Kvelling For Our Friends

 So after Hurricane Andrew "mistroyed" our house, as D1 malapropped, we ended up buying Wifey's parents' house in Kendall to live for the more than a year we knew the rebuild would take. It was a fine retreat -- room for us and the dogs, and D1 started Leewood Elementary while D2 was at the nearby JCC Preschool. When we moved back home, in March of 1994, the house let me re-pay some of the debt I had to my mentor Ed.

Ed was in the final months of life from mets from lung cancer, and his treatments were over at Mercy. Problem was, he and Joyce had moved to North Palm after selling their wrecked Andrew house. So I offered to let them move in, rent free, of course, for the last months of Ed's treatment. I like to think that made things easier -- Ed eventually went to a nursing home in West Kendall, and died there -- Joyce returned to North Palm where she lived another decade or so.

Anyway, afterwards, we decided to become landlords, and our realtor Joyce found us a lovely family -- Baptist missionaries from Texas, the Greens. They stayed a year, and then the next tenants moved from Crown Heights -- young Rabbi Yossi, his wife Nechama, and baby Mendel. That led to a lifetime friendship, where Wifey, the Ds, and I were literally brought back to our religion.

They soared, and that's an understatement, and last night was the VIP opening of their new Center -- a shul, of course, but mostly Friendship Circle, a facility for special needs kids that serves thousands. Paul and Patricia and Wifey and I were invited -- humility aside, we have donated BIGLY over the years -- the second tier of giving, and the tiers are large. Paul and Patrica begged off, on account of the absurd traffic from Aventura to Kendall -- they had come the night before and it took well over an hour, and Wifey was hosting mah jonng. I joked with some of the guests who asked about her presence whether I find this mah jong thing, so much of my mother's life, triggering or strangely erotic. We settled on the former.

Anyway, I arrived to an amazing affair -- full bars serving Bacardi ( one of the donors) products, so I had to make due with Grey Goose, my least favorite vodka. I survived. Butlered apps were high level.

I caught up with my hero in life, Craig, an old friend who never worked very hard at lawyering, and lived a very middle class life, until...He took up with a VERY rich divorcee, and now their photos went from the Magic Kingdom to REAL Europe. He is a smart dresser and always had the affectations of a rich guy -- and how he has the sponsor. Some guys have all the luck...

I was literally swelling with pride for my friends. They led tours of the amazing, 2 building center, which has amazing features for the kids -- kitchens to teach life skills, play areas with quiet centers for the many autistic kids needing breaks -- offices -- top drawer banquet areas for affairs, to help pay the huge cost of upkeep.

Of course, as my Dad's son, I had to stir up a little trouble, and told a few guests that the food wasn't really kosher -- that Yossi is quite the prankster. I later admitted the truth. I also had a few guys believing there was an after party in the mikveh. I hope they didn't stick around waiting for that Diddy-like event in a sacred space.

I drove home so happy for these dear friends -- true community leaders, who we met way back when they were pishers, to use the expression.

Lili was playing, and I offered her a cosmo. Since she had walked over, she accepted, and we toasted again.

After Monday, I told Wifey my bar for being happy with people was lower -- if they didn't tell me to F myself and tell me they didn't care if my family and I live or die -- well -- net positive.

And last night reinforced the truth -- I'm happy when people I hold dear soar -- and such is the case with Yossi and Nechama. It was a banner night.