Land and Sea

March 21, 2002-Truth or Friction?
(photo-Surf lifesavers)

We’re down to our last bar of soap for the shower. Hope I can get two weeks out of it. That’s what we have left here. As I mentioned to you, we have very little in the way of clothing. I do happen to have a lot of detergent. When David came home today, I told him I had done a load of laundry. Since his other shirt is clean, I told him he could now sweat.

Tuesday night David had a discussion about the differences between orthodox & progressive Judaism. He invited the orthodox rabbi to join in the presentation & discussion. He invited him verbally & by letter. The rabbi finally responded in writing with the statement that the organization of orthodox rabbis in Australia prohibited his participation in programs such as this that took place at progressive congregations. One of our members called several orthodox rabbis he knew around Australia & they all said they would participate & have participated in such programs. They indicated there was no such policy. I guess that makes the orthodox rabbi here a liar & a coward. He refuses to give credence to any progressive rabbi & has never referred to David by title in public.

The discussion went well & David started out by giving his “History of Judaism in seven minutes.” It turned out to be more like seventeen minutes, but was amazingly cogent & complete. As those of you who have heard him speak know, he did it without notes. As many times as I’ve seen him speak off the cuff, it still amazes me. David spoke of his version of keeping kosher (observing dietary laws). He said he didn’t eat “dead pig” nor did he eat any of the prohibited sea creatures (shellfish & anything else that was a scavenger or doesn’t have fins & gills). Referring to things from the deep, he jokingly said that left nothing else good to eat. One of the attendees was from the orthodox synagogue. She took umbrage with his statement that there was nothing good to eat that was kosher. She totally missed the point & the humor. Throughout the evening she kept returning to that issue. As it turns out, she’s Syd Bruce’s aunt. Yesterday, Syd called his cousin’s mobile. His cousin happened to be having lunch with his mother, the defender of everything kosher, at the Sheraton Hotel buffet. Syd asked to talk to his aunt to ask her what she was eating at this $A 59.95/person buffet that he knew was laden with all things traif (non-kosher). She stammered & made excuses, but she was had.

As a by-product of the surf lifesaving competition, our apartment hotel is very crowded. The event has brought 8,000 to the area. There was a big BBQ by the pool last night for the group. It’s now my turn to gawk. Most of the lifesavers are men & are they built! I think we’ll have wine on the balcony tonight so I can get an eyeful.

March 22, 2002-Transitions

I had a dream. Mine was a variation of David’s. I dreamed I was driving a car on the left side of the road. Traffic was coming towards me, and I was upset because I thought I was going the wrong way on a one-way street. I glanced to my right & realized I was on a two-way street in America. Oh, the transition! We’ll be in left-drive countries until we get to Amsterdam. We’re only there three days before we come home.

March 23, 2002-Hunks

Why didn’t any of you tell me Rosie O’Donnell came out? I had to learn it in the Australian papers. There was an article about her finding out that a company for which she did voiceovers is homophobic.

This morning was the bat mitzvah of a girl whose family is from California. We refer to them as the boat people. They rented out their house in California, bought a boat, & have been sailing the Pacific for two years. The kids were home schooled (or boat schooled) until they developed a major defect in the boat. It’s been in dry dock getting repaired since September. They joined the congregation & the girl began a crash course in Hebrew. She did great today. Her grandparents were in for the festivities. Her maternal grandfather has been living in Orlando, Florida since 1974, & knows a lot of the families I grew up with. It’s been fun reminiscing & catching up. As it turns out, her paternal grandfather & step-grandmother are very politically active in Washington, D.C. He's the retired congressman from San Jose, California. He had a lot of seniority & is still influential on the Hill. She worked on many of the congressional D.C. committees. They’re an extremely interesting couple. I now can say I’ve danced with a congressman. For 87 he cuts a mean rug.

We spent a little time at the Surf Lifesaving National Competition. The champions will compete in Daytona Beach, Florida next year. I sat next to a man who’d spent a year at the University of Nebraska on a rugby scholarship. He was one of the competitors & explained the different events. The seas were rough & the wind was blowing from the east. He said they like a bit of surf to add interest. There was such a strong rip to the north that they entered the water with their crafts headed south. In no time they were swept around & really had to battle not to be forced off course.

The lifesavers seem to know how to party. There’s been an increase in car accidents & tow truck sightings. We also saw a drug bust in front of our building including a drug dog. It was a beautiful German shepherd. Actually, I noticed the dog but it was who David figured out it was a bust.
Toby