Old Short Story Called Abe

Abe

     Abraham Abrawomitz was the first of nine children. Sometimes he felt obliged to be a fine, mature example to all his little brothers and sisters, especially since they were the Chosen among the most chosen Elect of God’s creatures. Sometimes he wished he could be the stealthy gollum, and ignore all of the cares of a good Hebrew life and sneak around the sewers of Brooklyn, or maybe even Queens.

     According to his parents, all of them must help usher in the messiah and if one of them were to fall short, that one child could prove responsible for delaying God’s eternal plan and be a destroyer to the entire movement that had been in process for close to 6,000 years. Most people think they have a lot of responsibility being only the eldest of nine children. Not the Abrawomitzes!

     Yes, Abe was a Jewish boy—er, man technically, since he had bar mitzvahed almost a year ago. It was hard to be so elect, but somebody had to do it.

     Why this was, only God knew. God knew many mysteries of the planet and universe that were not only beyond the comprehension of Abraham and his family but of all the elders as well. And the elders knew quite a bit.

     Their community was very strong and self-sustaining; they were taught this from birth. Part of the teaching in all their own yeshivas and schools within their neighborhoods of lower Brooklyn was that they must all contribute to the once and future Zion. With this charge was the knowledge that many would oppose them, just as the Germans years ago, or as did the terrible czars and later Supreme Commanders in Russia or the Arabs today. Life was bad for Jews in much of the world, but life was blessed here in America. The Christian goyim were misled but decent at letting live and let live. Maybe Jesus had learned enough of the Torah to create a faith that wouldn’t hurt the Jews too much.

Many times the real enemies in America, Europe, and in Israel were the so-called Jews who were known as Reform or Conservative. Even some of the alleged orthodox Jews could vary so far from the Law that they, too, would oppose the true Elect like his community. Obviously most of the Jews worldwide had not honored their Most High Rebbe, who passed away in 1994 but would soon return by the grace of God. This made it all the more vital that he as well as all his siblings stood up for the Law of Moses and be the best believers they could be.

     Abe felt very alone at times. He felt like he was singled out for God’s work and this made life a lonesome venture. There were times in synagogue and yeshiva that he felt totally included into the mystical realm of God, and there were other moments even more addictive when he felt so united with his fellow students and worshippers of the chabad. This would occur a lot at funerals, or memorials of the Holocaust or pogroms, oddly enough. He didn’t feel it so much at the death or subsequent memorials of the Rebbe, and he feared this was a grave sin. He had told no one. This further caused him more loneliness, especially when even the small children touted his constant guidance and companionship in their daily lives.

      Like most of the Jews in his neighborhood he had relatives in Israel. He liked going there to a certain degree, but when certain relatives got too excited about killing in revenge he felt very uncomfortable. Despite what many elders said about the Philistines, he knew that they were not at fault for wanting to keep their land. He had been all over Israel, and although it was small compared to America there was still enough room for everyone there, Jew and Arab. He felt like certain extreme or confused Jews caused the majority of the problems, not to mention the support of millions of Arabs who seemed to hate as unfairly as the bloodthirsty Israelis. New York and its crime seemed very tame in comparison.

He remembered a conversation that he had with a cousin named Levi Bokarsky last summer.

     “This land was only meant for the people of Israel, those descended by our blessed forefather Jacov. Everyone else should get out.”

    “What should all the Palestinians do then?” Abe followed.

     “Is that my concern? Well, we have been commanded to inherit the land and they have to understand this. It is not an open debate to be discussed like parliament,” replied Levi.

     “Are you saying that we are not a democracy? Israel was built on democratic principles and that is how things are decided, not just by one small minority.”

    “For one thing, we ultra-orthodox are not a small minority, we are a majority of the Elect of God. We are the reason why this place has been alive since 1948 and before. We are the reason why Hebrew is a language spoken in the world again. We are the reason why people like you in America can look forward to Meshiach. If it weren’t for us, the Torah would be an idle piece of text like the Dead Sea Scrolls, being touted around the world for all the incredulous Gentiles and atheists to gape at.”

