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Weekend Butler: Could the most holy of the holy be someone you might not notice? Weekend movie: Mark Rylance. Another zucchini recipe. An inspiring song. A cell phone mystery at the White House. And more….
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Published: Aug 04, 2022
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Weekend
COULD THE MOST HOLY OF THE HOLY BE SOMEONE YOU MIGHT NOT NOTICE?
In my novel, two teenage friends — one kind of, sort of Buddhist, one Jewish — talk about religion when they’re not talking about girls. The Jewish boy tells his friend about the Lamed Vav: “The 36 Lamed Vavs are the most important people in the world. Literally, they keep it going, and if even one of them disappears, the world will end. We don’t know who they are — if someone claims he’s one of the Lamed Vav, that automatically means he’s not. But what’s really amazing is that the Lamed Vavs don’t know they’re Lamed Vavs. It’s like they’re walking down the street and they see someone suffering and they kind of inhale the trouble, and… poof… it’s gone, and they go back to their lives.”
I thought of the Lamed Vav when K. sent me this memory piece from Elizabeth Gilbert, who wrote “Eat Pray Love.”
Several years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. years ago, I was stuck on a crosstown bus in New York City during rush hour. Traffic was barely moving. barely moving. The bus was filled with cold, tired people who were deeply irritated with one another, with the world itself. Two men barked at each other about a shove that might or might not have been intentional. A pregnant woman got on, and nobody offered her a seat. Rage was in the air; no mercy would be found here.
But as the bus approached Seventh Avenue, the driver got on the intercom. “Folks,” he said, “I know you have had a rough day and you are frustrated. I can’t do anything about the weather or traffic, but here is what I can do. As each one of you gets off the bus, I will reach out my hand to you. As you walk by, drop your troubles into the palm of my hand, okay? Don’t take your problems home to your families tonight, just leave them with me. My route goes right by the Hudson River, and when I drive by there later, I will open the window and throw your troubles in the water.”
It was as if a spell had lifted. Everyone burst out laughing. Faces gleamed with surprised delight. People who had been pretending for the past hour not to notice each other’s existence were suddenly grinning at each other like, is this guy serious?
Oh, he was serious.
At the next stop, just as promised, the driver reached out his hand, palm up, and waited. One by one, all the exiting commuters placed their hand just above his and mimed the gesture of dropping something into his palm. Some people laughed as they did this, some teared up but everyone did it.
The driver repeated the same lovely ritual at the next stop, too. And the next. All the way to the river.
We live in a hard world, my friends. Sometimes it is extra difficult to be a human being. Sometimes you have a bad day. Sometimes you have a bad day that lasts for several years. You struggle and fail. You lose jobs, money, friends, faith, and love. You witness horrible events unfolding in the news, and you become fearful and withdrawn. There are times when everything seems cloaked in darkness. You long for the light but don’t know where to find it.
But what if you are the light? What if you are the very agent of illumination that a dark situation begs for?. That’s what this bus driver taught me, that anyone can be the light, at any moment. This guy wasn’t some big power player. He wasn’t a spiritual leader. He wasn’t some media-savvy influencer. He was a bus driver, one of society’s most invisible workers. But he possessed real power, and he used it beautifully for our benefit.
When life feels especially grim, or when I feel particularly powerless in the face of the world’s troubles, I think of this man and ask myself, What can I do, right now, to be the light? Of course, I can’t personally end all wars, or solve global warming, or transform vexing people into entirely different creatures. I definitely can’t control traffic. But I do have some influence on everyone I brush up against, even if we never speak or learn each other’s name.
“No matter who you are, or where you are, or how mundane or tough your situation may seem, I believe you can illuminate your world. In fact, I believe this is the only way the world will ever be illuminated, one bright act of grace at a time, all the way to the river.”
BRANDI MITCHELL/JONI MITCHELL: THE TRUST FALL
At Newport, before Mitchell picked up her guitar, Carlile prepped the audience, announcing, “She’s doing something very, very brave right now for you guys — this is a trust fall, and she picked the right people to do this with.” That phrase was instantly understood by those who have experienced team-building exercises. I haven’t. I had to look it up: “Generally, one person stands up straight, closes their eyes and falls back, relying on the others to catch them before hitting the ground.”
