’d have to fly back from Atlanta or wherever it’s being held.
We were all happy to have Ibby with us; she tells us that Matt might work at Grossinger’s Auto Dealership this summer. He loves cars; Milt told a story about him recognizing almost an entire parking lot of cars from a window up above. I mentioned that the only thing he doesn’t recognize is the color of the car, and then we discussed color blindness. Mom says she realized that Milton was color blind when he came home in a pink shirt, but when she asked why he bought it, he answered that it was gray. Milton says he realized he was color blind when we argued about the color of the balloons in our kitchen wallpaper.
What balloons? Janet never remembers anything about our childhood, and I definitely know there weren’t balloons in that kitchen on Knox. Mom confirmed, but Milton still remembers the story that way. Ibby said that her grandmother and mother were both confused about color, and told a story in which they all saw the same tile as a different color, but only she was right, according to the back of the tile.
Marty told us that he and Cindy are applying Janet and my advice to Sarah; just like we did with our girls, they are letting her know about the kind of freedom she will have if she gets A’s. They also told her about what kind of surveillance she’ll be under if she does not get the grades. Mom said she thinks they are being wonderful parents, especially because of how they let each kid choose the paint color for their room. Marty told a funny story about Joey choosing black, but then agreeing to a gray. They told him it looks like a prison cell, and now that’s what he calls his bedroom.
They’re still not sure about Schechter for next year, but Janet and I didn’t have time to do the high pressure spiel about how valuable it will be, about how our girls all got into honors classes in high school etc. Marty did share that one of their friends’ daughters, graduating from Schechter, got into the Academy at Glenbrook North, which is very prestigious and accepts only students with great language skills and at least one extra language.
We all confirmed the time (6:00PM) for both seders next week; Mom’s on Wednesday and our house on Thursday. We won’t be able to meet for lunch until the third week, because it will still be Pesach. Then if we meet at Eggshell, pancakes and omelettes will taste wonderful.
We made a plan to meet at a new Thai place, but then just before lunch Sevonne told me that she would keep us company but wasn’t planning to eat that food. So I contacted everyone and we went, as is becoming usual, to EggShell on Lake-Cook.
Right away, we started discussing Sevonne’s recent and what she calls final breakup with the man Ibby had fixed her up with. We all liked him, and they’d already broken up but got back together. He is now in Connecticut doing a residency, and Sevonne wondered why she didn’t want to spend more time out there, but it became clear that even if she waits for him to come back to Chicago in five years, he might never be the partner she wanted. He didn’t give her the solid support she wants in a partner.
We talked about how hard it is; we all know single people who are struggling to find the right one. Sevonne refuses to try J-date; she wants to meet someone in a more romantic way, not by computer. And all of us sat around the table thinking how beautiful Sevonne is, and how surprising it is that she hasn’t been swept off her feet already. She informed us that she might do her MBA at Tel Aviv University, where she’s been offered a generous scholarship. It’s a pilot program, so there will be some cachet for being in the first group to get the degree. She doesn’t think she’ll make the best connections for business, but she’ll have a wonderful time, and it’s not far from the beach!
Milton told us about the surgery he’s going to have next Friday: it’s towards his neck, and he thinks he caused it by having the computer screen in a position that forced him to keep his head pushed forward for long periods of time. I’m writing this on the couch with my head resting back against the pillows and my computer on my knees. No chance of hurting myself, but I do feel sleepy a lot while writing.
David said that Milton is hoping to fly to a board meeting just 10 days after his surgery. I told him that it was really iffy…that he should give himself more time to recover. Milton said that in any case it depends on Sheldon Cohen, the board member who just found out that he has prostate cancer. They know that with chemo and treatment there is now a 98% recovery rate for that, but he has to figure out the right treatment. So the meeting isn’t definite. David hopes it’s moved because he has his final French exam that night after the meeting, and he’d have to fly back from Atlanta or wherever it’s being held.
We were all happy to have Ibby with us; she tells us that Matt might work at Grossinger’s Auto Dealership this summer. He loves cars; Milt told a story about him recognizing almost an entire parking lot of cars from a window up above. I mentioned that the only thing he doesn’t recognize is the color of the car, and then we discussed color blindness. Mom says she realized that Milton was color blind when he came home in a pink shirt, but when she asked why he bought it, he answered that it was gray. Milton says he realized he was color blind when we argued about the color of the balloons in our kitchen wallpaper.
