Everything happens for a reason. A cultural commentary with a lotta rock-n-roll, semitism, and parenting. See our Etsy Shop! Buy HeadyBands, Hoodies and more at www.wholephamily.etsy.com
Phish played the song "Walfredo" the other night, a very rare occurrence from their repetoire, at the Bill Graham Auditorium in San Francisco. It was played based on a fan request. It was played in honor of the memory of phan Adam Berger, who passed away earlier this year.
Is it simply coincidence that they played this tune on the date 10/27?
I doubt highly that any of this was planned.
But I like to think that it's all there for a reason.
Do I think Trey was all like, "let's do Loony a favor and get all whack and play this song as a tribute to a dedicated fallen fan on her favorite number day."
Nah.
I didn't know Adam Berger but his blog is called Walfredo. Clearly he was a huge phan. He loved Walfredo. And Phish, probably the best musical outfit out there today, played it. In San Francisco, the town where he lived for many years. May his memory be a blessing.
And thanks NYCJAMGAL for posting this nice video of the historic happening.
Back to 127...
Despite them not playing in Israel on 12/8 a few years ago (if you read my lengthy post you'll see originally it was to be 12/7, but couldn't be due to various reasons), I keep the dream alive....
#ifyouwillititisnodreamtour
Which is way too long of a hashtag.
That's why ya gotta #hashtagitbagit
But a girl can still dream, right?
Whoa whoa whoa whoa, before you get all, Loony is whack, Phish ain't gonna do no show in Israel, let me alert you to what Jambase reported on this show in the 2nd set, and I quote: "Trey introducted on Fishman as Moses, "here to take you across the Red Sea for "I Didn't Know."
Some may call that Comic Relief, I call it, coming all together. It's just that people don't know it, yet it's *right in front of their eyes!" People may laugh at this idea, but I know that the Nunever won't when he reads this. And that Zaney Laney is on board if she would only read this darn long blog. And of course my dear husband who supports all of my efforts. Do I need anything more? Oh, wait, yeah, I need the guys to decide that it's time to take the living fish into the land "Vayidgu l'rov," but as I'm not a bible thumper, but could possibly be perceived as such, I don't know how that would fly in the greater world, ya know?
And, no, Ariela, (and all my awesome smart friends who like to read this but can't follow the Phish stuff and I don't hold that against them but indeed they're still missing out on tremendous music) this isn't a Phish blog, haven't I said that all along?
Yay for purple girls and little ragers and glitter and sparkly friends and hoopers and curlicues and laughs and soul sisters and birth sisters and bobos and hello kitty and cleaning help and gel manicures and kind veggie burritos and my sweet kinderlach and the moon and for meeting a dude named Stango.
Due to youthful genes, physical signs of aging have alluded me until very recently. Until a few months ago when I started conveniently ignoring the eyelash that started to grow from the inner corner of my eye. You know that place, the place where all the crusty stuff gathers. But in my aging body, an eyelash decided to grow there. Every time I looked at it I would say to myself, "say it ain't so!" But, so it is, and I took out my super duty pointy tweezers, risked poking myself in the eye, and plucked that sucker out. Good thing my hands are steady. For now. Who knows, as I get older maybe I'll develop parkinsonian (PD) tendencies and get the shakes. Or maybe more eyelashes will grow in more unsuspecting spots. Or my eyesight will, god forbid, get worse and I won't even be able to see that close up.
And so, dear, friends, this reminds me about the crux of it all...if we can't physically be youthful, we can surely embody it in spirit. The Nunever said to me recently that I am 40 going on 14. I'll take it!
Naturally I turn to my favorite band which, as the PurpleGirl said in recent memory, makes her feel young when she listens to them. Couldn't agree more.
"All my vasoconstrictors, they come slowly undone.
Can't this wait 'till I'm old, can't I live while I'm young?"
Click on 1:55 to get to that very youth-inspiring lyric and most excellent energy.
My ideas and thoughts are numerous and the desire to connect all of the technicolor is often overwhelming. Is life better in black and white? I am not sure. But sepia does have that nostalgic feeling that we all love.
Last weekend my new friend Holly, at our shabbes lunch table, shared her explanation as to why the color purple is so powerful: It contains red and blue which is both hot and cold. It is the perfect blend. It is the perfect color. The perfect stuff is my own addition. Holly's simple and eloquent explanation resonated with me.
If only the daily grind of life could be that perfect blend of blue and red.
This video comes from my friend Pesach, who was recently hired as a Spirit Guide for Spiritual Judaism. Forget any pretense you might have about what that might mean or look like to you, and just look beyond the barriers because I think this is good stuff.
Two people in my life who I have felt close to both love the color purple. That would be my friend Mik the Fish and Purple Girl. I hope they watch this video and like it as much as me.
I love that comparison of am segulah, a whole nation, as a Purple nation, since the Hebrew word for purple is segol. Pesach is a wise, wise man and I am glad to know him even a little bit.
I also love that my real brother-in-law's name (in Hebrew) is Pesach.
