“It’s good to see you!” I said, as we shook hands.
“It’s good to see you,” he said, and he took my offered hand and put it against his heart, a gesture he had done in the past to indicate a closeness he felt.
“How are you?” I asked.
“Okay,” he said.
He paused, looking for words, and then asked, “Why are you here?”
I understood what he meant. He wanted to know if I worked there, if I was volunteering there, or if there were other people I needed to visit. I pointed at him and said, “To see you.”
Warmth engulfed his face. That someone had taken the time to come see him, someone who was not family, someone he did not have many contacts with over the last year, made him so happy. If one person showing an interest was good, imagine his reaction if scores of people showed they cared. I took out the card from my pocket, handed it to him, and said, “La Shana Tova.”
He returned my greeting, then went to open the card, of which I saw that he was having some difficulty breaking the seal. The fact that I was in a hurry made me think I should just take the card from him and open it for him. Why waste precious time? Why put him out more than was needed? But I saw that it meant so much to him to open it himself. He wasn’t struggling. He was slowly trying to find the right angle to grip it that would enable him to make a tear. So much was done for him in this rehab center, I could see he wanted to do this for himself. I didn’t say a word. I watched with an encouraging expression on my face. About 30 seconds later, which to me seemed more like five minutes as it would to any person in a hurry, he was successful in taking the missive out of the envelope. I watched him as he opened it up and saw the Jewish symbols on it, the card’s typed words for a good year, and the most important part of all – all those signatures. He was not sitting alone, miles away from family, who were at work and would visit later, he was connected to scores of people, some of whom he did not know, or at least did not recognize their names.
Then he did something simple, which was so poignant and precious in its own way; he kissed the card. I knew it couldn’t get much better than this. I also knew I had to leave. I shook his hand and said, “My wife and I are looking forward to seeing you at home as soon as possible in good health.”
He thanked me with genuine warmth. I got up to leave and waved, an action he reciprocated. Outside of his room, I picked up my pace, found a stairway, and walked with alacrity to the guard at the front desk, who quickly answered my question about a car service to call. I got out my cell phone and when I reached them they said they would send a car right away. The time on my cell phone indicated that I had been in my friend’s room for five minutes. five minutes. I don’t think either of us felt cheated.
I made it to the dentist with more than 10 minutes to spare.