What balloons? Janet never remembers anything about our childhood, and I definitely know there weren’t balloons in that kitchen on Knox. Mom confirmed, but Milton still remembers the story that way. Ibby said that her grandmother and mother were both confused about color, and told a story in which they all saw the same tile as a different color, but only she was right, according to the back of the tile.
Marty told us that he and Cindy are applying Janet and my advice to Sarah; just like we did with our girls, they are letting her know about the kind of freedom she will have if she gets A’s. They also told her about what kind of surveillance she’ll be under if she does not get the grades. Mom said she thinks they are being wonderful parents, especially because of how they let each kid choose the paint color for their room. Marty told a funny story about Joey choosing black, but then agreeing to a gray. They told him it looks like a prison cell, and now that’s what he calls his bedroom.
They’re still not sure about Schechter for next year, but Janet and I didn’t have time to do the high pressure spiel about how valuable it will be, about how our girls all got into honors classes in high school etc. Marty did share that one of their friends’ daughters, graduating from Schechter, got into the Academy at Glenbrook North, which is very prestigious and accepts only students with great language skills and at least one extra language.
We all confirmed the time (6:00PM) for both seders next week; Mom’s on Wednesday and our house on Thursday. We won’t be able to meet for lunch until the third week, because it will still be Pesach. Then if we meet at Eggshell, pancakes and omelettes will taste wonderful.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Anat donates ponytail, 3/25/09
This is Gabie and his good friends Ari and Jonathan on their tour of Bulls Stadium in March. I don't know why he's pretending to lick the picture!
March 18, 2009
We had this wonderful lunch last week, with Matt and Sevonne both there, but I didn’t go right home so I didn’t remember much about what was said. Grandpa was disappointed that I didn’t write about it, and Grandma said today that it was my fault I created a monster (the expectation of having every lunch described). All I remember from last week is the lively discussion about cars, with Matt promising to look for a good used car for Becky, to replace the aging Avalon that doesn’t always start. And I also remember that we laughed a lot; we were at Bravo in the Glen. After Grandma left, the kids talked about buying a place somewhere warm, and tried to get Grandpa to commit to buying something for all the grandkids to go visit, somewhere in Florida. We all voted for the west coast…and I told the story of David’s manager Deb, who just spent 87,000 on a house that was worth 400,000. We gave Sevonne instructions to look for that kind of bargain.
Today’s lunch was at Eggshell….Janet and Sevonne came, also Marty, and both Grandma and Grandpa. Marty asked Janet about Northbrook elections; they’re voting for Frum, who used to be a neighbor. The current guy Marks, is nebach, and the previous guy Damosch is running again, but he’s the one that refused Costco a space and tried hard to maintain Northbrook’s pristine character at the expense of building, convenience, increased tax base, and interesting character. Janet said they think Frum won’t allow more organized crime nonsense. All good, and I don’t like the other two men.
Janet told us that Gadi is speaking at Friday night services at Solel, from the perspective of the Israeli right….there will be a leftist speaker as well. Sounds interesting, but as I told Sevonne, I’m not sure I want to go to a reform service since I find them so irritating with all that English and choreography. It’s sort of Jewish light. Janet also told us about hosting a bunch of Anat’s med school friends last Friday night, and one brought a girlfriend who turned out to be a Schechter girl from Sevonne’s grade. Sevonne ran up to her room, said Janet, and immediately located the middle school t-shirt that had pictures of everyone in the grade!
We talked about Natasha Richardson falling on the bunny slope while learning to ski, and now being (if what’s reported is true) brain-dead. What an awful thing…but totally a crazy situation, and not having anything to do with the sport of skiing. Mom was worried since Milt and family are going skiing next week. Janet reminded us that the actress’s mother, Vanessa Redgrave, was pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, back before it became so fashionable.
Marty shared a couple of stories; one about a skunk whose scent burdened them in the middle of the night. Cindy sent Marty out of the house in his pajamas, on that freezing night, to check if there was a skunk in the garage or anywhere around the house. Of course, had either of them been thinking clearly, they would have realized that it wasn’t really necessary to go searching for the skunk.
Marty also shared his thoughts about raising a teenage daughter, and told us that it was nothing specific, but Sarah is being all the things we would expect, including disrespectful and obnoxious. We discussed who would win the worse teenager award, between Sevonne and Dani….tough call. We’re all grateful that they are now lovely and thoughtful young ladies.
