It's shofar madness

 I woke up in time to finish the load of laundry I'd started the day before, all underwear and socks. It took all but one of my hangers to hang everything up. 

Then I left here with 10-12 pounds of books hanging off of each handlebar, rode to the post office where I dropped off 4 small packages, then to the bank where I deposited my pay check and got *another* cashier's check for $750. 

Then over to the temple where I handed in the check and my filled-out form. That takes care of my dear maternal grandmother, who paid to get my eyes fixed. There are in fact two places on the big panels of plaques where there are two blank places next to each other; one to the left of the entry to the actual temple, and one to the right where they'd be right behind whoever is manning the desk when we sign in. I was told that place I picked first might be wanted by someone who reserved but who hasn't paid yet. so they're going to be asked if they're serious or something, and I said I'm not picky about which place, just as long as the names are next to each other, just as they were in their lives. This last decision by email as I just went from Shabbat-mode to the real world again and checked my email. 

The administrator lady is so nice! In fact, when I went to the Hitkansut thing, I got a nice pen from there and I'm going to bring it in and give it to her. 

So, plaques taken care of and my bank account $1520.00 lighter, I rode away with a song in my heart etc. Over to the used book store where I got about $15 in trade for my books, and I bought two books, "Diaspora Blues" by Clive Sinclair which I read today, and one about the Jewish chicken farmers of Petaluma, which I got about halfway through - also a gem. 

I went over to Whole Foods and got two hard-boiled eggs, some shredded Parmesan cheese, some Kalamata olives, and glued it all together with some ranch dressing. There were two guys playing chess at one of the tables outside which astonished me. 

First, I've only ONCE seen anyone play chess in this town, and when I lived in "Red" areas, playing chess could get you kicked out of a place, even forbidden from coming back. Tool of the Devil or some shit I guess. And here they were, a skinny white guy and a plump black guy, very seriously playing chess. 

After eating I walked to the bus stop that's right there and like something out of a movie, a bus came right up. I had a few hours to kill before the Friday night service and I had a plan. The plan started when I realized I didn't have my lip balm. I'd probably lost it somewhere. Since it seemed like every music store sells something called "Chop Saver", I figured I'd ride up to West Valley Music, get some, and maybe see if they had the Yamaha Bobby Shew Jazz mouthpiece. Plus it was hot as blazes and on the bus I'd be cool. 

So we putted along, the #22 stopping at all the stops, and at one point a Hispanic guy with his little daughter got on and the bus driver, a big black guy with long braids, kept calling to the guy to go get his little daughter's hat. The guy was out there on the sidewalk, torn between going back for the hat but then he'd miss the bus - he was sure the driver was going to take off without him, and I guess they really needed to be somewhere. But I could tell the driver was serious when he said he'd wait for the guy, so I dashed out, the driver pointed the hat out to me, lying in an intersection, and I ran, I was actually able to run a bit, and got the hat. It was a nice hat and much-needed on such a hot day, and the guy was really thankful. 

I got off at the stop by West Valley Music and went in. Did they have Chop Saver? No, they were out. Did they have the Bobby Shew Jazz mouthpiece? No. Did they have any ... uhh, used cornets? They had a Getzen... 

The brass instruments are in a locked room because they don't dare risk them being seen, as they'll get their windows broken. That's how things are now. The cornet was .... unplayable. 1st and 3rd valved immobile, and it was from the age when Getzen attached all kinds of extra bits of metal to their instruments to make them look cool or something. And, I remembered, I want a cornet with a shepherd's crook. So I put the smelly thing back in its box and went back to the corner and bought an almost-$10 bottle of Yamaha valve oil. 

I took the bus back to Sunnyvale, and this ride was kind of fun. The A/C was on so it was cool, and the guy sitting ahead of me looked just like a young Marlon Brando, before Brando got his nose busted. The shape of the head, the hair, the heavy brow, everything. I kept marveling at this guy and we got off at the same stop so I was able to see that he was not terribly tall, and even had that little tummy Brando was prone to. We walked opposite ways once we stepped off the bus. 

I went into, first, the Walgreens there on Sunnyvale Road, to get a lip balm. They had 'em for as little as $1.50 at the counter. I picked out a Blistex one that was $2 and red. I've been paying a lot for my fancy Blistex ones but this was about the same as far as I could tell, and has a slight bitter cherry flavor to it. So no more expensive ones for me. 

Next I went into Baraka Market - that wonderland of Middle-Eastern things. I was there for a yogurt drink but I looked around the whole store and got a little tub of olives too. 

