Yom Kippur, and Papa Smiled

For years this Jew worked on the Jewish holidays because he never even thought about belief.

And then came cancer. Again. And then he met the rabbi.

For the last two years, I think, I've done the go to the night time service then go to work the next day strategy. Uno steppo at el timo, I call it.

Then I got the call. The rabbi would like to honor you by having you carry the Torah around in the procession Monday morning, said the old woman's voice.

And I had to think about it. And now that I think about it, I wonder if it was a test. Was it by the rabbi? By Papa? By god?

And as I walked around, carrying the heavy, holy scrolls, I felt like I was the rock star I had never become. Everyone reached out to touch and kiss what I had in my arms on this most important day.

The temperature plummeted last night. The wind blew trashcan lids in the alleys. Our seven foot tall sunflowers were bent over and bouncing and no longer yellow and standing tall.

And all of us in the temple were begging for forgiveness and asking to get written in the book of life. For one more year at least. One more year of life and love.

When I listened to Rabbi Doug chant from that Torah that I had just carried around the temple for everyone to kiss, I saw my grandfather and grandmother, and my Uncle Mitch in the room as angels, and they danced next to the rabbi with 11,000 more.

When Karla and I made it home after a near-four hour service, we stopped at Whole Foods, and picked up gluten free cupcakes with thick white frosting. Once home, we gave each other toasts as if we were drinking martinis, and broke our fasts with sweet cupcakes and a kiss.

7 Step Recipe for Brain Tumor (& other cancer?) Patients

*Not sure of the proper order.
**I ain't a doc but a long-term patient. Who better to trust?
***I'll do my best to provide links to everything instead of spending forever describing details.

1. Eat a gluten free, healthy, vegie diet. Add kefir and turmeric. The first two help digestion and the last one is supposed to kill that cancer. You can shake it on tons of things and it's cheap as heck. It's also a great excuse to eat vegetarian southern Indian food (although not all food is gluten free, so be aware).

2. Get enough sleep. Especially if you work. Especially if you work full-time.

2a. Melatonin at bedtime. I take a lot and have for a while, but that's because of something Karla read many years ago. I suggest reading this link at emedtv.com that tells you a whole lot about the pros and cons.

3. Tongue sores or mouth sores? Ask your dentist for Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse USP, o.12%. It's a mouthwash by prescription that may burn while swishing, but my dentist gave me some and it helped a lot. (And I still use it sometimes.)

3a. They're probably officially called canker sores. You can also just go crazy with baking soda and water. At the same time, make sure you're taking zinc as well as folic acid. Lots of the latter. This, I think, is the best way to deal with it.

4. Don't let #1 stop you from a whiskey or a gin martini or a glass or two of wine or a gluten free beer when you feel like having one. Life is too short. For some of us.

5. Say El Na Rifa Na La a lot. It's a Kabbalah phrase that means Thank you, Lord, for healing, and continuing to heal me always. If you don't want to say the word Lord, just thank something or someone for healing you. Believe you are being healed. For that's the only way you can be healed.

6. Enjoy your life as much as you can. Remember your five senses.

7. Love.