Jenni and Mount Tahquitz competing for the lense
The excitement began building the day after returning from Hike-about 11, six weeks ago. To be honest, only one of us felt that way and we are not going to provide any hints. During the period in San Diego, an event and of course, the two adorable grandchildren created another perspective to consider. Last week, the passing of our aunt, Etty Cohen (my late father’s younger sister) was a sad occasion in the lives of many as well as for ourselves. We wrote recently that she lived what we would consider a relatively full and definitely, meaningful life. We use the word ‘relatively’ because we have no standing to make such judgments of length of life.
We remember many attributes of Aunt Etty, but relate two seemingly insignificant stories. When we were no older than 8 or 9, we began to learn the art of telling jokes. Unfortunately, it is not a skill we ever did perfect. Nevertheless, we recall of all the adults we tried to impress with our laugh-a-minute stories, our aunt would listen patiently and above all, laugh each time—we thought her giggles were genuine, too—we still think that.
Making way to peak of boulder as wind teases but boots grip granite well
Editor bridges boulders well—showing-off-skills improving but has a long way still to go
When we were discharged from our military service, while we waited for the university year to commence, we had a temporary job with the company owned by Uncle Ben and of course, Aunt Etty. One day she caught us slacking. She took us aside and explained the facts of life firmly and clearly, no holds barred. Guess who felt a tiny, insignificant boy at the time. Trooper Lazarow had just endured 9 months of being told off so he was not happy to hear it again, this time from a very important person. However, we realized soon thereafter that Aunt Etty was expecting us to work diligently to realize our potential. It’s a lesson we try not forget. Rest in peace!
Back to the trails. Hike-about 12 is quite complex. It involves travel in 4 countries for the obvious purpose of hiking up mountains, in particular. Our first goal is Seattle, where our son Gavin lives. It is from that city we intend flying to Europe. In the meantime, we will undertake hiking as we move north over the next month, the first set of activities to take place in Idyllwild, Southern California. Speaking of which, as an opener, we hiked over 7 miles and gained 2,000 feet altitude to reach more than 7,000 feet. The destination, Suicide Rock, may not be a desirable name but it sure got the old bones and muscles excited.
Looking south into and across the valley
One more thing about Aunt Etty. Dallas, the city in which she lived for the last thirty-odd years, sits on clay deposits. The clay is terrible to touch or stand upon—it attaches to the shoes and then just ‘grows’. Each step in the material adds a couple of inches to one’s height. When we buried our aunt, a few of us remained behind to fill the grave completely. It meant we had to get into the thick of the soil with the result that our shoes were mired in mud. Having arrived back in San Diego, on the way to shul that Friday evening, we noticed no matter how much we had tried to rid our shoes of the clay, some remained on the sole. We paused for a moment, realizing this seemingly negative occurrence amounted to an uplifting experience. Some of the covering from her grave was attached to our feet via the shoes. Suddenly, the clay did not seem too bad after all.
Time for a break but calling for a rope
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
Anything but idle in Idyllwild today
Stan's joke book now available at Suicide Rock as well as OC Kosher...did you hear the one about?
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