Abraham's Son, Chapter 23

INT. IKE'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

It is a little before 10 PM.  IKE is sleeping.  ABRAHAM hovers over him, loving him, but counting the seconds until the appointed time when he can enter his bedroom.  Finally, it is 10 PM.  ABRAHAM walks to his bedroom and opens door.

INT. ABRAHAM'S BEDROOM - NIGHT

ABRAHAM enters his bedroom.  He sees a surreal image, with sparkling dark blue lights, an unearthly form, like in a dream.  But it is HELEN.  He remembers her smile.  It is definitely her.  He is convinced.  He wants to hug and kiss her, but she is not flesh and blood.  He gets as close to her as possible.  Tears come to his eyes.  

ABRAHAM:  HELEN, do you know me?

HELEN:  How can I ever forget you, ABRAHAM?  When I can, I remember you.

ABRAHAM:  I love you, HELEN.

HELEN:  I loved you.

ABRAHAM:  Do you still love me?

HELEN:  I loved you.  I know I did.  Everything is in the past.  There is no present, no future.

ABRAHAM:  What is it like to be dead?

HELEN:  For me, there was much pain dying.  I was in agony.  But, then it stopped.  Everything stopped.  There was a calmness...I could rest.  Mostly, I rest.  Sometimes, I can remember the past...like when we met.

ABRAHAM:  I remember that day.

HELEN:  I was sitting on a bench on campus reading a book and you came up to me and asked my name.  I remembered you from class and I had liked the way you looked.  

ABRAHAM:  Yes and you told me your name right away and I sat down and we started talking.

HELEN:  And then we went to have coffee and talked for a long time.  On my way home I could think of nothing but the sound of your voice.  I longed to see you again.  I loved you from the very beginning, ABRAHAM.

ABRAHAM:  Me, too.  Don't I look old, much older than when...

HELEN:  I don't see the physical, but I see your spirit and it is the same as when I was alive.  

ABRAHAM:  What about our baby?

HELEN:  I care for our baby.  But, we both rest a lot.  It is good to rest.

ABRAHAM:  Do you know about ISAAC or IKE as I call him?

HELEN:  He is yours, not mine.  Our baby died.  It stays with me.  

ABRAHAM:  Are you angry about my having IKE?

HELEN:  I am no longer angry about anything.  That is a good thing.

ABRAHAM and HELEN continue talking until 11 PM at which time her image disappears.  It takes him a long time before he can sleep.  He keeps thinking of HELEN and every word of their conversation.  Then he watches TCM until he is exhausted and falls asleep in his chair with the TV still on.

Palestinian Arab State

In February 1947, the British government announced their intention to terminate their mandate over the Palestinian territory it inherited from the League of Nations after World War I.  Arabs and Jews who lived there were fighting each other and the British army that had been occupying the area for 30 years.

The British turned the problem of what would become of Palestine once the British army left over to the United Nations.  In May 1947, the UN established a commission to decide the fate of Palestine.

The chief problem the commission would have to decide related to the competing visions of the two sides, Arabs and Jews.  Each wanted Palestine for themselves.

In August 1947, the commission announced its decision.  It called for a partition of Palestine between a Jewish state (Israel) and a Palestinian Arab state.

33 countries (including Brazil and the USA) or 72% of the member states involved in the commission approved the partition plan.  

The Jews reluctantly accepted the partition plan.  The Arabs rejected the partition plan.  

Not getting the 100 % (of Palestine) that they wanted, the Palestinian Arabs lost an opportunity for their own state.

A few weeks after the UN commission released its report, Azzam Pasha, the General Secretary of the Arab League, told an Egyptian newspaper "Personally I hope the Jews do not force us into this war because it will be a war of elimination and it will be a dangerous massacre which history will record similarly to the Mongol massacre or the wars of the Crusades.  We will sweep them [the Jews] into the (Mediterranean) sea." 

The Palestinian Arabs did not intend merely to prevent partition but would continue fighting until the Zionists were annihilated.  They opposed the very idea of partition.  

When the British Mandate of Palestine expired on 14 May 1948, and with the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel, the surrounding Arab states—Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Syria—invaded what had just ceased to be Mandatory Palestine, and immediately attacked Israeli forces and several Jewish settlements.

In 1949, after a year of hostilities, Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria.  They formally ended the fighting and demarcated the Green Line, which separated Arab-controlled territory from Israel.  

The Arab controlled territory did not become the Palestinian Arab state as promised by the UN commission.  Instead, it was divided between Jordan and Egypt.  If the Palestinian Arabs had only accepted the partition plan...

