A priest and A rabbi walk into a bar...

I'm almost done teaching the unit on Mexican culture and just yesterday assigned one of my favorite yearly projects. I teach the kids about El Dia de los Muertos and then we build our own ofrenda (an altar of remembrance for departed loved ones) made up of writings and photographs contributed by each child. The students write about a relative or pet who has passed away, or a friend who has moved away, or they talk to a parent and the parent tells them about an ancestor. Over the years that I've given the assignment I've found some of the student's submissions to be poignant (a grandparent who had lived with the family and taught the child to speak Yiddish), some funny (a pet parakeet that my student accidentally sat on, a great grandparent who patented the machine that imprints the design on oreos), and all very sweet.  So I read the books and gave out the assignment and while I was giving the assignment, my student teacher walked out of the room.  I figured that she was uncomfortable because she is an Orthodox Jew and the holiday has both Pagan and Christian origins (like halloween). Sure enough, when the kids were at p.e. today she said that she wanted to talk about it because it made her uncomfortable and she thought that some of the kids might feel uncomfortable too. I reminded her that we remove any mention of a deity or religious context from the ofrenda and let her know that this is an assignment that every year elicits emails of thanks from families for affording them the context in which to talk with their kids about their families, their feelings, etc.  I told her that in 5 years, only one 2nd grader (all of the second grade teachers do this project) objected for religious reasons (fundamentalist Christian) and that this student was excused from the project by her teacher.....I told her that while specific mention of G-d and religious symbols were removed from the project, that it would be inauthentic to teach about Mexican culture and pretend that it's not a catholic country or that the mix of Roman Catholocism and polytheistic beliefs don't permeate so many aspects of the culture. I told her that she was certainly not required to participate in the project but that in the larger context she needs to figure out how she's going to deal with these issues if she decides to apply for jobs in public schools - because these things come up all the time. She was still pushing back on it and I felt my face getting hot and my blood boiling and... why was I getting so upset?  I've been thinking about it all evening. What buttons of mine was she pushing?  On the one hand there's the piece about the rigidity of her religious practice...it's in part what kept me for so long from connecting myself in a deeper way to Judaism...on the other  hand there's the part of me that always feels like a "bad Jew" in the face of someone who makes it a much bigger priority....maybe it's the way that she tried to play it off like she was concerned about the students (oh yeah, and she said, "I talked to one of my roommates last night and she said it would make her uncomfortable too.") when it turned out to really be about her own beliefs...blah blah blah.  Funny how she didn't have these concerns when a parent came in to make Rosh Hashanah cards with the kids.....Rant Rant Rant Rave Rave Rave...

No News is...

Since my head is buried in the sand most days I seem to be the last to have found out that Out of Town News in Harvard Square  - aka - "the news stand" is closing for good next month. The latest casualty in the endless stream of small and big businesses folding in this scary time. The news really hit me hard. To say that it is a Boston institution (yes, I know that it's in Cambridge but all native Bostonians secretly believe that Cambridge is part of Boston the same way we believe that we have the only good colleges, hospitals, and sports fans) is true but doesn't really cover how significant it is to me. It is the best memories of my adolescence. It is my high school friends calling each other on Saturday mornings and planning our Saturday night in Harvard Square, listening to the street performers before going to Rocky Horror, running out in time to catch the last T home...and always the conversation endedwith...Okay, so I'll meet you at the news stand at 11.  It is my mom and me eating at Grendel's Den (back when the upstairs was the restaurant and had the only decent vegetarian food available - killer salad bar) or catching a movie at the Brattle then thumbing through magazines at the news stand before heading home. In retrospect we probably should have bought some of those magazines, huh?  That was one of the great things about it though. You could stand there for hours reading and no one would think to scoot you along.

I got bitter about it for a few minutes today thinking about the "old" Harvard Square. The HS of Grendel's, the Wurst House, the news stand, etc...before the Gaps and Banana Republics moved in for the duration -  But I remembered that there is still the Brattle standing tall and narrow with its creaky seats and warm stale smell, the Coop with its overpriced Hahvahd paraphanalia and amazing textbooks, and many more holdouts of the tweed and leather elbow patch era.  Yeah, it's still Harvard Square... just with one less friend. 

Sometimes Good is Good

It was a Murphy's law kind of day with dashes of luck thrown in to salvage it. Everyone in the house woke up late and by that I mean I needed to be out the door with Jacob within 5 minutes of waking up. Lucky for me my hair takes 3 days of not being washed before I really start to look like a waif (minus the waifish figure but I'm working on it), so this morning I was able to use the minor sheen of oil that had developed on my scalp overnight to slick it back into what appeared to be a purposeful Robert Palmer-girl ponytail.  At least I'd done all of my lesson plans the night before and baked a quick bread for Jacob's breakfasts.  Getting dressed I realized that my gas tank was on empty and I'd have to stop on my way to fill it. With Jeff's help I got out of the door by 7:20 which I hoped would get me to Jacob's school by 8 and to mine by 8:15. "Whew!" I thought as I drove down the hill, only to to remember that I'd left my wallet on the kitchen counter. No other choice but to turn around since the gas station attendant told me that he doesn't take I.O.Us the last time I left my wallet at home.  The gods were in a benevolent mood though and in Charlton Heston style (cheesy-cool Charlton Heston when he was overacting in epic movies and romacin' the ladies, not scary gun slinging uber republican Charlton Heston) they parted the normally horrid traffic and got me to school with a few minute to spare. Best of all, filling up the gas tank was under $30, down from around $60 this summer.

I was expecting the kids to be more off the wall than usual after the break but they did suprisingly well, worked hard, etc. though they stayed true to form and talked nonstop while they worked.  More mishaps peppered the day but all became well once more when I picked up Jacob from school and got that killer melt-my-heart smile/run into my arms combo. 

G-d help me we watched Rocky VI, aka Rocky Balboa and I liked it...thanks Jason...as good as I and II? Not even close but miles ahead of 4 and 5. Pretty funny when you think about it. Had Sylvester Stallone not botoxed himself back to his 70's visage in real life, they probably could have left well enough alone for the movie - but he didn't so they couldn't - so they had to "re-age" him. 

Shabbat Shalom

In reverse chronological order: SO sweet to have the day off. Jacob is finally asleep...one trip to the bathroom, 3 songs and an extra blanket later...shabbos dinner = leftover turkey, stuffing, etc., recounting the day with Jeff, we discussed of a couple of modern ethical dilemmas... building with blocks, playing with cars....a walk around the neighborhood with olympic class puddle splashing...and the best morning- much love to you Chaddie and Tam and your beautiful children. Last night Jeff's friend Jack said that he knows someone who named their dog Erasmus and it's been milling about in my head... is naming a pet after a Dutch humanist subtle irony or the sign of an attachment disorder? Talk amongst yourselves.  Peace.