the inner walls

Someone needs to teach those sad twats how and why do use an inverted pyramid in news stories: Channelling my inner Bronn

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Sun, 04 Dec 2022 00:46:00 +0000

You know, the reporting found in this article is appalling. Channeling

As respiratory viruses strain US health care systems, Biden administration tells states how it's ready to help

The article should start with evidence, such as:

[C]umulative hospitalization rates are about 10 times higher than typical for this point in the season. Less than two months in, the RSV hospitalization rate this season is already nearing the total RSV hospitalization rate from the entire 2018-19 season.

But, that's found paragraph 14 of 17.

Without that information, even a non-paranoid person might wonder what leads to these conclusions.

Someone needs to teach those sad twats how and why do use an inverted pyramid in news stories.

Dunkirk not D-Day, Mid-terms

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Fri, 18 Nov 2022 04:51:00 +0000

I have had the tendency of thinking of a comment I want to make, and then never getting to it.

So things are rather stale here.

I thought I'd change that be trying to point something out, the difference between a Dunkirk and a D-Day event.

Note the direction of the troop movements.

The achievements of the Democrats this last election are a Dunkirk movement -- relatively skillful, performed under great pressure, but the principal conquest was time to fight again.

For better of worse, it was a loss. We are still on the back foot.

Is it me, or is this just...sad.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 23:40:00 +0000

Giant Pink Bunny – Artesina, Italy - Atlas Obscura

Please

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Tue, 28 Sep 2021 17:38:00 +0000

Macron says Europeans need to stop being naive and assert independence from the United States

Please.

The French have been threatening this briar patch for decades.

They just can't get the Germans to pay for it.

Of course, neither can we.

Some progressive contrarian thought for Juneteenth

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Fri, 18 Jun 2021 18:59:00 +0000

This article from The Forward What really happened on Juneteenth — and why it’s time for supremacists and their
sympathizers to surrender reminds me of a comment someone, who was something of a lefty-political operator in the 1960s and 70s, used to say about the idea of an MLK holiday.

She said: "It will just let some goo-goo liberals think that they have actually done something about race."

But my mother would have appreciated the coda of this article:

[W]hat happened in Galveston on June 19, 1865, is that Gen. Granger arrived to forcibly liberate Black people from intransigent slaveholders who everyone knew were free.

That’s the true history of Juneteenth — along with a message that somehow has eluded the South and their white supremacist inheritors today:

You lost the damned war. Surrender already.

What's "hoppen", Cora

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Sun, 25 Apr 2021 01:37:00 +0000

I received a clipping from my mother's mother, Eudice Bernstein -- the
original Yuie (as she shares a cognomen* with my daughter Eugenia) -- in 1978.

     Arthur Weyne's** sister used to take the Avenue A bus from 10th
     Street to Houston almost every work-day morning. "At Fifth Street,"
     he recalls her telling him, "almost every morning, a short, frowzy,
     chunky shlump of a woman would be waiting for the bus and board it
     with groans, glowers,protests, and have exertions. She carried
     bundles -- always. They were of a clumsy dimension, varying sizes
     and divers degrees of vulnerability; there were never fewer than
     four."

     "She always paid her fare grudgingly, then flopped into a seat at
     the front, sometimes commandeering one with an authority no one
     ever disputed, and sat there frowning, creaking and giving off
     emanations of menace. Since she had started her cascade of
     complaints on the step of the bus, and went on from her seat,
     haranguing the driver: he stopped too far from the curb; the step
     was much too high; the fare was unreasonable; he drove like a wild
     Indian. She went on beyond Houston, so my sister never knew whether
     she ever stopped caterwauling.

     "One day in April, as my sister's bus was approaching Fifth Street,
     she was relieved to see that Complaining Cora -- as of course she
     known: her name was Cora -- was not at the curb. But a woman was
     waiting for the bus, and the driver stopped to take her on. Lo and
     behold! -- my sister insisted this was the only way to express it --
     the woman was Cora: bundleless, dressed in a lovely frock, a
     flowered hat and long white gloves. More startling than her costume
     was her face. She was beaming -- pleasant, jovial, gay.

     "Cora didn't merely board -- she made an entrance. She paid her
     fare, even the coins tinkled gaily. Then the startled passengers
     began to call out, 'Is that you, Cora -- really you?' The driver
     pulled the bus to the curb, stopped and faced her, 'What's
     "hoppen", Cora?'

