And G-d Was Watching: Top 7 People We Met

By Julianna Squicciarini

1. The Gordon Family [Joe & Karen, Autumn, Noah, Abigail, Anna, Timothy, Isaac, Joshua, Elizabeth]
How we met: Our Aunt Lynn brought the Gordons to our 2008 Passover Seder in April.  We had said, “Bring friends!” and…she did
Where they’re located: Rock Hill, SC.
What’s great about them: They are always willing to drive an hour to party with us!

2. The Zilber Family [Eugene & Elena, David, Daniel]
How we met: The Zilbers became Quo Vadis customers in May 2008.  It didn’t take long for them to become family friends!  Mr. & Mrs. Zilber emigrated from Russia several years ago, but their two sons were born right here in the US.  We were honored to be invited to their home for a festive dinner later in the year.
Where they’re located: Charlotte, NC.
What’s great about them: Their way of expressing things, with accents which we adore, using phrases that charm the heart.

3. Kelly Miller
How we met: Kelly and I sat across from one another on the Eurostar, traveling from London to Paris in July 2007 – she was one of the only girls my age on the tour.  After returning home, we began emailing and getting to know one another much better.  In June 2008, she came and stayed with us for about three days, giving my family the chance to meet her as well.
Where she’s located: Home is Louisville, KY, but she is currently attending an art college in Baltimore, MD.
What’s great about her: She was one of the easiest guests our family has ever had, hands down.  It also never ceases to amaze me that we can remain such good friends with virtually no face-time!

4. Gloria Hartis Alexander
How we met: Morgan bumped into Gloria (almost literally!) as she was leaving the Zilber’s office one day.  Morgan has never met a stranger, so the following week Gloria was with us for a Sabbath dinner.  Now she’s simply part of the family!
Where she’s located: Charlotte, NC.
What’s great about her: We love how relaxed she is around us!

5. The Covert Family [Tim & Lisa, David, Daniel]
How we met: Our parents met the Coverts on the Israel tour in November 2007.  In August 2008, however, our families finally got together here in Charlotte for a weekend, giving the rest of us the chance to meet.
Where they’re located: Atlanta, GA.
What’s great about them: It is so rare to find a like-minded family, but the Coverts really seem to be on the same page of music as us.  What a find!

6. The First Fruits of Zion Group [Boaz Michael, Daniel Lancaster, Steve & Mona Lancaster, Jeremy Schoenwald]
How we met: Ok, this one has some poetic license, because actually our family has not met them.  Morgan and Christine were privileged to meet all five of the above on their Israel tour in November 2008.  From the stories and occasional contact via Facebook, we all feel as though we know them.
Where they’re located: Marshfield, MO.
What’s great about them:
Boaz is always calm, cool, and collected.
Daniel is *such* an entertaining encyclopedia of information.
Steve & Mona are sweethearts.  Period.
Jeremy is a godly young man, always amiable, and always aiming the video camera at Morgan and Christine (wait, that didn’t sound right…)

7. Richard Rampe
How we met: Morgan and I met Rich toward the end of the year, when he walked into the USO during one of our shifts.  A couple of weeks and a few emails later, he came over for pizza, and to meet the rest of our family.  He’s one of the police officers in the CLT Airport – always good to have friends in high places
Where he’s located: Dallas, NC.
What’s great about him: His very easy-going, laid-back, friendly nature.  Also, having a police officer at a party seems to lend an innocence and probity to the event, doesn’t it?

In closing, I would like you to take a quick look at the locations of these seven people or families and notice that only two of them live right here in Charlotte, NC.  G-d has brought so many new faces across our path, from far and wide.  Bottom line – wow!

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 15

Well, my friends, we have come to the end of a rollercoaster two weeks.  I want to extend my heartfelt thanks to all of you faithful readers, for your care and concern for the girls (and for us!).  They will be arriving home tomorrow, Delta flight 1698, at 1:18pm.  If you would like to meet them at the airport, I’m sure they would be delighted to see any of you.  Unfortunately, I will be unable to make it, so your presence might make it up to them

Mary and I have officially finished our Big Project, and your are all invited to see it in the next few weeks.  I’m sure the explanation of the project will follow in a proceeding post.  We have also finished the first of our mukluks (a knitting project in which we were involved).  Pictures of those are available on visiting The Residence

These weeks have been so much fun, and although I look forward very much to the return of the International Travelers, it will be sweet sorrow, as Mary and I will no longer have that special bonding time we were enjoying.

