Personal essays
Lighting the darkness
Off by one
Last night I texted Maggie to ask what night of Chanukkah it was.
“The fifth,” she texted back.
That’s what I thought. But I counted back from the last night when I knew I’d need nine candles, the night before that when I’d need eight, the night before that when I’d need seven, and I had seven candles for last night.
There was an extra candle in the box this year and that had left me stumped.
It’s what we in computer programming call an off-by-one error. It’s a known hard problem to spot and fix.
I suppose it was the candle equivalent of the baker’s dozen issue - better to give me one candle too many than one too few.
I can’t light this extra candle - but it’s a hedge to make sure I can light enough candles after dark to celebrate this festival of lights.
Searching for candles
At least this year I had my candles ahead of time. Usually my other off-by-one error is me driving around on the first night of Chanukkah looking for some place that still has candles.
Last year I walked into a local CVS and was greeted by the Chanukkah end-cap filled with everything I might need - except candles.
“Do you have any more candles?” I asked the clerk.
They love it when you ask questions when you can plainly see the answer.
“It’s the first night,” he said shaking his head.
So I headed to the Walgreens at Cedar Center. When I walked in I saw a display at the end of the seasonal aisle. Most of the aisle was filled with Christmas decorations, but the first few feet contained an assortment of Chanukkah themed items - including candles.
Phew. It’s not my ancestors searching for untainted oil - I just had to drive to a couple of drug stores - but it was something.
For years my Catholic wife or her mom had bought the candles for me. This year was my first year in the eight Chanukkah’s since Kim died that I managed to buy the candles ahead of time.
I went to the local Walgreens and walked up and down the aisles and couldn’t find any Chanukkah items. I asked the woman at the front and she said they didn’t have anything for Chanukkah this year.
So I drove to a different CVS and walked up and down their aisles and again couldn’t find any Chanukkah items. There were aisles of Christmas decorations, gifts for Christmas, and Christmas candies but I couldn’t find any candles.
I asked at the front and the woman said that they had an end-cap filled with Chanukkah things but no one seemed to be interested. She walked me over to the end-cap far away from the Christmas and seasonal aisles. And there, next to the toe nail clippers, was exactly what I needed.
I thanked her, bought my candles, and headed on home.
A Parade
Chanukkah is not a big holiday. It probably gets the attention it does because of its proximity to Christmas.
That said, it turns out there’s a parade.
Eight or nine years ago Kim and I met up with our friends Rick and Laurie for happy hour sliders at the B Spot. As we were coming out of the restaurant we saw a bunch of cars with huge menorah’s fastened to their roofs and bumpers.
That was the first I’d ever heard of the Cleveland Menorah parade.
Every year since, I’ve heard about it after it was all over.
Last year I was coming out of a coffee shop on Lee road as the parade drove by and promised I’d go the following year.
That turned out to be this past Sunday.
The website published a detailed map of the route and there was a Google maps link you could follow to see where the parade was along that route.
So Sunday, as I watched my Cleveland Browns attempt to blow a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter I started to track the parade.
When the game ended I noticed that the parade was about four miles away so I jumped in my car and found a place along the route and parked on a side street. When I walked to the corner there was one family standing there waiting.
But it turned out that a lot of families in the neighborhood were tracking the progress of the parade and when it was five minutes away people started turning up from all over the neighborhood.
The line of cars in the parade was surprisingly long. Old cars and new cars with menorahs and dreidels displayed. Many of the cars were playing holiday music and several of them had kids inside throwing candy to the kids lined up to watch.
There was a big cement mixer with the mixer going round and round with the letters announcing that it was latke mix.
It was silly and fun and it was over in just a few minutes.
I’ve got to say, I got home feeling a bit more festive and lit my candles for the fourth night.
It’s a holiday that celebrates a light in the temple that had to stay lit. With only enough oil to keep the light going for one day, the light continued to burn for eight days until new oil was available.
It’s a holiday that celebrates hope during a time of conflict.
I’m not very religious, but it’s a holiday I always take time to celebrate.
This year I’ve even got an extra candle.
Essay from Dim Sum Thinking Newsletter 194. Read the rest of the Newsletter or subscribe