We had this wonderful lunch last week, with Matt and Sevonne both there, but I didn’t go right home so I didn’t remember much about what was said. Grandpa was disappointed that I didn’t write about it, and Grandma said today that it was my fault I created a monster (the expectation of having every lunch described). All I remember from last week is the lively discussion about cars, with Matt promising to look for a good used car for Becky, to replace the aging Avalon that doesn’t always start. And I also remember that we laughed a lot; we were at Bravo in the Glen. After Grandma left, the kids talked about buying a place somewhere warm, and tried to get Grandpa to commit to buying something for all the grandkids to go visit, somewhere in Florida. We all voted for the west coast…and I told the story of David’s manager Deb, who just spent 87,000 on a house that was worth 400,000. We gave Sevonne instructions to look for that kind of bargain.
Today’s lunch was at Eggshell….Janet and Sevonne came, also Marty, and both Grandma and Grandpa. Marty asked Janet about Northbrook elections; they’re voting for Frum, who used to be a neighbor. The current guy Marks, is nebach, and the previous guy Damosch is running again, but he’s the one that refused Costco a space and tried hard to maintain Northbrook’s pristine character at the expense of building, convenience, increased tax base, and interesting character. Janet said they think Frum won’t allow more organized crime nonsense. All good, and I don’t like the other two men.
Janet told us that Gadi is speaking at Friday night services at Solel, from the perspective of the Israeli right….there will be a leftist speaker as well. Sounds interesting, but as I told Sevonne, I’m not sure I want to go to a reform service since I find them so irritating with all that English and choreography. It’s sort of Jewish light. Janet also told us about hosting a bunch of Anat’s med school friends last Friday night, and one brought a girlfriend who turned out to be a Schechter girl from Sevonne’s grade. Sevonne ran up to her room, said Janet, and immediately located the middle school t-shirt that had pictures of everyone in the grade!
We talked about Natasha Richardson falling on the bunny slope while learning to ski, and now being (if what’s reported is true) brain-dead. What an awful thing…but totally a crazy situation, and not having anything to do with the sport of skiing. Mom was worried since Milt and family are going skiing next week. Janet reminded us that the actress’s mother, Vanessa Redgrave, was pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel, back before it became so fashionable.
Marty shared a couple of stories; one about a skunk whose scent burdened them in the middle of the night. Cindy sent Marty out of the house in his pajamas, on that freezing night, to check if there was a skunk in the garage or anywhere around the house. Of course, had either of them been thinking clearly, they would have realized that it wasn’t really necessary to go searching for the skunk.
Marty also shared his thoughts about raising a teenage daughter, and told us that it was nothing specific, but Sarah is being all the things we would expect, including disrespectful and obnoxious. We discussed who would win the worse teenager award, between Sevonne and Dani….tough call. We’re all grateful that they are now lovely and thoughtful young ladies.
March 25, 2009
What a lovely afternoon! Anat invited us to witness her getting 10 inches of her long hair cut off to donate to Locks of Love. I picked up Grandma, Grandpa, and Sevonne, and we drove up to Chicago Medical College where Anat was waiting her turn, surrounded by some of her good med school friends. It was nice meeting them, all these fresh-faced young women. Grandpa immediately asked Anna something about all the young girls wanting to be doctors instead of rushing to bag husbands.
We had to wait for about half an hour because Janet came late, with her childhood friend Edie. They’d both just gotten their hair done and looked as glamorous as middle aged ladies can look wearing jeans and sweaters. There was one little Asian friend of Anat’s, named Teresa, who looked like she was still in high school, and we speculated on the tough time she’s going to have proving her competence. Anat later told us that she has seen guys actually pick up Teresa in a bar, and the poor girl can hardly do anything because she’s so tiny. Marty, who met us for lunch after the haircut, suggested that she hand out a business card that shows a $20 charge for being picked up.
Finally it was Anat’s turn to get her hair trimmed, and her girlfriends reminded her not to let anyone push her into more than 10 inches, and NO BANGS. Anat joked the entire time her hair was getting cut off, and then we took pictures of the momentous occasion. Her friends were a little surprised I think, to see that 7 extra people came up to North Chicago to witness this momentous occasion. I told one of them that I expected we would all return for future major events in Anat’s life.
