Friday. 12:30 pm. As he began driving east on the Ten freeway from Santa Monica, he tried to free his neck of unnecessary tension. He tried to think up with his whole torso. He tried to let go of habitual postures in his face and thinking.
He wondered which of his character flaws would trip him up this weekend? Would it be his arrogance or his thirst for attention? Perhaps it would be his lust. The wily shiksa — the blooming Adventist girls — they know how to trip up a holy Jew such as himself.
As he daydreamed about Adventist girls, he accidentally slipped on to the Five freeway north towards Sacramento and went eight miles out of his way. His soul yearned for Pacific Union College but his body was assigned elsewhere.
3:15 pm. Loma Linda University Religion Department. Dr. Dave Larson introduced him to Dr. Sigve Tonstad, Dr. Roy Branson and Bonnie Dwyer of Spectrum.
When the secretary left at 4:30 pm and accidentally locked him out, he Googled “Leo Baeck” and “romantic religion” on his Blackberry Curve and found this essay by Cynthia Ozick:
