... disappearing help, a long-deffered lunch.

In recent months I adopted two plants from the market that looked good and I needed some indoor cheer. I did my best to give them partial sun, and timely watering. They lost their blooms. They dried up. Their dried leaves fell off in the sink, making a mess. I put them outside. They are doing better but don’t look great. They will sink or swim depending on the weather. Maybe artificial plants for the urns that flank our driveway. They have sprouted grass and weeds and look a mess. Numerous efforts to grow flowers in them have failed. I mean to clean them out and try again, but don’t get to it.

A neighbor’s teen-ager mowed our lawn, and came back to make a date to trim bushes. He and Ed settled on the following morning and he was a no-show and did not call. His solution to changing his mind was to disappear. I wonder how that system will work for him as he grows into adulthood.

On Monday a week ago, our alcoholic handyman was supposed to work on our roof gutter, came by, took a piece of gutter pipe with him to get it cut to size and said he would be back with it the next day. Then he called to say he would be here Saturday. Then he called on Monday to say he would do it Tuesday. He was also supposed to mow, but I said the kid had done it. So he didn’t show Tuesday either. He still has our pipe. Ed feels sorry for him. I think we should cut him loose. Besides his excuses really annoy me. I have spared you.

Two days ago I had lunch with our group of legend. They pretended to be critical that I mentioned Nadine by name in the blog, saying I had violated her privacy and soon the thought police would be invading her space. German-born Toni talked through everything I said and was hard to interrupt. She’s a force of nature. We might as well be married. Sonia loves to watch and misses our edgy conversations – her main language is French. She is Armenian, but was raised in Paris. And studied ballet.

Nadine is the catalyst who arranges the lunches but she has been preoccupied with caring for her ailing husband and hasn’t had the strength to do much else. So we were all pleased to be together once more. Nadine and Sonia sat on one side, and Toni and I on the other. Nadine spoke in English mostly, but would switch to French with Sonia from time to time. And I love to hear the language, so that never bothers me. Nadine said she doesn’t consider herself as being from anywhere. She gave us a mini tutorial on being a Jew – and this I didn’t know – being Jewish is a race and is separate from Judaism, which is the religion. Nadine was born in Cairo, Egypt, but says she is, of course, not an Egyptian. They emigrated to French Canada when she was a young girl. She is a Sephardic Jew. As a for instance, she asked if one of us had been born in China, would we consider ourselves Chinese? It’s a whole new subject.

Nadine doesn’t practice Judaism and, like me, considers organized religion to be mostly a perversion of belief, as so many of the devout blithely go around trying to force everyone else to do as they do, because they so definitely know what God wants. If I was God, I’d smite them.

I, of course, identify as a New Yorker. Being female, being Greek, being an American, they are all second. If I hadn’t met New York, I would still be in love with Chicago – but that was a long time ago. They totally understood. And no amount of living in Florida will ever change that. I cried when, in order to qualify for a homestead tax break, we changed our New York drivers’ licenses to Florida. Tears were streaming down my face as we left the DMV.

I am the only American-born member of our little lunch club. I relate instantly to most foreigners. I think it is because my early life was a Greek one and I didn’t meet America till I went to school.
We had Japanese food. I ordered two rolls – tuna with avocado and shrimp with asparagus and had hot green tea. I ate every bit.
That’s all.
xx, Teal