Anat had made a reservation at Francesca’s in Lake Forest, about 10 minutes south of the school, but it was almost empty and we didn’t really need a reservation. Sevonne and Marty ordered Chianti, but it turned out to be vinegary, so Marty had the enjoyment of returning it. They got a bottle of Pinot instead, and several others enjoyed a glass. We joked about it, Marty said it makes him a better person. Grandpa talked about how gin helps calm his tremor Anat remembered the line from Golden Girls, “You know what goes well with champagne?” and the answer it “me.”
We told some children stories; Marty shared an evening of Sarah and Cindy sparring, and Cindy bearing down on Sarah because her schoolwork was faltering. Sevonne told me that Gabie sent her a picture of himself in an empty stadium, and I told about Gabie’s Monday evening of going with his friend Ari for a tour that his father had bought. Gabie’s favorite part was stopping afterwards at Marc’s office and getting little pieces of scrap metal which are now sitting on the kitchen table. When he got home at about 9, he remembered the big project that was due the next day. By about 11 I told him that he just had to go to bed whether or not the project was finished. He said he was almost done, and just needed one thing. Do we have posterboard?
We laughed about all those projects the kids have to do; Sevonne remembered something with popsicle sticks, and Anat remembered the 4th grade Chicago building. They both recalled that Gadi basically made Maya’s. Marty said they didn’t make the buildings; instead they created a board game each time. I admitted that Gabie destroyed his version of the Merchandise Mart by shooting at it with his bb gun.
I told Janet that someone had asked me the other day if she was anorexic! What? I suggested setting a chocolate cake, or that cake from Leonard’s we fondly refer to as JEW cake, in front of my sister, and watch what happens. The girls laughed about it too; Sevonne told about a cheesecake and 4 forks…and about 20 minutes with the four Cohen girls. She doesn’t look skinny, just healthy and trim, especially for her age when all the other women seem to be spreading out. I even feel pudgy next to Janet!
Sevonne and Anat told us about a speaker they want to see, who is performing at DePaul (they’ve asked me to procure tickets which are only available to people connected with DePaul). I think the guy’s name is Frank Warren, and he’s published several books of secrets. It’s a cool idea; apparently he gave out a hundred postcards at some dead end point in his life asking people to share a secret, and it has spread like a fire. He now has several books of these anonymous secrets, which according to the girls are fascinating glimpses into other people’s lives. Anat said that at the lectures, a guy will come on stage and share secrets like that he loves so and so and is asking right then for her hand in marriage.
I finally had to run. Long lunch, fun day.
What a lovely afternoon! Anat invited us to witness her getting 10 inches of her long hair cut off to donate to Locks of Love. I picked up Grandma, Grandpa, and Sevonne, and we drove up to Chicago Medical College where Anat was waiting her turn, surrounded by some of her good med school friends. It was nice meeting them, all these fresh-faced young women. Grandpa immediately asked Anna something about all the young girls wanting to be doctors instead of rushing to bag husbands.
We had to wait for about half an hour because Janet came late, with her childhood friend Edie. They’d both just gotten their hair done and looked as glamorous as middle aged ladies can look wearing jeans and sweaters. There was one little Asian friend of Anat’s, named Teresa, who looked like she was still in high school, and we speculated on the tough time she’s going to have proving her competence. Anat later told us that she has seen guys actually pick up Teresa in a bar, and the poor girl can hardly do anything because she’s so tiny. Marty, who met us for lunch after the haircut, suggested that she hand out a business card that shows a $20 charge for being picked up.
Finally it was Anat’s turn to get her hair trimmed, and her girlfriends reminded her not to let anyone push her into more than 10 inches, and NO BANGS. Anat joked the entire time her hair was getting cut off, and then we took pictures of the momentous occasion. Her friends were a little surprised I think, to see that 7 extra people came up to North Chicago to witness this momentous occasion. I told one of them that I expected we would all return for future major events in Anat’s life.
Anat had made a reservation at Francesca’s in Lake Forest, about 10 minutes south of the school, but it was almost empty and we didn’t really need a reservation. Sevonne and Marty ordered Chianti, but it turned out to be vinegary, so Marty had the enjoyment of returning it. They got a bottle of Pinot instead, and several others enjoyed a glass. We joked about it, Marty said it makes him a better person. Grandpa talked about how gin helps calm his tremor Anat remembered the line from Golden Girls, “You know what goes well with champagne?” and the answer it “me.”
