As many of you know, Arnold and I have been on a road trip "down south" for the past couple of weeks. We dragged our weary tukheses home on Friday, (November 1) at 4:00 A.M. feeling both satisfied and exhausted. In the 11 days of our trip, we covered over 4,000 miles of territory in our rented van. Arnold did all of the driving while I served as navigator, reader and music coordinator. It was a collaborative effort that worked very well.

Our first stop was Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where we visited with my mom, my sister Roberta and brother-in-law Keith. We had not seen each other since my mom's surprise 90th birthday party last December so we had plenty to talk about. You'll be happy to know that after several lengthy conversations (are there any other kind?), we came very close to solving all of the major problems facing the world today. It's amazing how great minds think alike.

This was my first opportunity to visit the senior residence my mom moved into about 6 months ago. Since moving into her new digs, it's become extremely difficult to reach her on the telephone; now I know the reason why. She obviously decided that the residence requires a social director and she has voluntarily taken over that position. She is constantly involved in card games, playing mah-jongg, attending lectures and just generally spreading her warmth, kindness and wisdom to everyone around her. She is a remarkable woman and I am very proud of her.

Leaving Philadelphia, we headed south to our most remote destination, Starkville, Mississippi. Our dear friend Eric Hansen is a professor in the Computer Science Department of Mississippi State University. We had been talking about visiting Eric for the past 4 years and we finally decided to take the big step. Neither Arnold nor I had ever been to Mississippi, so our friend provided an excellent reason to see this state we might otherwise have ignored in our travels.

One suggestion I would make to anyone who ventures into the Deep South: pack plenty of Maalox in your suitcase. Never in my life have I seen so much fried food! Every restaurant serves fried catfish, fried okra, fried hushpuppies, fried fritters, fried chicken and other fried things I could neither recognize nor pronounce. Since I have Crohn's Disease, you can imagine the effect this diet had on my digestive system. Let's just say, I expect to recover within the next week or so.

The three of us decided to spend the weekend in New Orleans, which is only a 5-hour drive from Starkville. I should mention that we began our vacation driving through the rain, which followed us from Montreal to Mississippi and finally to New Orleans. At times, we could barely see out of the windshield due to the torrents of water obscuring our view, but thankfully, we arrived safe and sound at our destination, none the worse for wear.

New Orleans is far more European than American in appearance and yet the crowds of people who jammed Bourbon Street and the rest of the French Quarter all seemed to be red-blooded, all-American types out to have a good time and let their collective hair down. Music poured out of every club we passed. The mixture of Jazz, Blues and Dixieland blended into a splendid cacophony of pulsing rhythms and I soon felt caught up in a whirlwind of musical electricity. In other words, I was having loads of fun.

Arnold and Eric also seemed to be having a terrific time mingling with this eclectic crowd of fun-seekers. If this is an example of a standard Saturday night, I can only imagine what Mardi Gras must be like. Being in a wheel chair, all I get is a view of people's tukheses, so I always have to make sure to look up in order to get the full view of my surroundings. The crowd was so thick I got a stiff neck from straining to see over it, but it was well worth the effort.

After a wonderful 6-day visit, we said goodbye to Eric and Mississippi and wended our way slowly back up north; and yes, it was still raining. We spent one wretched night at a budget motel (which shall remain nameless.) The following afternoon we arrived at our next port of call, Potomac, Maryland, and the home of Sonia Pressman Fuentes.

Sonia and I became acquainted via the Gantseh Megillah. I had received an email from Sonia questioning my judgment in running an article by Phyllis Schlaffly. After learning that Sonia is one of the founders of NOW (the National Organization for Women), I immediately understood her objection since Phyllis is hardly a friend of feminists.

Sonia is the author of Eat First-You Don't Know What They'll Give You, an excellent book, which I reviewed several months ago in the Megillah. (To read the review, click here) and I was delighted when some time ago she offered to assist me with the editing of my comments each month. If you enjoy reading my column, some of the kudos go to Sonia for her tireless efforts in trying to help me become a reasonably readable writer.

