Monday, May 27, 2013

Poached Eggs and Pentecost

I was blessed by having breakfast with my best Jewish friend, and one of my dearest soul sisters, Susan, at Russell's Marina Grill in  New Orleans. Not only is the food pure New Orleans (I had crab cakes with poached eggs and shrimp hollandaise.), so is the coffee and the wait staff.

It is important in New Orleans restaurants that the place really welcomes children, especially if one has a two-year-old in tow. Russell's fit the bill as well as, or better than, Shoney's used to when my children were small. But so much better coffee and food, Oy Vey! You can't imagine.

Susan's granddaughter is an absolute angel with beautiful blue eyes and Titian gold angel curls. (She and her mother, Katy, got curls from Susan, just like princesses in fairy tale books.) Audrey's an active angel, but and angel, none-the-less. For the first half hour she hid her sleepy eyes on her mother's shoulder. When her sweet potato pancake came, she gladly sat in her high chair. This was good for another hour of in-depth conversation.

Susan and I are always deeply involved in discussions of how our faith views fit into our family lives. When   I said, "Well, Katy, I guess you didn't know you were coming to a Bible study," Susan didn't miss a beat before she quipped to Katy, "Well, that's just how we roll."

Remembering my grandmother days, I had come equipped with something for Audrey's entertainment, sidewalk chalk and a Mickey Mouse spatula. It was an absolutely perfect spring at the New Orleans Lakefront kind of morning, so we adjourned outside. Not to worry, we over-tipped both the waitress who had to clean up after Audrey spilled her whole cup of milk in the restaurant and the waiter who had to continue climbing over her as she decorated the patio with baby graffiti.

I wrote fifty prayers for Pentecost, hoping to get other views on the meaning, of this season of the year. Susan is, not only a very devout Jewish wife, mother and grandmother, she's also a professional journalist. I figured it was fair to ask why she hadn't given more feedback on the subject. After explaining her faith's (and I assume her personal) meanings, she suggested that I'd get more response if I asked specific questions in my blog. We also discussed a longing to hear from the third leg of our family tree of Abraham, Muslim, point of view, in addition to the faith backgrounds that already participate.

I am now asking, "What, if any, rituals do you perform during the season of Easter/Passover/Spring? Are there any rituals following this beginning spot to count the days until a specified end point? How many days does this last? What is the meaning of the end point of the counting of days process?"