Tuesday, October 26, 2021

 What to write and what not to write is a theme of mine, and it is broader- what to show, say, do, and what not (whatnot)? 

On the seventh day G-d created the Sabbath and rested.  But it's a mistake to say that He did nothing that day.  And when we keep the Sabbath, and whenever we rest, are still, are not doing a formal job, or earning money we are not doing nothing.


As long as we live
we are not doing nothing
as long as we live

A couple of months ago a little girl in an elevator said to me, "You're an old man." Ouch. I experience lots of ouches around my age, and more specifically around people's assessments and judgments regarding my age.  More recently I asked a computer technician about what he was fixing for me and he thought and asked aloud how he could best explain it and then came up and out with, "It's like having a house filled with stuff and there's no room for your grandchildren to play, and so you add more space."  What did you say, Sonny?. 

Brings to mind years ago when a woman in Macy's was trying to sell me a credit card.  No, I said.  Perhaps for your wife? she asked.  That made my no stronger.  Also coming to mind is last year when I was treated indelicately around getting a colonoscopy.  In the pre-op room I was asked many rapid fire questions , with pressure to answer quickly, or have the question answered for me.  When asked who my contact person was, I wasn't so much asked as told that it was my wife. 

Which reminds me of a routine of mine (I hold the title of NY's Funniest Rabbi. It's the name of the blog): People meet me, often as Rabbi Fleischmann, and they ask, "What's your wife's name?"  When I reply that I don't have one, they sometimes explain, "I mean your Rebbetzin." I reply to this (in my imagination, and on stage) that I understood the question, adding that I'm single, not stupid. 

I like newspapers. I wonder if it started because my dad was into regularly reading newspapers.  I grew up thinking that most people were, but looking back I don't think they were.  And today newspapers are not in.  But I'm into them.

I don't know how people read all or even a lot of what's in the papers.  I have a hard time reading a lot of it.  Reading in general is an issue for me, I love doing it, but it is work, doesn't come easy.  Strabismus.  I recommend a video via the NY Times, that's on YouTube.  This guy teaches about his strabismus and about strabismus in general. He calls it Whale Eyes, because, if you have strabismus then, like a whale your eyes each see something else... I was hoping when I shared about it on Facebook I'd get a lot of support around it and responses, and that did not happen. 

I just got the news of the sudden passing of a friend.  We knew each other and shared mutual friends.  This year out of the blue he reached out and asked about staying somewhere so he could be in YU for Yom Kippur. I had the honor of hosting him in my apartment.  The levaya (a better word than funeral, means escorting) is tomorrow. May he be blessed as he transitions...

Please G-d, I will learn and pray in his merit.  I had more I was thinking to write, but need to pause now.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home