Today, you would have turned 70. I'm glad we got to celebrate so many of your birthdays together.
Our Mavericks gave you an early birthday present last night (it was already June 3rd when I watched from Tel Aviv). I have no doubt that you were coaching the Mavs from above. You always said, "There's plenty of time left" when rooting for our Dallas teams--beloved, yet overwhelmingly underwhelming over the decades. You gave the Mavs the push for their 4th quarter comebacks in Game 1 against the Lakers, Game 4 against Oklahoma City, and last night against the team that I call the Miami Michael Jordans, i.e.
"Michael Jordan misses, Michael Jordan with the rebound. Michael Jordan throws the alley-oop to Michael Jordan for the thunderous jam." This Heat team is so unfairly, disgustingly loaded with talent. But at the end of the day, the best complete team wins the game. And doing the little things right got us that win: at the end of the day, we missed only 4 free throws, and the Heat missed 8 (17-21 vs. their 16-24). Ball game right there.
I was ready to say earlier in the game, that if we pulled out Game 2, that just meant we had forced a Game 5, a boon for the Dallas economy by ensuring 3 home Finals games. But the manner in which we stole a game that noone but you and the Mavs themselves believed we could pull off gives me a lot of hope for more wins to come. Just 3 more--with good health for Dirk's finger and Haywood's hip, we can do this!
Your message to the world is to always keep hope alive, whether in rooting so loyally for your usually hapless teams, or in fighting the vicious disease of pancreatic cancer for almost 21 months.
After the game today, I started in noting your birthday at a nearby synagogue. In saying the Mourner's Kaddish for these first 11 months from your passing, which I am aiming to do three times a day at the morning, afternoon, and evening services, I am revisiting the skill developed in my high school drum line days of listening to those around me, and coordinating for a tight, unified sound. The goal is for all mourners to say the Kaddish as one. The old drum line buddies would be proud.
I also have led services all over Dallas and Israel, a new role since you left us that is reserved for mourners during the week. I continue to find my voice and try to honor you while receiving the humbling honor of being a sort of spokesperson for each service's group of holy Jews praying for good things.
Your birthday continued on the spectacular Tel Aviv beach. The water today was simply stunning, with shades of turquoise and navy blue reflecting the glory of G-d's creation. You always wanted to watch me play beach volleyball, the sport which I usually manage to not make a fool of myself while playing. While 11 months off the court left my game rusty, I rocked a good serve and threw down 2 authoritative blocks of spikes at the net. Other than that, my teammate Mahmoud from Eritrea and I were overmatched by a solid pair of Israelis. But I heard you cheering for me anyway from above.
Now I'm back at long last visiting cousins Toker and Batya on their pastoral Kibbutz Urim in the Negev desert. I got in an invigorating 3-lap bike ride all the way around the kibbutz. The natural scenes reminded me of those I experienced riding through the Sam Houston National Forest during my epic Texas roadtrip with Mom last month. The trade was the scent of pine trees in Texas' Piney Woods for this season's beautiful lavender flowers descending from trees, which I have seen all over Israel this week, from Herzliya, to my Jerusalem neighborhood, to Beer Sheva, all the way here to Urim. While circling the kibbutz, the scents alternate between flowery, and less-so--courtesy of the dairy farm and horse stable. The sights include palm trees and an enormous cactus farm, and a refreshing breeze cooled me off as an unusually long stretch of delightful spring-like weather continues. I didn't make it out to the highway where we ran when you and Mom came to visit in '05--Batya and Toker don't have a helmet.
Now the holy Shabbat is coming. May you rest in peace on this day of rest and peace. שבת שלום/Shabbat Shalom.
I miss you and love you more than the whole world.
אריק/Eric
P.S. Here's the less-than-stellar OECD report on Israel's elder care והסיפור בעברית
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