backyard crowing
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becoming an expert
I dogsat this weekend for a Jewish family this weekend in Beverly Hills. They are conservative Jews, from what I can devine.
I stayed there during Shabbat, and the mom was out of town, but I sort of observed the dad as he observed Shabbat. He did a Shabbat walk, read from one of many holy books on his wall, and avoided electricity to some degree. I don't think he worked on that day.
Their kitchen has 2 microwaves -- one for meat, the other for dairy. They have one cabinet labeled meat, and another labeled dairy.
They have a device that rests atop their stove, made of metal. I believe the way it works is this: prior to sunset, he turns on their gas stove. He places the metal sheet on the stove, and all day long, the metal sheet is hot. Anything placed atop the metal sheet gradually becomes hot. This is how he heated his food.
In Houston, this would be an awful way to operate -- that thing would likely heat the whole damn house! But in Los Angeles, it's been 64 degrees all day this past weekend.
The husband wears a kippah, no white scarf around his waist, though. No big black hat, and no curly long strands of hair on either side of his face. The wife does not wear a wig, and seems to wear normal clothing.
That marriage has problems. But they're nice people.
Oddly they have an NRA sticker on the side of their house, and their wifi network name is "makeamericagreatagain." Definitely not your average Jews.
Anyway --
The main takeaway:
The father was working in real estate, and specifically what happens legally when a person dies, and their kids all share the deed to the home.
He said that because he had become an expert in this, a judge had asked him to stand as an expert on the subject in court.
He said he made a lot of money in this particular way.
He said that if you become an expert in something, it's a very good thing, because then people will just pay you whatever is needed to get the job done, because they need you more than you need them.
I was reminded of my excellent editing professor. He said, "you'll get to a point where someone will present you a project, and you'll have to decide if you want to do it, or if you'd rather just go work in your garden."
The Jew dad guy mentioned that my industry is very competitive.
I have much to say about their family, and it may be comedic, but for now I'm focusing on the wisdom of someone who is (to me) a rich man. Make friends with the richies, not enemies.
I heard recently that to become rich, you must first make someone else rich.
8:34 am - Monday, May. 09, 2022
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