     “You think they don’t serve as a great witness of the faithful of God?”

     “Well, all I know is that atheistic scientists use the texts of Qumran to prove their own godless conclusions, while people like Zionistic Christians use it for their own devilish purposes. Not much of it has done us good except to prove we as Jews belong here and no one else.”

      Abe thought about his cousin’s statements. They seemed pretty crude, and wondered which Rebbe he had heard them from. But Abe thought better than to ask. It was probably his father, Abe’s mother’s brother, who was not recognized as venerable.

     “Why can’t some Palestinians live in Israel?” Abe asked.

     “You see it in the news everyday! They kill themselves and us and don’t even know how to rule themselves! They lie, cheat, and steal, and then accuse us of doing the same! They have proven that they cannot be trusted.”

     “And Israelis can,” ventured Abe.

    “Oh, Abe, now you are treading on thin and sacred ground. Abraham Abrawomitz, you know we are the Chosen people of God meant to live here. This is as simple as the Torah! I’m afraid you Jews abroad do not appreciate our commitments or sacrifices…”

     “I’m sorry Levi, it is not the same for me to speak on these things as you. I live in Brooklyn, I do not know the fear and hate as you do.”

      It was good Abe said this at this point, because Levi was getting so revved up at these baseless accusations that he was not only going to personally excoriate his younger cousin but was also going to state how Jews outside of Israel were really not Jews at all. His father, Schlemiel, had specifically asked all his children of their settlement not to share this information with their cousins or aunts or uncles from New York. The idea was to get them to immigrate to the West Bank, or Judea or Samaria as they called it in good Hebrew, and then break the truth to them. Enlightening them before the move would probably be counterproductive.

     “And you do not know the love and glory of it as I do. This is the Promised Land where we are promised eternal salvation! There is no other place. Moses died trying to come here. Millions have died trying. We are some of the most blessed Jews of all creation to be here now.”

    “Yes, I see your point.”

     That’s how most of the conversations ended with his cousins like Levi. They could not be convinced otherwise. Thankfully, his own family desired to stay back in Brooklyn because they felt the Rebbe would soon resurrect from the dead and would accompany them by plane or simply floating in the air to Jerusalem, City of David. Maybe they would have to land in Tel Aviv at first.

     The next day after this distant yet poignant memory of this discussion at his cousin’s settlement near Nablus there was an ugly reminder and perhaps afterthought underscoring this whole matter: eight Palestinians were killed by gunship missiles; apparently at least two of them were terrorists from Hamas. Three Jewish settlers, all non-soldiers, were slain by knife attacks a few miles from the first incident.

Back on Ditma Street, Abe was thankful that Brooklyn was where the Rebbe was buried. He felt like many more funerals, including his own, would be much more pleasant among the crowded streets of these American boroughs of New York than the lonely stony escarpments of Samaria or Judea. Even the sewers smelled sweeter here in New York.

FIN

Last modified in 2006. Written possibly in 2003-2004 in San Bernardino. (Re-read in January 2014). The Y in York was underscored near the end, suggesting the period of the bad keyboard.

Jorge Luis Borges and I...and Me...Inside my Brain (Part 1)

[I meant to publish this a while ago with more discussion. Now it is Part 1 to be followed up later.)

Have you heard of Jorge Luis Borges? If not, maybe you should.

By some he is considered one of the best writers of all time. Whether that is true or not, he certainly is one of the most imaginative writers of all time.

In and around Latin America, which may be under-populated compared to other parts of the planet, (like Asia, Europe, Africa), he is definitely considered a high power of literature and thought.

I first read him in high school in the 1980s. In both English and Spanish, I think. My high school Spanish teacher was smart, and it would be a crime to get that far in Spanish (3rd and 4th years) to not be exposed to Borges. The Borges. It is pronounced in English like BOAR- HASE. With emphasis on the BOAR.

