Friday, July 28, 2006



I had not seen my friend Abraham Jedidiah Rogatnick for a couple of months so I called him on Wednesday morning and asked him if he wanted to come over for tea. Abraham at 83 manifests all the impulses of the young man that he is, and said he would be over at four.

I sliced a cucumber very thin and soaked the slices in a bowl of water with lots of sea salt and sugar. I made some mayonnaise and put four eggs to boil. In nearby Kerrisdale, at Moore's Bakery, I bought a loaf of white bread, sliced extra thin, for my cucumber and egg salad sandwiches. I also bought some cookies. Rosemary came back from Safeway with very good cherries (I placed them in a bowl with lots of ice) and a watermelon. The secret of my cucumber sandwiches is that I coat one slice of bread with unsalted butter and the other with my homemade mayonnaise. And I always put Coleman's mustard, celery, onion and red pepper in the egg mix.

When Abraham promptly arrived I asked him if he wanted organic Tanzania or Earl Grey tea. He opted for the second when I told him that the Tanzania tea was very strong and would help grow more hair on his chest. We went down to the garden and sat down for tea. Lauren (4) took a liking for Abraham and sat next to him. She sat closer when I threatened to spit cherry pits at her. She asked Abraham to draw her a horsie, some ducks, a birdie and a giraffe. This Abraham did.

Abraham