“He was the first person I saw when I stepped off the plane. It...

“He was the first person I saw when I stepped off the plane.  It was a gathering of religious scholars in the middle of the Australian outback.  I’d just received a grant to study creativity.  He was a rabbi.  Most beautiful rabbi you’ve ever seen.  So beautiful.  A few nights later we were smoking a joint beneath the stars with a famous social psychologist, expert on The Self, and we began to talk about essentialism.  I didn’t have much to add, but the rabbi was so eloquent.  Beautiful rabbi.  Eloquent rabbi.  I fell in love.  We kept in touch after the event.  And eventually I moved to New York so we could be together.  But the relationship only lasted two months.  Maybe because I’m a lapsed Catholic and he’s a rabbi.  Might not look good to the congregation.  But recently we took a trip to Philadelphia for a fresh start.  We ate some chocolate pot balls at the art museum.  Then on the night following the winter solstice, we ate some molly, danced in the heated pool on top of our hotel, and decided to give it another try.  He gave me this ring as a sign of our recommitment.”