I was burning up time at a fair rate, so it was nice that the bus stop there is also one for the #522 which only stops as major stops. I rode that to Diridon, and walked back to Whole Foods. I drank the yogurt drink and washed out the bottle, and gave them the bottle as I said I would, so they can look into whether to stock it. The stuff's Kosher, Halal, locally made, doesn't have rBST, it pretty much ticks all the boxes, so since Whole Foods seems to be big on California/local products, maybe they'll start stocking it. 

Now it was time to ride to the temple. I still had the books the book store didn't want hanging from the bike handlebars, and I stopped in front of a coffee shop on The Alameda to just kind of leave them there. Some coffee shops are big on having a book case full of books. 

I got to the temple and that same cop was there. This time he had an SUV instead of a cruiser, and he was standing beside it. The guy's like a foot taller than me. I told him about a couple of survivalist writers he should check out, Farfal and Selco, and we talked about various other noted survivalists for a bit. 

Philip, the trumpet player, was there and I went out to the bike and got my "old" shofar out and went in and gave it to him. I said I've upgraded a bit and I'd told him I'd give him my old one. 

We ended up sitting on the same bench during the service, and we did our stuff, sang the cowboy songs, etc. I still need glasses, for which Philip recommends going to a temple member, Dr. Gold in Sunnyvale but his Google reviews are a bit off-putting. But I'm starting to learn some of the lyrics by osmosis, and when in doubt, la-la-la. 

Afterward it was wine and bread and nosh in general. So much sweet stuff! I always go for some hummus, for research purposes, and this time there were nice greasy fried pita chips to eat the hummus with. 

I've also learned about Philip that he has a job, some kind of administrative assistant for a few doctors, for the County or something. "Woww, you need connections to get a job that good!" I gushed. He said a lot of people don't think that, because they keep quitting. So while Philip might not be "stony broke" he's probably paying a high Silicon Valley rent, or even if given a house, Silicon Valley property taxes and utilities. Or he may be taking care of a parent or relative, or something. The thing is, even with a good job, it's possible to be on a very short financial string around here. The guy could be making multiples of what I do, and still not be able to afford buying a shofar, 

Noshing and schmoozing commenced, and I talked about the history of "heavy metal" music with some of the guys, and then it was time to wreak havoc in the gift shop. 

By which I meant, I got 3 books for $5, and then it got more fun. The people manning the place are an older couple and he was really annoying her. So I messed with the shofars. There's the long, Yemenite one which I made some horrible sounds on, to distract him from annoying her. And there was the other short one which looks a lot better than the one I'd just given to Philip, but I'd decided didn't play very easily. I tried it again and it played just fine. And it was $49. So  I bought it. 

The lady's husband turns out to have been an electrician. "A sparky, eh?" I said. I told him about all the crazy stuff we sell around here, like giant transmitting tubes that have to travel in custom-made boxes, giant capacitors, etc. 

The ride home was the best kind, uneventful. I got back in here and after some Ebay administration, after all what Ken pays me for, I fixed up my go-to Shabbat dinner, "rolls". What I do is, buy sliced roast beef and roll the slices up into rolls, which I put in a container. I just mix up some horseradish, got out some celery that was "free-fifty" from behind H Mart, some other goodies, and of course, wine. Lit the candles etc. 

It was bloody hot so I got out the new fan I'd bought at Walmart and WTF where's the power cord? I thought, Do I have to stuff this thing with batteries for it to work?? Feh!! I boxed it back up and put it out by the door, let some bum in a homeless camp have it. I got a small fan that's a bit noisy from the loft and set that up. 

I watched another episode of War And Rembrance, and did my best to "get sleepy". I'm not sure what time I went to bed but I woke up at 9 due to my alarm clock, turned on the light, then dozed for a couple more hours. It has been a busy day. 

I then got up and put my bedding away and noticed an AC adapter on the floor. Huh. I opened the door and looked outside, the fan was still out there in its box. My lovable Mexican neighbors were out there hanging out, and no one had bothered it. I took it in and set it up with the AC adapter and it works great. There's simply the option to stuff it with D batteries and run "up to 50 hours" on those. That's an interesting option, as really hot weather often makes for blackouts. And a fan is often necessary to sleep at all. So I've decided this fan is just as much a success as my lovable little alarm clock. And I ought to get some D batteries. 

Once it was 9PM I turned the computer on, caught up with Ebay stuff, checked email (this is when I found out about the other "twin" spaces on the display of plaques) and in general returned to the world after being absorbed in books all day. 

I am not really happy with the shofar I bought from the music store in the Midwest. So I sent them an email asking about returning it, that I don't mind paying a restocking fee, etc. Since they have a very good reputation, I'm pretty sure I'll be able to return it. The thing is, the one I bought last night which I thought of as small, it only slightly smaller, plays a bit better, and is Kosher. There's a little round sticker on it saying so and that it's from Israel. As soon as I got it home I cleaned the sticker and surrounding area with alcohol, and put a round piece of clear material that's used for labeling wires over it to protect it. 

