Shows & Tales

January 29, 2002-Historic Glimpse

Last night we had dinner at the home of congregants tonight. They’re not married & he’s in his 80’s. They’ve been together five years. Although I don’t think she’s Jewish, they met at temple. She’s probably in her late 70’s & is the widow of a British Airlines employee. She lived in England until immigrating to New Zealand. When she applied for citizenship in New Zealand, it was granted because she’s an expert antique furniture caner & bullrusher, skills that were much needed there. She’s the stereotypical Brit. You never know when she’s cracking wise or when she’s serious & you could cut her accent with a knife. She’s traveled extensively & prides herself on still staying at hostels. Her hair is pure white & she wears it pulled straight back. There’s no evidence she wears any makeup. What you see is what you get. Her one flirtation with flamboyance was when she wore a sari she’d gotten in India. Dinner was Indian pilaf & stew that was utterly bland.

He was born in England & went to the U.S. at age fifteen to finish his education. His parents stayed behind. When he was eighteen, he received a letter from the U.S. immigration service telling him he had seventy-two hours to leave the country. His Visa was being revoked. He wanted to stay long enough to complete his first semester at U of Pennsylvania, so he sought help at the British consulate. They told him they would be delighted to pay his passage back to England & would be happy to launch his military career in His Majesty’s Army. It was the start of WWII. As he was walking the streets & trying to figure out what to do, he came upon a U.S. Army recruiting office. He went in, enlisted, and then negotiated an immediate 30-day leave so he could finish the term. The rest of his education was courtesy of the U.S. military & took place over a 28-year army career. He was a mechanical & civil engineer & worked for the cities of Denver & Phoenix after separation from the army until he retired. His parents came to Australia in 1957, & were among the founders of the Surfer’s Paradise community. He didn’t come to Australia to live until the 70’s. His parents were instrumental in starting the orthodox congregation & then the progressive one. It was quite an informative evening. David asked one question at the beginning of the evening & the past unfolded over the course of the next 4-½ hours.

We’re wondering how our emotions will play out as we leave. Will there be tears or rejoicing? I think it will be a mixture of both. I’m starting to think of things that need to be packed early in March & sent home. It takes twelve weeks to get from here to U.S. Yesterday we made a momentous decision. We opened our last box of Kleenex & decided not to buy a back-up box. We're too close to the end of our stay. In an emergency we can always run down to our larder, the IGA in our building.

January 30, 2002-Visitors

We collected a rabbi friend from Cleveland and his wife at the Brisbane airport yesterday. We considered it our trial run for when other friends come in. They checked into our apartment/hotel & we “whinged” about how they had a better view than we did. They’re on the 8th floor & can see the ocean. We had some wine & cheese & went out for Indian food. She's going to perform her one-woman show at temple tonight so needs some prep time. Since it’s raining now, we’ll wait for the afternoon to explore. The tourist places where you feed roos & koalas are out. While they were in Cairns, they had “breakfast with the birds.” There’s a place there that has a first rate buffet breakfast & you can play with the animals at the same time. Sounded appetizing.

We drove up to O’Reily’s Plateau & did the treetop walk through the rainforest. Luck was with us. We saw a full-grown kangaroo in the wild on our way home. We also passed a sign that said “slasher ahead.” We were a little nervous that they had warnings of demented murderers on their highways, but we soon saw that it only referred to a highway maintenance machine that cut tall grass at the side of the road.

January 31, 2002-More Danger

The rabbi's wife started her day by having a manicure at the salon I go to. Then they needed to change money so we went to Pacific Fair Shopping Mall across the street. They thought it was unique. We then drove to Byron Bay & they were mesmerized by the green, aqua, & navy hues of the seas & the crashing surf as the shoreline changed from sandy beaches to rocky crags. Tonight we’ll walk to the Thai restaurant to meet the Bruces for dinner. This time we’ll walk on the beach so they can at least say they were in the ocean at the infamous Gold Coast beach. After dinner we’ll take them into Surfer’s Paradise to see the honky tonk that goes on there. They leave tomorrow morning.

Her performance of Chaya’s Love Song was very well received last night. There was quite a crowd of about 80-100 people most of whom were moved to tears by the presentation. She was the director of the Jewish Center Theater in Cleveland for a number of years & performs around the country for Jewish organizations. As we were driving in the car, I was telling her about David’s cousin who, with her partner, wrote a book called The Rescuers. It’s about Christians who saved Jews during the Holocaust. Our friend actually knows them & has been trying to reach them. She wants to use some of their material in her work & needs their permission. As it turns out, they’re now living in Santa Fe, New Mexico where her son lives. We were delighted to give her their address & phone number.

Now come the King Tides. After dealing with poisonous snakes, poisonous spiders, deadly inhabitants of seashells, lethal jellyfish, & fire ants, Australians have to face the yearly attack of the ocean as the winter tides rise during the cyclone season. The ocean is noticeably rougher & many beaches are closed. The water level has risen in the canals & the high water indicators & flood area warnings take on more meaning. The seas are churning & it’s more beautiful than ever.

Toby