Look at it this way. At least we learned how to make hamantashen.

The recipe's on the back page of  the book I finished yesterday, Cakes and Miracles: A Purim Tale written by Barbara Diamond Goldin and illustrated by Erika Weihs (ISBN 067083047X). It's the story of a blind boy named Hershel who wants to help his mom with the baking for Purim (and hamantashen, singular hamantash, are basically small fruit-stuffed cookies served by the boatload for this Jewish holiday celebrated based on the events in the Old Testament book of Esther), but because he's blind his mom only lets him fetch the water and bring in the kindling. For why even though that's got to be done it's also seen as demeaning, see the ninth chapter of Joshua, also Old Testament.


Hershel prays his bedtime prayer and then prays to be able to see and to help his mother. An angel comes to him and tells him to make what he sees when he closes his eyes, and the next day after returning home from synagogue where the story of Esther is recited (and every time the chief villain Haman's name is read, the children break out noisemakers and make incredible noises with them) he prays, he gets to bed, and he can't sleep. So he goes to the kitchen and starts making hamantashen with his eyes closed in the shapes he's seen in his dreams; his mom sees this, acknowledges the miracle, and after they make the hamantashen for Purim and sell out quickly, they celebrate!


Good book, quick (for me, anyway) read. And while I may not be making hamantashen any time soon, I am being more thoughtful -- I hope -- remembering people's birthdays and honoring them. Before reporting to work this morning I stopped at our church and gave Pastor Janet whose birthday was yesterday an illustrated book commemorating the 350th anniversary of the Passion Play performed every ten years in Oberammergau, Germany (so would 1984 have been its 35th anniversary, since it's performed every ten years?) with text side by side in German and English. While I was there some cracks were being sealed in the sidewalk.


And believe it or not, conversation in a church is not just about the Bible! Topics ranged from napkins that smelled (smelt?) like lutefisk to a reproduction of the first Honda sold in the United States that Pastor Gerald barely fit into (I saw the picture) and the feasibility of wearing a man bun (think hair). I don't think I would ever let mine grow long enough for that, but Jeffrey may be willing to try anything once! Sarah finished her state standardized testing yesterday and today got to bring junk food to eat in class while they're watching Monsters, Inc. Again, I don't remember getting to do this as a kid in school!


But there's some other things I'm sure I got to do in school that are on the no-no list now,

David