I may have even read him as a sophomore with the same smart teacher in Gifted and Talented Humanities. Ahh, "Gifted and Talented". Once you think you are in that club, you might be marked and cursed for life. Borges was "cursed" with blindness, but perhaps that ended up blessing his imagination and writing abilities. Or his desires and efforts to compensate for a lacking gift.

Sight is a gift, and Borges had an extra endowment of it, beyond his physical eyes.

Living in the neighboring country of Chile in the early 90s was a part of me understanding the realm, the world, the universe and the cultures of this intellectual giant.

Was he a giant? I think so. Read him. Maybe he is more a giant psycho than an intellectual; maybe the line is thin...

Argentina is a close country to Chile for many reasons...culture blends through geography, and obviously language.

So, I think that living in, breathing in the Latino airs of the southern cone helped me understand a bit more of the magic, the mystery, the poetry, the flair, or elan. Is that a word? Yes, it has so many more synonyms. We looked it up.

Yes, Borges has flair.

Talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around, rubbing shoulders with real live people named Miguel, Manuel, Andres, Pablo, Patricio, and yes, Jorge, helped me see a different world. Which is what reading Borges does for his readers. You explore other universes, alternate realities.

Prepare to take some trips, some fancies of the mind and imagination with this Jorge.

Get ready.

When I read him for a class in Chile in 1994 with esteemed Profesora Hilda Rojas, I explained to her and my class that reading one of his works "lefted me different". It changed me somehow.

His reading may alter you, be warned.

But then again, talking and reading and joking and eating and sleeping around and rubbing shoulders with real live people named Hilda and Paula and Eduvigis and Miriam and a host of others may do that to you. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Ugh. BYU Football 2014 ... Ugh.

Some sports and their teams represent more than just the people and places of its constituent parts.

After the World Trade Center attacks in 2001, the New York Yankees transcended into something more than their traditional original fan base. They represented all of America. Even in defeat to the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Yanks were glorious in amazing comebacks in Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. They defended their homeland in dramatic fashion while the ruins of south Manhattan were still smoldering, while lists of people were still being vetted to figure out who died and who had escaped those huge skyscrapers and their mind numbing demise. And the rest of America could not help but be moved. If you were not there, if you were not alive then or quite aware, you have to believe me about this.

Last year (2013), when the Boston Red Sox went on to win the Fall Classic after a terrible Boston Marathon bomb attack earlier in the season, killing and dismembering dozens, the people of Massachusetts and many others saw it as fitting the beloved hometown heroes went out champs, defying the odds and uniting with the victims of the sports tragedy in a witness of will and courage. The people may be struck and hurt and even mortally wounded, but the warriors of a good cause would not quit. Boston did not quit. Innocents died, peoples' lives irrevocably altered forever, but the team symbolizing their hopes and perseverance would not stop. Not till victory was theirs. Or at least some symbolic stand for fortitude.

For many Brigham Young University fans, the football team fights for a lot of things beyond the gridiron. It plays and fights for the Honor Code of this school owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It plays for glory of principles that it tries to adhere to, which include a dress code of modesty, speech that reflects non-profane utterances, morals that transcend the 21st century secular world. It espouses and enforces even, the rather radical and at times unpopular practice of no smoking and drinking, even eschewing caffeine and coffee. Is that normal or right?

Whether one believes or respects the correctness of these principles and practices, the school does stand for a few things that make it unique. Especially in major college sports.

Some think that the mission of BYU's success, both academically and athletically, is to bring more attention and acclaim to its overall church mission of bringing people to Christ, to help others see the good in the school, the sports program, the church and its membership. To bring people a positive light to all of the above. To show that God does indeed have a hand in our lives and that competition is to be celebrated and honored. To fight the good fight, as Paul might have said. That the mission of this faith is a fight for all that is good.

Of course there are many people, including tons of folk within the state of Utah itself that think that prospect is not true at all.

Nevertheless, there are BYU people, Latter-day Saints and a few others that believe that the BYU underdogs and chasers of the morally principled dream are striving for something beyond sheer sports glory.

