Spending Election Day With the Ladies Who Lunch

So how did Cookie spend his Election Day?   

I have no idea what these women's names are, but they all need more champagne cocktails.

Well since we voted ten days ago, and since I didn't have to work today, I spent the day with the Ladies Who Lunch.

A little art therapy was just the ticket to get through the stress of the day.

What I know about this picture is it was taken either in 1961 or 1962 and its either the Brith Emeth Temple's Sisterhood or its a meeting for the coming year's JFC drive.  (BTW, you never renege on your you JFC pledge.  Because if you do and you don't have a good reason, let's see who doesn't get tickets to High Holiday Services, right Norma Desmond?)

Brith Emeth, which was in Pepper Pike, Ohio, was our temple, designed by Edward Durrell Stone.  The congregation folded years ago after a wealthy, wealthy man yanked his endowment from the temple.  But it was a lovely place to worship.   Alas, in 1961 or 1962, the building was a dream in the eye of the Rabbi, so the congregation met in other temple's, a Unitarian church, etc.   You can still see the building off of I-271 at Shaker Boulevard.

What was "the Sisterhood"? Think of it as the workhorse of the Temple, made up of the wives of members.  Mother was President of it once.  Anyway, the Sisterhood raised a lot of money in those days and provided a sorority-like atmosphere (absent of the pillow fights) that you would find in a town's Women's Club, or the Junior League.   The Sisterhood met once a month and it was a big thing back then.  Hats, nice knit suits, the best handbags and matching shoes, white gloves, you know, all the things that used to show that we were a civilized nation, once.

I *think* that this was taken in the multipurpose room at Park Synagog' first post-war building by Eric Mendelsohn.   ANYHOW, the point is moot because Park merged in Brith Emeth, so we are one big happy family.

Mom stopped taking slides about the time I came around because the Ektachrome film wasn't as good as the more expensive Kodachrome.

One of the problems with Ektachrome is it used crappy dyes and it fades to a horrible magenta.  So I figured that today was a good day to work on pictures.  The original (top) had OK color, but the slide was covered in a million flecks dirt that had stuck to the emulsion side.   Though it may not look like in the layout format for the blog, the whole thing was bespeckled and needed to be "debespeckled".

Since I am not great with photoshop, it took hours.

Hours spent in silence.  No TV, no Facebooking, no contact with the outside world, except the Dentist who gave me the best news today: "You need a crown and your insurance for the year is used up."

What did I care?  It wasn't about politics.  And it beats having a tooth pulled.  You know what I am saying?

Come Hell or Highwater to tonight, we'll live.

Hopefully, the outcome is good, but it may not be so good.

Just remember that if things don't go the civilized route tonight, we can take Wednesday off to lick our wounds, but we HAVE TO start on Thursday getting ready for 2020.  And things go our way, then we have to start getting ready for 2020 TOMORROW.

Just think of the Ladies Who Lunch.  They got prettied up, had social engagement, and then went home to care for their children and their homes.   Life can't always be about white gloves and the good times.  You got to fight for what you have, and you have to fight to keep it.