MATZO BALL SOUP

I was visiting my mother and father in the summer of 1999 for a
week. They live-in sun city in Palms Springs California. That evening
after I arrived there,
I told them that I was writing some short stories. My father laughed
and said", what, your job is not paying enough? My mother said "my son
the doctor, now he wants to write short stories. I'm from a Jewish
family and we are always making with the jokes and I just love the
humor. As I looked at their dinner table,
I noticed all these pills on a carousel in the center of the table. I
said "what is this? It looks like a drugstore and they both said at the
same time, you should go look in our medicine cabinet. My mother asked
me, what would I like for dinner, I told her it was a long
time since I have had potato pancakes. She said" no problem; you want a
few eggs on the side? I said yes, mom but not too many onions in it.
She laughed a little and said, have yourself a bagel with a little
cream cheese or just have some matzo with butter on it, while I cut up
a few onions. Then she turned around and grabbed me and hugged me real
tight
and said "I love you son, you are going to like these potato pancakes,
I'm going to make them special for you. Just about that time, dad came
into
the kitchen and said he felt a little hungry." Do you have a little
something light to eat? Mom said there are some peaches in the
refrigerator, have some?
Are you kidding, Dad said, I'd be on the toilet
for an hour. She replied "so what's new. After a few days there, they
ask me if I would like to join them in a game of golf. I thought for a
minute and I said sure,
I would love to. The next morning we went to the golf course and had a
real good time. Now keep this in mind my father is 88, my mother is 82
and I am 39 and I had trouble keeping up with them. They are in good
shape and great spirits and always making with the jokes. Now you
should sit back and imagine this, we are sitting around this table in
the clubhouse with about 12 other elderly people and believe me it was
a real riot. I laughed so hard at times and everyone was making with
the jokes and different sayings, everyone was having a real great
time.
I sat back and looked around in the clubhouse and
was listening for something I could use in my short stories. Looking at
a few of the different tables that were there, I noticed at a few of
the tables people were playing cards and some were eating pistachio
nuts and having a good time. At our table every few minutes it seem
like another person would come to the table. They were all asking each
other what their scores were. One person sitting at the table
with
these big thick glasses and a lot of gray hair was smoking a cigar that
was real fat and about 9 inches long, said he shot a 76, a few of the
people said that's impossible, your to old to shoot a 76, you mean you
shot an 89. With a big smile on his face he said, you know I might
forget alot things but I know I shot a 76 he replied and then looked at
his wife sitting
next to him and said I did shoot a 76-did't I? Or was
it an 89? She replied, heck I don't know honey, did we just finish
playing 18 holes? Everyone broke out laughing and was having a good
time and then he said, I must be getting old, two or three people said
yes, I know exactly what you mean. Then everyone started saying all
these different things that has happened to them. When your mind starts
to go, for instance this one guy at the table was tall and thin with a
bald head and a cigarette behind both ears,
and a pack of cigarettes in his shirt pocket and two large cigars
alongside it. His shirt had pictures of golf clubs on it and real light
green slacks, he said "I don't know how many times I have opened the
pantry door in my kitchen and stood there for quite awhile trying to
remember "why I opened the door,
I know I opened it! To get something, but what?
One of the other guys sitting at the table said that's nothing, how
about if you do it two or three times in a row and still do not know
why you opened it and then 10 minutes later you remember why you opened
it, but forgot what kind of cereal you were going to get or was it
cereal? Everyone was laughing and having a real good time, one of the
women said that's nothing, that happens to me all the time. Everyone
was talking about his or her golfing experiences for that day. A little
while later I leaned over and told my mother and father, we should be
leaving now, it is getting late.
My dad looked at me with a smile and said it's not late, I think you're
just getting old, everyone sitting at the table, had a little chuckle
on that one. As we were driving home my mother and father said "son let
us tell you about a few things that you might want use in your book.
Then Mom said, I don't know how many times I started to make a phone
call and was dialing the phone wondering why there was no dial tone and
as I looked at the phone, and realized it was the remote control for
the television, and your dad and I laughed for 10 minutes on that one.
Dad said that's nothing, I've had so much on my mind at times, I've
gone to the garage to get in the car and opened the door to the garage
and forgot why I opened it, or when I went to make a phone call and
forgot who I was going to call or why. There was this one time,
Your dad asked if I would like to have some coffee
and I said yes. He went to answer the phone and
when he finish and sat down and we watching a little television I said
"honey is the coffee done?
He replied, what coffee? And we both had a little laugh. We are not
sick, these little things happen to you when you get our age and we
laugh it off.
We call them senior moments and have a lot of fun with our little
mistakes. Like this one time, your father was drinking a glass of
orange juice around lunch time and I said to him, isn't it a little
early for your metamucil? He laughed and said" I'm glad you reminded
me. Dad said, I remember one time I was looking around for about 10
minutes for my eyeglasses and your mother shook her head from left to
right and said are you a meshugana? they are on your forehead. A few
minutes later my sister called to see how things were going with my
book and I asked her if she had any input for my book. How could I, I'm
only 37 but I've come out of the grocery store many times and couldn't
find my car, does that help you? Not really, that happens to mom and
dad
all the time. Thanks anyway, I'll talk to you later sis.
"This is great stuff! I think I will use some of this material in my
short stories, but dad I need to ask both of you a question. How good
is your memory? They both looked at me, then winked at each other and
said, "what was the question.
My parents always had to have the last laugh.

A short story by Norman Clifford 11-4-2002
Input by Carolyn Clifford and Juanita Clifford