The Package

While going through my piles of stuff in my office, I came across a couple of songbooks from the local Jewish temple. I used to sing for them at times when my friend Elizabeth Ann was alive, so I was not really surprised to find them. However, the dilemma came when I was trying to figure out how to return them.

Like many temples in relatively small towns, the one here has no Rabbi. There is no official staff or anyone to contact. So, I decided to wrap them up and leave them at the door this afternoon in hopes that a member of the tiny congregation would find them tonight.

Since we have been having regular afternoon cloudbursts, my first thought was to wrap them in a plastic bag. I did not have a clear bag large enough to hold them and when I put them in a white bag, I was afraid that the package looked suspicious. This is something that would never have crossed my mind before 9/11! I pondered for a bit as to how to wrap these books in a way that was non threatening, but would keep them relatively protected. So, I looked around and found a bag that my friend Elizabeth would have approved of. It was a small shopping bag from Marshall Fields.

So, the books are stylishly hanging on the Temple door.

May they find their way home tonight.