     "'Nothing is "hoppen"', she said, as though proclaiming an
     amnesty. "'Today is Shakespeare's birthday.'

--Lawrence Van Gelder New York Times,
The Living Section, page C2, June 27, 1979.

-----
*Look it up
**A writer, editor and Jewish author.

Recharging the smuggness field

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Tue, 09 Mar 2021 22:50:00 +0000

Washington Ranked Top State In Latest U.S. News Rankings | Seattle, WA Patch

You know, when you dig down, you have to wonder at this report. (US News has never been a favorite source of mine.)

Washington is ranked 4 in education -- ignoring the low per pupil spending, anyone who has dealt with the school systems, or read the recent comments about neglect and poor outcomes by the Washington State Superintendent, would have to wonder.

Infrastructure, ranked 3rd in the nation. This is with enough deferred maintenance on our roads -- such as needing to consider the closure of our largest N/S Interstate to retrofit 40 years of repairs, and a collapsing bridge to W Seattle -- warnings about the poor earthquake preparedness of our overpasses, sewage systems that have failed to handle rains for the last 3 out of four years, and an insecure major airport.

That US News -- which has traditionally be conservative -- like our fiscal stability rating of 4 might just reflect their dislike of income taxes. They rated Alaska 1 in that category -- and you should see how low oil prices have resulted in massive cuts. We still haven't recovered services to the level of pre-2008.

Given the behavior of out state Sheriffs towards protestors and farmer workers, or having the largest police force in the state still be under Federal supervision, it is hard to see how crime and corrections are as high as 19th.

If we could only monetize the smugness.

Parler Using Right Wing Russian Servers

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 06:08:00 +0000

I tracked this information back to Reuters (Parler partially reappears with support from Russian technology firm), and so think it's Kosher.

Now, my limited understanding of surveillance law leads me to believe that any internet traffic coming from outside the US is legally much more open to eavesdropping by 'law enforcement' -- both national and state.

I also think that a cyber attack on a Russian provider would not necessarily be a crime under US law.

Amusingly, their new provider is DDOS-Guard which has "has worked with other racist, rightist and conspiracy sites that have been used by mass murderers to share messages, including 8kun. It has also supported Russian government sites."

Twilight zone: I am not sure how to feel about this...

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Sun, 03 Jan 2021 20:21:00 +0000

this historical artifact.

There is a hopeful quality in what Sterling says which makes me feel nostalgic and disappointed.

It is from the time I grew up, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at its hope, its appreciation of some appreciation of some progress, and a simplicity in expression of a solution -- which failed to arise.

The 'social scientist' in me can note the lack of analysis, that is often a feature the optimistic post WWII and post immigrant mind set.

But the human at me wishes it were more true.

See, Violence Works: Kansas mayor resigns after threats over mask mandate

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Wed, 16 Dec 2020 18:38:00 +0000

I regret to say, that I think Salvor Hardin was wrong in saying "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." Or at least the threat of violence.

Given Kansas mayor resigns after threats over backing mask mandate, and the lessons from the Tea Party's successes -- packing town halls and bringing weapons -- what used to be called 'armed propaganda' effects change and suppresses opposition. To not understand that, and accept that, is to be at more peril.

One might hazard that as behavior that is rewarded continues, it might seem logical that violence and the threat of violence needs to be met with public, crippling force -- preferably that of the state -- and not stop until the threat is removed.

I don't feel quite so obsolete: Magnetic tape has a surprisingly promising future

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Tue, 15 Dec 2020 23:15:00 +0000

Magnetic tape has a surprisingly promising futures

I know this is a dangerous...

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Sat, 12 Dec 2020 05:33:00 +0000

...but I am sorely temped to want to follow the suggestion of NJ 8th District Congressman Bill Pascrell.

I can give you all the reasons this is potentially problematic, but I am frankly of the opinion that if we are going to have a civil war, let's start it now.

