A major event this summer was Elaine's Bat Mitzvah on July 1. I had never been to a Mitzvah, Bat or Bar, previously, and I have to say it beats out Confirmation hands down. The whole community focuses on this one 13 year old and lets her know how important she is, how much they value her, and how glad they are that she was willing to do wierd chanting in Hebrew in public. I should have checked the Bat/Bar Mitzvah Etiquette Page before we bought her present which instead of some item of simchaesque Judaica was a book of post modern poetry and a truly kickass water cannon. Maybe I take the empowering thing a little too literally. The etiquette guide also says, "Please encourage your child to dress like a mensch." Such a great word, mensch.  I borrowed it years ago because it means person, or person of integrity and honor, and it's gender neutral.
Marge's old friend Kyle, who grew up in Skowhegon and now works for Martha Stewart's magazine in New York, got driving honors. He says Martha Stewart is not a total bitch as rumor has it, but is actually pretty nice to work for. Elaine's brother Jared has a girlfriend, Jessica. Think he likes having a girlfriend? I've known him since before he was born and I've never seen a grin like this one on his face. And he dressed like a total mensch. You go dude! There was a great jazz band at the luncheon following the service, made up mostly of Marge's relatives, the Musical Russakoffs. Jared sat in as drummer. Quite the all day affair. Check this back issue for other Elaine pictures.
|
Nary a scratch to the van. Officer MacGillycuddy (I thought that name was limited to old Lucy episodes) wrote it all down.After several days in the car hospital during which I drove a nondescript rental which was damn near impossible to spot in a parking lot Zippy emerged good as new. Other people, I've discovered, also name their cars, or rather the car names itself. Jane Russo's is Betty, and the clerk at the car rental place who just graduated UMaine with a degree in French has a car called La Neige. What's yours called?