Life of Wry

I had occasion to tour the Hillel House down the street today.

Betsy and her dear friend Gail (who Betsy is now visiting up in El Dorado Hills, post her visit here), let me know they were coming to Davis hoping to catch a glimpse of maybe a plaque honoring a mutual friend of their’s contribution to the construction of Davis’s Hillel House in 2011. Their friend “Uncle Joe” (Joseph Pedott) is the uncle of a treasured friend and colleague of theirs — a physician in Southern California — and, funnily, the fellow behind the infamous Chia-Pet (remember those?). They adore Uncle Joe and just had to see what he contributed to here in Davis. (Are you with me?) Well, as it turns out, Joe Pedott is honored with more than a plaque; his name is quite prominent in numerous places around the property, inside and out, due to his sizable and timely donation (a great story worth reading about).

All I really knew about the Hillel House was that it was a big neighborhood deal back in the planning and construction phases. And a wee bit controversial, due to its size. I walk by it several times a week, at least, but had never gone inside. In fact, it’s not all that easy to get inside, due to significant security protocols. (And isn’t that a sad reality.)

Case in point… we were observed taking pictures outside and approached by staff. Once our intentions were sussed out, we were generously invited to come in to look around. We spent nearly an hour touring the place with the director, which was wonderful and so interesting!

This is a great before and after:

I completely remember this tiny house. It was next door to the tiny house of a friend (I met while studying in Sweden) where I spent a little bit of party time in 1978.

And this is it today (and since 2012, I was shocked to learn, my how time flies).

Note Uncle Joe’s plaque in front (ha! now I’m calling him Uncle Joe and I don’t even know him).

And here’s a shot of the interior.. a large room, also named after him. The whole thing was beautiful, huge, and impressively featured.

It was an interesting juxtaposition… touring the Hillel House today as violence in Israel is so prominent in the news these past weeks. I listened to a lengthy interview with Netanyahu on CNN this evening (talk about dug in) and have been reading about the escalating conflicts and Blinken’s tightrope efforts to simultaneously call for peace in the region and support an elusive two-state solution. I don’t have a lot to say about all that, except that it’d be nice if the harmony and open heartedness that was so much a part of what I saw at the Hillel House today could infuse those warring factions in Israel. (And as the folks at Crooked Media wrote today, “Wasn’t Jared Kushner supposed to have solved this whole thing already?”)