So, what is your take?
Do you think Adam Purple, ultimate squatter gardener, would be into Pesach's message? I have no idea if he is Jewish, but I don't think that matters. I think he would like Pesach's vibe and message..
The Wolfman's Brother is eating his oatmeal with strawberries, a bit of maple syrup and a chocolate syrup drizzle as I type.
If there is one thing that I learned while teaching early childhood with the lovely Original PurpleGirl, it is to use small pitchers for the children so they can pour their own. Here, we have an Arcoroc glass pitcher you can pick up at Crate and Barrel.
This is the perfect size for small hands, and even my older two (The Wolfman is 6 and Concealed Light is 8) find it useful.
Easier than trying to get them to pour from a gallon container.
These are the Saucony Grid Lightspeed gym shoes which I purchased yesterday at DSW. Alas, a quick Google search just now doesn't reveal this most awesome color combo anywhere on the Internet. Just goes to show ya, the Internet isn't the end all be all.
I recently blogged about Nike, and I think they're a great company. I initially bought, at DSW, a pair of their pretty well-known shoes from their "Free" line, which look similar to the pair above.
I got sucked in to following the herd (since all the cool kids at the gym wear Frees, I wanted a pair, too and also their ad that I linked to in the recent blog entry where talked a bit about Nike, I am confident will agree it is a great advertisement) and not trusting my instinct. I was a product of being marketed at!
Over the years I have had numerous pairs of Saucony Jazz. Black, red, navy, green and yellow, etc. They are, without a doubt, the most comfortable but cool (some can say hipster, that is fine with me) fun sneaker out there.
Anyway, I got home, put on the Nikes and They.Didn't.Feel.Comfortable.
Saucony always, always, always did right by me, so I persuaded DSW to let me use a $5 birthday coupon which I didn't even have with me but didn't use this year.
Back in the 90s, feng shui was all the rage. Riding the subway, I often heard women talking about tossing away the stuff they didn't need in the end. They only kept what was important since this would lead to ultimate streamlining of their space. They knew who was their friend: the perpetual giveaway bag. Feng shui took it to a higher level, and for that I have great respect. Leave it to the Eastern traditions to bring us great wisdom.
And I ask you why if you open a magazine today, you see nary a reference to feng shui. It is all about the yoga this, the yoga that. Did you know that the great late Shel Silverstein practiced yoga daily?
Back in the 2002, Stango and I took a monumental trip to Amsterdam. (1 year anniversary and 30th birthday...so many things went down there that we just don't understand... watch a youthful Jerry looking really great here for some of that good stuff. interestingly the quotation I am looking for is not included in that video, but historic it was so I decided to post it. better look here at Jackie Greene's version, more up-to-date oy, can't find it in that one, either! wow, he looks so much like Dylan! ok, last try with the studio version jump to 1:33 ...and yet everything happens for a reason and therefore things like the Ninja Rebbe, Marc Chagall's fiddler wearing lots of purple and our Anne Frank Haus visit are become more clear now...I do pray to take a monumental trip to Israel for the 10 year follow-up to that).
It was there that I saw a Nike bus stop billboard ad featuring a woman in a yoga position. The series was entitled "Yoganista." We saw nary an ad like that back in the states.
(this isn't the same ad campaign, but from another genius product line Nike has out)
Let's not forget about feng shui. I am not going to. This blog will help me clear out some of the childhood relics I can't seem to part with. I am going to keep this one that Grandma Martha framed in 1978 or so, but at least I can share it here:
Want to upload photos of the Koala I made in 2nd grade. Will do soon. Recently, the Coach referenced the PurpleGirl and Cute Indian Girl in this Yoga video. Pretty funny. And here is the song I inferred in the first sentence of this entry : jump to 2:58 for a quick fix of "Theme from the Bottom" oh, one more thing. Didn't feng shui always remind you of Wang Chung? What memories, what memories. PurpleGirl, I doubt you are gonna read thus far, but DIG THE DUDE'S SWEETEST PURPLE TAILS!!! Shaweet, I say!
My paternal grandparents, Martha and Al, ran a business called Almar Paper and Twine in Brooklyn and then later out of Island Park, NY from the mid '40s until 1972. Growing up and visiting them in Long Beach in my own youth from the late 70s until his passing in the 90s, my Grandpa Al loved telling me what claimed was the story of how the company came to be called Joyva.
But first, some background.
this image belongs to Joyva and I am putting it here simply for some cultural context.
Grandpa Al grew up with the Radutzky brothers in Brooklyn. As boys, they played handball and stickball. When I spoke with my father today to ask how my Grandpa came to barter with them, he said simply, "they were boyhood friends." It doesn't get much more clear as that.
