Hooray for Turkey Day

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For the second year running, the Israeli contingent of the Pearson clan is converging upon Jerusalem to celebrate Seth's birthday and all the other things for which we are thankful. Not the least reason to give thanks is for the way our ranks have swelled with Jonathan and plenty of Siegels. I'm done with work and the turkey's in the oven, so I've got some time to write now.

Becca and I drove with Ashira to Jerusalem yesterday afternoon, and had dinner with Seth and Rachel and Rachel's mom, Carol. We ate at "La Boca", a restaurant with Tex-Mex Latin cuisine. Ashira was cranky from what we guessed was diaper rash, but she was fascinated by the fish tank in the restaurant. Seth and Rachel knew the restaurant's manager and had a nice time schmoozing with her for a bit.

I stayed the night at my friend Moshe's apartment near Emek Refaim street. Moshe works as program organizer for the World Congress of GLBT Jews, and I dated him for a bit this past spring when he was living in Tel Aviv. Unfortunately, I didn't get to visit with him, since he's away for the day in Tel Aviv, but I got to meet his roommates. One of them, Alex, I think is straight, but the other one, Noach, is a female-to-male transsexual that I first met when he gave a little workshop during this past summer's Pride Week on gender variations in the Mishna. They were both great company. Noach is studying at Pardes, and he happened to know another gay friend of mine who is also studying there.

Today, I went to the mall at the central bus station for breakfast with Avishai, the big teddy bear I was dating during the war. We had the best brunch either of us had had in years, and afterward I bought a handbag and a winter cap with flappy ears. The early afternoon was spent preparing the turkeys (we've got two giants cooking!) with Rebecca and Carol, and when it was ready, I taxied one of them to Seth's old apartment, where the main festivities will be taking place. I'll let you know how it all turns out.