Tuesday Apr 22

The Linzers introduced me
to a girl for matrimonial
purposes. She seems to be a
nice girl but does not yet
attract me.

Out of courtesy I arranged
a date with her to see a ball
game next Saturday.

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Matt's Notes

It seems like Passover week involved a little more house-hopping than we're used to seeing from Papa. My wife Stephanie tells me this makes sense since ghetto Jews were known for opening their doors and moving freely between each others' homes during holidays. (As always, if you'd like to confirm, correct, or add to any such theories, please drop a comment or write to the address below.)

I'm sure Papa's friends and neighbors thought, as he did, that it was cause for alarm for him to be single at the advanced age of 29, but this is his first account of third-party matchmakers overtly introducing him to a woman for "matrimonial purposes." I imagine the Linzers invited Papa to their home, trotted out the young prospect, and left the two of them alone to chat over coffee and Pesadich sweets. (For some reason, I picture them picking at slices of marbled bundt cake as opposed to, say, a plate of macaroons as they tried to figure out whether they'd like to have dessert together every night for the rest of their lives.)

I don't think Papa, with his gracious and steady demeanor, would have inadvertently betrayed his lack of attraction to the Linzers' friend, nor do I think he would have let her know he invited her to a ball game out of mere courtesy. Then again, maybe he was giving her a chance. I know he took my grandmother to see the Yankees when they were first dating, so perhaps he saw a woman's response to baseball as some kind of litmus test. (Such test are common, of course. I subjected Stephanie to the movie Commando during one of our early video-watching dates. Turned out she knew it well enough to quote the dialogue. Is there a more powerful aphrodisiac than hearing a woman say "let off some steam, Bennet" in a Schwarzenegger voice?)