Ellis Island

Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York.  It is in Upper New York Bay, east of Liberty State Park and north of Liberty Island.

The federal government assumed control of immigration in 1890 and commissioned a study to determine the best place for the new immigration station in New York Harbor.  It was eventually decided to build the station on Ellis Island.

The first immigration station opened on Ellis Island on January 1, 1892 and its first immigrant was Annie Moore, a 17-year-old girl from Cork, Ireland, who was traveling to meet her parents in the U.S.  On the first day, almost 700 immigrants passed over the docks from ships arriving in New York.  

Over the next year, over 400,000 immigrants were processed at the station. The processing procedure included a series of medical and mental inspection lines, and through this process, some 1% of potential immigrants were deported.

Additional building improvements took place on Ellis Island throughout the mid-1890s.  Over the next five years of operation, the station processed 1.5 million immigrants.

With the passing of the Emergency Quota Act of 1921, the number of immigrants being allowed into the United States declined greatly, ending the era of mass immigration.  Following the Immigration Act of 1924, strict immigration quotas were enacted, and Ellis Island was downgraded from a primary inspection center to an immigrant-detention center, hosting only those that were to be detained or deported.

By 1947, shortly after the end of World War II, there were proposals to close Ellis Island due to the massive expenses needed for the upkeep of a relatively small detention center.  Ellis Island closed on November 12, 1954 (69 years ago today), with the departure of its last detainee, Norwegian merchant seaman Arne Pettersen, who had been arrested for overstaying his shore leave.

By the time Ellis Island's immigration station closed, almost 12 million immigrants had been processed by the U.S. Bureau of Immigration.  My grandparents were among the 12 million.  

The Terminator

The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film written and directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. The Terminator's assignment is to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was born in Austria in 1947.  Before becoming an actor, he was a seven time world champion body builder.  Arnold was elected as governor of California, serving from 2003 to 2011.

The Terminator arrives in Los Angeles and starts to systematically kill women with the name Sarah Connor.  He finds them in the phone book, but they are all the wrong one.

Eventually, the Terminator locates the right Sarah Connor at a night club and pursues her in a stolen police car.  She is arrested after an altercation with the Terminator and taken to a police station.

The Terminator follows her there.  He enters the station and approaches a policeman.

The Terminator:  I'm a friend of Sarah Connor.  I was told she was here.  Can I see her please?

Policeman:  No.  You can't see her.  She's making a statement.  

The Terminator:  Where is she?

Policeman:  Look, it may take a while.  If you want to wait, you can take a seat over there.

After surveying the area, the Terminator delivers this iconic line of dialogue:  "I'll be back."  And indeed he does, in a car smashing his way into the police station.

Interestingly, Schwarzenegger argued with Cameron that the Terminator should say, "I will be back."  Cameron, as the director, insisted on "I'll be back" and he was proven right.  

The Terminator topped the United States box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3 million against a modest $6.4 million budget. The film is credited with launching Cameron's movie career and solidifying Schwarzenegger's status as a leading man. 

      

Abraham's Son, Chapter 22

 EXT. PARK NEAR ABRAHAM'S HOUSE - DAY

ABRAHAM pushes IKE's stroller, accompanied by LIZ.  After reaching playground at park, ABRAHAM removes IKE from STROLLER, hugs and kisses him and then IKE and LIZ go to play.  ABRAHAM sits on same bench as the day before.  He nervously looks for MESSENGER in all directions.  At first he thinks he won't show which relieves ABRAHAM.  Suddenly MESSENGER appears next to him on the bench making ABRAHAM nervous.

MESSENGER:  Did you like the game last night?

ABRAHAM:  Amazing!

MESSENGER:  Well, are you convinced I am a MESSENGER from God?

ABRAHAM hesitates.

ABRAHAM:  Almost...could have been a coincidence.  

MESSENGER:  This is getting ridiculous.  I or I should say God did what you wanted and you still don't believe.

ABRAHAM:  Well, I've been thinking.  I know something that will prove 100% that you are who you say you are.  

MESSENGER:  I'm listening.

ABRAHAM:  HELEN, my...

MESSENGER:  You want to see your wife.  I get it.  Okay.  Good idea.  I...or God can arrange that.  But it is a serious decision on your part.  There will be consequences in order to arrange it.

ABRAHAM:  What consequences?

MESSENGER:  You want to see HELEN or not?  Make up your mind...now.

ABRAHAM:  What exactly are you offering?