Why oh Why did I buy a shofar from a non-Jewish place, and not in person? Well at least they're nice Midwestern people and I'm sure this will be made right. I can send it back in the same box it came in, and as mentioned I don't mind if they want a restocking fee. I did this with a bike once - when my world came crashing down in the crash of 2007, I bought a new bike from Palo Alto Bicycles and then returned it a week or two later. I was charged 15% but other than that it was no problem. 

There's a thing on Monday night called "Israel '76" that originally I thought, No, I've been doing enough stuff, I'm gonna skip. But Israel's 76th anniversary is not going to come around again, and it's held the the Los Gatos Jewish Center which I'll need to work out how to get to anyway, because I'll have to go to some of the Intro To Judaism classes there. 

So my plan tomorrow is to go there, to do a "dry run" to make sure I can find it, and do my busking in Los Gatos. I've dreamed of busking in Los Gatos from when I first dreamed of busking here in the Bay Area, and given that Willow Glen people tip in $5's, and Los Gatos being even more bougie, it might go pretty well. 

Then on Monday afternoon/evening, it should be old hat to get on the Green light rail with my bike, ride to the end station in Campbell, and then ride over to the place. 

The thing is, and this has been on my mind for years, that I need Judaism to stay sane. This society where everyone is utterly alone is kind of maddening. I've thought many a time, when out on the bike, that for the average working-class person to stay sane, they need some kind of religion, preferably one with a fair number of holidays, like Catholicism. Well, I could never be a Christian, and never set foot in a church until in the Army in Basic Training when we went to a chapel. (Military chaplains are cool as fuck though, no slight on them at all.) 

It's not just standing up and being counted because of all the anti-Semitism and idiocy going on right now, it's that I honestly need Judaism and dare I say, Judaism needs me. Judaism needs Jews. The world needs Jews. 

For years I'd been reading r/collapse on Reddit and such subs. The long and short on there is that we're cooking the Earth and we're all doomed. Lots of anti-natalism, "birthstriking" as they often call it. My viewpoint was that we humans are going to die out and who cares? We don't deserve the Earth. 

But now I am not so gloomy. We humans may have doomed ourselves, but if some of us can make it through the bottleneck, I would like that those who do, are Jews. People who had widespread literacy 1000 years before the printing press. People who have actually made socialism work. People who invented whole new methods of agriculture in their newly-reclaimed land. People who have won the lion's share of Nobel Prizes. 

By the time I am ready to go there, Israel may not be habitable which means I will need serious Judaism to live sanely here, in the Valley Of The Atomized. I need Judaism in all cases. 

I am beginning to understand why my mother never seemed to be happy. 3rd generation American, so no longer speaking Lithuanian or Yiddish or whatever, as is the rule in linguistics. I'll assume also as ignorant of the old culture from Vilna. I see her now as someone who was trying so, so hard to be American. She didn't get along with anyone but now I can see how it would be hard because Hawaii's rotten with Christianity and every white person she'd talk with was probably trying to get her to "Come to Christ". But also she was trying to be American in that, American meant capitalism and Ayn Rand and "If it feels good, do it!". Being American meant not giving a damn about anyone but yourself, not family, not anyone. 

I've come up with a good short description of Americans. Our First Nations people often called white "Wetiko" or "fat stealers" in that, say you're sitting around a communal pot of soup, and one person steals all the fat, the best part, instead of taking only their fair share. This is a good one, but I have a better one: The people who take food out of the mouths of children. 

Taking food out of the mouths of children. This is the Republicans voting against free school lunches, and "lunch debt". This is my parents never missing a meal but we kids being skinny little skeletons. This is my aunt being pissed off as hell when my cousin, the oddly-named Kevil, came to spend the summer at our place in Hawaii, being horrified at how poor and hungry we were, and spending her "fun" money to feed us. When my WASP father ate beef ribs right in front of me, myself not having eaten that day, then put the bones down and left without a word, he was being a pure American. 

This is what I am in opposition to! Every act of kindness is an act of rebellion. 

In other news, I tried the "elite" instant coffee - made in Israel - they sell at Walmart. It's pretty Meh but since I either don't, or hardly ever, drink coffee now I can get by fine just drinking that. I think it just needs cream to taste decent. I've also worked out how to make really good, smooth, hummus. Take Sabra plain hummus, add some tahini and water, stir well, then sprinkle za'atar seasoning on top and olive oil.