Ralphs. Sunday morning. After davening.<\/p>\n
I first see him in produce so I wheel my cart into breakfast cereals. He shows up there too and proceeds up the aisle towards me. I turn my cart around and head for dairy. I pick up some cottage cheese and head for ice cream. Just as I am filling up with popsicles lacking a kosher certification, he wheels up. I put the popsicles back and select instead the high-priced but certified Haagen Daz sherbert.<\/p>\n
I look for a cashier. Find one. Wheel in. Right behind my former teacher. I’ve been rehearsing this moment for 15 minutes now. I nod and wave. He doesn’t flinch. He just looks sad.<\/p>\n
To sort out my feelings, I turn to the great poet Barry Manilow:<\/p>\n
Even Now
\nWhen there’s someone else who cares
\nWhen there’s someone home who’s waiting just for me
\nEven now I think about you as I’m climbing up the stairs
\nAnd I wonder what to do so she won’t see
\nThat even now
\nWhen I know it wasn’t right
\nAnd I found a better life than what we had
\nEven now I wakeup crying in the middle of the night
\nAnd I can’t believe it still could hurt so bad<\/p>\n
Even now when I have come so far
\nI wonder where you are
\nI wonder why it’s still so hard without you
\nEven now when I come shining through
\nI swear I think of you
\nAnd how I wish you knew
\nEven now<\/p>\n
Even now
\nWhen I never hear your name
\nAnd the world has changed so much since you been gone
\nEven now I still remember and the feeling’s still the same
\nAnd the pain inside of me goes on and on
\nEven now<\/p>\n
Even now when I have come so far
\nI wonder where you are
\nI wonder why it’s still so hard without you
\nEven now when I come shining through
\nI swear I think of you
\nAnd God I wish you knew
\nSome how
\nEven now<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ralphs. Sunday morning. After davening. I first see him in produce so I wheel my cart into breakfast cereals. He shows up there too and proceeds up the aisle towards me. I turn my cart around and head for dairy. … Continue reading