Pizza and Parasha

Last night I attended Rabbi Frazin's monthly PIzza and Parasha gathering.  He is the Rabbi Emeritus having served for 40 years as the Rabbi of Temple Solel, their first and beloved Rabbi.  There were 18 of us "students" (chai) gathered in the library to hear and discuss a small portion of Exodus, that describing the vestments of the Kohanim.  A dry topic if ever I heard of one but the Rabbi made it interesting with his insights and stories and the twinkle in his eyes.  The pizza from John The Baker did not hurt either ;-)

I am reminded of the lyrics from "If I Were A Rich Man" where Tevye laments of all the things he wishes he had or could do if he were wealthy and didn't have to work:

If I were rich, I'd have the time that I lack
To sit in the synagogue and pray.
And maybe have a seat by the Eastern wall.
And I'd discuss the holy books with the learned men, several hours every day.
That would be the sweetest thing of all.

Day Two of Retirement.  Yes, very sweet indeed....

Perfect

My first day of Retirement!

Slept a little later.  Leisurely coffee and paper at home.  Called Cousin Harvey and sang Happy Birthday. Scanned old slides and found super pictures of European vacation (including me looking young/hot) while finishing "Gun Games" (Faye Kellerman) and starting next audiobook  "Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter" (Seth Grahame-Smith).  Finished washing kitchen silk plants that have been collecting dust for 11 years on top of the cabinets. 

Long two hour Sushi-Thai lunch with gal pal Jennifer (her treat) and made plans for an all girl road trip to her home in rural Georgia.  Surprise phone call from a friend and this text from Angie from work: Hope you are enjoying your first day home. Here is not the same without you  :-(  This followed a few hours later with: We are going crazy here!  You need to come back!

Trip to Goodwill (have not been Thrift Shopping in ages) (Hubby thinks it's one step up from Dumpster Diving) and scored practically new Old Navy Diva-cut jeans size 4 Regular (perfect!) 

Even got this nice email from Netflix:
Dear Evelyn,
Mirage was not available from your local shipping center. Fortunately, it was available from a shipping center in another part of the country. It's on its way and should arrive within 3 to 5 days.
You'll notice we also recently sent the next available DVD from your Queue to enjoy while Mirage makes its way to you. Your Queue now shows this extra DVD rental. Enjoy.
–The Netflix Team

It's only 3 pm but I'm pretty sure this day cannot get any better!  I Heart Retirement!

Oscar Night

Tonight is Oscar night and by the time I publish this the winners will have made another little bit of Hollywood (California not Florda) history. 

My favorite movie of all time?

Panned by critics and probably barely breaking-even, this 2000 movie captured my heart with all my favorite elements - a bit of supernatural (ala Ghost), a cop-crime thriller, some romance, a happy ending for well deserving middle class characters plus two of my favorite actors - Dennis Quaid and Jim Caviezel.  All enough to give FREQUENCY my personal Oscar.

But none of the above are the number one reason I love this movie.  It's the message that the tiniest little decision, an act of kindness or words not said, the small things we do everyday but don't think much about - these things can change lives.  And their effects may not be felt or understood for years to come. 

My favorite scene?  When Dad comes to the rescue of his cop son twenty years after the son thought (in that version of reality) Dad had died.  The reason Dad could be there to save his son? His son had told him to give up smoking.  And Dad did.

Hand me that hanky please  :-)

Yellow Green

It's become a regular fun activity - a trip to the Hollywood Florida Yellow Green Farmers Market.  You can buy bags of gorgeous fresh vegetables and fruit for a tiny amount of money and visit vendors selling fresh bread - even challah and rye bread.  There are puppy rescue organizations (with cute "samples" to play with) and homemade tie-dye and jewelry booths (always a favorite with us aging hipppies).  Along with free parking, they even give you a pretty reusable shopping bag at every visit.  Unlike a lot of other flea markets, there's no "schlock" to distract you. 

Too bad it's only open on Saturday and Sunday but I guess that's also part of its charm.

