I sometimes wonder what my uncle the rabbi would say if he knew I have been unfriended on Facebook by two or three of his brethren.
Would he consider them true colleagues because they were part of different branches of the same tree or look at them differently?
Would he care about that one did so for political differences or that the other did so for reasons never revealed to me?
Would he say we ought to take this time to ask for michilla, forgiveness from each other or to just move on?
I am not sure because I don’t think we ever met, though I suspect I am old enough to have potentially crossed paths with him, assuming he left England to come to the states.
Can’t ask dad or grandpa or any of grandpa’s siblings if they remember meeting their father’s little brother, but I think he went to Israel so I might be able to ask some of the Israeli cousins if they remember.
From what I understand member of this this branch of the family moved from Lithuania to Israel, England, Ireland, South Africa, Russia and the U.S. or so I think it went.
I have to confirm because though I am confident about the countries who went where is a different story and I have recently confirmed that many who didn’t leave never got anywhere courtesy of the forever accursed Nazis.
During my school years there were multiple teachers who required us to write in journals that were sometimes read aloud..
On several occasions I was chastised for not taking it seriously because I would refuse to write or push out a ridiculous story.
I sometimes wonder if those instructors would be pleasantly surprised to read these posts or if they would say I am still pumping out ridiculous content.
Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I pulled out an old rotary phone and dialed 213-987-3413.
Would dad pick up or do I need to pull out the old Smith-Corona and type him a letter.
Would either or both pierce the veil and get beyond the wall? Could I reach my uncle the rabbi and ask him for his opinion on Facebook unfriendings by rabbis.
Maybe I could reach my great-grandfather and have an adult conversation…assuming he recognized me.
Grandpa Wilner said his dad would sometimes call me The General. Wonder if my zaide would salute me if I asked.
Probably not considered cute at this age, but you don’t get if you don’t ask right.
Not that I need or want to be saluted, I really don’t but as someone who is known to push limits it is not ridiculous to think of me asking just because.
****
I stepped outside of my comfort zone and am trying to do a couple of things that could be life changing.
Stepped out and realized I have far less control than I would normally want and thought how this would be the moment to call dad.
Would have asked for the A game answer and gotten a reply of “do your best because it is all you can do.”
I am pretty confident about that so not being able to call him isn’t necessarily problematic, but it would be nice to hear his voice.
Nice to tell him I’ll let him know how it goes and then to do it, but that is not how it works anymore.
Now kids reach out to me and say “Dad, I need your advice” and I give it my best shot.
Wonder what my uncle the rabbi would have said about that but not as much as I wonder about the Wilner men in my direct line.
Maybe because I can picture them all and maybe not.
Trump supporter at the gym asks me for one good reason why people oppose him.
“Do you mean aside from his deteriorating mental state, narcissism and bad polices or his inability to wear a tie at a normal length and incoherent speeches.”
“Um..yeah.”
“He scares people and not in a good way.”
“Obama scared people too.”
“Maybe, but I don’t think he did it like this. But what I am certain about is he didn’t blame every failure on the opposition, actively sow dissent and attack the free press.”
This lead to a deep exhale and 5 minutes of incoherent rambling that was supposed to prove my ignorance and his dominance.
“You have to admit that no other administration has done that.”
“If you had used fact I might have to agree with you but since you refuse all I can say is you better go to the clinic because Trump isn’t wearing a condom and your ass is bleeding now.”
That went over relatively well, better than you might think because I didn’t need my Uncle the Rabbi to tell me to suggest I lift very heavy weights and grunt loudly by the supporter.
He might think my politics are bad but as I told my daughter, he respects my guns.
That went over as well with a teenage girl as you can expect.
****
Been preoccupied with family genealogy on both sides. Been thinking about how many stories I don’t know and might not ever because of horrible things that happened.
Been wondering how many connections I can make with those who have been disconnected and wonder if they want to be connected or are comfortable in disconnection.
Been wondering if the steps I have taken are going to leave me feeling like I disconnected my brain or am a step short of being a genius.
Hard to say without going through the motions to see where they lead.
Thought about it on the way crosstown to see the fraternity brothers who have now become Texans and laughed at some of the questions they asked.
“I don’t know if I have been here long enough to really answer.”
“Do you know anyone who can?”
“Let me ask my uncle the rabbi.”
