Sunday, June 1, 2014

Fantastic Day.  My grandson is 8 days old and we had a huge party to celebrate his Brit Milah this afternoon.  Before I describe the marvelous occasion I was astounded  to see some of the guests. One young man who has been a close friend of my son since the boys were 18 months old came hundreds of miles just for the event.   As I looked at this person whom I hadn't seen in a few years I remembered one Saturday night I left the 2 boys ( who were all of 13 years old)  alone on a Saturday night and came home to find an absolute mess in the kitchen because they spent the entire evening baking a German Chocolate  Black Forest Cake which was Julia Child delicious.  How many teenage boys would do that to surprise parents?  Another guest was my son's college roommate who is now the head of a history foundation at Southern Methodist  University and came all the way from Texas to our son's home in Pa.  I was so touched that he would travel such a great  distance to celebrate with us.  The mohel was also a cantor and  after the ritual everyone joined in many songs.  Thanks to lidocaine and Manischevitz wine my grandson slept through the entire procedure.  Above all, my son's giant 4 month old puppy who now weighs 43 pounds and is chewing every piece of furniture in sight behaved.  Of course, my husband walked her for an hour early this morning and I walked her twice before the guests arrived, so she,as well as my grandson, slept during the party.  A Brit Milah is the only kind of party in which one hopes the guest of honor sleeps through the event.  At one point, both grandmothers, the grandfather, the parents, and the baby posed for a photo.  The love flows from generation to generation.
Unfortunately, one of the deserts was a chocolate rum, Elysian concoction truffle which was absolutely addictive; however, I couldn't eat too many because I had eaten tons of  peanut butter-banana ice cream parfaits.  Since I am a vegan, the menu included a barley-mushroom pilaf and Chinese sesame noodles.  Those who were not vegans dined on incredible edibles, and the house was filled with the joy that only great meals accompanied by great conversations can provide.

Tomorrow, my husband and I return to the flat, tropical land of alligators, egrets, and blue herons.
I will miss the rolling hills, rhododendrons, robins, and maple trees of the land of my birth:  Pa.  I love her Appalachian mountains and rivers, but I can no longer tolerate the 16 degree below winters when I walk my little dogs.

My son who flew in from Oregon for this wonderful event is giving me tips on adapting my book The Conspiracies of Dreams into a film script.  After all, he was one of my editors, and he gave me much valuable advice as I was writing my novel.  Yet, I have seen so many movies that fall far short of their literary twins.  I think only The Wizard of Oz  and Smoke Signals are better than their prose versions;  let us see what will happen if my novel is ever made into a visual medium.  I will try to finish the script this summer after I complete my summer session at Palm Beach State College.  I cannot teach 3 classes, take care of my dogs, play tennis, practice the piano, and write creatively at the same time.  So I am waiting for summertime when Gershwin said the "livin' is easy."

My book The Conspiracies of Dreams is available from every on line distributor and independent bookstore.  Please support the independents.  Their businesses are unique and wonderful places to inhale the wonders of literature.

May you all have as great day as I had today.