As I had shared in a previous post, BYU Football: Surviving September 11, Looking at Future SOS, there were big hopes in and beyond Provo this year.

Potential Heisman winning quarterback Taysom Hill. A possible undefeated team. Making a run for the first playoffs as an outsider independent.

But none of that was meant to be be.

There were signs that the team overall was not good enough even before Hill went down in game number five, in the second quarter, with a bad leg break. The defense was not stellar against Virginia or Houston previously. Fissures were evident in the overall team. In game five, that cemented it when his replacement came in after the sudden loss of its nationally recognized leader and he, back up QB Christian Stewart, could not rally the troops to the win against its state rival. First lost to Utah State at home since 1993.

The next game would prove tantalizingly close but futile as well, the Cougs bending and hanging tough but breaking in overtime to Central Florida, in Orlando. BYU was not unblemished nor did it have the Heisman hero, but the team had a chance to still have an exceptional season. And now the somewhat crushing loss (third) to Nevada-Reno, again at home in Lavell Edwards Stadium. First back-to-back home losses for the football Cougars since 2004, a year that ended the short lived career of the former head coach Gary Crowton.

Ahhh...

Cougar fans lament what might have been.

An undefeated season. A Heisman candidate. A lot of controversy, hailing the memories of the original ruckus makers of 1984. Lots of college football fans are still mad about that one. But BYU wears it with pride. They beat the big boys, they beat the system.

A second undefeated team would validate the 1980s and its glories, the legacy of Hall of Fame Coach Edwards. Validate or justify that Brigham Young is as legitimate as Notre Dame, or at least other religious schools like TCU or Baylor.

But the visions and dreams of glory was not meant to be. This year.

Nonetheless, Taysom should come back next year, 2015, his last. He may be as fast and strong as ever, and he may learn to tuck in his body and avoid the big season ending hit and injury. And his arm may be more accurate, and his receivers more sure-handed, and his blockers even better... And maybe, just maybe, like we always think, the young ones on defense now and the rest will be ready for the big time spotlight. Glory. Success. Acclaim. The big time, even bigger than 1984.

A statement that BYU is as good as it wants to be because of a bigger reason: it has Providence looking on its big picture. It just might be that it is meant to be.

But not this year. Small steps and progress...despite the rash of bad ankles.

Mormons, too, shall overcome. Someday.

Sound preposterous or arrogant? Maybe.

There is a Book of Mormon scripture of a prophet who says he does not feel wrong to boast of His God. To some BYU faithful, the teams' success on the field bespeaks the greatness of the system, the beliefs behind the players and administrators and fans. No drinking, no smoking, no cursing, no unlawful sex, keeping the Sabbath day holy leads to something real. Consciously trying to put God's kingdom first leads to a powerful outcome.

Winning. Rising above the fallen world we live in. Being the best. Reaching the divine.

Go Cougars.

Blog on. EMC

October Again, and Again

[Written on paper the 1st of October, 2014, finalized 13 Oct.'14)  

     How many Octobers will there be? Not as many for you as there will be for me. You may live longer, many more years, but I have lived Octobers long gone. Before the rise of the dawn of humanity. Some will tell you, tell me, tell us, do not live in the past! Live for now! Live for then! Live for the future in some wonderful expectant date.

      That is someday, and I can and will comply to the here and now, the next and upcoming test. But if you tell me I cannot roam through the past, imagine, re-create and live past ages and times, I must tell you I cannot not. I can't not do it. I cannot forget or ignore the past; it is a long chain that has me fast. Passed years, passed centuries, are part of our DNA. It is who we are now, whether recognized, realized, exemplified, rectified, revivified. Or ignored.

     There are some historians and scientists who trace our back stories tens of thousands, hundreds of millions, even billions of years. Before there were Octobers. Barely equinoxes. Most of those practically incomprehensible, or perhaps difficult to fathom epochs and eras do not include humanity. Easy enough. Humans, homo sapiens, homo erectus, us hominids have been crafting our way way about the earth, the stone three times removed from our sun for many generations. Almost too difficult to count, but not really. We can account for our human history. Do we?

