A quick sad trip to New York

 

A candle for my mother-in-law

After funeral lunch on Long Island

The coffin There is no body display in Jewish funerals though a relative can look in the coffin to make sure it is her Given all the hassle to get her across country, an empty coffin would have been no surprise

Verrazano Bridge 

Early morning turkeys

my nail

My colorful crop

nasturtium blossoms 

round ice cubes containing blossoms. Also made them with cherries

granddaughters with Snickers

Early morning nearby lake on my bike ride

My mother in law 2 days before she died Here she is alert, breathing well and seemed to be on the mend

As usual none of these photos are in order. The past few weeks had been taken up with my mother-in-law's covid. She had been vaccinated but she was almost 97. Presumably all the staff had been vaccinated which I find hard to believe, as nationwide only 60% nursing home workers are. They should be as they work with vulnerable people but many of them have swallowed the koolaid (and now horse de-worming medicine)

She had been in and out of the hospital. Some days, she would struggle to breathe and then the next day appear to be getting better. Many discussions what to do, what measures to take, etc. In the end, she quietly faded away not appearing to be in pain or distress.

She died in Seattle; she was to be buried in New York which meant two funeral homes. Jewish people generally are buried within 24 hours but that was impossible. Fun stuff like the physician in charge not signing the death certificate and going on vacation not to be reached. And a flight couldn't be scheduled without a death certificate. Plus my sister in law in Seattle couldn't get a flight without knowing if her mom's body was going to be in New York. Lots of phone calls and stress.

Steve, Shanna and I drove to NY. Josh was away on vacation with Naomi taking care of his dog, Maya and Naomi were both starting school so going to the funeral was impossible.

Our first stop was to get gas in Ohio, 80 cents/gallon cheaper than Michigan. We went to the nearby doughnut shop that gives free doughnuts to those who are vaccinated. There assembly line was fully operational with dozens of doughnuts being cranked out, just no customers except us. They gave us a half dozen warm squishy ones.

Michigan, among its many charms, is a non-toll state but it surrounded completely by toll states so anyone who travels frequently should have an EZ pass. Furthermore, to get to Staten Island and then to Brooklyn, they demolished the tollbooths so  an EZ pass is a necessity. True they will try to take a photo of your plate and hunt you down with a big fee attached. Michigan's other quirk is we don't have front plates, so good luck with that.

Right off the bat, the gates wouldn't open when we tried to get on the Ohio Turnpike. We had to back up and get a ticket like the old days. The rest stops had no EZ pass personnel and the  phone info was closed on Sunday. We were thinking we would have to enter Manhattan at the end of a weekend and then go to Brooklyn, which is shorter as the crow flies but ten times the traffic. Could the battery be dead in our completely sealed transponder? They last 8 to 15 years; ours was 10 or 11 years old. We hadn't used it in almost 2 years thanks to covid. The exit tollbooth lady checked it, it was fine though I was still nervous until the New Jersey Turnpike entrance flashed the Go EZ pass! sign

Still lots of traffic due to an accident in the Poconos. And the Italian restaurant we like to stop at halfway in Pennsylvania must have been a covid victim. We found another that might be even better.

My sister in law with a negative covid test in hand (she had been with her mother) arrived an hour after us.

Before we left, Michigan had been in a hot humid holding pattern for the past week. Running is very difficult for me in the heat, NYC was no different but I couldn't bike there. So I ran for the two mornings I was there dripping with sweat. The  predicted rain didn't happen for the funeral Ida hit a day after we left.

The city had quickly exhausted its burial sites so most people are buried quite aways away in Suffolk county, Long Island, an hour drive if there is no traffic but there is always, always traffic. Cemetery after cemetery after cemetery. The funeral home was less than a mile away, how convenient.

There was only 12 of us plus maybe 20 zoom dial-ins. She was the last of 7 siblings. Two of her three children, my sister-in-law, and Shanna gave heart rending tributes. Steve couldn't speak.

We all met up at  an Italian restaurant 15 minutes away. The next morning, we were on our way back to Michigan