HUNGRY GERALD

Minor mystery solved: The Yiddish for son-in-law is “Edim.”  Massimo Riva is an extraordinary Edim and HG/BSK love him. He has been married for many years to HG/BSK’s daughter, Lesley, and she loves him as do their daughters Arianna and Sofia.  Massimo (also known as “Max”) is warm hearted, tactful and has exquisite manners. Max is a tall man with Italian good looks.  He is an athlete, winner of many tennis tournaments in Italy (during younger years) and still plays now(and wins). Max is a tenured professor at Brown University–head of the Italian Studies Department and the author of many books on Italian art and literature. He has been recognized by the Italian government as a contributor to Italy’ s culture. He has been a pioneer in bringing the culture into the internet. Moreover, Max is not an austere intellectual –he likes to eat well and is a whiz at selecting Italian wines to complement meals (HG has sipped wonders at Max and Lesley’s home). Max is thoughtful and generous.  An example: Family dinner at HG/BSK’s loft. Max brought HG a gift of 13 lush and briny oysters and shucked them perfectly. Okay? You can agree that in the lottery of Edims, HG won the very best.