;-) 

Debbie Friedman

Last night at services we commemorated the one year yartzeit of Debbie Friedman - another soul lost too early (at 59) - with a tribute to her music.  She was an American singer songwriter who celebrated our Jewish heritage with brilliant and original musical creations.  She is credited with creating a new form of Jewish music, taking our beloved prayers and melodies and setting them to contemporary music.

It was hearing her musical interpretation of the Mi Shebeirach, the prayer for healing, that was my inspiration for wanting to be part of Temple Solel.  It continues to move me to tears.

My second favorite is L'chi Lach, "And You Shall Be A Blessing". 

Debbie Friedman certainly was that. 

Success

Many years ago I bought a greeting card that has a cartoon of a man in a suit clutching a briefcase.  He's smiling as he battles the wind (I always think of it as the downtown Chicago wind).  The caption reads "Perseverance Equals Success".  I bought the card just because I loved the cartoon guy (he looks Jewish) and the message.

Perseverance means "a steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement".  On this, the last day of a lifetime of work and the first day of my retirement, I believe I have fulfilled that definition.  I am proud of my accomplishments and have no regrets. 

A young friend (too young to really know how true this is but very wise for her years) posted this diagram of the Path to Success.  My comment: Understatement!

Hello New Life!  :-)

Well Being

Well looky looky here.  It seems that Gallup (the folks that really know how to do statistically valid surveys) have determined that Jews - whether religious or not-so-much - have the greatest level of overall well being.  A little surprising since ours is a questioning, forever-seeking-answers religion.  We always feel that the answers are not quite within our grasp, unlike religions with strong take-it-on-faith doctrines.

I am not sure how "well being" is determined but I can say that in the last few years - when I've embraced my inner Jew a little more tightly - I've felt an increased sense of peace and contentment.

;-)

Mr and Mrs Loving

I read an article that says 1 in every 12 marriages is now between an inter-racial couple.  What was once a crime, then taboo and then strange, is now only just a little bit unusual. This got me to wondering what the average person on the planet will look like in a few hundred years.  Maybe in a lot less the way things are going!

They say that the typical face on the planet is that of a 28 year old Asian, simply because there are so many billions of them here today.  There is also this terrific computer generated picture of what the future person in America will look like.

A tip of the hat to Mr and Mrs Loving who in 1967 (such a short time ago!) fought in the United States Supreme Court to declare Virginia's anti-miscegenation statute, the "Racial Integrity Act of 1924", unconstitutional, thereby ending all race-based legal restrictions on marriage in the United States.

Slides

Twelve to fifteen cases containing carousels of hundreds of slides from the 1970s have sat on the shelves for decades.  I promised myself that "someday" I would crack open the cases and scan them into digital media, thus preserving what I sometimes think of as "my lost decade".  The majority of the slides are the 40 plus rolls of film taken on our one and only trip to Europe in 1972 (with stop over in New York City). 

Cracking those cases open is a bit scary & a bit sad but mostly its an exciting and happy adventure into long forgotten territory.  I've set up a "work station" on the kitchen breakfast bar & I see many hours of productive work ahead that will keep this soon-to-be-retiree busy.

Here are three of the "eeriest" ones that I've unearthed so far - made eerier still by the other-worldly blue mist they have disintegrated into. 

Whole Living

A new magazine arrived a few days ago - another "reward" for recycling.  It's called Whole Living and it's sub-titled "Body and Soul in Balance".  This issue has tips for growing your own sprouts and making beauty products from fennel.

I see the audience for which this magazine was designed - those among us that take recycling seriously, are vegetarians or vegans (I get the two mixed up), have green thumbs and essential oils, do yoga and know what a volatile organic compound is.  In short, your basic tree-hugger. 

OK, definitely not me.  But these folks are admirable no?  And I will take away one or two lessons like "collect and curate simplicities that lift your spirits".

Do you think my live oak tree would mind a hug today??

;-)

Good Morning World

I have a new Facebook friend, Billie Pryor Davis, my friend John's sister.  I smile when I read her posts.