Almar supplied Joyva with kraft paper, gum tape, boxes, and other various packing supplies. In exchange, the Radutzkys told Grandpa Al to take what he'd like: Halva, sesame candies, and, large 50 gallon bags of popcorn produced for wholesale distribution. At the beginning of my parents' marriage, my mother recalls seeing the signature round cylinders of halva in her in-laws fridge in Long Beach
Grandpa Al claimed that the name Joyva came from the heavyness of that huge block of halva. When lifting it, the Radutzkys would say, "Oy-vey" and repeat it over and over until it morphed into Joyva. I mean, who in their right mind would buy a candy whose brand was Oy-vey? Saychel, (intellect, in Yiddish) they had!
Me with Grandma Martha and Grandpa Al, Proprietors of Almar Paper & Twine, Spring 1973
As I was a Journalism student at Brandeis University at the time, I was skeptical about the truth of this story. I had a tremendous thirst for consumer knowledge at that time and was in the habit of writing letters of both praise and criticism to companies whose products I used. I interned in consumer reporting, opened the mail for Joan Hamburg at WOR Radio and covered various consumer stories for Susan Wornick at WCVB-TV in Boston. I wrote a letter to Joyva requesting clarification.
What I received in response to my letter was a very wonderful, friendly phone call from the senior Radutzky family member who was running the business at the time. I do not have the original letter nor his response (my mistake for not being a better archivist) No, he didn't know my Grandpa, didn't recall the family name or business name at all, and no, the company wasn't called Joyva for the reasons I had been told. (This is not surprising). The Joyva name camed from a blend of two names of family members (again, I am forgetting what those names were...perhaps Joy and Valeria? No, surely it was something else.)
Mr. Radutzky was fully entertained by my letter and very appreciative that I reached out. And the swag. Oh the swag. Not only did I get ring jells, but sesame candies, marshmallow twists, and more. What a mentsch this man is, let me tell you!
You would think the story is over, but it is fully alive and has taken on a new chapter.
While at the Phish shows a couple of weeks ago (when will I move past it? Oh no, I will never move past Phish, the best in the music business!), I had a full day in the city alone. Sans children. Just me, myself and I. Naturally, Economy Candy was on my list of places to hit up, in addition to lunch at B & H Dairy and Vegetarian Restaurant located at 127 2nd Avenue (if you have been reading carefully in the last week or so you can see why it was meant to be that I attended that restaurant...the location address of 127 being a very special number for me).
Here is the excellent split pea soup I ate:
I lamented how there exists no longer the most amazing Peppermint Park, which was an ice cream parlor with various locations in Manhattan, including one in front of Madison Square Garden where a Chase Bank currently is located. It is there, before Rangers games, where we would get Joyva ring jells and other candies.
And Gem Spa's prices for ring jells, according to my sister Reba Magdelene, were up to 35 cents a piece! I hoofed it down to Economy Candy to get my beloved candy (which I tried pushing on PurpleGirl, since they were "purplish" in the middle. Instead, I picked up a bag of razzles for her since she was looking for a New Year's outfit that day with a lot of dazzle), which ended up costing an average of .18 cents a piece.
Earlier in the day I was chatting with my jeweler (Stango is buying me a gorgeous ring for our 10th anniversary which just passed) who told me that she is an owner of an Economy Candy t-shirt. I questioned where she might wear said shirt, and she couldn't quite give an answer.
Somewhere along the way, I wondered if anyone would wear a Joyva t-shirt. To my knowledge, they don't exist. Reba said it would be a tight market. I would only do it with permission, after all, they do own the Trademark design. I even mentioned a Joyva t shirt idea to Jerry at Economy, and even though he was so busy with the Xmas week crowd, all he had to say a full shrug off of my idea, "but I have an Economy Candy t-shirt." Like, why would *anyone* want to buy a Joyva shirt?
Because of the iconic image of the Turkish Man With a Moustache! Everyone but everyone knows this image. Iconic for us Jews (and non Jews, too, I would imagine, but really for the Jews, us small numbers we are and yet for whatever reason, call it saychel if you want, we manage time and again to churn out the big time).
But, actually, I am not looking to make a Joyva t-shirt.
Which leads me to putting on my list of things to do: contact Joyva with my proposal which I have not revealed here because I am not putting out my proprietary ideas on the Internet, despite only having 5 followers and therefore I should think no one is going to see this, and yet I still like to keep my ideas close to the vest.
(note to self: this is QUITE the good timing...
Talk to us about hosting 100 Years of Joyva!
The NY Food Museum celebrates a century of Brooklyn’s own halvah and candy manufacturer, still family-owned and run after four generations. See giant pillows of sesame honey crunch, perfect oh’s of chocolate coated jellies, and the magical ways of tahini! Tell us your candy stories.
212-966-0191 e: nyfoodmuse@gmail.com )
Might I put in yet another plug for Jade, which is that on 12/31 she was wearing her Turkish hamsa evil eye (which is fully from the Jewish tradition) which looks like this:
Connected on yet another level to the Turkish segula for me that exists in this Joyva story, as I have a business idea that stems from this, and I hope that this will give me the hizuk to see it through
Anyway, I hope you liked my Oy vey story. Big shout out to Elmont, NY where Beth David Cemetery is located along with Grandpa Al and Grandma Martha buried there with about half of New York's grandparents and ancestors.
