Letters to an old Friend

January 5th, 2025

While in Atlanta, we decided that the marathon drive back and forth between Houston was not enough. We needed to add in a bonus 5 hour each way drive to North Carolina.

Why North Carolina you maybe asking. Skiing.

Skiing has a special place in my heart. While some kids grow up having an annual  camping trip, some go to Disney yearly, and other families go to the Jersey shore every summer, our family had an annual ski trip.

We moved to San Francisco in 1988, when I was three. Starting that year, our family would take a spring trip to Lake Tahoe. Throughout the years we went to various ski resorts, sometimes renting a house friends, sometime just the four of us at a low budget motel.

To me, some of my fondest childhood core memories took place on those trips. This was when my family was a strong unit of four. It was before mental illness, before divorce, and before a cross country move that kept me 6-hrs flight apart from my dad and brother.

Skiing reminds me of when I was a child, a 6-hour drive with my family listening to the soundtrack of Guys and Dolls, and Frank Sinatra Duets. Skiing reminds me of standing around a street fighter arcade game with my childhood best friend. Skiing reminds me of the best moments on the chair lift, playing games, laughing and telling stories with my brother and my dad.

This was my first time skiing with my brother as an adult. Gliding down the mountain like “two Nordic Doves” (his words, not mine), and all the joy of skiing keep my freezing body warm.

With love, bkap🫶🏻

January 1, 2025

Dear Friend

We just finished a week and a half visit with my family in Atlanta. My husband insisted we drive there. Which unfortunately means we must drive the 13 hours back.

Nir typically has a military approach to driving. Up and on the road before daylight. Packed lunches to be eaten at easy on-off rest stops along the route, which consist of sandwiches, and apples. And he loves to dangle the promise of a “nice coffee” after another hour of driving; yet somehow it’s a never ending hour, and we arrive at our destination without fixing my nice coffee fix.

You may or may not be aware, but today is the final night of the Jewish celebration of Hanukah. Hanukah is a celebration of two miracles. Now let me all tell you old friend, the story of the three Feinstein miracles that occurred today, on the eighth day of Hanukah….

1. Nir relaxed his Military road trip approach. A reasonable 9 am departure with a subway stop for lunch which included eating IN THE STORE vs car (two large Turkey subways were shared for the five of us – it was a day of miracles. Not a brain transplant for my constantly cost optimizing husband). 
2. We decided to stop in Biloxi Mississippi en route to our overnight stop in Gulfport. Biloxi is seriously underrated and I want to go back, it’s hip! And I know it’s hip because my husband stop and miracle numbero dos I got a fantastic oat milk latte extra hot at a hipster coffee spot called “Jacked up coffee Bar”. Nir and I are mutually not acknowledging the $7.86 charge which we both know pained him, that pop up on his Apple Pay alerts. 
3. We decided to go hunting for southern French Sufganiot; Sufganiot is a Hanukah donut! Southern French Sufganiot are also known as beignets. Nir found a beignets cafe which turned out to inside of a casino. As with all great stories, an obstacle was faced, and we saw a giant sign “no one under 21”. I was fully planning on ignoring it, when a security guard stopped us and ruined my plan. However, all was not lost. Nir and I divided and conquered. He went inside to get the beignets, and I tried to keep 3 children who had stuck inside a car driving for 6 hours calm (this was a miracle in itself). Nir appeared with 3 bags of beignets – each bag was to contain 3 beignets; 9 total. But just as the oil lasted for 8 nights instead of 1; magically, one bag had 4 perfectly warm, doughy, powder sugar coated beignets, instead of 3, for a total of 10! If you didn’t believe in god before, how could you not now.

The night ended in the courtyard of our hotel, with us lighting the candles, as our people have done for centuries. And will continue to do so, for centuries to come.

May your day have been filled with light and peace.

✌️ bkap

P.S. Maya insisted on wearing her mermaid/arial two-piece and only fell on her face twice. 

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Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.

Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.

Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.