Always Leave 'Em Laughing

 What I really want to do is post the Gone Fishin' sign and be done with it.  

I've been feeling kinda punk, even took a  COVID test this morning...it was negative... and although I hosted an old friend for lunch, I cannot seem to shake the lethargy seeping into my bones. Unfortunately, I am also-aware enough to know what's going on. 

Passover is not my favorite holiday. At least it hasn't been for the  last 13 years. On the first day of Pesach 2009 we got the diagnosis. The night before, we'd sat at my cousins' seder and although they knew what was happening, we all chose to say nothing until it was official and we told the kids the next night. That was on April 8th. We counted the omer for 49 days until Shavuot, which began on May 28th that year, the night before Ziggy's birthday. 

There was a shabbat ingathering for his 56th birthday: the Senior Son came in even though they were moving into their new house on Sunday, my folks flew up from Flah-rida. FIL was already living with us. Ziggy held court at the shabbat/birthday table. There were lots of laughs, a few terrible jokes, but behind it we all knew. On Sunday, we had tenaim for the Junior Son and his fiancée. And we all pretended everything was just fine.

One week after that, I became a widow. 

Counting the omer is my least favorite thing to think about. It's the counting of the last days of my husband's life. I should've asked this. I should've said that. If I had... What if...Maybe I should've... That list is endless and every time we count the omen at minyan, another question pops in my head. Not 4 questions. More like 400 or 4000 questions. 

So forgive me if I don't feel much like writing right now. Instead, I will leave you with Ziggy's favorite joke.

Two guys were sitting at a bar at the top of 666 Madison Avenue in Manhattan, drinking heavily. 

 

First guy sez, "Hey, I'm from Chicago and I've never seen the wind blow in any city like I've seen here today."

The second man replies, "Yeah, it's sure something al'right. Why, when they wash the windows over on the Empire State Building?.. They have to tie themselves to the scaffold or get blown off. In fact, right around this building the winds are some of the worst in all of Manhattan because of the way they swirl around all these tall buildings. You see that ledge over there? If the wind's from the north like it is today, it'll be blowing _up_ that side of the building about 200 miles an hour.. fast enough to blow you back onto the deck if you jumped over the railing. I mean, hey, I drink here all the time and actually saw a suicide prevented by that crazy wind pattern. Pretty weird, let me tell you!"

"Strong winds blowing up? Yeah, sure. But blowing up fast enough to blow a guy back onto the deck? Nope. No way. Never!"

The first man draws himself up, "You callin' me a liar? Well hell, I'm just drunk enough to prove it to ya.."

He walks to the edge of the railing, jumps over and falls about 50 feet before rising slowly back to the deck, landing on his feet. After straightening his tie and combing his hair back in place, he turns to his drinking buddy, "There, smart-ass, _now_ do you believe me?"

The first man is absolutely stupefied with amazement. Finally, slamming back the rest of his drink, he says, "That's way cool, dude! I gotta try that!". He, too, walks to the railing and jumps over.. falling 66 stories to a horrible death on the sidewalk below.

The second man returns to the bar wearing a sad grin. "Hey.. Joe! Gimme another one."

The bartender, having observed all this, replies, "You know something? You're a _mean_ drunk, Superman."

The Wifely Person's Tip 'the Week

Always leave 'em laughing.