Is it strange that I recently shared a shabbat dinner table with a Gutterman? (he is dating my sister-in-law's cousin). No, it isn't a strange design because everything happens for a reason..
At our shabbes lunch table yesterday, our guests brought up the subject of predictions. They spoke of all the talk in the air regarding various doomsday theories, that people are talking about the stars and planets aligning, and of one individual who was "nutty and weird" but able to predict occurances on specific dates.
I decided to speak up.
No, things aren't doomed, things are going to bloom!
I decided to throw out the number about which I have recently blogged: 127.
So, I thought, how could I get a date out of 127? So, I did it like this (in the American date system): 1/27. I said "January 27th!" And the guests somewhat got freaked out, "no, please not then, that is our son's bar mitzvah!"
Still, I got the date right on the mark. And I was saying that my number would point towards a good thing, not a doomsday thing. But perhaps there was miscommunication.
So I then reworked the date. How about 12/7. Something significant will happen on that date.
And this leads me to my Phish prediction.
Let me preface this by stating I never very much got into the statistics element of the Phish scene. In my newbie years I glanced at various different charts, but I often viewed this hobby more of a guy thing, sort of like how a Fantasy sports afficianado would be interested in statistics.
And here is where my reliance on a combination of actual life experience, gematria (Jewish numerology), being open, and intuition gets me to the date of December 7, 2012.
This date on the Jewish calendar is a Friday. Nope, my prediction won't happen on a Friday night. So, in way, you might say, ok, Loony, you are wrong.
Just add the number one to that date and you get to December 8, 2012.
That date is my prediction for when Phish will play a gig in the State of Israel.
Perhaps I should end there, but I would like to take this opportunity to offer some background and why I think they will play in Israel.
You should know about the "Stango-Loony Affair," which is Stango's reference to our courtship and marriage, and still applies to this day.
We were married on the 1st night of Chanukah on December 9, 2001. This holiday is also called the Festival of Lights. It occurs during the darkest period of the year and each night with each additional candle, greater light is brought into the world. That we were married on the first night is significant. I also learned recently that I was born on the day before Chanukah (24 Kislev 5733), which ties into our connection to the light.
This year December 8th is the first night of Chanukah (which as stated above is my Jewish anniversary).
It will our 11th anniversary.
Remember, there is an extra 1 from 127 to 128 (12/7, or December 7th , and 12/8, December 8th)?
Phish is not my religion. Judaism is. I am what Stango calls an "ultra unorthodox" Jew. For all intents and purposes, though, I am pretty well connected to practicing and living traditional Judaism. I observe shabbat, eat kosher food, and follow laws of Jewish family purity just to start. I also love the band Phish. I admire their "remarkable musicianship" which is how Jon Pareles described their talent in last week's NY Times Sunday Arts section.
They are the it band when it comes to rock-n-roll. Among others, I have seen The Who, The Stones, Robert Plant, and Billy Joel. Phish is light years ahead. You just can 't compare. I happen to really like the jamband vibe. I recognize that not everyone does. I feel that Phish plays music amazingly. I like that they are under the radar, and not highly played on the radio. They are fun and upbeat. The music is great.
I recognize communal experience that people love to experience when going to shows, myself included. I have never met any of the band members, but the symbiotic relationship between them and their fans is quite evident when you observe the scene at a live show.
Back to the gematria, I bring your attention, once again, to the School House Rock tune "Three is a Magic Number."
Ok, so keep in mind that 12/8 is my 11th anniversary.
And it is 1 more than a favorite number 127.
So, go to :46 seconds of the above-listed YouTube.
You will see the Roman numeral for 3 , which is III
And who in the band is a III? (Trey)
And III is Roman numerals, and in Israel there is a Roman-built amphitheater
Last year, friends of mine who also like Phish went to Israel for a family trip. I viewed their photos online. At that point the seed was planted that Phish should play in Israel, and what better place than Caesarea.
More gematria:
Add up 1+2+7, you get 10.
Add that answer, 1+0 you get one. And that one leads you back to the extra one that got us there in the first place. And you need that 1 to add to 127 to get to 128 which is the target date I am predicting. Judasim is based on a One source (and not a trinity as referred to in the School House Rock song).
Now, take the word "one" and translate it into Hebrew,
you get the word "echad"
take the numeric value of the alef, chet, and daled
alef 1
Chet: 8
Daled: 4
add those up and you get 13.
Which is the age of Bar mitzvah when most American Jew culminate their Jewish education and, unfortunately, miss out on the opportunity to learn about the richness of our heritage. Don't think standard Hebrew school curriculum includes a unit on gematria.
And there are a lot of those kind of dudes at shows.
There is a famous quotation, "If you will it, it is no dream."
I don't think I am far fetched at all.
When/If Phish plays on the first night of Chanukah such immense light will be distributed there (with the assistance of Chris Kuroda), on a night when in Jewish history light is so powerful and was representative of the saving on the Jewish people from persecution by the Syrian-Greek army. Stango and I would make every effort to be there, since we take very seriously the implications of getting married on that night. And since this is a huge dream of mine, that Phish should play in Israel.
