PASSOVER 2004
First Seder



Most of my travel and holiday pages are joyous and full of enthusiasm. I write this page 3 weeks after Passover, and much has happened, so it will double as an update. The malachamovess was busy, not just in Egypt, but also among us today. I've not had the strength or time to write this (it's now May) and each time I sit down to write, something new happens.

The week before Passover, ia decided to sell my beloved lime green Aprilia motorscooter. I knew that my friend David Kaplan was interested in it, and it's good, when you have to get rid of beloved things to give them a good home with a friend or relative. The battery was dead, so I charged it up overnight, and cleaned it up. I pushed the button and gave it a spin around the garage. "Hey, I can ride this!" I said. But it was hard to muster the strength to get off and on gracefully, and I didn't feel in full control. So I arranged for David to come by. The wisdom of my decision was confirmed that night. I got out of bed at 3:00 AM to go to the bathroom, I lost my balance and started backpedalling, finally falling backward and hitting my lower right flank on the bureau...but not just on the bureau...right on the knob of one of the draws. The pain was awful. It's rare to break a rib that low. I thought I had a massive hematoma, or a lacerated liver or kidney. I could barely move, but I was determined to attend what might be my last Sedorim.

What follows is recalled through a fog of two benzos at night to sleep, Vicodan during the day, and excrutiating pain.

We took the train to Penn Station, and then cab to 3rd Street. There they all were: Marjorie and Jonathan cooking up a storm,

Marjorie cooking ..Jonathan cooking

Marjorie's friend Gayle, and Carol's friend, Mary, Neal.

Gayle, Marjorie, Mary ,,Neal

Jonathan helped me wash my hands, we sang "There's No Seder Like Mom's Seder,"

Michael & Jonathan ..Andy & Mary

Mary's friend, Lesley,

Mary, Lesley, Neal ..Andy & Mary

And, of course, Josie. We played with her early in the afternoon. She loves to do crossword puzzles--50-piece jigsaw puzzles--and puts them together in a flash, using the shapes, not the content of the pictures or color. Here she is, imitating the Egyptians, flogging with a scallion. Alas. I have no photos of her activities, her charm, her vocabulary, her beginning ability to talk in sentences. She is simply the most gorgeous child. But I was out of it and ended up on the sofa.



Mary. Lesley. Neal. Scallion ..Jonathan, Josie Scallion

 On to the Second Seder

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