Saturday 4/20! Bar Mitzvah Day!
I definitely slept more than the prior night but was still not perky (the Sangria the night before plus the time zone). I was up well before light and headed out for a long run. I headed south and then west towards Camelback Mountain. In the near dark I could see some moving lights of hikers headlamps.
The Cholla Trailhead had a nice restroom and water fountains.
I knew I could not make it all the way to the top but I ran, jogged and occasionally walked, or scrambled about a third of the way up before it got too steep and rocky. My Nike marathon shoes were especially not well suited to trail hiking. It was fun to be the one running past some hikers in the dawn light.
The sun rising over the mountains to the east was gorgeous.
Here is the spot where the trail was just rock and too steep for me to want to have to descend in my inadequate shoes and without hiking poles.
It is amazing how quickly it gets light (and dark) in Phoenix as the sun comes over or descends behind the mountains.
After descending and refilling my water bottle I ran north and then headed back east. I found a trail that ran along a canal and followed it south for a short distance and then finished off my rectangle.
I saw a few rabbits (they have larger ears than eastern cottontails to help dissipate heat) and some very cute crested Quails.
The quails I saw all over Scottsdale. They ran along the ground quite quickly.
After the run I swam in the pool that I had all to myself….
For breakfast I got just oatmeal and fruit as I knew the post Bar Mitzvah lunch would be filling.
A few birds were feasting nearby 🙂
We had some free time after breakfast for cornhole (Alex won) and ping pong (I won).
There were many lemon trees on the property but all the low hanging fruit was gone. Alex scampered up a tree …..
For the Bar Mitzvah, Alex went with a Bob Dylan look and I with Southwestern lawyer; cowboy boots (bought when I did 2022 Ironman AZ), my alligator belt and bolo tie.
Temple Chai in north Scottsdale was a beautiful large bright building. It was interesting to be celebrating the last Shabbat before Passover in the desert. Passover being about the Jews exile in Egypt, eventual escape by the parting of the Red Sea and then the making of Matzo and the long journey through the desert. And it was very difficult to have to think about all the anti-semitism and strive occurring in the last six months since the Hamas attack and hostage taking.
Caleb plays guitar and sings so his chanting of the Torah portion was much better than the average Bar Mitzvah kid. At the end of the service they gave mention to relatives we had lost including my Dad who was beloved by Caleb and Blake and also Alex’s other grandparents (George and Barb) who died this past year.
Although I have been an atheist/existentialist since before my own Bar Mitzvah I still am culturally and genetically Jewish. I am happy that American Judaism allows for female and gay clergy unlike Catholics, Southern Baptists, Muslims, etc. If it did not I think I would have separated completely from the religion rather than still appreciating its cultural history (and often visiting my sister’s home for Passover or Rosh Hashanah). The ultra-orthodox faction in Israel that keeps Netanyahu in power via their over deserved power in always shaky coalition governments I consider as bad as Jihadist Muslims. The ultra-orthodox (a small minority compared to the secular Jews in the army, medicine , technology, education , etc) refuse to serve in the military yet are happy to accept welfare and government healthcare AND their need for cheap housing for their enormous families is the main driver for the settlements build on the disputed territories over the last 2 decades.
Sorry …. I have always hated Netanyahu (he literally is a criminal but as long as in office he avoids prosecution so he resists giving up power indefinitely). Trump loves him and Putin of course.
After the service there was a nice meal of bagels, etc. in the courtyard. Us easterners huddled in the shade…. It was already past 90 by noon.
After lunch, Alex and I retreated from the heat to our air conditioned hotel room. They worked on some of their final projects for school and I read my Kindle and then napped for a while ( after running, swimming and Bar Mitzvahing I needed to recharge before the party).
The reception was at a hip hotel in Old Town Scottsdale that had a definite 1960s Palm Springs/Vegas vibe.
Cocktails and appetizers were outside. The featured drink was …my favorite…. Espresso Martini!
Lenny has always worked in the movie industry, originally in NYC with United Artists, but he moved to L.A. when I was about 10 so we didn’t get to see him or his daughters L and J (my only first cousins) very often after that.
One summer in college I worked for Lenny’s company (by then he had gone independent) as a gofer and reading hundreds of scripts.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0788558/?ref_=ext_shr_lnk
His main business was distribution of foreign rights for films and every year he traveled to Cannes and other film festivals to market films.
Eventually Lenny produced some independent films directed by James Glickenhaus.
In 1988 I managed to get to Cannes with my parents, sister and grandmother. Shakedown was the featured film that year so Sam Elliot and Peter Weller (who I loved as Buckaroo Banzai) were there to promote.
All of a sudden it was DARK and the party planners told us all to head for the building labeled CALEB for the next phase of the party.
It was a great party. The food, music, vibe was all perfect.
There probably around 50 adults but even more teens! Alex kept saying “they look sooooo young”
Alex and I were surprised to get invited up for a candle lighting. This is a “thing” that didn’t exist when I was young but is now often done at Bar Mitzvahs. There were a lot of people thanked by Caleb and I joked to Alex when we got to the last candle that they were going to roll in another table after that …. 😉
Alex and Caleb are great singers and dancers, somehow it skipped me …
Alex had initially been reluctant to try a Waymo Robot taxi but I really wanted to as Phoenix is one of the few cities they operate in (also SF, LA and Austin). We had seen one on the drive back from the airport. As we saw more and more on our trip Alex came to the dark side.
We both loved it. Nice Jaguar. A little more expensive than Uber but …. No tip …. 😉
They need to remove the steering wheel though and then more people could fit in the vehicle!
I told Alex in less than 10 years there will be no humans driving Ubers or highway trucks. It Will create a huge excess labor supply in the U.S. and disrupt our economy.