Friday night services at Hannah's synagogue featured Rick Recht. I was really excited and I know that Mom and Jack enjoyed the service. It would be great to have that kind of musical service every shabbat.

Joe was a little shy but I think he had a great time because the music was terrific. I told you how he has a song in his heart and is always singing.

This is one of the songs he likes to sing.

Listening to Rick Recht's music always reminds me of when you and I were last in Minneapolis.



We listened to his Shabbat Alive CD and to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. It is hard to believe that was before iPods really had come on to the scene. Life is a lot easier these days.

And for some reason, the movie The Dish always makes me think back to you. I don't know where we watched it - home, Hackensack or Minneapolis - but it was definitely something that we watched when you were sick. Maybe just Mom and I watched it. I don't know if you ever saw it because there are a couple of bad words.

This is my favorite part:



When we were in St. Louis, our friends the Medways were there. Mr. Medway worked at NASA and he always got me cool Apollo stuff, like pictures of the astronauts, when I was growing up. It was good to see them. Their son Richard works at Nintendo and has been incredibly helpful with Hope for Henry.

We have a Nintendo game system called the Wii, which you would have really liked.

Yesterday was your 5th Deathday. We all went to the cemetery, then to Cactus Cantina and then we wrapped up the day by lighting the Hanukkah candles - it was the last night - and a yarzheit candle for you.



I grabbed two photo albums on the way out the door which was a good thing. We all looked at pictures of you and everyone else while we were at the cemetery and at Cactus. It was a good way to get everyone to really focus on you.

I took a video of a lot of what we did all day but am having some trouble transferring it to the computer. Look for that soon.

I was thinking that we need to have an abbreviation for Hanukkah the way there is Xmas for Christmas. There are so many ways to spell Hanukkah it might be cool to be able to just write "H-kah" or something like that. We'll see if that takes off.

It came a few days early but I did start weeping uncontrollably the other day. Here is the "progression." I had a hard day and I was home alone doing some dishes waiting for Mom and your brothers. On XM's Radio Hanukkah, Rick Recht was playing. I guess my mind went to Minnesota when we used to listen to him and then all of a sudden, standing over the sink, I started to weep with my entire body. It didn't last all that long.

Here is a cool slideshow Mom made for the day. I had wanted to do this, but Mom beat me to it and did a great job.



I get bummed out at these commercials that are playing on TV for a hospital called St. Judes. They raise money for the hospital (a really good thing) by showing celebrities with kids with cancer. They only use kids with no hair. That's what sells, but it bums me out. It is just me.

Hey, I keep wanting to tell you that Mom is on a radio show every week. Here is the link to the shows.

http://www.washfm.com/pages/wafaudio.html

Your mom is destined to be a big star.