In light of the holidays...
Every December 25th, I would call Jos and wish him a merry Christmas. And every Christmas, he wouldn't take my call.
You see, while my first call was made to genuinely wish him well, we argued. Not a serious argument mind you but a Jos argument, one where he would ascribe me an absurd position and i couldn't help but play along. This one centered around whether it was appropriate for me to call and wish him a merry Christmas in light of the fact Jos was jewish. In faux seriousness, Jos called me an insensitive goy. Wanting to spend more time with egg nog than arguing, I decided to just embrace my role... And a tradition was born.
And so every 25th, I would call Jos and typically say something like:
"Merry Christmas brother. In light of the holiday, I just wanted to call and say that when I think of Christmas, I'm reminded of the simple fact that the one true path, the one way to salvation, the sole way to secure life ever lasting is through our lord and savior, Jesus Christ. My wish this holiday season is that you embrace him and learn the tastiness of bacon. Best wishes."
This went on for years.
Of course your son had a way of playing trump cards late in the game.
So one Easter Jos turned the tables and called me. Below is basically what he left on our home answering machine:
"Happy Easter friend! What a wonderful holiday this is. Chocolates. Finery. An air of renewal in the air. About the only thing missing seems to be your messiah. Far as I see it, it's been nearly 2000 years and we're still right. And you guys.... well, are still waiting, I guess. Better luck next year."
Happy holidays and much love to you both,
Jano
p.s. I remember his Culture Wars site very well. While I would work on my papers in the computer lab, he would work on his website and occasionally update me on the latest news or his newest contact. He was very proud when Yahoo added his site to its search engine.
More by Jano Cabrera: Moist and Fresh, Portable Massage Table, Kurt Kobain , Damon and Phintias, People's Guide to Mexico
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