My Name is Barbara…

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Barbi Benton pretty much owned the spelling of her name, and in the 80s, despite the fact that we had the same hairdo, I was dismissive of her anyway, for being in Playboy, and for being Hugh Hefner’s main squeeze.
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Unleavened

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Unleavened

Passover is a joyous holiday when we Jews celebrate our freedom from bondage in Egypt.  Every year at the Seder we retell the story of our ancestors who followed Moses across a desert in search of a new home in the Promised Land.

The Bible tells us that these ancient Hebrews left in such haste they didn’t wait for their baking bread to rise.  Thus in their desert wanderings they ate the unleavened bread known as matzo.  And so every year during the eight days of Passover,  we Jews eat this  “bread of affliction” to honor that ancient struggle for a homeland.

Last year my friend Helene and I had tickets for a show one evening during the holiday,  and we met at a Broadway restaurant for dinner before the curtain.

Once we were seated we happened to strike up a conversation with a couple at the next table who were tourists visiting from Wisconsin.  They were delighted to meet two such friendly New Yorkers,  and we were happy to play Big Apple ambassadors.

When the waiter came to take our order,  Helene and I asked for matzo instead of bread.  Soon the meal arrived and we were engrossed in our own conversation when we heard one of our new Wisconsin friends call the waiter.

”May we have some of those large flat crackers the ladies at the next table seem to be enjoying?”  we heard him ask.

There’s really no place like New York for the holidays,  is there?

 

– Dana Susan Lehrman 

First Week

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  1. This is coming. It will be bad.
  2. I need to stay home.
  3. My friends need to stay home.
  4. Everything on my calendar is cancelled.
  5. I have to learn how to use Zoom
  6. I am not allowed to be with my grandchildren. No more holding the baby or playing tag with the boys. No more playing princess with Cleo. Much of my precious time left with Melissa just got stolen from me.
  7. I begin to realize that much of our entire USA economy is going to rapidly crash down.
  8. All this fear of death matches up nicely with my new decade which brings me closer to my own death.
  9. I let go of my big dreamy birthday celebration. Gone. But that is a SMALL loss compared to what others are losing.
  10. What if three of my best friends die? What if I die? What if my grandchildren die?
  11. Everyone’s job description just got torn up. You have a NEW job now, and no one knows exactly what it includes. Be open for whatever comes. You will be working harder.
  12. The headlines scream. I am home and not much has changed. Everything has changed. This is what the end of the earth will sound like when the ice sheets melt. Horrific headlines and then slowly, suddenly, it happens here and becomes very real.
  13. How can I counsel peace and hope when I do not feel this?
  14. I jam my thumb and can’t stop crying. I know why I’m crying. It’s not about the thumb.
  15. Today was a good day. I read two picture books on Facetime with my oldest grandchildren and they laughed.
  16. Some people lose their sense of smell? How can I cook without my ability to taste and smell? I am a chef.
  17. Today the two little boys had a fight right as I started to read them a book and the older one started crying so hard he threw up. I will call back.
  18. Early spring flowers are blooming.
  19. Interesting conversations with church people whom I don’t really know. Tea with Claire. Finding out what people’s vocations are.
  20. Suddenly I have 4 zoom meetings a day. 5 people to call daily. Three square meals to cook. Terrible insomnia.
  21. I can only stand about 5 minutes of news a day. Then I turn off the radio and TV and storm out of the room.
  22. It’s getting closer.