Good Ol Rosh Hashanah, Bells Are Ringing Everywhere

So Wifey was moving boxes around yesterday and strained her back, and so decided we'd put off a visit to her ancient mother.  I went out front to enjoy my newly repaired pond waterfall, and decided to call Dr. Barry to with him L' shana tova.

He was on his way to FLL with Donna, to fetch Scott, coming in to celebrate with his family. They were going to head to Austin Burke, the very old men's clothier in Wynwood so Scott could buy some wedding suits . I asked what they were doing after. Dinner, of course. Did they want to meet Wifey and me? They did, and Scott remembered tales of Kon Chau, the dim sum place on Bird Road.

So Wifey rallied up from the recliner, and we met there, and had an erev RH Chinese feast. It was great catching up with Scott -- his job in D.C. and the adventures of his fellow journalist girlfriend Sam. He's bringing her back to Miami next week, so she can experience a tailgate party at the Va Tech game. I hope she doesn't leave him afterwards...Nah. She'll love it, I'm sure.

D2 texted -- could we come earlier and bring the patio chairs? Wifey ordered 4 chairs by mistake, and Amazon was supposed to pick them up, but bungled the affair, still giving Wifey a refund. So D2 and Jonathan now have them coming to their huge Grove balcony.

D1 explained to her sister the great activity of "shopping at Villa Wifey." Wifey tends to overbuy supplies, and for years now, D1 lightens our storage load when she visits. D2 sees the value of doing the same -- I love it, of course...

Our garage is now stuffed with crap Wifey bought for the decorating project. I would have like to seen her purge the house first, rather than add to the stuff we have, but she promised to "get to that" afterwards.

As Barry and I accept, we are merely the mules of our family -- carrying the total financial burden, with little say about how the money actually gets wasted...um, spent. Such is our lot in life...

But that's ok. Mules get carrots once in awhile.

I took my early constitutional, as the weather is mercifully breaking a bit cooler. I took the strange rescue dog with me, and she enjoyed it immensely. I saw exactly one other human during the 1.1 miles, and zero cars on the road. It's a reason I love living where I do...

So in a few hours I'll load the chairs into the SUV, and head to D2's. She promised me a pre game drink on the balcony for my efforts -- and then it's off to D1's suegros.

We have so much to be thankful for, and we will so thank the Big Man...

As I sit typing this am, smooth jazz is playing in the background. My second cup of coffee brews.

Yes -- good 'ol Rosh Hashanah, indeed.

Sliding Into The New Year

So today is the final day of the Jewish year 5779. Tomorrow is Rosh Hashonah -- the "head of the year." I haven't gone to services for the past several years, and plan to continue that. But -- I thoroughly enjoy celebrating, and plan to toss some bread crumbs into the water, symbolizing the casting off of my sins...

This year D2 and Jonathan are back. They're settled in to their Grove apartment. Jonathan was already asked to go on a trip with his company, to the Bahamas, and Wifey and I met D2 at her apartment, and then walked to dinner. It is delightful having them back -- and the early returns about the new job and remote version of D2's job are wonderful.

We're so blessed -- invites to both Ds' in laws for the holiday. As D1 says, Sunday is Colombia, and Monday is Venezuela. We'll gather, and eat, and say "L' shana tova" and "salud" and "L'chaim."  Joey's Mom gets challah infused with guava, which may be the most delicious bread I've ever eaten. It'll be tossed to each of us, in the Sephardic tradition.

Monday we'll be with Jonathan's family -- to also toast the beginning of the year, one which seems poised for terrific things for our families...

I also had another funny example of human nature: marriage department. Wifey's friends went away on vacation, to a hotel resort. I spoke to the husband, who used to be my doctor, and he said the place was the height of luxury -- top room, top food, top everything. This am the wife called, and I told her I was glad she had such a wonderful trip. Are you kidding, she said. The paint was peeling, the food was mediocre, and most of the fellow guests were decidedly downscale. The only thing good about the place was the price -- they got it for a deep discount, and, as the wife said, even at that price it was too much.

Wifey and I laughed -- it's so funny how two people can have the same experience and have completely different thoughts about it. We believe the wife, by the way -- she is the far more accurate historian.

The painter is done, and the house is no longer yellow inside -- mostly off white, which I always like. Now the job of the decluttering is underway -- Wifey is giving away tons of furniture, to make room for stuff that she doesn't find an eyesore...

I'm just happy I have a bed, tv, and place to play on my computer. Everything else is superfluous, but I do look forward to greatly decreased tchokes on the shelves...

Actually, the above isn't really accurate. Wifey asked about giving away, or painting, a small corner piece my late mother gave us. I remember it well from my childhood -- I kept some Hot Wheels cars in its drawers, and used to look at whatever things Mom kept on the shelves. I asked to keep that one piece -- and Wifey agreed. I think of Mom whenever I look at it -- several times per day.