    Some of us try. Some do it by writing what they imagine, piecing together what is known, then inserting conjecture, guesses and stories into what has been the near or distant past. They call this: historical fiction. Others uses philosophical or religious systems or principles to guide their structures, theologies, world-views, paradigms, the way that life and history enfolds. To some, there is a plan that is being enfolded. There is a beginning, middle, and an end to all we know. (Teology).
   
     Less than a hundred years ago (now 2014) there was a revolution of sorts in Moscow, Russia. Its purpose was to liberate the masses. Did it succeed? Most feel it has failed grandly, sadly, tragically. And yet, that revolution impacted the human population greatly. It did set in motion a million or a billion smaller stories in reaction to it. Do we fight in the Marxist way? Do we aspire to topple our current governments? Do we fight against socialists and communists, sacrificing our lives and stakes and military egos, fighting for democracies underpinned by entrenched corporate oligarchs and capitalist systems? Apparently we do.
     And what of religious and separatist movements? Are they all rebels and fanatics, terrorists and criminals? Whose definition do we use to determine an actor's criminality? The "winners", as pointed out to me by an educated and intelligent German trooper, a trusted cohort. He and his country were the losers (twice) of huge wars, the world wars of the 20th century. Therefore, he cannot argue that the answer that he disagreed with in his history class is incorrect truly, because his US professor made his point about winners. They define what is right. The US being so, the US (American) professor asserted his supremacy. His correctness, defined by the winners. Obviously there are many world viewpoints, most of them not from the United States, but it does seem to dominate the sphere of popular consensus. Winners? Mightiest? Perhaps.

    Octobers past, like in Moscow, did change the world. It polarized priorities; it gave legitimacy to millions of people with the accompanying idealistic ideologues who believed this socio-economic political revolution would change, inextricably, the world into a better, more fair and just, more equitable place.Egalitarian. But it brought a lot of contention. The haves, particularly of the the Western wealthy capitalist nations, stood geometrically opposed. For differences apart from the economic changes, such as the the revolution of political economists like Engels and Trotsky, Germany (once known as Prussia) found itself craving old claims of its perceived grandeur. And the world paid, and paid again a short generation later. It was contained, this Darwinistic nationalism, and now (60 plus years later) each country deals with its power struggles and aims more diplomatically, commercially, in spheres of cultural authority. Of course, due to sea trade and empire, other powers like the United States, Britain, France and others staked their parts of all hemispheres. Let us not forget Japan or China, and India and other Eastern powers.

    The dance of the first world capitalists, largely industrial, or now in the cyber age post industrial, versus and simultaneously domineering, in relation to the the world survivalists, the peoples of perpetual subsistence. Those peoples and nations who do not control their fates as much as those waiting or hoping, praying, cringing that they are not be the next puppet tragedy of present or future Octobers to come.
   

Nationals Postmortem Update, 2014

It was a good year, but it ended disappointingly.

Yep, the Nats came up short against their NLDS opponent this year, similar to 2012. Although perhaps this year was worse because there were higher expectations and they lost in four games instead of 5 like two years ago.

Hmmmph.

The offense stalled in the almost all the post season games this fall, especially the second game where the teams went a record 18 innings, the Nats losing after 6 hours of play. Low scoring. 2-1? I think so.

The regular season ended up being very satisfying, despite some notable injuries.

Now we are afraid that they might have the Atlanta Braves syndrome, which is to win their division but not do much in the playoffs. We shall see.

As always.

Bryce is Harper is as done as Mike Trout now.

Talk on the radio says Adam LaRoche (who had great stuff in regular season) will be replaced at 1st place by long time National and traditional favorite Ryan Zimmerman, who was perhaps the most injured and affected player on the team this year. He only pinch hit in the National League Division Series.

And the Nats could not score enough. Simply put. Werth and LaRoche and others, even RBI producers Ian Desmond and Wilson Ramos could not.

