Stuff Versus Charity

 So on our recent trip to KW, Wifey's BFF Edna brought up the issue of living well, with our many blessings of financial success. We're rich -- not private plane flying rich, at least for only a few  years -- but all of us in places where we don't worry about paying our bills.

The Canarsie Crew was making fun of me -- how I never want to buy anything for myself, and even when I had expensive watches, gave them to my sons in law. So Edna asked: if I won a lotto, or otherwise came into money where I had a BILLION dollars, what would I buy for myself?

I immediately started talking about charity, and moving my Ds and their families into paid off gorgeous houses -- but her inquiry was JUST ME. And I honestly couldn't answer -- there is no material possession I want. Finally I was let off the cross examining hook by saying that I guess I would lease Gulfstream jets and fly my Canes friends to away games -- paying all expenses at the best hotels in whatever city we were in. I guess a judge would have ruled that my answer wasn't truly responsive. 

This am I spoke to Mirta, my sister of another mister. She just had a birthday, and we're going to have a late dinner to celebrate this week. She told me she spent her birthday weekend inspired by me -- doing stuff for others. She helped a Mom struggling at the beach to put up an umbrella while corralling her kids. She was at DQ behind an obviously working class family -- and she stepped in to pay their bill -- $15.

She said the Mom hugged her -- their $15 meal obviously was more costly to them than Mirta, and Mirta felt so amazing. 

I told Mirta I surely hadn't come up with the concept, but I first thought about it while reading about a long dead Miami lawyer: Ellis Rubin. Every birthday, he would invite all comers to his office and give them free legal advice. He was a wacky and successful lawyer, and probably got some good cases out of his pro bono day, but still -- the thought resonated with me.

The Big Man gave us our lives, and to fail to celebrate our birthdays is a sign of ungratefulness to Him , according to my sage friend Rabbi Yossi. And to celebrate with charity -- well that might just go to another Rambam-like level -- though biblical scholarship is way above my pay grade.

Anyway, Paul is off to bury his best college friend, and today I will send a check from our firm to Friendship Circle, the organization founded by said Rabbi and mostly his wife Nechama -- which pairs special needs kids with other kids in a variety of wonderful activities. I think Frank would have appreciated the gesture.

I headed over to meet Juan, my trainer who is a frenemy. I love the guy, but hate the workouts. I skipped last week on account of Key West, and was NOT looking forward to resuming today. And alas, it was not to be -- Enrique met me and said poor Juan had a terribly allergy night -- eyes essentially swollen shut -- it's mango bloom season, and apparently it got to him. So no work out!

Enrique, the co-owner, said he never sees a client look so happy who drove to the gym only to learn his session had been canceled. Ah -- gotta go with the flow.

So I drove to Walgreens to pick up one of the several old man's prescriptions I take (cholesterol, prostate) and then had breakfast at Wagon's West.

On my way in, a homeless guy asked if I could help him out. I told him I would, when I exited. Sure enough, the fellow was there -- looked to be about my age, sunburned, with a Cuban Miami accent, but fluent in English. I handed him a $5 bill. His face lit up. "Now I can eat today -- I don't buy drugs like the other ones," he said, pointing across US 1 to the Busway where more homeless congregate.

I answered that what he did with the money was his business -- I just encountered a fellow man who asked for help, and I was easily able to give it. My breakfast cost twice what I gave him. "Ay, so you are a true man of G-d then," he said, pointing to the sky.

I said "Well, we should all try to do what the Big Man would like. Or Big Woman, as my wife says."

"Ay -- Big Woman scares me -- like I wife I had back in Santiago de Cuba who used to punch me!" We both laughed heartily, and I shook his hands, wishing him well.

And so it was a fine morning. I promised myself I would walk miles to make up for the missed workout -- somehow that hasn't yet happened on account of my laziness. But it shall, now, even though today is record hot for March 7 in Miami .

I read recently about a hipster Orthodox Rabbi, asked if he could update the famous Rabbi Hillel quote about the Torah. Hillel said that he could recite the entire Torah standing on one leg -- in other words, succinctly , and he essentially recited the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

The hipster Rabbi took the challenge, and said it comes down to this: "Don't be an asshole." Like many simple yet sage pieces of life advice -- that's very tough sometimes.