Anyway, if you would like to give the girls a big surprise, please comment a welcome-home message to them (on this post) sometime tonight or tomorrow.  I know it would mean a lot to them.

We’ll have to get together to look at pictures soon, people!  Thank you for keeping up with us for the past 15 days – it’s been great!

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 14

Oh, it was a great day

First of all, our dad let us sleep ultra-late, since at least Mary and I have been working extra hard on our Big Project.  It was a gorgeous day, so a walk figured into the Shabbat plan.

Then, after Shabbat ended at the early hour of 5:17pm, Peter, Mary, and I took off for a quick bite to eat and our much-looked-forward-to “Traces” show.  Traces is a 5-person group of gymnasts who are really good.  We witnessed amazing feats: a woman did a handstand on a man’s head; lot’s of pole tricks; five rings stacked on top of each other, through which a man dove backwards without touching.  It was absolutely incredible.  Their last show is Sunday night, but if you ever have the chance, you really should see them.  They are very enjoyable.  They are also very personable, introducing themselves in a comfortable way, and creating a “cozy” atmosphere for the audience.  Worth every penny

AND – this is the big news – we got a special telephone call from the girls, and we got to talk to both of them for many minutes.  They appear to be doing fine, back in good health (Christine had come down with a cold), and are very much looking forward to coming home.  Not that they aren’t having a good time, because in fact they are having a blast.  But we are all ready to see one another again.  Christine mentioned not being able to remember what we look like, which I find humorous.

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 12

Guess what?  Today was our “day off”.  From our Big Project (see Day 8), from teaching piano, from most of our work, etc.  It was really nice.  I enjoyed it thoroughly.  AND my mom took Mary and I to a huge sale at the Talbots Outlet (exit 32 off Highway 485).  Great deals

We had an impromptu tea party – just us and our mom, which consisted of…tea.  Well, it was late in the day, and we didn’t want to spoil our dinners

And it turns out, for those interested, that yesterday was Ryan Gosling’s birthday (The Notebook, Remember the Titans, Fracture), today is Gerard Butler’s birthday (Timeline, Phantom of the Opera, Nim’s Island), and tomorrow is Paul McGann’s birthday (The Horatio Hornblower Series, The Three Musketeers, Sad Cypress)!  Almost all of us are big fans…and all of the above movies are great, although every movie has it’s issues, if you know what I mean.

And as Grobanite commented on the last post, Boaz Michael himself (one of the key people at FFOZ) contacted us while sitting with our sisters in Israel yesterday.  That was really cool!  It was great to hear that everything was going great, and everyone seems to be having a fantastic time.

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 10

Running.  Walking.  Freezing.  Teaching.  Knitting.  Eating.  Laughing.  Shopping.  Driving.  Chatting.  Cooking.  Frying.  Painting.  Watching.

My day in a nutshell.

P.S. – no updates from the girls.

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 9

Congratulations to my Brilliant Brother, Peter, who passed the test and is an official Certified SonicWALL Security Administrator!!  My Esteemed Father has also passed (of course), last Friday, so now they can both sign their names with CSSA.  Way to go!  Hoo-ah!

AND both Mary and I received an email from Christine, telling us that, “probably ,t taken THAT many pictures’We haven .parties after I return-night-late.”  Which means that they haven’t taken that many pictures, and she’s hoping for late-night parties when they return   It’s like a code.  We also got to talk to the girls for quite a while, as they called us during Family Breakfast Hour.  They are having a blast, and are doing a LOT of shopping today!  The poor things had a rough start, but we’re hoping for a smooth finish

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 8

While the girls are gone, Mary and I have been working on a *big* Project.  While it will really only affect Christine, this Project has been sapping us of time and energy.  All day today we worked on our Big Project.  Since I cannot at this time say any more about it, you will need to wait until they come home and the proverbial beans are spilled.

