Yom Kippur

In reviewing the Yom Kippur prohibitions, I see nothing that prohibits blogging, so I'm going to distract myself from my aching stomach for a few minutes by writing a post.

According to rabbinical teachings, the customs of Yom Kippur prohibit five things:

-Eating
-Drinking
-Bathing
-Wearing leather shoes
-Sexual intercourse

That's the list. Some Jews who are very observant (pretty much the opposite of me) won't use any modern convenience on this day. Actually, even though my parents were Reform Jews (the other end from Orthodox), we always walked to temple on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

So, regarding that list, I'm only observing two of the five. I'm not eating, and I'm not having sex (not even solo, and that's a sacrifice for me!). Actually, the prohibition technically applied to intercourse between a man and a woman... hmmm. Nah, I think even a gay man's approach to sex has to be out today! As for the other three:

Drinking: My blood pressure runs a little high, so I take medication for that. As such, I have to drink water, and I am allowed to do so under Jewish law. Health issues always come first.

Bathing: That's not a custom my parents ever observed, and I have no intention of starting! I can't believe there is anything the Almighty wants of me that requires me to offend the olfactory senses of my fellow humans (and myself).

Wearing leather shoes: If I had any shoes that were completely leather-free, I'd consider it, but I'm pretty sure that there's leather on all of them, including my sneakers.

I never work on Yom Kippur, but I will transact some business on this day. For example, I just wrote a couple of checks to charities, and I'm also paying for a new tree to go in front of the house. An observant Jew wouldn't do that today, but that's not me.

For any of my fellow Jews who are relaxed/non-observant enough to be reading blogs today (like me) but observant enough to fast today (like me), I wish you an easy fast!

"That one"?

John McCain just pointed at Barack Obama, and referred to him as "that one." I'm sure there will be an explanation that he meant that Senator there, but how disrespectful was that? How angry is John McCain that he could even refer to his opponent like that?

Hey, how about that stock market!

I'm telling everyone I know to relax and just ride it out, and I do take my own advice. Still, it's so hard to watch this happen. On paper (and yes, I know it's only a loss if we sell, but still...), we have lost more in the past year than... well, I'm not sure what's the best comparison. Let's just say it's a shitload of money that has disappeared.

Perhaps retirement is an archaic concept. Perhaps that's the issue. I have the wrong mindset! If I start thinking, "I'll just work until they find me slumped over dead on my desk," then the rest of this won't bother me! *sigh*

More rugby photos

Continuing the photos from a couple of weeks ago...


In the next set of photos (from yesterday), I have a shot that better shows this handsome man's gorgeous eyes.

























Okay, that will do for the Fordham photos. To see all of the photos from the match against Fordham, go here.

More from the Gotham Knights versus Fordham

We had a rugby match today, but I'm not done with the Fordham shots. I'm skipping a lot of photos, in order to keep these posts at a reasonable size. For anyone who wants to see them all, I'll share the link before I'm done. In the meantime, here are a few more...













These next few aren't my best shots, but they memorialize this handsome man's first try (score)...







And the celebration...





And we'll end this post with a smile...



More to come!

A break from rugby

I have more photos from the rugby match against the Fordham team, but first I want to mention why I didn't go to last weekend's rugby match (the Fordham match was almost two weeks ago). There was a more important event! Specifically, this young lady's first birthday party...



That's our niece, Lauren. Also present were her handsome brothers...


This is Quinn. He's 3 years old.


This is Owen. He's 5 years old.

And then there's the oldest kid in the house, big sister Rudy...



Of course, there were lots of other kids and adults there, but do we really need that? After all, how much cuteness can we cram into one post? :)

So where were we?

Ah yes, I believe we had just finished watching Jason run around. Let's continue the festivities...














Steve *drool*

If the drool there wasn't enough of a hint, I have a serious crush on Steve. Aside from finding him quite attractive, he is one of the nicest guys you could meet. He's sweet and charming... and comes over and gives me a kiss when he sees me. What more could one ask? :)


One of the new guys. His first name is Robinson.



That's Chris in that last shot. He's another really sweet guy. He has been on the team for years--in fact, he was one of the founding members. He made an impression on me early in my days of covering rugby. To be more precise, the sight of his thighs and ass (not that you can really tell in that last photo) made an impression! If it were possible to fall in love with body parts, it would have been love at first sight! ;)

More importantly, he is a warm-hearted, genuine person. He's also an excellent example for others, being a hard-working guy, with a committed long-term partner with whom he has a couple of kids.


Jason

I've been trying to limit the photos of Jason in this post, since he dominated the last post, but he was quite busy in this match!




Love the over-the-shoulder pass!

That will do it for this post. Stay tuned for more!

P.S.: After I posted this, I realized that singling out a couple of guys might give the wrong impression. As I scroll down the photos, seeing John and James and Toby and others, I feel that I should mention that they're all nice guys and have been friends to Marc and me. I'm glad we hooked up with this group of guys and have stayed with them year after year.

On to the next set of rugby photos!

Before we start the photos, let me take a moment to wish all of you a happy, healthy new year! It doesn't matter if you don't observe Rosh Hashanah--the wishes are just as sincere and proper!

Now, let's get to photos of Gotham's match against Fordham...









This is a separate run...






















Hmmm. A lot of Jason photos in this post. Well, that's not so bad, is it?



Yeah, Jason's body is easy to look at! On that note, I think we'll take a break! Tune in next time for more fun from the rugby pitch! :)