Since this was our first face-to-face meeting, I was expecting that there might be some awkwardness. To the contrary, from the moment she opened the door to her home, Sonia extended her gracious hospitality and we felt as if we had known her for years. Conversation came easily and we were of like minds on many issues. Sonia is a great raconteur and we were enthralled by her wonderful stories and experiences, which she shared freely with us. There was not one boring moment, and when our visit ended Thursday morning, it was with great reluctance that we said our "so longs."

To be perfectly honest, I was a tiny bit jealous when Arnold finagled his way into Sonia's heart and rapidly became her favourite by doing a few meaningless and trivial chores. Just because he was able to fix her toilet after a professional plumber failed to do so, and just because he made her telephone easier to use, and just because he folded up the convertible sofa and picked up her newspapers, and just because he made himself generally available and handy, I found myself relegated to the bottom of the heap. Can you imagine how I felt being made into the norchshlepper? I tell you, it was not pretty. Frankly, he's pulled this same dirty trick before when he offered to take out the garbage for my father. However, that is a different story.

All kidding aside, Sonia treated us beautifully and we were sincerely sorry to see our visit come to and end so quickly. I told Sonia that since she was such an excellent host I was going to recommend that other Megillah subscribers should feel free to drop by and visit her. She promptly informed me that she was leaving for an undisclosed location in Florida and, sadly, she would be unavailable to open her bed and breakfast facilities at this time. Oh well, at least I tried.

Our final stop before heading home to Montreal was a visit with Evelyn and Seth Levin in New York City. Evelyn is one our regular Megillah columnists, whose essays and ideas help make the Monthly Megillah an interesting and informative publication. As was the case with Sonia, this was our first meeting with Evelyn and Seth and we also felt at home with them immediately.

Their apartment has a wonderful view overlooking the East River with a terrace that is the size of most backyards. The terrace offers ample space to enjoy the view as well as provide an exercise area for their two dogs Lulu and Daisy.

When we got off the elevator at the 18th floor, Lulu and Daisy came running down the hall to greet us enthusiastically with wiggles and kisses. Rosco, our pug, would have been so jealous.

We spent a lovely afternoon and evening getting to know each other. We toasted our new friendship while enjoying a scrumptious dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant. Apparently, Evelyn and Seth are favourites of the owners because they treated us like visiting royalty as soon as we walked in the door. After dinner we went back up to their beautiful apartment where we said goodbye to Lulu and Daisy, picked up the two dozen New York bagels (there is nothing like them anywhere) Evelyn bought for us and elicited a promise from them to come up and visit us in Montreal soon.

I am happy to report, by the way, that the sun finally did show itself on this last day of our trip. We had beautiful weather from the moment we left Sonia's house until we arrived at our own front door. Although we are once again having precipitation, it is now taking the form of snow rather than rain.

Arnold and I are happy to be home and we will treasure the friendships and memories we acquired during our time away. Now that we are back at work, we are happy to present this Chanukah edition of the Gantseh Megillah.

We welcome our new writer, Dr. Marvin Blauer, who is a consultant and social commentator in Ottawa, Canada. In his monthly column, “Farshteinen,” Marvin will offer commentary on current events and political issues of interest to the Jewish community. Marvin has written an excellent introduction to his first column, which explains the concept behind "Farshteinen" in his own words. I have no doubt his comments will be thought provoking and worthy of discussion. Feel free to contribute your thoughts on "Farshteinen" or anything else you read in the Megillah by writing to Yiddishkeit@pass.to . Don't forget, you are also invited to post your thoughts in the Megillah Forum.

Last month, we asked the question: "Do you believe the Israeli government's current actions in the Palestinian territories are leading towards a peaceful settlement?"

Here are the results:
Yes- 20
No- 55
Not Sure- 22

Thank you to everyone who participated in this survey. In the future, we hope to continue take the pulse of our members on specific issues of interest to our community.

In closing, I want to remind everyone that although there is no charge for a subscription, we need and appreciate voluntary contributions to help us maintain the Megillah and the Glossary of Yiddish Words and Expressions. Please consider making a Chanukah gelt gift to the Megillah. This would be a wonderful way to support our work and to help us to defray our costs. Please click here or on the Tzedakeh links below for information on how you may contribute.

Arnold and I wish you and yours a happy, healthy and joyous Chanukah. Much love to all of you,
Michael
Editor