In which I learn about an eruv...

I'm very fortunate in that my district at work includes most of my favorite Seattle neighborhoods: Columbia City, Georgetown, Mid Beacon Hill, and Seward Park. They all have their own character, and are quite different from each other.

Georgetown is rapidly becoming the "new Fremont", which means that it has a lot of artsy people, funky stores and - most importantly - bars. It also has a great microbrewery (The Georgetown Brewery) which is the beer of choice at Chez Vel-Duray. It's now available on tap. in The Lodge (more about that in a future post)

Mid Beacon Hill is strictly residential, but there are some great mid-century homes there. There's also a lot of over-the-top new construction being built on the western slope. People with too much money and not enough taste. We're talking huge houses on tiny lots, with no lawn, but fountains, palm trees, elaborate stained glass windows, all enclosed by hideous wrought iron fences with elaborate gates. Nothing you'd want to live by, but fun to visit.

Columbia City is "The Next Wallingford", which means it has trendy, expensive-esque restaurants, galleries, bookstores, etc. Lots of new construction going on, and lots of home remodels of mostly turn-of-the-century Craftsmany houses. When the light rail comes in, Columbia City will really take off.

Then there's Seward Park. It's a largely Jewish neighborhood, with at least four synagogues. It's not a new anything, because it's always been it's own place. It's named for the huge and lovely Seward Park, which juts out into Lake Washington and is a perfect place for a car lunch, or long walk.

Seward Park also has some of the most mod 50's houses, and they've been largely kept intact through a series of happy coincidences, some having to do with The Major Concern, and the way the infrastructure is installed. That, and I think the people who buy there tend to stay there, and tend to appreciate the houses for the unique creations they are.

Anyway, now that our little Travelogue is done, I can get to the point of the post - If indeed there is one.

The other day I was called to Seward Park to offer my advice on a remodel of an existing home. As part of my research, I was looking at the power poles, when an old man approached me. That in itself is not unusual. Retirees, particularly male retirees, tend to be attracted to employees of The Major Concern. They like to ask about our cars, what the neighbors are doing, why the power makes weird noises, what to do about slugs - things like that. But this one said to me "See that bottom wire? That's a special line that connects all the synagogues so the Jews can talk to each other without anyone listening in"

I gave him my best non-committal reply and bland expression (No hotel smile for HIM) and got out of there quickly. I figured he was the neighborhood crank, and I didn't want to get into some prolonged conversation where he might start quoting from "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion", or something similarly awful.

In my preparations for the field visit, I had neglected to print out a pole report (which proves that even Atlas does indeed shrug occasionally) so you can imagine my shock and surprise when, upon arriving back at the office, I ran that report, and saw that one of the lines on the pole was assigned the name "synagogue"!

For a split second, my worldview tottered: Could the old man be right? Could this be proof of an international Jewish conspiracy? Were they using The Major Concern for covert information sharing, having to do with the gracious homes of Seward Park?

But then I said to myself, get a hold of yourself. Can't you see that this never can be? And I went to that source of information for absolutely everything, Google. I typed in "synagogue utility pole", and found several links, mostly having to do with Target and eBay. But below that I found this link, which told me everything one needs to know about an eruv.

Thus reassured, I asked my boss (who is just about the coolest middle-aged hippy ever, btw) about the eruv, and she gave me all sorts of interesting information about them. (Well, interesting information for the sort of people that work for places like The Major Concern. You're read this far, I'll spare you that part)

Of course, The Major Concern being The Major Concern, this project, when undertaken several years back, was not without controversy among some of the more "Basic" employees (of which there are a surprisingly large number. We get periodic emails reminding us that we can't start departmental events with prayers). Like the creepy old man, they feared that this is some sort of conspiracy, that we were "favoring" Jews, and - the old Christian Victim Complex standby - we would never allow Christian churches to do something like this.

For the record, the synagogues lease the space on the poles they use, and paid for the installation, just like the private businesses that put stuff on our poles do, and for the same rate.

Anyway, that's my lesson for the Sabbath, dears. Something to bring up at your next salon or other highbrow gathering where obscure facts and trivia are prized. Or you are free to discard it, if that's the type of person you are.

There! You got all the way through it. I'm so proud of you! For your efforts, here's a picture of Mrs. Dan Langdon (in her blonde phase) in the breakfast nook at Chez Vel-DuRay!