A thought for Shabbat Shuvah.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Fri, 25 Sep 2020 22:47:00 +0000

God Full of Mercy

God-Full-of-Mercy, the prayer for the dead.
If God was not full of mercy,
Mercy would have been in the world,
Not just in Him.
I, who plucked flowers in the hills
And looked down into all the valleys,
I, who brought corpses down from the hills,
Can tell you that the world is empty of mercy.
I, who was King of Salt at the seashore,
Who stood without a decision at my window,
Who counted the steps of angels,
Whose heart lifted weights of anguish
In the horrible contests.

I, who use only a small part
Of the words in the dictionary.

I, who must decipher riddles
I don't want to decipher,
Know that if not for the God-full-of-mercy
There would be mercy in the world,
Not just in Him.

-- Yehuda Amichai
Translated from the Hebrew by Barbara and Benjamin Harshav

3 July: There are a number of things that I can remember

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Fri, 03 Jul 2020 21:35:00 +0000

There are a number of things that I can remember for any given day.

For instance, today, 3 July, it is the anniversary of Mers-el-Kebir, it's the last day of the Battle of Gettysburg, and when Stone of Scone returned to Scottland.

But the third of July reminds me of the mid 60's and getting ready to get excited to go into Juneau,* Alaska, next to the mudflats, for the 4th of July fair, and watch the fireworks.

Juneau isn't Fairbanks, but still it stay light pretty late, with long twilights -- so it was one of the few times we got to stay up until almost mid night.

And there was a delightful uncertainty as to actually when the fireworks would happen. Juneau has, on average, eight clear days a year. The above picture is likely from mid-summer.

So, fireworks might or might need to be postponed. The times we tried to do something clever like go out on a friend's boat, it was bucketing down.

Then there was the setting. We were on the Juneau side of the Gastineau Channel, the fireworks were shot off from the middle of channel, and the backdrop was Mt Douglas, in the then city of Douglas.*

During the fireworks, I have clear memories of my father then. He was smoking his pipe, trying to coral us, giving us time on his shoulders, dealing with a sick little brother, involved in endless political chat.

----------

*Technically, neither Juneau, nor Douglas exist anymore. They were dissolved when the City and Borough of Juneau was created . My father was a member of the charter commission that planned that merger. I believe it was his one elective office. He got bitten by dogs while campaigning, and so was supplied by friends with the clever protective mask above.

The problem with graven images is that they have feet of clay.

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Fri, 26 Jun 2020 20:34:00 +0000

Ok, that's a predictable title to introduce: Gandhi statue vandalized in Central Park

By the way, it's not that Central Park, but one in Yolo County, California.

There are several such incidents around the world -- the UK, the Netherlands, Washington DC.

The defacing graffiti are about racism and sexual predation -- charges that are not by current standards completely without merit.

It's interesting is that when the statue's erection was discussed, a group called the Organization for Minorities of India voiced its opposition to the statue.

It is undisputed that Gandhi was a hero to many, but it should be (noted that) he was also a bigot and predator of members of his own family,” Sacramento businessman Amar Shergil.

Shanda on the Republic

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Wed, 03 Jun 2020 06:11:00 +0000

The statement here, from near kin. It isn't new, nor is it revelatory, more is the pity.

I have been stopped many more times than this, but these are some incidents that stand out.

11 year old: Handcuffed and questioned at for skateboarding in a parking lot—let go, no charges, no incident number.

14 years old: Handcuffed and put in the back of a car for supposed shoplifting at a Walgreens—let go, no charges, no incident number.

16 years old: Handcuffed, punched, sat on the side of the 94 highway for an hour with no coat on in January, while officers searched my mom's minivan—no charges, no ticket, no explanation, no incident number.

17 years old: Pulled over for broken taillight in NE Minneapolis, removed from the car, searched splayed out on the hood of the car. When the officer asked me where I was coming from, I lifted my hand to point to my friends house down the block. The officer grabbed my hand, twisted it behind my back, and slammed my head on the car, and told me if I moved again he'd kick my teeth in. I was put in the back of the car, questioned as to why I was wearing a hat (Twins Hat) in my driver's license photo. He asked me what gang I was in. He let me go after they ran my license and searched for warrants. No ticket, no incident number.

18 years old: Pulled over for "failing to signal a lane change." Pulled out of the car at gunpoint, handcuffed, placed in the back of the cruiser while he ran my license and then nothing came up. Let go, no ticket, no incident number.