The Giants are now on to putting the hurt on recent World Series victors Cardinals.

Both of the National League teams have won it recently, as in 2010 (Giants), 2011 (Cards), 2012 (Giants again!), and last year's outliers, the Boston Red Sox. Good for a city that took an iconic terrorist attack by Chechen ner' do-wells. And Big Papi threw in his two cents.

Good for the Boston faithful; they got three championships in the last 10 years.

Now on the American League side it boils down to the Kansas City Royals and the Baltimore Orioles. After last night's second game it appears it will be Kansas. I will root for them or Baltimore, regardless of the NL outcome.

Go underdogs.

And go Nats, finish better next year. They have the talent and the experience to do a good trick on the diamond.

And as I wrote in the bracketed preface of this post:Nats Update: Postseason--Bryce Alive and Well, Mike Trout...

Baseball may not be meaningful or matter much to many around the world. But it does mean something to millions of Americans, as in US citizens. But also, there are probably a good dose of Canadians who care, Mexicans, millions of the Caribbean, Central America, and Northern South America. Heck, I even know a hard core fan in Angol, Chile. Where they play baseball a lot less than US people play crickett. (There are those who play that sport here, I have seen it played on both coasts and within a mile of my current house, not to mention other places in this American county.)

And then there is the East Asian baseball zone, and growing parts of Australia, Europe...There is even a slight indentation into the great subcontinent, India.

So, maybe baseball will matter more and more to more parts of the earth. It seems to grow.

And some people may care to read my impressions of the Nationals, the season in 2014, and how baseball poetically captures a tiny part of our worldly matters.

Play on.

And go Nats. We will not give up on you. You are too good to disregard.

And this fall? Go Royals! Kansas City has not had a winner for a while.

Blog it. EMC

Nats Update: Postseason--Bryce Alive and Well, Mike Trout...

[Added "review forward": Perhaps baseball does not matter too much. Tell that to a few million Bostonians and Yankee fans in the northeast! But, many things truly do matter in life, such as economics and food and health and peace and war... Here in America (the United States) and a few other parts, people pay attention to baseball, especially how the winners go in October.

So, for what it's worth...]

Yesterday was a big game for the Nationals. Win or go home. At Safeco...AT and T...San Francisco.

They battled with the best pitchers that they could, and the dam burst in the 7th inning, thankfully in the way of the now underdogs. The Nats made the recent ace Bumgarner throw a costly error,  which resulted in a huge 3 run inning. Bryce Harper added a thunderous home run in the 9th and the Nats finished as winners, now trailing 2-1 in the best of five series.

Gio Gonzalez will face the Giants' Vogelsong tonight. Big game. If the Nats can repeat the trick, they will return to the friendly confines of DC. Otherwise, it is over.

Like 2012, when the wunderkind Bryce was a rookie 19 year old. They were eliminated then by St. Louis, who seem to be doing their magic against the talented but curious LA Dodgers.

Speaking of Bryce, with his 4th post season all time home run, he enters elite company of only four major leaguers to ever hit that many homers in the playoffs before turning 22 years of age. The others include Micky Mantle and a couple of other legends.

Meanwhile, the 22 year-old for the Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels, Mike Trout, who is killing Bryce as the newcomer of the century to baseball and all everything in all statistics is eliminated from this year's playoffs by the Kansas City Royals. You cannot have everything, Mike. But you own the stats compared to everybody else, for now.

And Bryce is accomplishing things in a smaller, but perhaps more winning way, bigger stage. Like his great defensive contributions yesterday and before.

Not bad.

Jeyson Worth and Adam LaRoche have been non-productive so far, so here is hoping they can waken their bats tonight and onward. We shall see.

On a side note, college football is crazy and my favorite team lost its Heisman candidate QB to an injury and lost the game itself which ends their hopes at being a dark horse contender for the new end of season 4 team playoff. Can't win 'em all.

But you don't have to in baseball. Just win more...And keep playing!

Go Nats!

Blog it, EMC.