Awesome Weekend

My California sister Sue came in late Thursday, her first trip to Miami in a year and a half. She hadn't yet seen ancient Mom in the nursing home. A day before her arrival, my friend Todd, a major Obama bundler, called with an offer: there was a private James Taylor concert at some lawyer's living room in Parkland, in FAR northwest Broward, and there were a few seats available at half price. Well, Wifey LOVES our swarthy president -- even volunteers for his re election, and we both dig JT, so I sprang some serious bucks for the event. Meanwhile, our friend and former best next door neighbor Diane got wind of it, and bought herself a ticket as well. In the mean time, Wifey's friend Eileen was visiting from Atlanta. She's a Miami native, and was here visiting HER Dad -- a retired Herald editor -- who is also on the decline and now in nursing home care, too. So Friday Sue and Eileen met, and our neighbor Rachel stopped by, and our house was its usual estrogen-filled self, even sans the Ds... I took Sue to see Mom, and then doubled back to the office for Wifey and Diane. Wifey had limped to my garage on a flat, but we had to deal with that later. First, some cocktails at Trulucks were needed for the trip to Parkland. And it WAS a trip. It's south of Boca, but seemingly in the Everglades. The houses were big on huge lots, but as Wifey noted, there's no tropical foliage, like we enjoy in our area. I guess that's what happens when you simply bulldoze some of the swamp and plant grass and big houses... What a night! We had some wine, and the best appetizers ever created (hot dogs in baked buns, aka pigs in blankets), and gathered in the living room of the PI lawyer. He seemed like a cool guy, with a poneytail and all, and he introduced JT. JT was charming and funny and in great voice, accompanied by a female singer, cellist, and squeezebox player. "Don't worry," James joked, "he has a license to play the squeezebox in Florida." He sang and sang, and the ladies swooned. The guys, too -- even the straight ones. I always did pretty well with the ladies, but all I kept thinking was how many more I could have had with a singing voice like JT's... After 2 hours, and as thunderous applause as 60 people can make in a living room, he left. My sister Sue was in tears. She was that happy. Saturday, she slept in, and Norman came to pick me up for the first Canes home game. We fetched Rob, and headed to the stadium after a stop at Bagel Emporium. Norman put out a lovely spread -- and we drank mimosas and ate bagels and lox. Norman's great friend and client Maria brought tamales -- so we had the classic Miami breakfast. The Canes won 38-10, and the game was still somehow boring, as their opponent was mediocre. Still, we laughed and spoke of seasons of glory, now long past... Sunday we had the first post nursing home Rosh Hashonah. My Florida sister Trudy and bro in law Dennis met us at the MJH, and we shared matzah ball soup, MORE bagels and lox, and more mimosas. We sat in the lovely gazebo. Mom had all her kids there, all her kids in law, and 1/6 of her grandchildren (D1 and her dog Madeleine). It was lovely, and D1 survived a near fatal encounter with a spider that Wifey brushed onto her lap...Well --it was near fatal in D1's mind, anyway... So the Jewish New Year is here. I plan to skip the office, out of respect for my heritage, but I also plan to take a pasadena on services this year. I truly wish I was a person who believes in the pageantry, but I'm so my father's son -- more so each passing year... Still, I know I took care of his widow -- we all did -- with our gathering yesterday. So here's to a healthy and sweet new year for all. If I get weekends like the one just passed, I'll be one very, very lucky guy.