Israeli Lunch

Our friend Lorraine invited us for an Israeli lunch yesterday. She's an attorney working for the Israeli Embassy in New York and for some reason lives here in Jeffersonville, alone with her dogs and cats. She travels to Israel every couple of months to see her family, husband and children. We like to joke that she's a Massad operative, but I guess that's no joke.

Four other people were there. Lorraine served pita and chumus and grilled eggplant, along with a few none-Israeli dishes. It was a lovely lunch and Lorraine, who's been sick lately, looked well and happy.



Most if not all of the people there are Romney supporters and hate Obama. I mentioned the selling points of Obamacare, which to them is anathema. I used myself and my family as an example of why it helps the average middle-class family, and that it will probably save us money. Marty works for a small-midsize company, and their rates won't go up the usual 5% annually. We'll also be able to deduct a higher percentage of medical expenses on our income taxes. Beginning in 2014, I can't be denied coverage for pre-existing conditions. Thank you.

Lorraine is a hoarder, maybe because she lost everything to the Nazis, including her parents. She lived in a death camp as a baby and was adopted by a Belgian Jewish couple after the war. They lived in NYC on the Lower East Side for a number of years. Lorraine emigrated to Israel when she was 14, where she met her husband. She's a character. Her smallish house is filled with multiples of an eclectic melange of products: 25 pounds of rye flour (she makes her own bread), 4 vacuum cleaners, a stack of really nice quilts, 40 rolls of paper towels. Her clothing and shoe collection, which she keeps neatly arranged by color in (lucky for her) ample closets, is extensive. Marty's mom, also a concentration camp survivor, doesn't hoard things. Maybe she doesn't have the money Lorraine has, but she hates clutter. She couldn't stand four vacuum cleaners parked in the kitchen.

Buck came with us. When Turbo died, Lorraine sent us a sympathy card. She couldn't wait to meet Buck. Her 3 dogs were kept in her bedroom most of the visit, but she let them out to meet Buck. All was very friendly. No barking, biting, just a lot of friendly sniffing. Dogs are so civilized.