B"H
the Megillah to be followed by the celebration at a neighborhood
banquet hall. Whilst conte mplating whether to look for a mornin g
minyan and Megillah reading; Brrinnng, the cell phone ringing; a
call from the kashrus supervisor. He's asking me to go immediately
to a job location and stand in for the regular masghgiach, in the
restaurant where I had already worked in that capacity on one
earlier occasion. No time to think; this fits nicely into the Im2
swirl of soul essence. Earning a livelihood is a standard of life
style to which I had developed sincere levels of commitment
having had to support a fa mily of seven as the sole breadwinner.
We must slide the gearshift into second.
On the road to anywhere, I debark from the bus in downtow n
Safrascity. So mething new that I have never seen, I am greeted b y
a tremendous parade, exorbitant fanfare by the residentia l
community of Asian American dwellers. It's New Year for the m
and the storeowners have emptied their insides, ou t, and the streets
are decorated with tables. I am early and mull around as I approac h
the address where the observant Jewish patrons based their kosher
restaurant: tangential spheres of a time warp have enveloped my
presence. Seventy-six trombones hit the big parade, and there I
AM walking through the crowds like the band leader; stoking the
air with my imagined baton, raising my knees high and delighted
to participate in the festivities on the inception of the Year of the
Tiger, according to the Chinese c alendar.
I feel apprehensive of the tumult that is breathing down my
neck, traces of raucous I left behind during the Purim night.
Running to anywhere, I arrived to my work place at least an hour
ahead of time, so I had time to partake of the festivities, in need
of some external identification that could connect me to the scene .
I once saw a film clip how people in the Far East gather in parks
for daily exercise, so I made a point of parading my Tai Chai skills
to the music fro m the quartet assembled - along the way, to
somewhere, some day. In this spirit, was my day made; no thought
of worry for existential survival, my soul essence elated in the
mo ment of acting happy. No thugs are going to beat me up in a
kosher restaurant, that's for sure! I had thereafter sat down to a
coffee while I took notice of the strange goings -on next door to
the restaurant. A busy neighborhood, but an e mpty storefront,
hmm. I co mmented to my brain on the wonderment of how
deliveries were being made to an e mpty storefront, how a nybod y
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