On My Mind
Rib Progress:I am continuing to recover from my broken rib. I can drive reasonably comfortably, for example, though I have to make sure to pull up particularly close to the electronic pad that opens our garage door, so I don’t have to reach too far with the key fob. The main thing that is annoying is not being able to lift heavy objects, so I had to make multiple trips between car and condo to carry my groceries in. And I am still more comfortable sleeping on my back, instead of on my side which would be more usual for me. Oh, well, it’s been just 3 weeks and my doctor did say it would take 6 weeks to heal.
Follow-up re: Dancing: So, after writing about it in the August prompts, I went and looked up both local Israeli dancing and Israeli dance events. There is one local dance reasonably near where I live. There is also an event in 2024 I think I have to go to - a dance weekend built around the total solar eclipse. The most amusing part of that is that it is being run by someone I know. In fact, he taught an intermediate/advanced dance class I took back in 1978 or so. (And he’s a Facebook friend, though not really active there.) So I have about two and a half years to get back into dancing shape.
Chavurah Dinner: My chavurah (Jewish friendship group) had a dinner at Silver Diner on Sunday night. We got a large table in a tent outside. I had some tasty fish tacos. There was lots of lively conversation, so it was a pleasant evening out.
Gift Certificate Problem: I bought a friend a gift certificate from Lake Champlain Chocolate (which I know she likes) for her 60th birthday. She went to order and discovered that, since it is still summer, the only shipping option was next day air - which would have been nearly fifty bucks. She’s just going to wait until October, when they will do ground shipping, but shipping cost had never even crossed my mind.
Rosh Hashanah Thoughts: I did a bit of (virtual) shul hoping this year. I gave up on one because of technical failures, combined with poor quality cantorial choices and entirely inept shofar blowing. The second was better, but the real winner was a synagogue in Florida that felt more traditional. I really should have done better planning to arrange something I could go to in person, however, since I find my attention span is much worse for zoom services.
My main takeaway this year was that “Unetaneh Tokef” (the prayer that includes the various fates for people being judged on the High Holidays) felt particularly timely and relevant. Who by fire? - western North America. Who by water? - Louisiana. Who by war? - Afghanistan. Who by plague? - the whole world. Okay, I’m not worried about stoning or strangling, but still … it hits home.
9-11: Saturday was the 20th anniversary of 9-11. It is, of course, sad, but I was irritated by all the talk of America having come together that day. I haven’t forgotten the attacks on people wearing turbans (many of them Sikhs, not Muslims) or the on-going paranoia and security theatre. There were acts of heroism - the passengers of United Flight 93, the first responders climbing up the stairs of the World Trade Center as people were climbing down, and so on. But we entered into an entirely unnecessary war in Iraq, gave up on many traditional American values (it is not unpatriotic to criticize the government, for example, not to mention the rise in anti-immigrant sentiments) while refusing to confront Saudi Arabia which was the homeland of the terrorists who killed nearly 3000 people.
This entry was originally posted at https://fauxklore.dreamwidth.org/496617.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Follow-up re: Dancing: So, after writing about it in the August prompts, I went and looked up both local Israeli dancing and Israeli dance events. There is one local dance reasonably near where I live. There is also an event in 2024 I think I have to go to - a dance weekend built around the total solar eclipse. The most amusing part of that is that it is being run by someone I know. In fact, he taught an intermediate/advanced dance class I took back in 1978 or so. (And he’s a Facebook friend, though not really active there.) So I have about two and a half years to get back into dancing shape.
Chavurah Dinner: My chavurah (Jewish friendship group) had a dinner at Silver Diner on Sunday night. We got a large table in a tent outside. I had some tasty fish tacos. There was lots of lively conversation, so it was a pleasant evening out.
Gift Certificate Problem: I bought a friend a gift certificate from Lake Champlain Chocolate (which I know she likes) for her 60th birthday. She went to order and discovered that, since it is still summer, the only shipping option was next day air - which would have been nearly fifty bucks. She’s just going to wait until October, when they will do ground shipping, but shipping cost had never even crossed my mind.
Rosh Hashanah Thoughts: I did a bit of (virtual) shul hoping this year. I gave up on one because of technical failures, combined with poor quality cantorial choices and entirely inept shofar blowing. The second was better, but the real winner was a synagogue in Florida that felt more traditional. I really should have done better planning to arrange something I could go to in person, however, since I find my attention span is much worse for zoom services.
My main takeaway this year was that “Unetaneh Tokef” (the prayer that includes the various fates for people being judged on the High Holidays) felt particularly timely and relevant. Who by fire? - western North America. Who by water? - Louisiana. Who by war? - Afghanistan. Who by plague? - the whole world. Okay, I’m not worried about stoning or strangling, but still … it hits home.
9-11: Saturday was the 20th anniversary of 9-11. It is, of course, sad, but I was irritated by all the talk of America having come together that day. I haven’t forgotten the attacks on people wearing turbans (many of them Sikhs, not Muslims) or the on-going paranoia and security theatre. There were acts of heroism - the passengers of United Flight 93, the first responders climbing up the stairs of the World Trade Center as people were climbing down, and so on. But we entered into an entirely unnecessary war in Iraq, gave up on many traditional American values (it is not unpatriotic to criticize the government, for example, not to mention the rise in anti-immigrant sentiments) while refusing to confront Saudi Arabia which was the homeland of the terrorists who killed nearly 3000 people.
This entry was originally posted at https://fauxklore.dreamwidth.org/496617.html. Please comment there using OpenID.