So tomorrow I will ask the Big Man to inscribe those sacred to me in the Book of Life for another good year -- and then, before Yom Kippur, to KEEP them there with the Book is sealed.

These are the important things -- not whether Trump is playing Mafia in the Ukraine -- and I hope to never lose sight of that.

So welcome, 5780. The year will probably be a month old, and I'll still be writing 5779 on my checks. But that is human frailty. May there be, instead, mostly strength.

Breakfast

I really, really enjoy breakfast. It wasn't always so -- as a kid I skipped it all the time, but since adulthood I savor the classic breakfast foods and the whole feel of a good breakfast place.

My go-to is Lots of Lox, which has been opened with essentially the same staff for over 30 years. Dr. Barry and his family also love it -- they happily drive all the way from Pembroke Pines to join us there -- we've shared milestones, like his boy Scott's farewell to college, and, four years later, his welcome home after he graduated.

Roasters and Toasters is also good, but I started avoiding them when their prices started to rival NYC. Norman like to say you have to sell a kidney to eat there. But, alas, they now have a breakfast special: 2 eggs, coffee, a side, and bagel, for $7.99. Today I enjoyed that very deal.

The painter has been coming early,and I like to be out of the house by the time he arrives. So I fetched my Herald, and headed off to Roasters.  Ivan, the manager from Eastern Europe, greeted me -- "Where you been, my brother?" I told him I have been promiscuous as a deli consumer -- he laughed.

I read the paper and enjoyed my food. There was a couple across from me -- clearly having an affair. They were caressing each other in a way people of a certain age never do when they're married. And, when it got quiet, I overheard some of their conversation which confirmed my suspicion...

Yesterday I had an exquisite solo breakfast, too, at Bagel Emporium. And there was an added benefit: I texted D2 and asked if she wanted anything -- her new Grove apartment is right on my way to work. She did -- an omelette -- and I joked that I no longer bring her the Emporium's signature black and white cookies.

Well -- I bought a box anyway, and met D2 in her lobby -- she had a call to make minutes later. I gave the cookies to Fernando -- the concierge who has worked at the building for 29 years -- he was very appreciative.  I can tell that D2 and Jonathan like him already -- he enjoys having young folks living in a building of mostly older, long time Miamians...

I had a great event at work, too. A few years ago, I wrote a blog about Murray, a beloved retired judge and mediator, and his daughter learned of his death through the blog -- she and he were estranged.

She asked if I knew a good lawyer who might handle her claim for a share of his estate -- and I referred her. Last week, the case settled -- for life changing money for her and her special needs son, and my firm was entitled to a modest co-counsel fee. 

But most importantly -- I had made a connection that was beneficial to both sides -- something that gratifies me greatly.

I like to think that Murray's soul is happy --even though estranged, at some level he probably wished to help his daughter -- which is why, I think, he never drew up a will. 

The true Days of Awe approach. As D1 pointed out, we have Colombia on Sunday, and Venezuela on Monday -- meaning we will celebrate with the Colombian suegros sunday, and the Venezuelan ones Monday.

I have MUCH to thank the Big Man about this year -- though I always thank Him daily.

And breakfast is also something I always enjoy and never take for granted.

Painting the House

So two years ago we hired Errico, an affable fellow originally from Nicaragua, to paint our house. His bid was half of what I expected, as our house is two stories and pretty big, and he set out to do a great job.

Three days in, he came to work tearful -- his mother was crossing SW 77 Avenue, near Kendall, and was struck and killed by a car. Could I help? I could -- we were hired by him and his three siblings, and handled the case -- getting it settled in record time for all the coverage there was, and earning the thanks and respect from his family.

He finished the job, and Wifey needed to pick colors for the interiors, but she suffers from lack of confidence in matters of design and decor, and she balked. We told Errico we would see him in the future.

The future turned out to be a full two years. Wifey finally agreed we would stay in our house, despite her desire to move somewhere "less suburban," only if she could re -do the place. It was the right thing to do -- we bought the house almost 19 years ago, and it was time for an update.

She interviewed several decorators, and settled on two lovely young women -- friends since Braddock High, and now in business together. They helped Wifey choose colors -- which are mostly an off white, which I heartily approve of, and the dining room and one wall at the end of the main hall will be a royal blue.

So Errico and his crew have come back -- they've been working 8 days now, and are due to finish by the end of the week. He does a terrific job -- very clean and neat, and uses Sherwin Williams paint, which makes Wifey and me smile. My late father in law Richard was reverential about Sherwin Williams, saying always "You must only use Sher-vin Villiams!" and showing me spots on his ceiling where the roof had leaked, and the superior "Sher Vin Villiams" had kept the "vater" out. So Richard, may he rest in peace, would have approved...

