So, today is my younger daughter’s birthday. But, for almost a decade, she was my youngest child. Until a surprise child arrived when she was almost 8 years old.
Out of the brood, Shira was the only one of the bunch that returned (and still has remained) living in Charlottesville. And, she’s been there forever. Thankfully, child care and cosmetology are in high demand there- so she’s holding her own. (OK- the pandemic wrought havoc on those professions.)
Growing up, Shira had to cope with two sets of parents. Each pair had their own, very different rules and standards- guided only by their love for her. Even as confusing as it was, Shira was able to pick up special things from each of them, coalescing them into her life’s patterns.
Which brings up one of Shira’s most highly prized traits. Typifying the pithy verses of the Talmud, she followed the learnings of the first rabbis- Masechet Pirkei Avot. (The tractate of the Ethics of the Fathers.)
?איזה הוא חכם? הלומד מבל אדם. Aize hoo chacham, halomed mi kal adam. Who is wise? One who learns from all people and things. That’s Shira in a nutshell. (Her traits of independence and curiosity certainly supported this.)
Shira expanded her horizons. While she may still live in Charlottesville (which the New York Times once characterized as “that quaint little Southern town, 100 miles and a century away from Washington DC. [And, Washington DC is a century away from New York City.]), Shira has traveled the US and the globe. Moreover, she still follows the beat of her own drum. (OK, I am sure she also pays attention to Chris’ rumble, too.)
What’s cool for Shira is that her birthday is NOT on Rosh Hashana or Yom Kipur this year. Those holidays won’t appear on the calendar for a few weeks yet. (Note that the Jewish holidays are always on the same date on the Hebrew calendar- it’s just how those dates synchronize with the secular calendar that makes them appear late or early.)
One of the fun facts in Shira’s life is that years ago, Yitzchak Rabin and Yasser Arafat signed an agreement to develop peace in the Mideast on her birthday. Where the heretofore terrorist group (Al Fatah, which now has a political arm, the PLO- the Palestinian Liberation Organization) would serve as the initial leadership for an independent nation in the West Bank and Gaza. Unfortunately not much else happened in the Middle East to bring peace- although there have been ‘sightings’ of peace breakouts among the Arab nations of the Middle East and Israel.
Maybe in your lifetime there will be peace in the Middle East.
And, on a more sour note, more than a decade before Shira was born, Milton Friedman corrupted the business morality of corporations. When he published his manifesto abrogating the social compact between corporations and employees or communities in the New York Times. (Here’s ONE of my complaints about this corporate failing.)
Happy birthday, my sweet song. I love you.
