Just An Inconvenience

 

In the 45 minutes that is took for our food to arrive at the table, Armageddon had already passed by the front window. What had been a nearly empty restaurant when we arrived was quickly beginning to fill up as those without power poured in the through the doors for a late dinner. With the occasional flickering of the lights, the dining room filled to near capacity with new guests arriving and those who had been there long before we arrived refusing to leave.

By the time we walked out the door the winds had calmed and the rain was a slow drizzle of large drops. The street was spotted with a confetti of leaves and the clouds began to lighten as we approached our cars. It was just a quick storm but the sirens and fire trucks charging down the road let us know that the rain was not the primary concern. It didn’t take long before we found ourselves inching up to inoperable intersections that seemed to encourage people to put their foot down and pray that no one decided to turn in front of them.

My wife continued down the road as I quickly stopped by the lodge to check the building. It didn’t take long and I was back on the road within a few minutes. About halfway home my phone rang and I can’t say I was surprised when my wife said that the power was out at our apartment building. Because of changes made since we moved in two and half years ago, this is no longer a rare occurrence. During Sandy, with the old systems in place, the power stayed on… now, 20-30 minutes of intense wind and rain and the building is completely shut down. Thanks PECO! In fact, the power remained absent from our apartment until the early morning hours when we were both trying to sleep in a pool of sweat.  

At least we didn’t have to clean the fridge out… yes, that issue has yet to be resolved. As if we didn’t need the extra motivation to move when our lease is up. But, in the end, this is nothing more than an inconvenience. And without the distraction of the television or internet constantly barraging my senses, it has forced me to think about what many of our friends are experiencing in Israel. As I write this there are rockets headed toward Tel Aviv and toward our old (literally) neighborhood in Jerusalem. And while there is a certain part of me that is glad that we are here with this minor inconvenience there is another part of me that wishes we were there with our friends standing together as if to say “bring it, we’re not going anywhere!” This is just an inconvenience. Baruch Hashem and may G-d bless and keep Israel and her people safe during this period of conflict and for all time.