Stango dressed up as The Man in the Red Suit at our wedding 1st night of Hanukah
In a real combination of playfulness and reality and awareness that there is something larger than me working here, I write in complete earnest that this should happen.
Oh, you wanted more wedding photos?
Here ya go!
Stango's got the grooves!
Stango is King of our Wedding, as all Jewish men are at their weddings. And the brides are the Queens. It is a beautiful sight to behold, the traditional Jewish wedding. Learning about it is what inspired me to want to know more about traditional Judaism during college.
After our chuppah wedding ceremony. We both broke a glass. Yep, Ultra UnOrthodox.
And just 18 months ago, the Ultimate Wedding
Phish Shtick (Reba and Phluffhead/P. Zitty also had a traditional Jewish wedding which many pholks there never saw) with the Nunever in a handmade by Loony frock (I had no clue that people were doing this or that the Phish organization was selling stuff like this), me in Reba's old tour days Care Bears dress that was collecting dust in the attic, and Reba herself being completely entertained, as she well should be at her own wedding. What a life-long memory! ~~~Yay yay yay~~~
Lately I have been listening to "New Speedyway Boogie," by the Grateful Dead for which I have Bob Lefsetz to thank for pointing out. (I think his music analysis is top-notch).
This was very much an under-the-radar song for the Dead, and yet the lyrics ring true in relationship to Phish playing in Israel.
"One way or another, this darkness got to give."
Oh, by the by. This Uno card was "randomly" in a junk pile in our house this weekend (I have been in a huge organize/clean-up phase). After the NYE show, PurpleGirl tried pawning off a mini Uno card with the number 8 on it; she was arguing how great it was because it represented infinity. She's onto something.
Because everything is Uno.
n.b.: added 1/9/11 I feel compelled to add that when all of these thoughts were happening was last week it was the weekly Torah portion of Vayechi. I can't go into a full analysis right now, that is what Stango is good for, but in a nutshell: Jacob (Stango's namesake, actually, no this isn't a joke!) blesses each of his twelve sons which become the 12 tribes, he dies and is brought to the Holy Land, buried in the Cave of Machpelah in Hebron. His son Joseph also dies in Egypt [yes, they both died in Egypt...keep the Dead in Egypt and bring the living fish (the Jewish people) to the Holy Land] but isn't buried in Israel until much later.
This morning I made challah. It is one of the 3 special mitzvot dedicated especially for woman. I most gratefully thank Leah Shemtov for teaching me, in conjunction with my own reading in the Spice and Spirit Cookbook (which phans so avidly refer to it as the "purple cookbook" no joke), the specifics of how to carry out this very holy act which will bring great peace to one's own home and the world.
This is the dough at 8:08am this morning (see clock). I mixed up the dough sometime in the middle of the night, around 2:40am perhaps.
This is the actual challah. The word itself, challah, or in Hebrew lihafrish means "to separate." So, this is the piece I pulled off of the main big batch. Notice it is next to the big bowl in photo #1 as well. This is just a close-up.
Next, you burn it to a crisp in remembrance of the destruction of the Holy Temple (Beit haMikdash) in Jerusalem. It is a sign of being hopeful for the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple, a time of redemption. I know this sounds very, very, very bizarro to the untrained ear and mind. But I am starting to make more sense of this part of the holy act (that is, after all, one of the meanings behind the word mitzvah). Just the fact that I have posted my challah making this morning tells me the time is closer. We'll get there.
Unbaked, braided loaves
Paint with egg. Thanks again to Leah Shemtov; this egg brush is a product of her most excellent program at the Chabad House of Stamford. Notice also mama's last remaining purple nail polish from last week! (mama being me, Loony)
Aw, sweet sweet boy. He is a yum-bun.
This, my phriends, is The Wolfman's Brother. He is almost 4 1/2. He is making a robot challah.
Said robot. Pretty spacey, right? Do you see the two eyes and the tentacles? Pretty out there and phunky!
In wanting to capture an artful look at my homemade challahs, I just "grabbed" (though it isn't nice to grab) one of Stango's jade plants on the windowsill. But since nothing happens by chance and everything happens for a reason, I ask the Nunever to really think deep and hard at the fact that I just seemingly randomly took a Jade plant. Indeed, I was in a rush as it is Friday morning and the last thing I should be doing is blogging about interconnectivity, blah blah blah.
It is weird, I texted Jade the other night after we saw her at the end of the NYE 12/31/11 show that I don't use Jade (I like using her real name but then again the name I call her by isn't her original anyway...and hey Nun, neither is yours!). Ask her if I wrote something to that effect.
However, it seems apropos that I have a Jade plant and I do hope that Jade and the Nunever will make an appearance on the Whole Phamily scene because it pretty much seems like the stars are aligned.
