And in the evening, someone set up a laptop and I was there in Manhattan, watching Dov and Connie arrive from Vancouver, joining in the brochas over the candles (that's the picture I should have taken; it was lovely) and then virtually (meaning of that word has changed btw) sitting at the dinner table.
The conversation was a lot more lively than this snap of my screen looks (I show up as the ghostly bit up in the corner.) The kids will take all this for granted, but I'll never cease being amazed at what a world we live in. No problem that I couldn't actually eat -- I don't really like latkes anyhow.
Immigrants of the past from any nation--English scofflaws on the move from the Yorkshire assizes, Scots and Ulster Irish looking for a better life, and Germans fleeing the Kaiser's conscription, in my own case--would marvel at how easy it is to stay in touch today. I'm just old enough not to take it for granted. Thanks for sharing your sense of wonder--as always.
ReplyDeleteI had an uncle who deserted the Austrian army -- that was well before World War One -- my cousin said he lived always looking over his shoulder.
ReplyDeleteInteresting about your uncle. In my case, it's probably true that I inherit the family tendency to mild paranoia from several strains. The most poignant case was probably my paternal grandfather (the descendant of those Yorkshire scofflaws), who changed his embarrassing middle name in midlife without going through the usual legal channels, and forever after was convinced that the police were going to come and collar him for it. Poor man.
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