The carousel of time

tomorrow is the 10th anniversary of Evan's bar mitzvah.  I don't know what makes me sadder..the fact that my Mom's gone and that the day meant so much to her, or that fact that the video-grapher screwed up  and there's no film of her on the bima with her sons, my brothers.  Or maybe it's the loss of everything--Mom, the video-tape, Evan's youth, my youth, people who we've lost touch with, religiousity that we've lost touch with...but believe it or not, I am still capable of accentuating the positive. Like the joy in the audience when my cousin Martin, the cantor, sang Joni Mitchell's "Circle Game".  It was one of Evan's favorite songs(and still is one of mine) and the guitar strumming was so soothing. Evan's speech was something I'll always treasure and it was actually salvaged due to Jim's creativity with technology. And then there was that awesome party.  The theme was baseball, and I remember how Evan and his BFF Jimmy had so much fun deciding which team would best represent which table.  Who'd have guessed that a decade later, these fine young men would be traveling to the stadiums that provided hours of entertaining planning back then? Friends and family from all walks of life came out to celebrate that milestone--that simcha. If they could only see Evan now....

Girlhood

I am still basking in the afterglow of Saturday's camp reunion. It's going to be hard to convince me that I didn't take a time machine back to 1966--with so many other wonderful women.  It's hard to believe we lost our girlhoods.  For some of us, our Philly accents and our Moms. Our natural hair color.  Our fervent religiousity that got us accepted to the camp in the first place.  Our small waistlines and our enormous libidos. But despite everything that Mother Nature has done, we are young.  We know all the words to silly dining hall cheers and stirring anti-war protest songs that gifted folksingers performed around campfires.  We could still kick a ball and make a project in arts and crafts, but I'm betting it would no longer be ceramic ashtrays for our parents. Memories..they are to be treasured for as long as you still have a safe place to store them in.

Pablo Sanchez or bust

it started as a goofy idea, a lark, a spur of the moment decision between two childhood BFFS who reminisced about their childhood and the days spent playing the beloved Backyard Baseball Game on their computers..  It started as a quest for a bobble-head character from that game that was being given away to the first 1000 fans who attended the Lugnuts game, a minor league team for the Toronto Blue Jays--located in...

...Michigan...

  Could they really justify driving all the way to Michigan from New Jersey for a goofy toy that they might not even get?  That isn't even part of their lives since they've long outgrown the game? 

 Evan had Friday scheduled off anyway, and Jimmy, who has been proudly serving our country for the last five years, is about to embark on his new adventure in the Air Force in just a couple of days. ..it might be their last chance for quality bonding for a long time.

 So what the hell..they're young, Evan had a tank full of gas, they're GUYS so they can live on four minute showers and meals at McDonald's and cheap hotels .. then it's onto the next leg of their journey for the elusive bobble head.

What started off as a silly venture ended in a moving experience, something commonplace for Jimmy, who has been serving our country, but something  new for the not particularly religious or spiritual kid of mine.

There were hours of fun to be had despite the rain at Stop One, Sandusky Ohio, but they managed to ride the most thrilling of the must-do attractions in Cedar Point.  The rain cleared just in time for Evan to see a Cleveland Indians game that same night, and to photograph some important landmarks in his father's hometown.

It was a long but fun day, and with fast food in their bellies and limited sleep under their belts, they set out for the next part of their journey, a trip to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where they got to see the tribute to a beloved icon the world had lost just days earlier. Back in the car, with the conversation centered around sports and maybe some, (I'm guessing) Red Hot Chili Peppers music for Evan, it's onto the Michigan Lugnuts and the capturing of Pablo Sanchez, the aforementioned bobble-head. 

It was late--I was probably asleep for a good two hours already in an earlier time zone, but they still had to stop and see the stadium at Jim's alma mater, the University of Michigan.  Anything for a laugh and a photo op.

A few more hours of driving time(as a Mom, I really don't want to know exactly how little sleep this adventure meant) and they're back in Ohio, near the Pennsylvania border, getting ready to see the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs later in the day before coming back to New Jersey.

It was a great day, a great trip, and a great call from Evan, telling us their ETA would be around 11:00 PM.

And then came the detour..the little stop that Jimmy begged Evan to do, the stop that Jimmy promised he'd make up for by doing  the rest of the driving if Evan would agree to it, the stop that touched their souls and maybe(I'[m embellishing for effect but hoping it's true) moved these fine young men to tears.

They pass a sign for Shanksville, PA, the  once  unknown town that everyone came to know on that terrible day when Todd Beamer and friends uttered those famous two words, "Let's Roll."  

It was September 11th, 2001, and this unknown spot is the place where many brave souls were lost on a hijacked plane.  Where heroes prevented the hijackers from their bigger, more well-known target.

It was a sacrifice that prevented what could have been an even biggest disaster on the darkest day in American history, and my son and his BFF knew they'd sacrifice sleep and a reasonable ETA in order to see this Memorial and honor the lives lost that day.

Evan arrived at 1:30 this morning,  to be greeted by a maniacal poodle and parents who were asking way too many questions--questions that could wait.

But he showered and slept..slept .. enough--enough to get him through his work day, and after, he'll come home to celebrate a friend's birthday and partake in a Fantasy Football Draft with his cousins.

So he'll sleep..and eat decent food..and catch up on his every day life.

But he and Jimmy will have memories that go way beyond a weekend of sports and rock and roll.

A weekend so meaningful that Evan asked if we can go as a family to the 9/11 Memorial in NYC..a much closer drive.

Best of luck to Jimmy as he soars into his career next week...you are a great friend to Evan and a great patriot who loves our country. The Air Force is lucky to have you

To think..it all started with a bobble head..of a fictional character...

I'm sorry for the length and the spotlight on my shy son, but sometimes, a Mom has to be a Mom...