We told some children stories; Marty shared an evening of Sarah and Cindy sparring, and Cindy bearing down on Sarah because her schoolwork was faltering. Sevonne told me that Gabie sent her a picture of himself in an empty stadium, and I told about Gabie’s Monday evening of going with his friend Ari for a tour that his father had bought. Gabie’s favorite part was stopping afterwards at Marc’s office and getting little pieces of scrap metal which are now sitting on the kitchen table. When he got home at about 9, he remembered the big project that was due the next day. By about 11 I told him that he just had to go to bed whether or not the project was finished. He said he was almost done, and just needed one thing. Do we have posterboard?
We laughed about all those projects the kids have to do; Sevonne remembered something with popsicle sticks, and Anat remembered the 4th grade Chicago building. They both recalled that Gadi basically made Maya’s. Marty said they didn’t make the buildings; instead they created a board game each time. I admitted that Gabie destroyed his version of the Merchandise Mart by shooting at it with his bb gun.
I told Janet that someone had asked me the other day if she was anorexic! What? I suggested setting a chocolate cake, or that cake from Leonard’s we fondly refer to as JEW cake, in front of my sister, and watch what happens. The girls laughed about it too; Sevonne told about a cheesecake and 4 forks…and about 20 minutes with the four Cohen girls. She doesn’t look skinny, just healthy and trim, especially for her age when all the other women seem to be spreading out. I even feel pudgy next to Janet!
Sevonne and Anat told us about a speaker they want to see, who is performing at DePaul (they’ve asked me to procure tickets which are only available to people connected with DePaul). I think the guy’s name is Frank Warren, and he’s published several books of secrets. It’s a cool idea; apparently he gave out a hundred postcards at some dead end point in his life asking people to share a secret, and it has spread like a fire. He now has several books of these anonymous secrets, which according to the girls are fascinating glimpses into other people’s lives. Anat said that at the lectures, a guy will come on stage and share secrets like that he loves so and so and is asking right then for her hand in marriage.
I finally had to run. Long lunch, fun day.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Vacation Song
Since I forgot to blog about last week's Janet birthday lunch at Di Pescaro (joined by Maya and her friend Jessie, Janet, Milton, Marty, Sevonne, Grandma and Grandpa), I thought I'd print out this song I wrote a while ago about our family. (Just want to mention that the apple crostada and the chocolate cake were much better than the previous week). Some of you might remember hearing this song at my 50th birthday party (although most of you were busy eating pie and not paying attention). If I can find that other song about how everything Janet, Milton, and Marty know is because of listening to me practice piano, I'll post it. Unless hearing it that one time was enough....
Once for spring vacation, when I was just a girl,
My parents thought to take us all to Paris for a whirl.
We traveled there by private jet and saw the famous sights,
The Champs Elysees, Louvre, the boulevard of lights.
Not really, what we really did was hang out on the block,
I’d read novels day and night, and wait for friends to knock.
My sister had friends over and my brothers watched T.V.
We just stayed together, my family and me.
Once in early August we went sailing on a yacht,
We saw the coast of Africa, what a gorgeous spot.
We all pitched in and worked the sails,
We huddled under storms and gales,
We came back with a hundred tales, or, actually, maybe not.
Really what we did that month involved the water, true,
In Somme Woods, way far up north, far from the ocean blue.
We hiked through swamps and murky bogs to capture little things,
Like frogs and salamanders, like insects without stings.
When winter came, that awful year, we tried to beat the snow,
By heading south to Florida where all the snowbirds go.
We drove our station wagon to a place of sun and sand,
The drinks came with umbrellas, it really was quite grand.
Not really, cause we stayed at home, and played outside all day,
With cousins, friends, and neighbors, all sharing the same sleigh,
We went inside when we got cold for cocoa and to pee,
We spent the time together, my family and me.
Once for spring vacation, when I was just a girl,
My parents thought to take us all to Paris for a whirl.
We traveled there by private jet and saw the famous sights,
The Champs Elysees, Louvre, the boulevard of lights.
Not really, what we really did was hang out on the block,
I’d read novels day and night, and wait for friends to knock.
My sister had friends over and my brothers watched T.V.
We just stayed together, my family and me.
Once in early August we went sailing on a yacht,
We saw the coast of Africa, what a gorgeous spot.
We all pitched in and worked the sails,
We huddled under storms and gales,
We came back with a hundred tales, or, actually, maybe not.
Really what we did that month involved the water, true,
In Somme Woods, way far up north, far from the ocean blue.