No, I don't know much about astrology. But I asked Schwee about it last shabbes. He knows a lot, but women like Cute Indian Girl and PurpleGirl and other women out there know more. I don't want to misrepresent him. But he is a scientist and he believes in physics and formulas. And yet, Schwee is pretty much out of this orbit. PurpleGirl, do you remember at mine and Stango's wedding, the guys who were rapping the machetunim song? Schwee is one of those dudes. Really smart, really out there. Really not intimidated by that stuff any more because we can all benefit. I mean, the dude is an Argentinian (or I could sound highbrow and say Argentine) tango dancer!
Nunever. Jade. Like my Mid-century kitchen furniture?
Though I already wrote him a handwritten note, since this is the ultimate expression of class (which Derek Blasberg recently wrote in his book Very Classy(click on that link to the Washington Post review from 12/2/11) which my own mother reared me properly to do, I have to thank one person in particular for his role in this phishy journey.
PurpleGirl's brother (not blood brother but her soul brotha), The Basketball Coach, is a tall guy. He is gregarious and a true mentch. He also happens to be very tall and easy to pick out of a crowd. So, over the years when I would go to shows and my heart would be pining for my dear soul sista PurpleGirl (because I knew she was at the shows but it wasn't our custom to make a plan to meet) I would keep my little eye out for the Coach.
Because everything happens for a reason, I often spotted the Coach, and would ask him to lead me to PurpleGirl. And that would happen over and over again.
Which leads me to remembering seeing the Coach in the Hartford parking lot a few years ago where I met the very holy M.C. and his kallah as they belted out "Rider" (if you ever see a very sweet, cute, petite, married mandolin-playing duo in Israel please say hello). Seemingly out of nowhere runs along the Coach, and he is sending his regards to me.
Just about this same time is when I saw the mysterious purveyor (I say this because I haven't seen him again since then) who was selling the Mr. Snuffleupagus's sister (or cousin) Alice t-shirt that you will only find from him because he created it (and was a staple on Dead tour, but as I only saw them once, in 1994, yes, I am a late-bloomer but all in my right time, I never saw that shirt before or after). I have since asked the Coach numerous times if he sees this shirt to please get me one and I will pay him back. So, all of you 5 faithful readers out there, if you see that shirt please buy me one and you will make Loony smile, smile, smile.
Coach, you is da bomb! (I mentioned that good-ole phrase to my 2nd son the Wolfman the other night and he had no clue. It was really sweet trying to explain it to him).
Of course I loved "The A Team" growing up in the 1980s, but I am not talking about that Mr. T.
Over the NYE run of shows, this holiday magnet card landed in my hands from a member of the Whole Phamily, Ms. A. This is her son, let's call him Mr. (or, really, since he is a young boy, Master) T.
Thank you for this lovely message. The dancing stars, the cute boy with the long hair (my very own Wolfman used to also have long hair), the purple. Ms. A has known the original PurpleGirl for years and years.
However Reba and I were just having a discussion about how the classic "Happy Hannukah" has devolved into the more generic Happy Holidays. There was a discussion on Kveller regarding the sending of cards by Jews at this time of year rather than at Rosh Hashana, which is the more traditional time to send cards.
For Stango and I personally, we have made it a custom to follow the Jewish calendar and send out a card with a phamily photo in September.
By saying Happy Holidays, there is a watering-down of the message.
Trust me, Ms. A, I am not blaming you, it is just a sign of our culture. Even my alma mater (for Junior year abroad), The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, sent out an end-of-year solicitation with the words "happy holidays" in the subject line. I was pretty appalled that an overtly Jewish institution would be so generic, but Stango justified it by stating they didn't want to offend anyone (particularly their big donors).
I fully understand that we all have phine phine phriends, many of whom don't celebrate Hanukkah and therefore why would I wish them a happy hanukkah? Yet, on the flipside, pretty much everyone out there wishes everyone a "Merry Xmas."
Isn't that a double standard?
Time to step up to the plate as proud, educated and identified Jews! You, Reba, are clearly one of them. And how nice it was of you to order a Shabbes dinner for Phluffhead's dad who is currently hospitalized. Can you pass on a refuah shlaima to him from Stango and me?
Like many kids raised in the '80s, Reading Rainbow, the award-winning PBS show that encouraged children to read by mixing in great music, child book-readers, and funky animation, was a staple. More so for my sister, Reba, who was born in 1980, since this show began its run in 1983, and ran through 2006, but I enjoyed particularly the opening sequence. The song, sung so beautifully by an awesome soulful female vocalist, is ingrained in my memory forever.
thank you www.retrojunk.com for allowing me to post that YouTube. You get full credit for posting that on YouTube. It belongs fully to you.
But all ideas going forward regarding why I am blogging about Reading Rainbow are mine.
Further to Mr. Burton: He is great, and yet I must admit I still have never seen Roots, which also made him famous. And I digress.
Back to Reading Rainbow. What does this have to do with the WholePhamily?
The first two nights of Phish's NYE run at MSG last week, December 28 and 29th 2011, I happened to visit one of my favorite tables as of late, the Waterwheel Foundation. Gotta give it to those guys for recognizing the value and need for such an organization within their larger for-profit venture.