I'm mostly staying out of the decorating decisions, even if some strike me as strange. We had beautiful, heavy wood dining chairs, which Wifey could "no longer stand to look at." Errico happily accepted them -- he plans to disassemble them and ship them to a hacienda he owns near Managua. Their replacements are tiny, office-like chairs that are rather uncomfortable. They are literally half the size and plushness of the chairs we just gave away -- but apparently look appropriately modern.

And we have, at most, people sit in our dining room two or three times per year -- so I did not exercise any veto powers on the chair replacements. I know nothing about decor, anyway...

Another item slated to go is the "Great Wall of Wifey." This is a custom made oak wall unit Wifey said we had to have about 10 years ago. It cost well over $10k, and I used to whine to Dr. Barry about the cost -- wouldn't a $5K wall unit suffice? But Wifey said it was a "forever" piece, and so we got it from no defunct Blackwelders, the go to place, at that time, for custom furniture.

Well, "forever" turns out to be a decade, and now Wifey says she "can't stand to look at it." So it'll be replaced, apparently, by something more modern.  Again -- as long as I have a place to use my computer, and maybe watch some football -- I'm fine with it.

So Errico is toiling away, hopefully turning our house into "less of an eyesore," as Wifey says.

The budget she came up with is equal to the gross salary I earned AFTER I asked my bosses for a raise in 1990. But I figure it's still way cheaper than a move would cost -- and so I agreed with the project.

I told her that I went out and splurged on something important, too.  I bought a secondary issue municipal bond -- Longboat Key, Florida, which will generate $800 per year in tax free income, and mature after I'm gone -- hopefully to be used by Wifey for expenses in her golden years...

Actually, I did agree to some updating, too. I have a waterfall that uses the sprinkler pump to cascade water down a coral rock wall into our pond. It stopped working years ago. So I found a pond guy from Paul, the owner of my fish supplier in Homestead, and Nick resealed the basin, installed a new pump, re plumbed the thing, and now the water flows again. He's going to replace a broken timer box, so it'll go on automatically in the mornings and evenings -- right now I have to turn it on and off.

It'll be nice to sit out there -- and indeed the cooler weather is coming -- and contemplate the nature of the cosmos -- knowing Wifey is happier inside the house, with her new stuff and newly painted interiors.

Getting the Band Back Together -- Full Squad

Several years ago, my son in law Joey created a text group for Wifey, me, the Ds, and their two men, and named it "Full Squad." I love that name, for all it means and implies to me -- our precious Ds and their wonderful life partners.

Last night, Wifey and I drove to North Miami Beach, for a small celebration for huge news. A dear friend started a company to do research into a rare childhood disease, and the company just signed a deal with a major pharmaceutical company which injects tens of millions of dollars into the start up. We were floored, but our young friend is so humble, there were no speeches or talk of the company -- just pizza and beer and wine with fellow angel investors. It was lovely.

We left in the rain and drove south to Coconut Grove. D1 and Joey had dinner with D2 and Jonathan, and Joey, a handy man extraordinaire, was installing the new TV for the newly returned Miamians.

It was a simple scene -- Wifey doing web searches for lamps, and the Ds joking with each other and her. The men drinking cocktails and installing the TV -- Joey has done 40, and gave his disclaimer -- no guarantee it wouldn't fall. It wouldn't -- I checked the butterfly fasteners he used and knew the thing would hold ME -- let alone a 20 pound TV.

And I took a moment and just drank it in. I knew there will come hard times -- rain falling into each of our lives. But for this precious moment -- the Full Squad was together -- enjoying each other -- feeling the gratitude that comes from our love and support for each other.

My in laws were loving people -- especially to the Ds. But they came from a world of horror, the Holocaust, that really prevented them from understanding the subtleties of normal behavior. In other words -- they were over bearing.

I swore to myself, that if I was ever blessed with sons in laws, I would be just the opposite: all support and fun, and requesting little in return -- other than the love and respect given to my Ds. I think I have succeeded -- I'm one pretty amazing suegro.

And last night, in the warm glow of the lights that turned on and off (D2 and Jonathan have a list of quirky defects in their new place that need to be fixed) I was one grateful, happy Daddy in the USA. May it continue.

Today I'm headed to my first home Canes game. I missed last week for a memorable wedding. My usual game date, Mirta, is up in New England with her boyfriend, and Wifey has begged off. So I'll drive up to Joe Robbie myself, and wander among Norman and Mike's tailgates. 

The game is supposed to be an easy one -- the Central Michigan Chippewas -- and I look most forward to the tailgate and game.

Tomorrow we'll visit the ancient suegra, who reported to Wifey she probably won't be able to make the big, fat, Venezuelan wedding in January -- she is just too weak and tired. We'll see -- she WILL be 95 by then, but I think she may rally.