MESSENGER:  At 10 PM tonight, you will walk into your bedroom and she will be there.  You will have one hour with her.  She's not flesh and blood, but you will be able to communicate with her.  HELEN will be as she was...the same age as when she died.  That's the deal, take it...with consequences...or leave it.

ABRAHAM:  You are promising I will have one hour with HELEN?  

MESSENGER:  Yes.

ABRAHAM:  I agree.

MESSENGER:  There will be no backing out now.  I will see you tomorrow here again at the same time.  Until then.

MESSENGER gets up and walks away.

Bar Mitzvah

Last Saturday, October 14, 2023, my younger grandson, Leo Gerstein, celebrated his bar mitzvah at a temple in New York City.  So, what is a bar mitzvah?  

A bar mitzvah is a coming-of-age ritual in Judaism. According to Jewish law, before children reach a certain age, their parents are responsible for their child's actions. Once Jewish children reach that age, they are said to "become" b'nai mitzvah, at which point they begin to be held accountable for their own actions. 

Of course, Cristina and I travelled to New York to be at Leo's bar mitzvah along with many members of our family and friends of the family.  Leo's performance was amazing.  We are all very proud of him.  

We left Sao Paulo on Monday the 9th, arriving in New York by plane on Tuesday the 10th.  We had dinner that night at Leo's home on East 86th Street along with my daughter Rachel, her mother Bonita, my son-in-law Mike, my grandson Nate, my niece Lauren and her husband Alex and daughter Adeline.

On Wednesday the 11th, we spent much of the day with my friend Joe.   That included both breakfast and lunch plus a trip to the Apple Store at Grand Central Station.

On Thursday the 12th, I hosted a dinner at Gallagher's Steak House for my children (Rachel and Bret), their spouses (Mike and Pam) and my grandchildren (Nate and Leo).  Cristina and I shared a delicious 14 oz. filet mignon.

On Friday the 13th, we had bagels with smoked salmon, cream cheese and tomato at Tal's on East 86th Street.  We also had dinner at Leo's followed by Friday night services at the temple. 

On Sunday the 15th, we had a brunch again at Leo's followed by veal dinners at the Back Room on East 92nd Street.  We were there last year and wanted very much to return.

On Monday the 16th, we shopped for clothes at Old Navy on East 86th Street and bought a book (Somebody's Fool by Richard Russo) at the new Barnes & Noble location on Third Avenue.

On Tuesday the 17th, the Carmel taxi service took us to JFK airport for our trip home.  We arrived safely in Brazil on Wednesday the 18th.   

Don Larsen

 Don Larsen was born August 7, 1929 (exactly 16 years before me) in Michigan City, Indiana.  However, he grew up in San Diego, California where he excelled playing baseball and basketball.

In 1947, Larsen signed a contract to play professional baseball with a minor league team affiliated with the St. Louis Browns of the American League.  He made his Major League debut in 1953 with the Browns.  In 1954, the Browns relocated to Baltimore to become the Orioles.

At the end of the 1954 season, Larsen was traded to the New York Yankees.  In the first part of the 1955 season, he played for the Yankee minor league affiliate in Denver.  However, Larsen, after returning to New York, pitched well, winning nine of eleven games.

In 1956, Larsen pitched really well, winning eleven out of sixteen games, especially at the end of the regular season.  That included a shutout victory against his former team, the Orioles.

On October 8, 1956 (67 years ago today), Larsen was chosen to be the starting pitcher for the Yankees in game 5 (at Yankee Stadium) of the World Series against the Brooklyn (now the Los Angeles) Dodgers.  The best of seven series was tied 2-2.

Mickey Mantle hit a home run in the fourth inning off Dodger pitcher Sal Maglie (whom I met as a child at a Little League banquet in Oswego, NY).  The Yankees scored a second run in the sixth inning on a single by Hank Bauer.  

One of the beautiful things about baseball is that there is no clock.  You must get the opposition to make 27 outs (3 outs in each of 9 innings).  To get the 27 outs in only 27 batters (the minimum) is a perfect game, a rarity in baseball.  

On that memorable day, 67 years ago, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in World Series history.  He finished the game striking out Dale Mitchell, the twenty-seventh and final batter.  

Two days later, the Yankees defeated the Dodgers in game 7 and won the 1956 World Series.  Six years later, Larsen pitched for the San Francisco Giants and helped defeat the Yankees in game 4 of the World Series (at that same Yankee Stadium).  

Don Larsen died January 1, 2020 as a result of cancer.  He was ninety years old.

_________

Next post will be Sunday, October 22, 2023.