By Any Other Name

 So our dear friends Mike and Loni's grandson had his Hebrew naming today. Typically it's done at the time of a bris, but the family decided they wanted the cuttin' done at the hospital, and so held a naming party a few months later.

Baby Theodore James is now, per the female Rabbi I never speak to, Shea Yacov.

Chris's suegros are very nice folks, with a beautiful house in North Pinecrest. Wifey thinks it's worth probably $5M, but then again, these days, everything is absurdly expensive round these parts.

We drove over and caught up with Jose and Vivi, old mutual friends of Mike and Loni's who handled D2 and Jonathan's closing. They asked how things were in Miami Shores, and we told them all was well.

I also got to caught up with Jeannine and Ray, Mike's sister and brother in law, who I really dig and get to see too infrequently. They live North of Orlando, and took the Brightline, which Ray, an engineer, helped to build. Ray's off now in Baltimore, on a cool tunnel project he told us about. We made plans to drink together in October in LA, at Amanda and Daniel's wedding -- along with D2 and Jonathan, who will be joining us.

Baby Theodore napped quietly in Chris's arms during the blessings -- turns out that not cutting a baby keeps him a lot happier. Rachel's grandfather, who is 82, spoke movingly. He had a bottle of RonRico rum, which he said HIS parents opened at HIS bris 82 years ago on Miami Beach. Though the rum has been replaced, the bottle remains, and as each generation of a boy comes along, toasts are shared. It was a beautiful ceremony -- from generation to generation.

The house was filled with light, both from the huge windows, and in the hearts of the attendees. Chris came by and we talked of a crucial thing -- the upcoming Canes and Dolphins seasons. Theodore is a 4th generation Cane!

We came home, and both Wifey and I napped, to some awful new Matt Damon/Casey Affleck movie, that was literally a sleep aid.

I suggested to Wifey that since we're kind of dressed up anyway, maybe we go to dinner tonight, instead of our usual Uber Eats in. She agreed.

My FaceBook and old actual friend Eric in Levittown posted a picture of some sauce he's making with his sister in law Rita's Dix Hills grown tomatoes. I am SO easily suggestible. I called one of our go-to places, Salvatore D's, and, alas, they are closed for vacation until August 15.

I decided to get creative. Where haven't we been, locally? I found Caffe Portofino, a mere few miles away. I told Wifey I would surprise her -- so we'll check it out. The reviews are all good, even with the extra "f" in the name.

So there's a new boy in the Tribe. The girl Rabbi, who for reasons Wifey and I can't place, ALWAYS ignores us as if we had insulted her, despite Wifey knowing her from the JCC years ago, read the name with Mom Rachel's Hebrew name, Nechama. Apparently there isn't a Hebrew name for "Christopher," which brought laughs from the multi denominational crowd.

It was a lovely day -- and may the Big Man bless and keep this beautiful boy. I have a feeling he'll be at tailgate parties sooner than later.