“YOU MUST TELL THE TRUTH. THIS IS NOT YOUR SHOW.”
Judge Maya Gamble schools Alex Jones. A very satisfying short video.
STEPHANIE RUHLE KNOWS THE PROBABLE ANSWER. DO YOU?
Stephanie Ruhle asks: “Why did Trump have Kayliegh McEnany bring him a list of phone numbers for members of Congress he was already close with & spoke to regularly? Wouldn’t he already have their numbers stored in his phone?”
WEEKEND MOVIE: “THE OUTFIT”
Mark Rylance is a Savile Row-trained cutter— do not call him a tailor — who left his London home for Chicago after World War II. He’s stiff-upper-lipped and poker-faced, very much like his character in “Bridge of Spies.” His formality will be tested by “The Outfit,” men who dress well.. and carry guns they’re very willing to use. Directed by Graham Moore (who won an Academy Award for writing “Imitation Game,” the World War II thriller about the team of Brits who cracked Nazi Germany’s Enigma code). RogerEbert.com: “You leave ‘The Outfit’ feeling like you have seen something rich, ravishing, and sumptuous.” The NYTimes: “Rylance and Simon Russell Beale create a little world and a movie within a movie that’s worth watching.”
Here’s the trailer. To stream it on Amazon Prime, click here.
THE WEEKEND POEM: CZESLAW MILOSZ
On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.
On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.
And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.
Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.
ONE MORE ZUCCHINI RECIPE: SOFT ZUCCHINI WITH HARISSA, OLIVES, AND FETA
Serves 4–6
¼ teaspoon caraway seeds or a combination of fennel and cumin seeds
1 clove garlic
Salt and pepper
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons harissa paste
6 tablespoons really good
extra-virgin olive oil, plus a bit more for drizzling at the end
4 zucchini, sliced into thick rounds
Handful cured olives, a combination of oily and briny ones is nice, pitted
½ cup coarsely crumbled feta
Small handful parsley leaves, chopped
Rind of a quarter of a preserved lemon, chopped
Toast the caraway seeds in a small heavy skillet over medium heat just until they are fragrant, 1–2 minutes. Put the toasted seeds in a mortar and crush them with the pestle. Add the garlic and a good pinch of salt and crush the mixture into a paste. Stir in the lemon juice, harissa, and oil. Season with salt.
Bring a pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add the zucchini and cook until very tender and soft but definitely not falling apart, about 5 minutes. Drain well, then put the zucchini into a wide bowl and gently toss with the harrisa vinaigrette while still warm.
Dress the zucchini with the olives, feta, parsley, and preserved lemons, finishing the dish with a good drizzle of olive oil.
WEEKEND MUSIC: LET’S END ON A HIGH NOTE
Brian Fallon, “Wonderful Life”
The official video.
Solo, acoustic performance. (Viewer comment: “This song, and this version, was our first dance at our wedding.”)
Extra credit: Forget Me Not.
Most of this life’s been a drag of a high
And lows like a blow in a paid thrown title fight
Most of my sins were born in a kiss on a night like this
Calling all lonely hearts
Don’t you want a life like we saw on the picture show?
So come on, give me something and come on, keep me up all night
You say, my baby, all this time in between drives me crazy
I want a life on fire, going mad with desire
I don’t wanna survive, I want a wonderful life
Modern love seems that it goes from a dream
To a crash and a roll, just shaking up everyone
Maybe there’s more than the treasures we secure
That become heavy chains, to sink us in tidal waves
And all I could do is take you from the circus show
So come on, give me something and come on, keep me up all night
You say, my baby, all this time in between drives me crazy
I want a life on fire, going mad with desire
I don’t wanna survive, I want a wonderful life
And all my nights they always end the same
It’s just an age-old game from the living dead buzzing in my head
They keep me up all night
You say, my baby, all this time in between drives me crazy
I want a life on fire, going mad with desire
I don’t wanna survive, I want a wonderful life
