I have some news to tell you.  I had to go to the Podiatrist yesterday because I have had pain in my left foot since the day of Max's incident.  I kept hoping it would go away, but it didn't, and it is another nagging reminder of the pain of losing my boy.  When Max was being transferred from the ER at St. Joe's to the PICU at Tarzana, Ted and I rushed to get into our car to follow the ambulance.  Ted and I had arrived separately to the ER and we decided to take my car to Tarzana.  Only, I didn't park my car in the ER parking lot.  You see, I had never been to the ER before.  The day that Max stopped breathing was my first time at St. Joe's.  We'd never had any accidents before that day.  (In fact, about a week before, I was marveling at Max's good health and thinking to myself how lucky we are that we hadn't had any accidents....no rolling off the diaper table or accidentally poking himself in the eye, or bumps on the head....nothing).  So, I parked my car in the staff parking lot.  Frankly, I was in a hurry to get to my baby and didn't really care if my car was going to get towed.  But, when we were leaving, Ted led me out the back of the ER to the parking lot that he parked in and then when I explained that I was on the other side of the building, we got annoyed with each other (probably because we were beside ourselves in a panic) and had to run the perimeter of the hospital.  I was in plastic flip flops and apparently sprained my ankle that day.  It has been a dull, nagging pain since then.  So, yesterday, after five and a half months, I had my ankle wrapped at the podiatrists office.  I guess I have also developed some tendonitis.  The doctor was very nice and tried to convince me that he is a JNF donor, which I am not buying because I don't recognize his name.  I promised him that I would check our database though and if he isn't in there, I will come back for my follow up appointment and ask him for a gift.  It might have to be for Maxie's Forest.  He is clearly a Federation donor who THINKS he is a JNF donor.  He doesn't know the difference, just knows that he "gives to Israel" (which he isn't really doing in the same way if he is giving to Federation...but, I digress).

Anyway, back to Maxie's Forest, it is almost counter-intuitive to be planning a comedy show to benefit Maxie's forest, as we don't do much laughing around these parts anymore.  Still, our friend Shawn Pelofsky http://www.hahachick.com/, a very talented comedienne, will be helping our cause by pulling together a group of her comedian friends (from Comedy Central, NBC, and the Tonight Show) and hosting an evening to make our friends and family laugh on Sunday, March 18th.  Shawn used to live right below me in the same apartment building, that my family owns, on Rexford Dr. in Beverly Hills.  She actually lives there still (poor woman has been putting up with my crazy family for many years now).  She probably listened to 1000 hours of my blasting Stevie Wonder and I definitely heard a less equal number of hours of her contagious laugh bouncing off my walls.  We didn't really become friends until after I moved out......it's very LA not to be friends with your neighbors until years later (at least in my experience).  The event will be a benefit for Maxie's Forest.  There will also be a silent auction with lots of fabulous goodies and a raffle (for a chance to win a reading with Moriah the Medium and other stuff).  Additionally, Auntie Beth is running the LA marathon that day for Team Maxie...so there will be a few opportunities to donate to help us meet our goal of raising an additional $25,000 (for a total of $100,000) for Maxie's Forest.  It is also a date that is far enough away for me to have ample time to work up to leaving my house for an entire evening and faking normal.  So, it will be a sort of "coming out party" in that way as well.  If you are going to be in LA on Sunday, March 18th, please save the date and join us at the Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip.  Doors will open at 7 pm.  Tickets will be $40 plus a 2 drink minimum (including soft drinks).  Ticket sales go to Maxie's Forest, drink sales go to the club.  Make sense?  More information to come...but for now, you can call the JNF office at 323-964-1400 to pay by credit card and reserve your spot for the event.  We are grateful for your support.

Lastly, yesterday's post obviously struck a chord.  People like television....FOR SURE!  Me too.  (I guess I've said that already).  Thank you for all of the recommendations.  So much tv to watch....so much time.  Plus, last night, Ted and I got into bed and turned on the television and I realized that I have a reason to live....for at least another few months:  That's right - the new season of The Bachelor started.  Much like my loyalty to The Real World, my love of The Bachelor never runs cold (poor, poor Ted).  I know I should be embarrassed, but, as long as I am putting it all out there, what do I really have to hide?  Plus, over the years, a number of unlikely Bachelor watchers (executive types, smarty pants types, even a well known rabbi) have confided in me their dirty little secret that they watch it too - so judge if you will.