hymie, wife and kids and the death penalty

hymie showed up on the telephone a few days ago and after a lull of a couple days a call came from chatzkal this morning. (after an earlier call from a telemarketer to whom i gave aviva's teudat zehut number, but they needed gil's number. they are ruthless.) he said the time is set for six and told me to call gassel. i called gassel, who answers the phone "aryeh" and i say lorin. and he was busy but i told him the info pretty quick and such it went. got very little sleep, but awoke early enough (discovered an inefficient closing of my inner door! upon my return home) and went to the library and switched my books, one by paul auster and one by judy blume. (never got to read her kids' books, so a chick book will have to do) and then called mich (dust storm today) and resnick (close the windows). then walked and was there way early for hymie but right on time for rocky and son. (reminiscing: yakov turner. "is this the gartel?!) finally hymie and family arrived. (i was by the window and saw him come into the wrong house next door) and he looked older, but the same. hung out on the mirpeset and it took me a bit to recall that his kids were adopted (his wife had been very sick at some point.) it turns out that he testifies in capital death punishment cases quite often and i just got a boost thinking in that direction because of that good comic actor on lost (not as perfect as chris farley, but still better than seymour philip hoffman for the role) and i told hymie the idea and he repeated the title "fat man walking" to me and told me the story of tiny who didn't fit in the electric chair. the right wingism of chatzkal and the others was a drag. gassel showed up just as rocky was leaving and his business goes from crisis to crisis but he's very glad to be here because his kids are staying jewish and rafi is engaged to be married after his art student wife gets her final project finished and checked off. being near hymie reminded me of his playing pool polo when he spoke of his pool in florida and there was a big israeli whose hand hymie's disappeared in and rocky reminded me that hymie was always late for class in eighth grade. the orange peel and the whereabouts of itri in beit safafa. arno rotbart was mentioned. many skokie guys who i never knew were mentioned. midrash with rocky was mentioned at the start but not when rocky left. gassel said he'd invite me for shabbos. i got hymie's e mail address written on invite to clara's graduation. his wife's name is esther and she comes from boro park so some memories of brooklyn were stirred. one kid was outside playing most of the time and the other one knew about the fat guy with the long hair. i was at a real low point in 80 when i last saw hymie, so those memories were stirred as well. resnick wasn't home for a post chatzkal get together. walked via the valley of the ghosts. got a nice nap soon after getting home.