I love seeing what products are there. Last summer I saw a fantastic photo from their NYE show at MSG in 1995 when all of the huge white balls came down. I joked with the seller that it was all "about the visuals" (thank you Stango for feeding me those verbal ideas and so humorously, too). He laughed. But the price...$600 or so...I mean, for me personally I am not into Phish memoirbilia, though it was lovely to invoke that real experience I had (Mik the Fish and I sat directly behind the stage I think in section 69 and those huge balls all came rolling back towards us, it was really a sight to see).
Back to last Thursday...
I saw a phantastic sticker that said "Read the Book" with a rainbow underneath it. Clearly, if you didn't know much about Phishisms, you wouldn't get it. When I mentioned this to Stango he had no idea what the reference was. But if you have the cultural background, you know that it is a direct reference to LeVar Burton's Reading Rainbow, and you felt happy because it created a link between a happy childhood memory and the HPB
aka the Helping Phriendly Book.
At this moment I have Lizard's in my brain. Go figure (hamayvin yavin...translated: if you get it, you get it, more literally it means, "those who understand will understand" If I could only say that about the 613, the taryag, then I would be getting somewhere. Which reminds me of how much I LOVE seeing a Phish show at MSG and through the show glancing up about the stage at the Horowitz jersey...613. Stango or Nunever said that this was likely done on purpose...I mean, it ***is*** New York, after all! But at a Phish show, well...kal v'chomer, dude!!!). I won't make you go searching...613 refers to the number of commandments in the Torah. And taryag is the numerical equivalent...so when people refer to the 613 mitzvot, they will often say, "the taryag mitzvot."
Because everything happens for a reason, it is apropos that the particular link that I chose comes from a show that I believe I was at (I only doubt this because I am too lazy to see if they were in Amherst on 10/24/10 for just that one night or two)...by the way, what a terrific venue. Nunever, Stango and I truly had a lovely time at the show. Thanks Nunever for a smooth ride up to Northampton in your beemer station wagon which you know I love driving.
Back to Gamehenge, it is a made up story, which I know indeed was a document written for a college paper (thesis, right?), but it is rooted in great truths (something like being a good person and always looking towards the light).
Speaking of truth, a big shout out to Brandeis University whose motto is "Truth, Even Unto its Innermost Parts." As a Brandeisian, I can safely offer up a thank you to Louis B himself (pronounced Looey...again, hamayvin yavin) for being a Supreme Court Justice in the first place so the Jewish community could have a person after which to name a university. And a phine university it is. With most excellent research phacilities and phaculty.
Emet = truth
Oh, and a hearty mazal tov upon the recent appointment of the school's new president, Frederick Lawrence, and a baruch dayan emet to the family of Evelyn Handler, the school's 5th president who was niftar in a fatal car crash. See, President Handler, despite the fact that you succeded in getting the Hebrew letters that spell emet off of the school's crest in the 1980's (they were later reinstated. I mean, c'mon, even Yale has Hebrew on its crest. It is a classic language!), as Jews we still respect our tradition when you are gone and include that word when acknowledging your passing into the next world (is it olam haba when you die? I do not have the answer to that, but I think not. Not until moshiach comes. Oh, right, yes I forget, t'chiat hamaytim. So, indeed, yes Mrs. Handler you are simply in another place right now. Who knows, maybe you are kvelling over me right now because I am the only person who has chosen to include you in her blog And what a blog this is, all the cool kids who drink yummy juicy beverages and Kool-Aid like to read this. But in Loony's case, it is actually the real Kool-Aid (which I won't drink any more due to food coloring. Actually, that isn't so true. I would still drink it. Just as a special occassion type thing), but not the Timothy Leary type.
Back to the song Lizards, "The trick was to surrender to the flow" always gets a big cheer, but in real life I would say to go with the flow, and just always go with it. That is what the original PurpleGirl encouraged me to do (I say original because you have many women at shows who like to wear purple, which I think is so terrific, but there is only one and one and only original PurpleGirl at Phish shows.
And she is my very, very , very, very, very, very good phriend. Yep, we go wayyyyyyyy back. This is true!
Though I do give a big shout out to Mik the Fish for schooling me in the wonders of The Color Purple.
(not to be confused with the film that Oprah and Whoopi Goldberg star in)
By the time Saturday night rolled around and Stango came to that show, I wanted him to come with me to the Waterwheel table, and lo and behold, no stickers left (I was so willing and ready to purchase one for the Odyssey). They were donated by someone to Waterwheel and were being sold for $5. Great, awesome, but ya know what, I didn't need that anyway.
