Fourteen and fifteen weeks

Today I am giving away Judah's Black Buick to Mehri. Its saying good by to a large part of my life.

The Buick Park Avenue was nick named the Mafia Mobile. It had dark tinted windows and gold rims. Its the kind of car you saluted as you looked to see who would emerge from it. Plush seating, sleek looks, the ultimate in driving comfort.
Seymour used his red Toyota until it finally said enough, and then the Buick became his car. Mehri would take him to his medical appointments, loading the wheel chair into the huge trunk and Seymour would direct her as she drove.

When Judah returned from Sackler and Israel, he needed a car. Seymour bought a Solara for himself and gave Judah the Mafia Mobile. Judah loved it. It was big and roomy, with space for his junk aka treasures. But, it too had some problems and was not reliable. At that time Seymour was sick and Judah was driving from Pasadena to LA frequently to see him. The cars were switched with Judah getting the Celica and Seymour using the Buick again. This worked fine for both of them.

Judah loved his Solara as he loved most of his cars. I have heard stories of his cars in Israel. The one I love the most is the story about the car that had a tree growing out of the floor boards.

The Buick has been sitting outside of our home and I am afraid it too will soon be growing trees out of the floor boards. Mehri's family are all mechanics and promise to restore the Buick to its proper status.

It was hard opening the trunk and finding Judah's medical journals, patient notes, old mail, postcards, cable jumpers, chains, drawings and many coins. My friend Judy Eber happened to come by and helped me through some very painful moments.

The Mafia Mobile will continue to live on, as will the Judah and Seymour stories.

M