Afterwards we have dinner plans with Kenny and Joelle in the Gables.  All in all -- my kind of weekend.

But the starring attraction is the whole of the Full Squad back together in the 305. If there's something better -- I don't know what it is.

The Passive Aggressive Client

When you cobble together a few shekels, you become attractive to folks in "private banking" and "investment advisers."  I've worked with several over the years, and I tend to stay with people for a very long time.

My first foray into the world of "managed accounts" went poorly. It was 2020, and I opened an account with Northern Trust. Back then, they were on a tear to bring in many less than wealthy clients, and I agreed to pay a fee of 1.5% of the account value to "manage it" - buy and sell securities without broker fees.

At first, the account grew, but then came the tech bubble, and my crackerjack adviser did...nothing. The account lost half its value. I got to tell the joke about how to get a small fortune: give Northern Trust a large fortune and then wait a year. Anyway, I took back the remaining funds and over time, of course, it grew again.

Several years back, I changed my protocol. If I was to do business with someone, they had to hire D1's company to consult.  I sort of grandfathered in existing advisers and bankers, but anyone wanting new business would have to hire her. And -- though I can't be objective as a wildly proud Dad, the truth is she is excellent. The many companies and teams who have hired her adore her, and find her consulting terrific.

As I get crankier, I think I WILL start firing folks who don't use her company. There are just too many competing brokers, bankers, and bond salesmen to not extract family benefit out of using their services.

A few months ago, a young man reached out to me, since I have a large sum invested in an online brokerage. Of course, he wished to convince me that I need to pay him a yearly fee to do what I do myself.

We met for breakfast, and the fellow was impressive -- local fellow, smart, and very community involved. I told him the deal -- hire my girl, and then we talk.

And he reached out, and they met, and he was impressed. But, he works for a large national bank, and apparently making the choice to spend a few thousand on a consultant is not one that can be made on a local level...he was working on it, and they may hire her in '20.

He emailed me about meeting again to "further our discussions" and reported to me the status about hiring D1 -- said it would be in '20.

What a coincidence, I wrote back, I have an adviser who plans to retire in 2020, and that might be the time I would consider switching accounts!

The truth is I am considering transferring funds away from that bank -- I pay a small management fee, but get no real benefit from it, except for paid happy hours at Christy's...

I would have made a great machine politician -- do me a favor, and you get the government job. As it is, my only leverage is as a potential client.

The days of "hey --you're a nice enough young person -- you get the business" are over. Quid pro quo, baby.

Speaking of nice young people, I got a lovely call early in the week. I have been mentoring a young lawyer -- the husband of D1's friend, and he told me he was making partner at his firm -- and thanked me profusely.

Now that was great news...

Dadber/DadMove

So the past days have been all about moving D2 and her man back home to hot, muggy Miami. They arrived early Sunday night, which is saying something, as D2 has a history of delayed and canceled flights dating back to her college years. But not this time -- they were waiting for me at curbside, and we came home to a very happy Wifey and 2 dogs.

Monday I drove them to a dealership, and they leased a car, and from there to the apartment on Bayshore Drive. In one day they had a car and an apartment -- not too shabby.

Deliveries came, and schlepping from Villa Wifey to the Grove. We all worked hard, and fairly quickly all the boxes that were UPSed to our house were emptied and either stored with us or moved to the new place.

Tuesday am, I took the transplants to workout with my man Enrique, and Wifey was due to help D1 carry props into a TV studio for an interview. I got emergency texts and calls -- Wifey's car wouldn't start. So I left D2 and Jonathan at the gym, and called AAA.

And then there was a bit of Switzerland in Miami: the AAA man was there in, no kidding, 10 minutes. He got to the house faster than I did, and had already popped the hood and diagnosed a dead battery -- Wifey's car is over 3 years old, and batteries in the Tropics rarely last that long.

I sent Wifey on her way in my car, and chatted with Jason. I asked if he was like Jimmy John's -- which has freakishly fast delivery. He laughed and said no, but weekday mornings he cruised Pinecrest and Palmetto Bay for the daily dead battery or flat tire issues, and loved to have people on their way quickly.  It worked -- I paid for the new battery, and then was able to return to the gym to fetch D2 -- Jonathan had to leave early to meet the WiFi guy at the apartment.

D2 and I had a lovely brunch, and then stopped in a liquor store for me to provision their new place. Now cocktails can be served on their lovely balcony overlooking the park and Bay.

Today, Jonathan left early to see his family up in Aventura, and DadBer and DadMover continued -- we schlepped more stuff to the apartment, and D2 was set to go back to work -- remotely. She will do her thing via FaceTime. Ah, what a brave new world...

But some things stay the same -- like the need to schlep when you move. And I was privileged to help out.

Tonight the Ds will be together with their men -- mounting the new TV and assembling furniture. That warms me more than just about anything.

DadBer rides again!