Mothers and daughters

During the hubbub of the last couple of weeks we did manage to see one film, “Learning to Drive.” This is a sweet story about a 50-something year old professional named Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) whose husband suddenly leaves her for a younger woman. Being a Manhattanite, Wendy has never had a driver’s license, but now that she is single, she wants to be able to visit her daughter, who lives on a farm in Vermont, and engages Darwan (Ben Kingsley), a driving instructor to teach her to drive. A Sikh Indian, Darwan was a professor in India before being jailed for his religious beliefs. He was able to obtain political asylum in the United States but unable to obtain an academic position.

Perhaps because she is learning so late in life, or perhaps because she is resentful about the cause of her having to acquire this skill, she is not what you would call a willing student or a quick study. While Wendy works to master the rules of the road, Darwan works to master the ways of America and of women as he enters into a marriage arranged by family back home. Although the ending is fairly predictable, it is an interesting journey. The film did not receive terribly high marks on Rotten Tomatoes but we thought it was quite charming and enjoyable.

Wendy’s daughter, Tasha, was played by a young actress we had never seen before, but when the movie ended we said to each other “she is a dead ringer for Meryl Streep.” We watched the credits and found her name is Grace Gummer. That name did not ring any particular bells for us, but it came as no surprise to find that she is the daughter of Don Gummer, an American sculptor, and Meryl Streep. Here are mother and daughter side by side. Meryl Streep’s shoes cannot be easy ones to fill, but we will look forward to seeing more of Grace Gummer.

There is a lot on the news this week about the upcoming visit of Pope Francis. You probably thought I was going to say “about the presidential candidates,” but that is far too serious a topic for me to tackle. This piece by comedian Jim Gaffigan, shown on “CBS Sunday Morning,” really does capture the Pope’s visit well, with warmth and humor.

Enjoy the week as we finally start transitioning into fall.

Love,

Rebecca

That's our girl

We had a wonderful Rosh Hashana. It has been quite a few years since we last spent this holiday in Riverdale, and the synagogue services were every bit as inspiring as I remembered them. The music is a big part of this. Elie Kranzler, the fellow who leads the highlight prayer service, called Mussaf, is a psychiatrist who really could leave his day job and be a cantor (Chazzan), although likely not quite as lucratively. Besides having a magnificent and soulful voice, he has over the years compiled a collection of melodies he uses that are not heard elsewhere, and he often adds to the list. The result is a very long service but one that feels as if it goes by very quickly.

This year, a new addition was the use of the melody from the Leonard Cohen song, “Hallelujah.” He used it in a passage that talks about praising God with the blast of the shofar, the lyre and harp, drum and dance, organ and flute, clanging of cymbals, and resonant trumpets. [It just took me about 15 minutes to find that spot to refresh my memory on the details.] The most wonderful thing about Hebrew Institute of Riverdale is that everyone just joins in, even if they’ve never heard it before. If you are there, it is because you “get” what he is doing. It was wonderful.

A friend who was sitting next to me said “now I know what you will write on your blog tomorrow!” So I hope I have not disappointed her!

But as enjoyable as Rosh Hashana was, this afternoon was really special. Our mail has been piling up and I had in mind to take care of that this afternoon. I added today’s arrivals to the pile, one of which was a large envelope from the Striar Hebrew Academy of Sharon, where our daughters teach and our grandchildren attend school. We opened the envelope and took out a brochure, and there on the cover, standing next to Rabbi Yehudah Potok, the school principal, is our very own Maya! There is just nothing I can write that can tell as much as that picture does.

Enjoy this nice weather we’re having!

Love,

Rebecca

Three disconnected topics

#1. Have you seen this? We received it in some financial magazine and it turns out that there are more extensive versions all over the internet. Perhaps it is true that each of us has a twin out there somewhere.

#2. With all the publicity it has received and my devotion to “The Colbert Report,” you may be wondering why I have not yet written about the newly launched “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Because it is on well past our bedtime, I have only seen the first show. I enjoyed it but he seemed to be working a bit too hard and I don’t see how he could possibly keep up that intensity without driving himself and the rest of us completely nuts. So although it was heartwarming to welcome him back into my life, I will need to reserve the full assessment for a few days. Sorry, Stephen. It would be fair to say that I care too much!

#3. Barry and I did manage to squeeze in a movie this week, “Grandma,” in which Lily Tomlin plays Elle, who, to put it mildly, is a 70-something unconventional woman. She had been briefly married in her 20s and gave birth to a baby girl before realizing she was a lesbian. When the story begins, her long-time partner has recently died.

Although mostly estranged from her daughter, she continues to have a relationship with her college age granddaughter, Sage (played by Julia Garner). The young woman discovers an unintended pregnancy, and the young man who shared in this responsibility is not interested in helping her. So she goes to her grandmother to borrow money.

