Drew, I am so sorry.

Love right back atcha', quester (and other 'istas).

Here's something I've been meaning to put here since last night (my time), but was too exhausted to do so. Last summer there were two horrible hate crimes in Israel in less than 18 hours: the stabbing in Pride in Jerusalem [link] (where I was marching along with the others), and the murder of the Dawabsheh family [link] - eventually, all of the family but one boy died of their wounds. In between them was my birthday, which I celebrate every year right after Pride in Jerusalem, as a lot of friends are coming to participate in it. Pride in Jerusalem is in August and not in June with the rest of the world out of remembrance and respect to another horrible hate crime in Tel Aviv that took place that day several years ago (yeah, again, on my birthday).

Anyhow, I planned one gathering on the night between the attacks and another on the night after for people who couldn't make it to the first gathering. Like many, I was shocked and angry and hurt. So here's what I wrote that day. I thought some of you might like to read it, too.

Hello, everybody.

There was another bloody hatecrime, so I feel the need to write.

First things first, everything is still on. Those of you who arrived yesterday: thank you so, so, so, so much. You made me very happy and very drunk, and I hope you too had fun. Those who will come today: I'm looking forward to see you. You are all the good I see in this world.

There's not much to do with the reality outside. One cannot growl at abysses of hatred, and looking directly into them is a recipe for despair and numbness. None of us can change the world or very broken people within an eye-blink - and there's no need for that, too.

But one can be kind to people who forgot their own humanity; one can speak and act where it seems safe and right, whether it's going to a demonstration or making a donation or feeding people post-demonstration or listening to people or organize millions of other things. If you would like to give me a birthday present and you're not sure what, feel free to donate to any relevant charity that is about education or peace or feminism/gender/LGBTAQ issues of anything that brings good and light to this world (in my email, here there were a lot of links with ideas).

There are 20+ people who are included in this email, so know that you are not alone. Be kind to yourself and be safe, cause it's my birthday and I can demand it. Tikun Olam (amending of the world, a concept in Judaism) does not take place with a flamethrower, but with a needle and a thread and patience and listening - to others, and to yourselves.

Be well.

Be well, y'all. It's a difficult, heartbreaking time.

As I saw someone post, many of those people who were wounded could be fired this morning, in Florida. For being gay. (Orlando has an anti-discrimination policy on the books, but Florida as a whole does not). And that's not to even get into the whole trans thing--one of my friend was SPIT ON by an AIRPORT EMPLOYEE last week. For going to the bathroom.

Jesus.

The thing that especially made me cry about my friend is not just that he didn't feel it was going to be helpful to report it (and he's someone who travels often so may encounter this person again) but that he said if he did report it, he would be asked multiple times "why did this man spit on you/what did you do" probably before the man would have to answer "why did you spit on someone".

I need to go hunt down Tonys video--my dvr missed everything after Audra McDonald's introduction as a presenter.

I want Claire Danes' dressmaker--first the light-up number, then the gorgeous black thing she wore last night.

I'm off FB, even as peripherally as I check it ordinarily. My relatives have friends whose brains are missing.

Yeah, that's depressing. [Edit: , meara.]

In much smaller news, those Hamilton tickets I just got? For next April? Might be a problem. I lost track of why I was looking at certain dates when I couldn't get them, and ended up with the Wednesday before Easter, which is likely to be a choir night. But maybe that's not such a big deal and maybe I can beg for a different rehearsal schedule.

Any decent choir person should give you permission to see Hamilton.

I will take any Hamilton tickets off your hands, Jesse! I failed hard (despite lots and lots of trying) last night.

I mean, you'd think! But we only have a few rehearsals before the holiday, so it's more my loss than anything else. Obviously I will figure this out! At some point in the next ten months.

That sucks, Nora. So you can imagine why I went so crazy with trying every single date!

Oh my, yes. Totally.