For those who may not know, an "unveiling," is a Jewish practice that takes place about a year after someone's death, where friends and family gather at the grave site and the monument to the deceased is "unveiled." (A cloth covering is removed.)
A rabbi is present and there's a brief ceremony. Participants are invited to share memories of the deceased, and then everyone gathers at someone's home for socializing, renewing acquaintances and so on.
It was a perfect day. Sunny, cool, beautiful cemetery. Pretty good-sized turnout. Mitzi was very close to Melvin and Zelda. It was Zelda's unveiling, Melvin having passed a decade before. As a child, Mitzi spent many weeks staying with them in Sanford, Florida.
Sanford had a very small Jewish community, and they kept a pretty low profile, Sanford being pretty intolerant back then.
On our way home, Mitzi got a text from our neighbor across the street who had a friend visiting for the night, Mike. Mike is from Denver and is on a road trip around the country. Mike also happens to be Jewish, so our neighbor invited us over.
We still had a ways to go, but eventually we arrived. Mike's dog took the opportunity to escape, so I spent some time chatting with my neighbor Ed while everyone else went to look for the dog. I didn't go because it's not one of those situations where "more" is "better." The dog enjoys being chased and he'd come home when he got tired or bored.
We were lucky in the sense that the dog likes people, so it didn't head into the swamp, er, "preserve," choosing instead to visit all the different streets nearby. Well, relatively nearby. They were gone for a while.
Anyway, Mike and the dog and the helpers eventually return and we get to chatting. It turns out, Mike had just come up from Sanford!
Mitzi likes playing a game called "Jewish geography," which is basically "Do you know so-and-so?" because of proximity.
Well, it turns out that Mike's mom went to school with Melvin and Zelda's kids, and although Mike didn't know them, of course his mother knew Melvin and Zelda! Mitzi's cousins knew Mike's mom, confirmed by texts flying back and forth.
I thought that was pretty interesting.
And the beat goes on...
Originally posted at Nice Marmot 09:48 Tuesday, 24 December 2024