We hiked through swamps and murky bogs to capture little things,
Like frogs and salamanders, like insects without stings.
When winter came, that awful year, we tried to beat the snow,
By heading south to Florida where all the snowbirds go.
We drove our station wagon to a place of sun and sand,
The drinks came with umbrellas, it really was quite grand.
Not really, cause we stayed at home, and played outside all day,
With cousins, friends, and neighbors, all sharing the same sleigh,
We went inside when we got cold for cocoa and to pee,
We spent the time together, my family and me.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Two Posts: 2nd one is Grandpa's 81st Birthday Lunch!
December 17, 2008
Dani is home; she chose Di Pescaro, and the happy surprise was that Anat also showed up. She finished one exam yesterday, and only has one left on Friday.
Marty brought us up to date on the house, but it’s nothing new since last week when he announced that they can park in both sides of the garage. What is new is that Cindy was rear-ended, about 1500 worth of damage, but the car is too old to put that kind of money into it. They’re figuring out what to do about a car.
Marty is always a wealth of information; he seeks out interesting news articles from around the world to share with his children. He told us a story about the overflow of pigs in Germany, and how a guy who often fed wild pigs was shocked when a huge one climbed into his car, thinking he was going to be gored. Instead, the pig rested its head on the guy’s lap!
I asked Grandpa how all his projects are going, and Marty told us that he and Milton visited a mentoring session in one of the inner city schools.
January 8, 2009
Today, in honor of Grandpa’s 81st birthday, almost everyone came to lunch; we met at Maggiano’s in Old Orchard. It was Maya’s idea. Her entire semester in Israel was suddenly cancelled because of the situation (Israel finally had enough of Hamas launching rockets from Gaza, day after day, during cease-fires, without ceasing, and has been fighting back on the ground). Now, Maya has to make a decision about what to do, since her apartment and most classes are filled. NYU has been very supportive about it, offering to refund her non-refundable ticket and finding her alternative programs. It looks like she’ll be going to Buenos Aires for the semester, instead.
It was nice that Ibby came to celebrate; and Matt came about 45 minutes late with Josh Weiss. They sat on either side of Grandpa, insuring a good time and lively conversation for him. There were too many people and it was too loud to have one conversation, but I did pick up nuggets from different ends of the table.
Some of us discussed the current situation in Israel, and how the media is portraying it as if there is moral equivalence to terrorists attempting to kill anyone their rockets land on, and the Israeli army sending flyers and calling cell phones to warn civilians of approaching tanks. Because the Hamas rockets have been mostly benign, in spite of scaring and paralyzing all of southern Israel, the world seems to see the Israeli incursion as showing too much force and being non-balanced. We talked about different news sources and about the emails being sent around making these points.
We talked a little about Mexico, fondly remembering the sun and sand, and lots of funny things that Sam said during the course of the week. Marty enjoys hearing those stories. Milton talked about feeling better after his asthma attack…he said he was whacked out on the beach. Dani had a little talk with him because she was worried that he had upset Grandma with his talk of potential money problems. All the kids are aware that she did not always have an easy relationship with money, and they were all concerned that Grandma, who even in good times has worried about spending too much when they’re out to dinner, will now insist that the cousins meet at McDonald’s for their club dinner, or even worse, she’ll insist on cooking a turkey at home!
We talked about death row and legalizing marijuana. Dani, of course, gave a strong argument for selling ALL drugs in a legal setting, over the counter, adding taxes and incentives for companies to manufacture clean product. EVEN crystal meth Milton asked? Yes, replied Dani, all illicit drugs should be made legal. Our court system is bogged down and our prison population overflowing with drug arrests. Let those people go into a pharmacy and buy drugs using their ID and credit card, just like when they buy Sudafed or any prescription drug. In fact, let them get prescriptions, and let the doctors get a cut. Dani is pretty persuasive and it started to sound about right to me, especially when she started talking about the expense of keeping all those druggies in prison.
During lunch, Josh taught Grandma how to text using her phone and she sent a bunch of practice texts. Grandpa and Matt kept making prank calls to Becky, who kept answering, hoping for someone interesting and not-related.
