The Story of O (not as dirty as you think)

Earlier this week, O and I met for a little sushi and a lot of conversation. After dinner, we headed over to Woman's Memorial Park on Elgin Street and found a picnic table on which to lay. Although this was not our original intention it served as a perfect addition to our evening.

The air was warm and hazy and it didn't feel natural to be staring at the concrete when there was so much more to see above our heads. So, I quietly shifted and laid down on my side of the picnic table, hoping O wouldn't notice and/or stop talking. But O's a smart cookie and so as I laid down on to my back, she enquired:
"What are you doing? Where are you going? Maha?" (I could never get anything past her.)
"I'm lying down to look at the trees."
"That's a great idea."
"Do it."
"Ok. Only I'm going to lie on top of the picnic table."

And so continued our conversation about love, life, religion and friendship as we looked up at this:



O and I met 12 years ago at Oliver's on campus. One of my most vivid memories of us centers around our first (of what would later become hundreds of) political and theological discussions. A group of us went out and began our evening at Mezzanotte Bistro in the market where O had one too many and by one too many I mean that she likely had a glass of wine because that's where her tolerance ends. She was wearing a body suit and couldn't snap the buttons closed because she...had had one too many. After her disappearance into the washroom and subsequent resurfacing with a smile and a "I'm buttoned up! With the help of S & P!" she came over to my side of the table and sincerely asked "So, what do you think of the State of Israel?" & "What about Zionism? Zionism is good, right? I'm a Zionist. I like the way you think. Clearly. You're clear. It's good. Tell me what you think, please. What are you eating? Is it any good? Can I have some? So back to Israel, eh."

I have to admit that first conversation about politics and - inevitably - religion exhausted me. What began as an evening of light fun turned into an evening of emotional and intellectual exertion the likes of which I'd not experienced before. I believe the reason it was so unique was because I'd never had that sort of a discussion with someone who had adopted the identity of 'Zionist' without really understanding the consequence and history of that word to an entire other People. Moreover, I'd never discussed 'God' with anyone before, most definitely not in the oxymoronic definition of the 'secular' Jewish State.

Twelve years later, her politics and religion have shifted. If you look out into a crowd of Palestinians during a demonstration you will likely find O carrying a sign that reads: "I am Jewish and I do not support the State of Israel". She once said that if she had to describe herself as anything, it would be "a Jewish Palestinian" rather than "a Jewish Israeli". Obviously, O's come a long way...

...reason being that she has a sincere curiosity about life and the elements we choose and use to make up who we are, the stands we take and the battles we fight. During every moment of the day she is thinking, challenging, deciding and acting. She is fearless and has more guts and heart than anyone I know, not to mention a reserve of energy accessible to everyone around her. She manages to balance a fierce loyalty to her friends and an honesty that will sometimes anger you. Even with the anger, one always understands that she tells the truth because she loves. More admirable is that she will never say no to something about which she does not possess a great deal of knowledge. I don't think her mind ever sleeps, it most definitely never gets enough and she will never reach the point of stopping her own - as she calls it - "evolution". She is one of the few people I know who will always bust her a** to continue growing emotionally, spiritually and intellectually; lethargy will never become this girl and for that she is to be admired and respected.

As equally important as all of the above is that if I desperately need a good laugh, then it's to her I turn because I have yet to meet anyone who can match her quickness of wit. What is least surprising is that each person who meets her loves her. It is inevitable and you can't fight it because You. Will. Loose. Believe me when I tell you that it's easier to just follow her around and adore her.

As with her politics, so too have her views on God changed. Over the course of the last three years, O's experienced some of the most traumatic times any one of us would hope to never live. More incredibly to some (but not to those who know, love and respect her), she has a sense of humour about her life that most others would be incapable of possessing. When we were together earlier this week, I was amazed to hear her speak of God and spirituality as though she were in fact narrating what was going on in my head. Considering the chasm that used to exist between us in terms of this particular subject, I was at moments left winded by what she was saying. We'd never thought to discuss The Big Cheese before and so it was a complete surprise when she initiated the conversation and spoke to her ideas with such definition and eloquence.

Over the course of the last 12 years I've had the pleasure and the honour of watching O become the woman that she is today and can't wait to see what the next 60 or so years will bring...apart from the occasional "stop making me laugh, I just peed a little. I have to go change. STOP! IT! Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhaaaaaaa! Peed. Again."