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overly-athletic and had masculine facial features and a cleft chin, and
her skin was a too-bright shade of red that made her look sunburnt,
and she had freckles, which I've never liked. Her entire wardrobe in the
film consisted of tank tops and cargo pants, and her breasts were too big
and were probably floppy under her shirt. I sometimes wondered why
Hollywood had such a lousy standard of beauty. I turned the television
off and smoked the rest of my pack of cigarettes and listened to the
radiator.

§

On Tuesday morning I felt sorry for myself and skipped work.
I wondered if any other sobbing divorcees would call the call center
today misguidedly ex~cting the suicide hotline.

Out of curiosity I walked over to the synagogue again, hop-
ing to speak to the rabbi. I knocked on the door to the rabbi's private
office, but nobody answered, so I went into the lobby and read through
Zionist literature for a good ten minutes. After twenty-four years of life,
I was still unsure on how I felt about the state ofIsrael, but at the very
least I hoped it made the Jews happy. It seemed, however, to upset the
neighbors a good deal, and I wondered why the Jews couldn't have just
chosen another place to settle-like somewhere in Michigan, maybe.
I'm sure nobody would complain if the Jews created a state for them-
selves in the ruins of Detroit, except perhaps for Lions fans.

Then again, I knew about as much about Michigan as I did
Palestine.

I sat on the front steps and smoked a few Basics, reading the
issue of Popular Mechanics that I started on Saturday. There was a two-
page advertisement for wind power, complete with a portrait of a smil-
ing T. Boone Pickens, and a large headline reading, WIND POWER
COULD BE THE ANSWER TO ENERGY INDEPENDENCE!
I wondered if, perhaps, Pickens held investments in wind power-I
wouldn't be surprised. He looked old and wealthy.

After a few minutes a heavy-set, bearish man in a blue suit and
yarmulke walked up the steps and towards the front door of the syna-
gogue. I got up and walked towards him quickly, making sure I could
get him before he walked in-for some reason, the idea of approaching
him once he had already entered the building seemed awkward and
unsociable. I got right up next to him and angled myself in position for

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