Ibby ordered four slices of chocolate cake, which were humongous, and nowhere as yummy as they looked. Luckily, I insisted on also ordering the Apple Crostada, which even Maya remembers as being delicious. It was nice to sing to Grandpa in honor of his 81st, and we chatted about how the actual celebration was that whole wonderful vacation together in Mexico, where we ate, sat in the sun, lounged around, played games, and generally had a fabulous time. It was really a great idea, and the kids were talking about how they hope we can do it again. Even better, a couple of them agreed that they would like to be able to take all of their children on a vacation like that one day!
Dani is home; she chose Di Pescaro, and the happy surprise was that Anat also showed up. She finished one exam yesterday, and only has one left on Friday.
Marty brought us up to date on the house, but it’s nothing new since last week when he announced that they can park in both sides of the garage. What is new is that Cindy was rear-ended, about 1500 worth of damage, but the car is too old to put that kind of money into it. They’re figuring out what to do about a car.
Marty is always a wealth of information; he seeks out interesting news articles from around the world to share with his children. He told us a story about the overflow of pigs in Germany, and how a guy who often fed wild pigs was shocked when a huge one climbed into his car, thinking he was going to be gored. Instead, the pig rested its head on the guy’s lap!
I asked Grandpa how all his projects are going, and Marty told us that he and Milton visited a mentoring session in one of the inner city schools.
January 8, 2009
Today, in honor of Grandpa’s 81st birthday, almost everyone came to lunch; we met at Maggiano’s in Old Orchard. It was Maya’s idea. Her entire semester in Israel was suddenly cancelled because of the situation (Israel finally had enough of Hamas launching rockets from Gaza, day after day, during cease-fires, without ceasing, and has been fighting back on the ground). Now, Maya has to make a decision about what to do, since her apartment and most classes are filled. NYU has been very supportive about it, offering to refund her non-refundable ticket and finding her alternative programs. It looks like she’ll be going to Buenos Aires for the semester, instead.
It was nice that Ibby came to celebrate; and Matt came about 45 minutes late with Josh Weiss. They sat on either side of Grandpa, insuring a good time and lively conversation for him. There were too many people and it was too loud to have one conversation, but I did pick up nuggets from different ends of the table.
Some of us discussed the current situation in Israel, and how the media is portraying it as if there is moral equivalence to terrorists attempting to kill anyone their rockets land on, and the Israeli army sending flyers and calling cell phones to warn civilians of approaching tanks. Because the Hamas rockets have been mostly benign, in spite of scaring and paralyzing all of southern Israel, the world seems to see the Israeli incursion as showing too much force and being non-balanced. We talked about different news sources and about the emails being sent around making these points.
We talked a little about Mexico, fondly remembering the sun and sand, and lots of funny things that Sam said during the course of the week. Marty enjoys hearing those stories. Milton talked about feeling better after his asthma attack…he said he was whacked out on the beach. Dani had a little talk with him because she was worried that he had upset Grandma with his talk of potential money problems. All the kids are aware that she did not always have an easy relationship with money, and they were all concerned that Grandma, who even in good times has worried about spending too much when they’re out to dinner, will now insist that the cousins meet at McDonald’s for their club dinner, or even worse, she’ll insist on cooking a turkey at home!
We talked about death row and legalizing marijuana. Dani, of course, gave a strong argument for selling ALL drugs in a legal setting, over the counter, adding taxes and incentives for companies to manufacture clean product. EVEN crystal meth Milton asked? Yes, replied Dani, all illicit drugs should be made legal. Our court system is bogged down and our prison population overflowing with drug arrests. Let those people go into a pharmacy and buy drugs using their ID and credit card, just like when they buy Sudafed or any prescription drug. In fact, let them get prescriptions, and let the doctors get a cut. Dani is pretty persuasive and it started to sound about right to me, especially when she started talking about the expense of keeping all those druggies in prison.
During lunch, Josh taught Grandma how to text using her phone and she sent a bunch of practice texts. Grandpa and Matt kept making prank calls to Becky, who kept answering, hoping for someone interesting and not-related.
Ibby ordered four slices of chocolate cake, which were humongous, and nowhere as yummy as they looked. Luckily, I insisted on also ordering the Apple Crostada, which even Maya remembers as being delicious. It was nice to sing to Grandpa in honor of his 81st, and we chatted about how the actual celebration was that whole wonderful vacation together in Mexico, where we ate, sat in the sun, lounged around, played games, and generally had a fabulous time. It was really a great idea, and the kids were talking about how they hope we can do it again. Even better, a couple of them agreed that they would like to be able to take all of their children on a vacation like that one day!
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