19 years old: Biking home from work at night, a cop car pulled in front of me suddenly and almost knocked me off my bike. The officers stopped me, frisked me and searched my bag without consent, and said they were investigating a stolen bike report. I told them to check the number (it was a bike I had received as a birthday present years earlier). They ran it, let me go.

20 years old: Violently arrested while with a friend in Minneapolis by two undercover officers. Punched, kicked, hit repeatedly in the head. The officers put the handcuffs on so tightly that I lost all feeling in my hands, and I begged them to loosen the cuffs from the back seat of the car. The officers had punched my friend in the stomach repeatedly until he urinated on himself. The officers drove us around for 4 hours, so that our Thursday arrest became a Friday arrest on a holiday weekend. Spent 72 hours in jail, where at one point I was put into a room with a bunch of other Latinos slated for "deportation proceedings." I didn't regain feeling in my hands for several months, and developed an intermittent hand tremor that continues to this day.

23 year old: Christmas break, drove to a party at my friend's house. Ipop had just died, I had just gotten back from Rome and hadn't processed the death, and I was really distraught. I drank too much, and called my mom and Paul to pick me up. While waiting for her outside of the apartment, I was weeping in the parking lot. A police car drove, ordered me onto the ground, handcuffed me face-down, as I tried to explain that—no—I wasn't breaking into cars, I was simply at a party, got drunk, and really sad because my grandfather died. My mom and Paul showed up, and I was released.

28 years old: At a bar with Lizzy during Christmas break (before we were dating), an old white man walked up to me and started asking "where are you from?" I said I grew up in Minneapolis. He said "where are you really from" and I repeated myself, to which he replied, "I know where you're from you fucking Afghanistani ISIS..." I didn't tell him I'm Mexican. He proceeded to tell me that he was off-duty MPD, and that it would be no big deal for him to shoot me in the parking lot, or to call his officer friends to do it for him. I told Lizzy we needed to leave right away, and walked her home. An hour later I came back, and from half a block away I saw him pacing in the parking lot. I panicked. I called 911, who redirected my call to the NE precinct. They told me "anyone can say they're a cop, we can't just come to every call." They hung up as I was speaking. I waited for half an hour until I watched him get in a car and drive away. I got into my car, and had a severe panic attack.

This is just some of my experiences with the Minneapolis Police Department—not the St. Paul Police Department, not the state troopers, not NYPD or LAPD—some of those which are even more traumatic. I think in the news or in media there is often a discussion of disparities in arrests or deaths, but that fails to capture the everyday indignities that are never charged or captured or written down.

I would ask you not to [react] with an expression of sympathy, because that is not what I need. I think in the past years, as many of you have said to me "be safe" in protesting against this and other related police misconduct, injustice, I have been curious about why you thought I was less safe surrounded by protestors than I was simply walking or driving around the city in my every day life. Clearly, it's because the protests are visible and receive attention.

So again, I ask you not to express sympathy or sorrow. I don't want you to ask me what you can do to make it feel better. I just want you to know that this is the world that I lived in—in the same Twin Cities which is often touted for it's high standard of living and progressivism, which in fact has some of the highest racial disparities and growing segregation in the country. I don't know if you've watched the video of what happened to George Floyd, and I don't know if I would recommend it. It is brutal and barbaric—to see an officer continue to kneel on the neck of the lifeless body of a man for four minutes after he has already stopped pleading for his life, to continue to kneel on his neck even as the EMT tries to take his pulse, and to see his fellow officers fail to so much as flinch. But, I wonder, if you see that video, if you would ever be prepared for it to be me. And what would you do if it was?

I am horribly saddened and distraught to see what happened to Lake Street and University, two streets which were formative to my younger years. But if you see what happened to George Floyd, and you can imagine what has been happening for decades, then I think you will understand what is going on.

I have no broader point. Hope you are all well. Feel free to share any of this reflection out.

Invitation to an Unveiling

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 06:57:00 +0000

At some point, the cloth is removed from the stone,
and there is a suspension of mourning for

memory.

In thinking on this reminds me of my mother’s paternal Grandfather, Solomon Bernstein (Shlomo Zalman), for whom I am named. Since my family follows Ashkenazi practice, this means I never met him.

Therefore, the memories I have of him are in pictures, stories, and remembrances. When I listen for him, I am most likely to hear my mother or grandmother telling me this or that story. And I can really see him in black and white: sitting formally, or sprawling with my mother perched on his shoulder.