At this point the plot itself becomes a bit ridiculous, because it is hard to believe that no one can come up with the cash that Sage needs. Among the candidates are a fellow named Karl, played by Sam Elliott, who has a small role as the husband that Elle had abandoned many years before. Karl has had some financial success but remains angry at Elle and refuses to help her granddaughter. After going through everyone Elle knows who might have some financial resources, Sage and Elle are eventually forced to go to the woman who links them, Judy (played by Marcia Gay Harden), a successful businesswoman. In many ways the plot from this point is rather predictable: everyone grows up a bit and recognizes how much they care for and need each other.

Although the story was a bit weak, the actors, particularly Ms. Tomlin, were excellent. It did receive a high score (92%) on Rotten Tomatoes. We had heard and read quite a bit about it, and I am glad we got to see it. Especially since the next few weeks will be far too busy for movies!

So now that I think I am caught up, I just have to get back to all my cooking! I am already running short on freezer space.

Love,

Rebecca

A long hiatus

My last post, on the 19^th of August, ended

If I do not manage to come up for air over the next two weeks, please do not worry about me. Just enjoy the rest of summer!

Other than underestimating the length of the hiatus, I was right on the mark!

After having enjoyed our weeks with Joshua and with Ella, we had a tremendously fulfilling and enjoyable, even if somewhat exhausting, weeks with each of our other granddaughters, Eliana and Maya, back to back during August. I have been busy since we finally came back to New York trying to organize all the pictures and put together photo books for each of them.

Before I begin on the highlights, we came back just in time for my twice yearly visit to Dr. DeAngelis at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. These visits are always on Tuesdays because that is the day she does outpatient follow-up.  I was glad we were able to squeeze this one in before Rosh Hashana so that I could at least have one less thing to worry about, and fortunately the news was good. In fact, she said that the strange “junk” that used to appear in the MRI scans seems to have finally disappeared in this one. Now all that is left is to figure out how to replace the actual part of my brain that was lost during the process so that I could at least remember things a bit more reliably. But I don’t want to sound too greedy or demanding. I think all in all I can say quite definitively that I have indeed been blessed again this year.

Speaking of blessings….our grandchildren are right up at the top of the list. We brought Eliana with us after a weekend in Sharon on August 24^th. We were disappointed to discover that the Haydn Planetarium, which we enjoyed so much with Ella, is currently closed, presumably for renovations. But we had plenty else to keep us busy. Our first point of interest was along the drive from Sharon to New York, Mystic Aquarium. It was raining at first but then the skies cleared so it was a lovely day to be there.

On Tuesday Eliana visited her great grandmother (Barry’s mother, who lives close to us) and then we played games and hung out around the house.

Wednesday we went to see “Aladdin” on Broadway. The same actor has continued in the role of the genie, and he and the show were every bit as fabulous as we had remembered. Eliana thoroughly enjoyed it, and is now asking if we can see Matilda (the show that Ella saw) next summer. We’re hoping there will be more shows for children because by time #3 these are going to get just a bit tired!

On Thursday Eliana wanted to go to Legoland, so we spent a fun morning there before heading over to the American Girl store. Eliana took Isabelle to have her hair done and we had fun watching that.

The next thing we knew it was Friday morning and we headed back to Sharon. Our other daughter and family were away with her husband’s family, so we had a quiet Sabbath lunch with Simmie and crew.

When we had bought the tickets to take Maya to “The Lion King” we had discovered that there was no Wednesday matinee the week she was coming, so we decided to go to the Sunday matinee. That meant we had to get up and on the road bright and early. We stopped at our house, which is on the way, refreshed, and then headed into the City. Maya was completely mesmerized by the show.

On Monday, we went to the Museum of Modern Art because that was the last day they were having some special children’s programming that had been running during the summer. Maya is quite interested in art, and we ended up spending over seven hours there! There were some art projects but the main thing she enjoyed were the elementary school level explanations that could be heard on our cell phones. Each one was about 1 ½ to 2 minutes long, and focused on some of the better known work in the collection, like the Monet Water Lilies and the Van Gogh Starry Night.

We bought her a lovely set of colored pencils like the one we had bought Ella, and when we got home she drew a few pictures. We find it fascinating how well she captured the essence of the two of us.

The next day we went to the Bronx Zoo. Maya and Barry rode the elephants, and on the way out she bought a large stuffed lion that she named, of course, Simba.

On Wednesday, after visiting with Barry’s mother, we headed off for a third visit to American Girl. Maya had Kit and Caroline’s hair done, and to even things with her sister and cousin, she bought a third doll, Maryellen, who is supposed to be a girl from the 1950s.

By Thursday I think we had worn the poor girl out! We went over to the Botanical Gardens but it was quite warm and our little bundle of enthusiasm and energy was fading a bit, so we went home and relaxed, drew, and played games. Friday was another big day, we left early to be able to stop at Mystic Aquarium on our way back to Sharon, and had a great time there.

This is the second year that we have run “Camp Nana/Sabba,” with each of the grandchildren coming to spend time with us doing the things they most like to do, and eating the foods they most like to eat. With another “all clear” signal this week, we hope to be able to continue this tradition for many years to come. In a few years we will add Julia into the mix. Will “The Lion King” still be on Broadway?

May your transitions back to work and school go well and in good health.

Love,

Rebecca