Breakaway Bar Mitzvah

Heading out to Raleigh, NC, for the bar mitzvah of one of Ken's young cousins, we were eager to see relatives we haven't seen for too long. We left home Friday morning in plenty of time to make it to the 6 p.m. dinner in Raleigh.

Unfortunately, our van was not as keen on going to Raleigh as we were. Just outside Greenville, SC, it refused to start after we filled up with gas at $1.38/gallon. After the first tow truck broke down with our van on it, a second truck arrived to transport the van and us to Breakaway Honda, the local dealer. We waited... and waited... for the diagnosis of the problem. It turned out that replacing the battery solved everything, but the technician was thorough and tested other electrical issues to be sure. Finally, five hours after we arrived in Greenville, we were on our way again, arriving in Raleigh four hours too late to make it to the dinner. We did make it to the bar mitzvah on Saturday morning and were very impressed, both with Eli's erudition and with the esteem that the congregation so obviously holds for the entire Mills family. Taking photos in the synagogue was not allowed on the sabbath, but we had a wonderful time at the luncheon after the bar mitzvah visiting with Baumgarten relatives. Too soon, it was time to leave.