Tenses

March 26, 2002-Past Tense
(photos:With Syd & Janet at Boonchu,
Flying foxes)

Happy Passover to any & all.

We had the Bruces over for a BBQ last night & we’re going to the Thai restaurant with them tonight. We’ll have the first Seder at their house on Wed. & second Seder at the Temple, where they’ll also be. I guess we’re getting as much exposure to them as possible now that we’re leaving.

We sat out by the pool for the BBQ. They have gas grills & tables. It’s all very pretty. I had typical Aussie fare: beef sausages, lamb chops, & steaks. It was a banquet. There’s enough left over to feed us until we leave. We took Syd & Janet to the IGA for dessert. We all got to choose from ice cream bars, candy bars, or pastry. It was yummy.

Vikki just sent us photos of the ultrasound of the baby’s foot & face. The foot is really cute & the face looks like an alien. Luckily, it was labeled as to where the chin was. Actually, it does look like a face. I told her it had a small resemblance to David.

We’re trying to use up the roll of film in the camera so we can have it developed before we leave. We went out looking for bats this afternoon. There are a bunch of flying foxes that hang out (literally) in some trees in a park near us. I was able to get a good shot of them. They were pretty active for nocturnal creatures. As I was walking away, David asked me what the sign said. It was a warning, of course, that the flying foxes can be dangerous & to avoid contact with them. Since there is no rabies in Australia, I didn’t understand what the extreme danger could be. I later found out they carry a virus that causes death within a day or two. I took a picture of the sign. Add that to your list of things to avoid on the Deadly Continent.

March 27, 2002-Future Tense

We spoke to Richard, the owner of the Thai restaurant we’ve been going to. David asked what the name of the place meant. Richard said that Boon Chu was the name of a “most high Buddha.” He’s used it for his restaurant & for the name of the two gyms he owns. He trains boxers & Thai kick-boxers. Recently, the Boon Chu name was carried as far as Las Vegas. One of his boxers won a match there. Richard seems to be the sort of kind-hearted soul who rescues street kids. The boxer in Vegas was one of the “losers” he turned into a winner.

Like all obnoxious grandparents-to-be, I showed ultrasound images to the Bruces. Syd decided it was a very large foot given the age of the babe. We told him it came by it honestly considering the size of Horowitz feet. He called it Bigfoot. Janet examined the “head shot,” but tried to focus lower down in the morass of black & gray smudges. She noticed a bright glimmer & decided it was a boy. I think it was just one of those echo smudges that come out all over the ultrasound. This one just happened to be in a suspicious spot.

I just finished cleaning the apartment for the last time. What a joy! Now I can go back to my behemoth of a house. Hmmm, which is better, a place that takes 45 minutes to clean or one that takes all day?

Wendy & her partner, Julie, got back from their vacation in the Bahamas. Wendy said they wanted to go on a snorkeling boat. The person who booked the tour made a tiny error. They ended up with a boat full of spring breakers whose sole goal was to consume as many free Bahama Mama rum drinks as possible. It got a little gross when the guys started pulling down their pants. Talk about being out of your element. At least they did get to snorkel & enjoy a beach cookout. I told Wendy the one thing she will always remember when asked about the Bahamas is the cruise. I wonder if this goes along with the general theme of Horowitz Family Goes Boating? We have almost sunk several boats, run them aground, & ended up on painful boat tours that took us to the peak of an almost extinct volcano. After climbing for a mile straight up, we were rewarded with meager belches of smoke. We’ve jumped from a major sailing ship & swum through ¼ mile of roiling ocean to sit in the mud & bask in the warmth of tepid “hot” springs. We’ve sailed off to see amazing sunsets accessible only by mule & by climbing 150 steps. Most recently, we froze our booties off trying to entice some dolphin to swim with us.

We’ve just been told about the demise of G.D. Ritzi’s restaurant in Akron. It occurred to us that in our absence there could have been other changes on the culinary scene at home. We would hate to return with taste buds set for a long awaited treat only to find that one of our favorite eating-places has succumbed. We’d also like to know if there have been any new openings that might set our palates tingling with anticipation. Please advise.

Toby