She lives with her husband (whom she calls "Papa") in rural Mississippi in a place she calls "Blue House Road".  She's a Southern Baptist Republican so politics are verboten in any conversion with her liberal Democratic brother.  She cooks wonderful sounding country dishes and describes them so well my mouth starts to water.  Best of all, she is the only person I know that is up earlier in the morning than me.  I love when she writes that she up having her first cup of coffee with "Miss Bitsy" by her side.

Truth be told, early morning is my favorite time of day.  I love to see the beautiful sunrise come up on my mystic, enchanting corner of Florida.  I truly enjoy my first cup of coffee with the newspaper (yep, real paper delivered to my door) and those few moments of solitude before the world starts up for real.

Good Morning World!

;-)

Peace

I wished a new friend a Happy Birthday and told an ancient long-forgotten friend I was proud of him for helping in a criminal investigation.  I had a great team meeting with my staff.  Alessandro showed me how to install the car seats for the kids.  The news was interesting but nothing Blog-worthy.  An old friend sent an email asking for prayers, not sure why but I reassured him I would.  I am looking forward to tonight's services at shul and welcoming Shabbos. 

How strange!  As the days go by I am more at peace with my life shaking, earth shattering decision to retire.  I can feel my mind calming down and a sense of peacefulness entering my being.  I look at some of the stresses here at work and smile at the thought that they will soon be things of the past.

Here's my horoscope for today.  Right on ;-)

For Friday, Feb 17, 2012 --
Surprisingly, your approach to your job isn't currently based on being efficient or even completing what you start. Instead, you are thinking about what makes you happy. Even if you're usually satisfied with narrowing your focus to complete your work, you are more effective if you're also having fun now. Ironically, being too serious can actually be counterproductive today. Listen to your heart and you might learn something new.

Tragedy

No, not my tragedy, thank goodness!

I have been following a divorce/murder-for-hire story that's being played out in the courtrooms this week.  Reading the daily trial updates - and the juiciest stuff is yet to come - reminded me of the Greek and Shakespearean tragedies we were forced to read in high school. 

The Tragedies all had a main character that was both admirable and flawed with whom the audience could empathize.  The character had to be capable of doing both good and bad things. Other people in his life - wives, subordinates and children - all had their own agendas. There would be a series of bad decisions leading to the character's downfall from a lofty position.

The story I am following has all of those basic elements along with a hefty dose of "Say What?!?"

;-)

The Next Chapter

Woo Hoo! I did it!  I put in for retirement!  Confession: I am scared shitless.

So what could I possibly be concerned about on this, the happiest of days?  The day marking the culmination of a lifetime of hard work, dedication, stress and kissing a** when necessary??

Not boredom.  Not that so much togetherness with hubby will result in mutual annihilation.  Not snacking all day to the point of fatso-ness.  Not the loss of my so-called identity as a productive member of society.  Not the mind-rotting wasteland of daytime TV.  Not losing the joy of tyrannizing my hapless subordinates into doing my bidding (they have my number so that rarely works anyway).  Not even Money.

Guess what?  After facing my non-concerns right here in the Blog-o-sphere, I am now ready for The Next Chapter.  Ahhh, I always feel better after Confession.

;-) 

Person To Person

When I heard that Person To Person was "premiering" tomorrow, February 8, 2012, with up-close-and-personal interviews with big time celebrities in their own homes, I wondered how many people remember the original Person To Person from the 50s.  It ran from 1953 to 1961 and was hosted by well respected news reporter Edward R. Morrow.   "It's all live! - No Film!"  (although I'm guessing everyone knew exactly what to say)

Person To Person.  I still like that concept. 

;-)

Faux Finish

Like most other pasty white chicks, I think I look better with a warm, slightly bronzed glow (see picture of me below).  A soft tan seems to cover (or at least distract from) a multitude of sins including cellulite and age-related droppiness.

I have always tried to be a little careful with the sun so as not to enter my golden years as a wrinkled old prune.  But I guess just living in Florida and being out in the bright sunshine all year caught up with me and my last two visits to the dermatologist, while not horrific, certainly were a red-light to ix-nay sunbathing by the pool.  Too bad, that was going to be a large component of my retirement activities.

I have decided to opt for a faux finish and am practicing with this can of sunless tanning goop.  It actually works quite nicely, surprise surprise. 

:-)