No more updates from the International Travelers, either.  What a boring day!  Wait, I didn’t say that…did I?

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 6

Today, Mary and I hosted a [adjective] tea party for Aunt Tess, Mrs. Susan Lindsey, and our mom.  Our guests arrived [adverb], at 1:00pm.  I know it’s not the “traditional” teatime, but we had to make due with what we had

Our [adjective] menu consisted of scones, tea sandwiches, old-fashioned gingerbread, cranberry bars, and Biltmore truffles.  Aunt Tess’ favorite item was the [plural OR singular noun], while Mrs. Lindsey perferred the [plural OR singular noun].  Our mom definitely thought the [plural OR singular noun] topped the list

The guests were [verb]!  The time passed very quickly, since we were [verb].

And to top the day off, we got a call from the girls!  As referenced in the last post, they are having a fantastic time, and making lots of friends.  It was good to hear both of their voices again.

P.S. – you fill in the blanks above, and comment what you would have said.  Best answers win an invitation to tea

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 5

Mary and I spent the entire day at Biltmore Estate with Rachel & Julia Allison.    Since we knew the girls would be gone these two particular weeks in November, we planned this GirlTrip way in advance.  The house and grounds were completely decorated for Christmas, including the enormous Banquet Hall Christmas tree.  Some of the displays were simply breathtaking, and we enjoyed ourselves immensely.  The weather was also perfect, which was a godsend.  I have never, even with my frequent trips to the Estate this year, seen the house after dark.  It is absolutely lovely!

A big plus about today?  It was Passholder Shopping Day, which means I get 20% off all my purchases.  Plus they have food samples out all over the place.  What fun!

Our dad also received an email from Morgan today.  It went like this:

!hello family
.having a great time ,christine and i are in jerusalem
!yay ,down to ben yehudah street \we are going for a walk tonight .everything is fantastic .better today than yesterday 200%we feel
i think we will be in our rooms after ?night call us maybe tomorrow .love everybody and will talk to you soon
.erev shabbat
t talked to yet’who i haven ,and pete ,mary ,hugs to julianna
from christine and morgan
!miss you sooooo much

Now, is it just me, or does all that sound a little garbled?  Is it because they’re in Israel that the email appears to be written backwards?!

A Tale of Two City-Girls: Day 3

Julianna: Well, Mary, today started off in a very interesting way.

Mary: No kidding! What happened?

J: I voted for the first time in my life!!  Hoo-ah!

M: Do you feel old?

J: Good question – not at all.  But it certainly took long enough.  I was in line for an hour, from 6:00-7:00 in the morning!  Nothing beats Morgan’s early-voting experience, though: THREE and a half HOURS!

M: Whoa. Are you glad it was close to home?

J: Very.  They plan those things, and thank goodness.  To make us feel better after standing in line and doing our duty, my “fun” mom suggested going out for brunch to Le Peep.  That made bouncing out of bed at 5:30am worth it

M: Now I feel left out… nothin’ much at the homestead…

J: You know, Mary, it was really funny – on the way to Le Peep we saw a woman with a blue blazer, ‘Uncle Sam’ hat, and large patriotic bowtie waving a sign on the corner of Providence and Highway 51.  It said “Honk for McCain”.  And people actually were!  Makes me feel better about the country – that whole feeling might just disappear after tonight though…

M: Speaking of which, looking forward to the party?

J: Who isn’t!?!  Not having a TV has always been a ‘pro’, in my opinion, but every now and then it’s nice getting to watch something as important as this.  Don’t you think it is wonderful that our friends are hospitably opening their home for something as cool as an Election Day Party?!

M: Absolutely!!

J: So, what’s the update on the girls?

M: Well, we received a call from Steven Lancaster, who is on the tour. We heard that they safely got to Israel and arrived at their hotel on the Dead Sea. We called them to chat, but had forgotten the time difference of 7 hours But no worries, they were alive, and that’s all that matters…

J: That’s great!  I heard that when they arrived in Tel Aviv, the airport baggage people were on strike.  Can anything else go wrong!?  But good to know that they are safely on their way.  I guess we can all sit back and relax!