The Cube

In 1997, our family welcomed the first two of our nine grandchildren into the world. Our daughter in law, Susan, delivered healthy, twin boys, Adam and Zachary into the world. Traditionally, a Jewish son has to be purchased from a Kohan, a priest, for five silver coins. Or gold perhaps. The service is called a Pidyon Haben. Our very wonderful friend Michael Kaplan (Z"L) performed this ritual for our son Matthew when he was born in 1967, and again for his son Adam as the first born of the twins. We used the same five coins for both. 

By then our five adult children were living as far away as Seattle, Portland and Virginia, so reconnecting, sharing each other's news, became a major part of the weekend. Someone, I don't remember who, brought a copy of the book, The Cube, with them, thinking this would be a great game to play. And it was. A series of provocative questions are asked. I don't remember any of the questions, my answers or anyone else's, except one. Ben's answer to the question, 'What is the weather like,' in this scene that he had created. "It's bad," he said. "How so?' we asked. "Everything. Tornados, hurricanes, thunder, lightening." We laughed at the drama Ben created. So fitting on his road to becoming a successful actor.

Five years later, Ben was diagnosed with ALS. A coincidence? A foretelling of the future? Perhaps. His diagnosis sent me back into therapy where I was asked a question. "Growing up, what message did you receive about life? Would it be easy, hard, difficult?" I hardly gave my answer much of a thought. "Hard." Marriage was hard work. Children are challenging. Success fleeting. I haven't changed my mind about any of it. My mother was right about all of it. I can see her smiling at me.

We really know so little about the human psyche, birth, death, why we are even here. The older I get, the more curious I have become about the mystery, the intrigue and yes, the drama.