The WholePhamily's stuff isn't being donated to Waterwheel, sorry folks. But (shameless shameless plug here...) we can trade our swag for laminates (yes, a girl can dream, right? As if! I mean, that is the type of thing for very important people type stuff and who am I if not l'il Loony) for me, Nunever, Stango, Reba and Phluffhead (since they are so central to the WholePhamily despite the fact that Reba thinks I am totally off my rocker for talking on and on about the ganse mishpucha at shows. Actually Stango does, too. And Nunever. ok, ok, yeah, this is all going way too far. Truth be told, I uttered not *once* about this concept during the NYE run, since I really don't want to get into anyone's faces and I know everyone is there just to have a real good time. But for all intents and purposes, that is my real family at the shows. Even though Nunever and I aren't blood, we are like brother/sister. And not like I call Reba and Phluffhead that in real life, and anyone who knows about the Stango-Loony affair knows that when Stango was only Stango it wasn't really a good thing, yet.)
But, as I determined in the middle of the night last night (indeed, I am writing this on less than 2 hours sleep last night, and I realize of course that I am sacrificing my family's needs right now by blogging and not doing the stuff I need to get done, now *that* isn't good, is it?), I would really be super satisfied if my laminate was numbered 127, as that is a very special number to me very near and dear to my heart. I know this is a really tall order so if I am being totally high maintenance right now, I will tone it down a few notches. Okay, okay, it really doesn't have to have that number. But wouldn't that be fun?!
Oooh, which reminds me, did you see me wearing my purple fleece "fun hat" at the show the other night? What a score that was from Amsterdam in 2002 (my 30th birthday/1 year anniversary trip with Stango, and boy, what a trip that was! Life changing in certain ways. That's where we met the Ninja Rebbe. But about him another time...)
Next time you're in Syracuse, go visit 127 Fayette Boulevard. You will start to begin to understand some of the connections. (just remind me that it has to do with sarah imeinu) As well as my own mother Soroh Gittel herself [hi mom! Don't you have mah jongg today, or is that on Tuesdays? I can't really remember your schedule, sorry! ]
I decided last night that when I get together the swag for the WholePhamily, I will be keeping it close to my own ganse mishpucha (though Reba has stated she doesn't wear shirts to a show as a crew, and I agree this is not really my style either; I was never one to want to draw attention to myself), because I must admit, it is a pretty darn good idea.
If you are a Phishhead.
And you are a phamily person.
Who likes to say phantastic and outrageous..
And the Phliers. (ok, ok, I know it is Fliers)
And is philosophical.
And phriendly.
and phirst and phoremost,
an honest and decent human being who wants to do good, be good, follow the derech ha tov (the good path), and be modest while being clear about her point.
Talk about verbosity!
So, here's what I have to say to you, Title 17 of the United States Code: Phishheads have disregard for you in the lot scene/popular culture element of seeing shows. (I really didn't want to have to elaborate here, but to clarify, we are referring to Copyright law.) And that is all good because without that we wouldn't have a forum where the ideas can flow freely and disburse throughout the world.
But not Loony.
My idea I will be carrying out asap and I will own it and wear it proudly. But maybe just around town. Or, even better, if we can lobby Stango and the Nunever to go to Mountain Jam, that would be the place to debut the shirt in public. Cuz me really has been jonesin' to get a karma wash! That looks fun and good for the kinderlach, too!
We have talked about Rosh Chodesh once so far on this blog. What we didn't mention there was the reason for why women were given the holiday of the Jewish New Moon as a gift of their own. The Jews were getting antsy and had the shpilkas. Familiar story? We are so anxious and nervous and chatty and just don't know how to wait and listen. See Woody Allen for more on that. Anyway, yeah so we just couldn't wait any more when Moses was up on Mount Sinai getting the holy words of the Torah from God. Believe it or not, but the story goes that they decide to build an edifice of their own. Forget you, God, essentially is what they were saying, and they built the Golden Calf. All the gold they had was thrown in to the bubbling pot. They danced and sang around their very own creation. Better than waiting, right?
Umm...wait a second, throw in your precious jewelry? To build an idol? A God-like symbol?
No, no, said the women. We will not part with our adornments! What foolish women would do such a thing? Not us Jewesses. No way! We keep our jewels, God or not.
So the women kept their gold and their mirrors. They had patience. They knew that God would eventually deliver. Just take a deep breath and rely on your intuition. And, indeed, Moses eventually appears with the written words. The women are gifted the holiday of the New Moon.
*note* this blog post has pretty much nothing to do with Jewish names, and has no right being here. But since we wrote this when we were off the derech of our blog's direction, we grandfather it in
Problem for those dietary guideline-following Jews among us (hint: Kosher) is that we can't eat it. Cuz it ain't Kosher!
The Whole Phamily has written in recent years to the company. We have received bogus responses. Many companies can find Kosher ingredients for their products. Surely Goddess Dressing, whose ingredients contain nothing out of the ordinary when it comes to kosher food, could do the same. We encourage you to write to Annie's join the cause. Better yet, write them a letter at their Napa offices. We're certain they'd appreciate anything fun and colorful. We sent in a letter using pastels.
You can also join the Facebook group. All 37 of us. join the cause. Better yet, write them a letter at their Napa offices. We're certain they'd appreciate anything fun and colorful. We sent in a letter using pastels.
