This past Friday afternoon, I took the train from New York to
Metuchen to be with my father for Kol Nidre and Yom Kippur at my home congregation,
Temple Emanu-El in Edison, where he retains a membership that goes back more than 40 years. Although I arrived at about lunchtime, our first stop was the cemetery, where my mother is buried near her own parents:
Cemetery in Woodbridge, NJ
Having lovingly placed our stones and a few flowers on the graves, we were drained. Our next stop was a quick bite to eat, close to home:

Diner in Somerset, NJ
Following this check-in, I proceeded to have a conversation with
@JewishSpecialEd, an online friend who was helpful to me a few years ago when I wrote this article, and more recently has written for the URJ's blog.
Our conversation started when she tweeted this at me:
Grew up in Somerset. 12 Webster Rd. off JFK Blvd. Temple Emanuel-El, Edison--home cong.
Because it was just a few hours before Kol Nidre, we resumed our conversation last night and it continued today:
Small world. I grew up in Scotch Plains. Temple Shalom in Plainfield my home cong. Hope your holiday was meaningful.
Smaller world...I was with Jody, Daniel and Rachel L******** at break-the-fast tonight -- at Jody's parents' house!
By far the best addition to the conversation, though, came from
@RebeccaSchorr, a mutual friend whom I knew online for a long time before we met in real life. She chimed in a few minutes ago with this:
Yup...gotta love that #jewishgeography!