And Here's to You, Mrs. Rothmueller

Do you have a parking benefactor? I do. Mrs. Rothmueller has come through for me 4 out of 4 times I have asked her for help.

My friend Rebecca and I are taking a Torah class on Tuesday nights – one book a week. This is pretty weighty material, so it is necessary to fortify ourselves before facing the Ten Commandments of Exodus or the pus and sacrifice of Leviticus. We have picked a series of really great restaurants on Wisconsin Avenue for our pre-class sustenance. However, at rush hour it is next to impossible to find a place to park in that busy stretch – a legal space, that is. (I have gotten way too many DC parking tickets, so I am into legal parking these days.)

Here's where Mrs. Rothmueller comes in. As we turn onto Wisconsin Avenue, we petition Mrs. Rothmueller to make a spot available and inevitably one opens up more or less in front of whatever restaurant it is. In return for her help, we scatter a few coins on the sidewalk and then head toward our restaurant-du-jour.

Rebecca became acquainted with the powers of Mrs. Rothmueller in San Francisco, where parking is totally impossible. I can't remember the specifics, but she seems to work equally well on the east coast.

I'm not sure which I look forward to more – dinner out or the class itself. We have sampled Japanese, Thai, and Indian food so far, with no shortage of other possibilities for the last two classes. Maybe we'll write a BLOG entry critiquing our various meals when the class is over. Or maybe we will have been stretched way beyond food at that point. After all, the Torah is pretty intense at this pace.

Anyway, I am eternally grateful to Mrs. Rothmueller for her help in the parking situation. I can spend my money on gourmet food instead of lining the coffers of the DC Government!