“Life is what we make out of it while we are still alive.”
January 13th will mark my second Bar Mitzvah, since I am turning 67 (6+7 = 13) years young. I remember the celebration of my first one. In Jewish tradition, when a boy turns 13, he is responsible for his own actions and can participate in the prayer with adults. Looking back on my life, I realized that from that date 54 years ago until today–I lived without knowing what the next day will bring, despite my preparations and going through a seemingly predictable life journey.
This thought came to mind after my very dear friend, Alex Vinokurov passed on. His cancer was diagnosed in November. After a “successful” surgery, he was ready to recover, but it never happened. We visited him on Sunday. He was weak, but holding on. Before saying good-bye, he opened his eyes, squeezed my hand, and said, “I love you”. I kissed him, and we left. Monday, before 9pm, he was gone, He was 56 years young.
Recently, we’ve heard about other people we know who are not around anymore. Some of our very close friends are also dealing with the frightening “C” word.
I am sad—and when I think about Alex, my eyes become watery.
But I made a very clear decision for myself. There is no need to wait for one special day a year to celebrate; every day is special and there are always reasons to celebrate life with the friends and family members.
Hope you will join me.
There is a story told about a righteous Catholic priest who died. He, of course, went straight to heaven where Saint Peter himself greeted him. For his service to God, he was offered a special privilege to read the holy books in their original writing. He was ushered into a big room filled with shelves covered with manuscripts. Shortly after he started to read, he started to yell: “Oh No! Oh No!”
Everyone rushed in.
“What happened?”
“It is written here to celebrate, not celibate!”
Let’s celebrate!
P.S.
We celebrated the start of 2014 at a friend’s condo on the 26th floor across from the Bay Bridge. I, of course, had my camera and tripod with me. When everyone was clanging glasses with champagne, I was pressing the button on my camera. While the champagne bubbles are long consumed, my special images will help you celebrate your new year. You will see more of them every week with my “Market News” on Wednesdays.
DO NOT KEEP ME AS A SECRET.
SMILE AND PLEASE SHARE IT WITH A FRIEND