Yesterday, we went to San Jose Rep to see The Immigrant, a play about the experience of a Russian Jewish immigrant in Hamilton, Texas, where he started as a fruit peddler and ended up as a respected member of the community (and the only Jew in town), owner of the local department store. I wonder how similar his story was to that of my grandfather, who was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant and eventually owned a grocery store. Even without that connection, I would recommend the play.
Today, we hosted our annual Super Bowl party — as usual, we had more than enough food (most of it of dubious nutritional value, especially the stuff I picked out!), and far too much beer (one six-pack, untouched). The commercials didn’t seem to be up to the standard I expected of the Super Bowl; the best commercial, by far, was from FedEx. Other notable commercials included the ones from Hummer, Sierra Mist, and the Bud Light magic refrigerator commercial. But most of the commercials went in one eye and out the other — I’m glad I wasn’t paying for them.
The best news, though, is that my father-in-law is no longer homeless. He and his girlfriend moved into their apartment yesterday after their stuff arrived from Valley Stream — they were lucky to be able to lease an apartment in the complex they wanted (Fellowship Square in Tucson) with only a six-week wait. They’d been staying in hotels, with friends, and with family, but they said that moving from place to place every week or so was getting tiring, so I know that they’re happy to be firmly grounded again.