And while several times a year, I light candles for my mother and grandmother, which is a temporary return to mourning from memory. I do not think I have ever lit them for my great-grandfather. I am not even sure of the date for this.

But every now and then some event triggers my remembrance – a sort of mourning -- for him, and everyone I do not have. It’s payment for the pleasure of their company.

I knew my father longer, (though not better) than almost anyone else still alive.

The memories I have of my father are colored and varied. They have my point of view embedded in them -- changing in height and position.

And though my children and wife have their own memories, I know that there is much they have about my father is in the faded color of my retelling.

In time, I hope for grandchildren. And for them, my father will be less colored, and so eventually will I.

Perhaps, we can become family heirloom necklaces – a bit tangled by being kept in the same box. And thus, the story of snatching of a child from the deep end of the pool will be told of me not my father, or ‘no so old’ being told of my father not my mother’s grandfather.

I like the idea of fading together.

There will be a time when the candles and triggers which spark the return to mourning from memory will not be lit for either of any of us.

But this is the end of the first year, so this is not that time for my father. So we remove the covering on his marker, so our mourning is suspended and his memory may be only for a blessing.

Cat and the Pumpkin

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 06:41:00 +0000

October 30th informs me that somethings in time are mutable, somethings are not.

By Gregorian reckoning, 42 years ago my mother died, four months and 27 days ago it was my father.

That tends to the immutable — why the dead get by with everything.

That October 30 once was the occasion for a small family jack-o’-lantern competition, a friend's birthday, or the date of a child’s Halloween concert seems rather more mutable.

Least mutable, there is no justice, just us.

I suppose the best we can hope for is a ride on Binky.

An outside view: Famous abusers seek easy forgiveness. Rosh Hashanah teaches us repentance is hard

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Sat, 08 Sep 2018 04:43:00 +0000

It is often stated that diversity has particular values in addressing moral issues.

For this reason, Famous abusers seek easy forgiveness. Rosh Hashanah teaches us repentance is hard by Danya Ruttenberg may be enlightening.

Even before the precision of the article, all four of us had been discussing this issue, as befits Jews, around the dinner table.

These discussions were prompted both by some rather diffuse and ill defined coverage in conventional media about attempts for offenders to rehabilitate themselves.

Everyday, I try and remind myself that I have made a choice to live in a world different from most people. Sometimes it is very pleasing.

L'Shana Tovah

How not to do news: NPR Style

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Sun, 12 Aug 2018 06:41:00 +0000

The following interview was conducted on NPR's Morning Edition, on Friday 10 August, 2018: Jason Kessler On His 'Unite The Right' Rally Move To D.C.

I cannot let this one pass.

As someone with parents who had some press experience, and who pointed to Edwin Newman as to how an interview ought to be done (particularly his work on Speaking Freely ) -- that is preparation, laying ground work for questions, and patience -- I have rarely heard such a bad interview.

This sort of poorly grounded gotcha interview is easy for the target to dance gleefully around, making the interviewer sound like an idiot.

It also seems to be the current NPR style. Frank Mankiewicz should be rotating in his grave so fast your could generate electricity.

J.K. Rowling is giving a master class in identifying anti-Semitism

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 17:30:00 +0000

J.K. Rowling is giving a master class in identifying anti-Semitism (H/T to Elisa Triffleman)

This reminds of a conversation:

Moss Hart was working on the screen play for "Gentlemen's Agreement", he asked George Kaufman if Kaufman had read the book.

"I don't need to spend $1.50 to know what it's like to be a damned Jew", he snarled back.

'Segregation's Constant Gardeners': How White Women Kept Jim Crow Alive - Pacific Standard | https://psmag.com/

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 17:14:00 +0000

'Segregation's Constant Gardeners': How White Women Kept Jim Crow Alive

Let that sink in for a moment.

My typical 'Jonathan Edwards' comment is that I find this re-assuring: black/white, men/women, gay/straight, we are all 'Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God'.

But there is a bit more to the issue than that. The issues are power and status of a group, and is hardly unique to these white women.

Before feeling morally superior, just think of asking house slave (all the way back to Marcus Tullius Tiro), remember the last paragraph of Nineteen Eighty-Four, or read Darkness at Noon. Or consider a bit of John Donne.

