Los Meshugganas

There aren't a huge number of Jews in Fallbrook but we do exist. There isn't a temple or synagogue nearby and many of us are not religious so we really don't have a way to congregate and most of us don't know each other. Except for me of course, I have been here 44 years and know lots of people. 

Leslie helped put on a Seder at the Hilltop Center about fifteen years ago and I think 150 people showed up but I have no idea how many Jewish people actually live here today. Fallbrook is pretty undercover.

In any case, I met a fellow M.O.T. at the pharmacy a few months back. we were standing in a long line waiting for meds and I started kibitzing with this fellow and all of a sudden the Yiddish and shtick was flying and you should have seen the bemusement and disbelief on the part of the rest of the folks in line. 

It was like I had known this guy for fifty years. 

We exchanged numbers and got to talking and decided to have a tribal gathering at his beautiful home. We only had one rule, no schmucks invited, it wouldn't be like the Seder where Leslie did all the cooking and work and then was told it was her job to clean up too.

The event was open to people who are Jewish or partly Jewish and their family and spouses of any persuasion.

I created a graphic for the gathering and had t-shirts made in Holland.

The shirts came in black, blue and red and sold out like hotcakes, even to my friends in New York. 

I need to order a new batch, people liked it so much. If you want to get one for you please give me your color and size.

Fifteen bucks, twenty five with shipping.

Today was the party and it was wonderful.

People brought brisket, lox, bagels, whitefish, kasha varnishkes, kishka, roasted vegetables, wine, champagne, everybody outdid themselves. 

Hamentaschen, kugel, rugelach, it was something else.

I made a double batch of scones for the party this morning, cranberry, blueberry walnut and nectarine ginger, unfortunately I never was able to try one of the nectarines, they vanished!

People talked and laughed and made new friends. 

Sadly a lot of people could not make it for one reason or another but it was nicely attended and went off perfectly. 

We schmoozed for an hour and then had our feast.

Kim ordered a lovely cheesecake to commemorate the gathering.

I did the Yidstock graphic as a play on Woodstock in memory of my buddy, the late John Morris, who was the technical director, booked the acts and pretty much did everything there.

Leslie gave out free boxes of matzoh to any attendees that wanted one.

People seemed quite happy to meet new friends and signaled that they might want to do this again, sometime, somewhere. 

Who knows?

I ended up taking a dip in the beautiful pool as everything wound down. It was a very hot day and it felt great!

Thanks to everybody for making the day such a success. If I forgot about you or you were not able to attend and want to sign on for the next one, do let me know.