Page 55 - HaMizrachi #28 Pesach USA 2021

GENERAL INTEREST

to think) on Miss Gillespie’s immacu- “Noodles,” Imma translated, tousling my e
lately white uniform. hair. “And a chicken wing.” “Lovely,” she murmured. “Take a look
To this day, I cannot eat beets. But as my Nearly 50 years later, every guest at my in the three-way mirror.” I was a college
loved ones gingerly placed a mound of polio Seder got a steaming, savory bowl freshman in a department store’s fitting
mashed potatoes over the beet nestled of chicken soup, prepared according room. A congenial saleswoman had just
on their teaspoon, I followed suit. With to my mother’s legendary recipe. My helped me fasten the final button of a
a shudder and a gulp, I kept the concoc- children polled each guest in advance, dress that has caught my eye. I glanced
tion down. And as I looked around the asking what permutation he or she pre- eagerly to my left. My smile froze. Sure,
table, I saw that, to my guests’ amaze- ferred: soup with noodles, vegetables, there was the left shoulder, predictably
ment, so did they. chicken, all of the above or none of the lower than my right. But what was that
above. Their poor Uncle David had unsightly hump bulging behind my right
to make do without the fliegel; it was shoulder blade? Weren’t 15 years of body
The Chicken Wing adorning the Seder plate. casts, back braces and spinal surgeries
“Did you bring a pulkie?” I demanded. supposed to make me straight?
The Mirror
“No, Toots, it wouldn’t fit in the ther- e
mos,” Imma replied, proceeding to The summertime Seder proceeded with I return the mirror to its place, only this
unscrew its bright red cap, turn it upside shulchan orech: southwestern chicken, time face down. I know that I need it no
down and place it on my hospital table. potatoes, greens and – yes! – beet salad. longer when I see the love mirrored in
Her eyes widened as she whispered, “But My guests captivated us with memories my cherished ones’ eyes.
I brought the next best thing.” I heard the of my (and, in some cases, their) bout
pop of the gray rubber stopper, followed with polio. For hours, we basked in the 50 years and counting. Looking back
at the isolation, the fear, the corrective
by a gurgle that made my mouth water. pleasures of food and food for thought. surgeries, the ostracism and the discrimi-
The red cap nearly overflowed with my Before serving dessert, I point to the nation, I marvel. Because with it all came
mother’s golden elixir: schmaltz-speck- last item gracing our Seder plate: a small an uncommon capacity for joy. I cherish
led chicken soup, extra-fine noodles, mirror. True, every iron lung sported a the life I have been given. Yes, it’s ardu-
chunks of carrots and onions – but no convex mirror through which its inhab- ous, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
drumstick. itant could glimpse the hospital ward.
But unlike its Seder plate companions,
“Wait a minute. It’s in here somewhere...” this hand mirror fast-forwards me
Imma poked her fork deep into the ther- beyond 1955’s fight for life to ensuing
mos and pulled it out triumphantly, battles for dignity.
brandishing the next best thing.
I gaze into the mirror. Instantly, I am
My face fell. “A fliegel?” an inquisitive 10-year-old, loping along
“Sure. That’s David’s favorite part.” Aunt Lily’s endless, exhausting hallway.
What, I mean who, is that at the end Chava Willig Levy is a New York-based
An orderly came by to collect my of the hall? What a weird looking kid, writer, editor, advocate and lecturer who zips
untouched lunch tray. “What ya got lurching along like a locomotive with around in a motorized wheelchair and com-
there?” misaligned wheels! Is it a cousin? An municates about the quality and meaning of
alien? As I draw closer, myopia suc- life. Her memoir, A Life Not with Standing,
“Chicken soup with lokshen,” I answered cumbs to proximity, imagination to was published in 2013. Her podcast, Breath-
proudly. “From home.” taking, celebrates all the things that take her
reality. There I stand, face to face with breath away. a-life-not-with-standing.com
“Chicken soup with what?” Aunt Lily’s full-length mirror. chava.willig.levy@gmail.com

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