From the Forward: Christian Passover Seders Are On The Rise

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 20:06:00 +0000

From the Forward: Christian Passover Seders Are On The Rise

The article's sub-title on Facebook was "Cultural Appropriation or Cultural Appreciation."

I cannot say I feel appreciated by this.

For the record, the Last Supper could not have been a Seder.

Seders did not exist until after the Temple fell.

There is of course a Christian influence in the Seder itself; it is not as positive as the Roman and Greek influences.

The influence can be found in the practice of opening the door for Elijah and reciting Sh'foch Chamatcha (Psalm 79:6-7, Psalm 69:25, Lamentations 3:66).

Would a Christian Seder want appropriate/appreciate that memory of the times we two peoples shared.

Are we all Captain Renault?

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 21:28:00 +0000

Are we all Captain Renault?

Simple rule of thumb: If someone gives you a 'product' for free, you are the product.

So, I'm sorry, but I can't get too upset about what Facebook did/allowed to happen. I always assumed they were doing this sort of thing.

That they just gave a master class in how not to handle a PR problem, should be an education to people in the business world.

But it won't be. But I expect a rush on NDAs.

That they showed the true meaning of their transparency policies (e.g. transparent as in you can't see it), just shows that they function like all businesses want to.

Back in the day of free over the air TV (and futzing with the horizontal control), I remember getting instruction from my father why it was free: The networks are selling you to advertisers. You get back at them by knowing that all ads are lies.

A good principal with Facebook et al. We know they are selling us.

So, by all means, improve your Facebook privacy setting (see How Change Your Facebook Settings to Opt-out of platform API sharing), but remember you should not be Shocked, schocked...

From an Old Bear to a Young One

noreply@blogger.com (Stephen Montsaroff) — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 20:02:00 +0000

Thoughts on the Parash Va'eira, 13 January 2018, 6 Tevet 5777.

Well, I looked, but there is not mention of soccer in the Bible.

The only mention of sports I could find in the bible is in the start of Genesis...and that's baseball. So we won't go there.

<Oh no, in the Big Inning>

Now there are very few mentions of bears in the Bible either.

The most famous one is in Kings II, where she-bears devour wicked children who were mocking the bald head of the prophet Elisha.

That might please some please some of your relatives, but we won't go there either.

So I took a leaf out of your book, and looked at your Torah (Exodus 7:8-9:35) and Haftarah ( Ezekiel 28:25–29:21) to see if I could talk to you about anything there.

And, what struck me is that they are both at some level about exiles. Ezekiel is in exile writing back home.

And as it often the case with exiles, writing back home.

As is often the case with exiles, he has perhaps more clarity than the folks back home.

He is in forced exile, hoping to prevent that from happening to the rest of his people.

He doesn't prevent that from happening.

Moses just returned from an exile.

He has returned to an Egypt where we're told no one knows him anymore.

So, it was a sort of an exile of both time and place.

And he is about to go out on exile again, and take his people out on an exile.

And be there for 40 years, and Moses will die in exile.

Exile is part of the heritage of the Jew; maybe it is one of the defining inheritances.

It's also part of life, from the very moment of birth.

Which is why, I think, newborns look so grumpy.

Exile is not a happy thing.

While it comes in many flavors, it generally is uncomfortable: an adversity.

But:

Sweet are the uses of adversity
Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous,
Wears yet a precious jewel in his head;

And you thought you'd get through this without me quoting Shakespeare.

<No, I didn't>

So, you will go through life, and have already gone through, exiles.

The point of them is for us is how we deal with them going forward.

This will define an awful lot of about us.

I'd like to be there to help you with all your exiles, so would your mother.

But, by the very definition of exiles, I am not sure that we can be.

It reminds of a poem, actually a song that Claudia Schmidt used to sing beautifully.

It goes:

Farewell, my friends,
I’m bound for Canaan,
I’m trav’ling through the wilderness;
Your company has been delightful,
You do not leave my mind distressed.
I go away, behind to leave you,
Perhaps never to meet again,
But if we never have the pleasure,
I hope we’ll meet on Canaan’s land.

I hope that all your exiles are going forward.

I hope that they are as good for you as they can be.

And, as always:

That you should Grow and Be Strong and Do Justly.