If anyone needs a jolt of caffeine, as well as a liberal dose of bonhomie – assuming one is within hailing distance of Jerusalem – what better place to be than Power Coffeeworks? Especially during these, shall we say, troubling times. When I arrived last week, Brandon was glowing with a sense of accomplishment as things seemed to be going his way. The municipality FINALLY, after a year and a half of half-hearted effort, finished the construction in front of the alleyway where he’s located. My concern was that he wouldn’t be able to keep roasting his beans at his borrowed roastery in the Gush, effectively putting him out of business, but he has found a way to make it work. (We don’t need to go into details; mum’s the word.) Also, it seems that he will, after all, be able to get the business loan he needs to build his own roasting facility near where they live. But the first thing out of his mouth was, I’ve been accepted into miluim.
Month: October 2023
After the Hagim — Part 2
In today’s lexicon of compulsions, phobias, and obsessions, one stands out front and center. It’s FOMO, the acronym for Fear of Missing Out. One subset of this disorder, or an adjunct to it, is the need to stay glued to one’s TV or other device, absorbed in the endless repeating of the same information about some major event, more often than not a catastrophe, for hours and days on end. Think ‘9/11,’ the Gulf Wars, or some such, and how many of us were glued to the Tube when these events were going on, hoping that every hour or two we might be told something we hadn’t heard before, but continuing to watch even if there was nothing new to report. I’ve decided that, this time around, in the middle of the 2023 war against Hamas, I would not get sucked into this mind-numbing but passive kind of activity. I would attempt to remain as calm as humanly possible, not giving in to fear, anxiety, or anger, remaining focused and informed, and would try to figure out what, in my limited capacity, I could do to be ‘useful, not just ornamental’ (Something my parents used to say.)
After the Hagim — Part 1
Just sitting and chilling. Or if you feel the urge to use a fancier term, ‘decompressing.’ Barbara and I had hosted The Levines over chol hamoed, and we needed to calm down from all the excitement. Day One, we all went down to DCity and formed a committee to assist Barbara in purchasing the recliner that that she had long been pining for. That evening we visited friends, and the six of us squeezed into their sukkah, big enough for three, until it started to rain.
Why don’t you give it a try….
It started with a suggestion made years ago – Why don’t you give it a try? – from Michael, a charter member of my kiddush club. If I remember correctly, he was out of work at the time, and to occupy himself, began researching his family history. He was quite successful, finding all sorts of cousins and who-knows-who-they-are’s waiting to be grafted onto a Family Tree. And not just for show; he has been in contact with bunches of them. Of course, if you’re doing something that’s fun and you consider it worthwhile, you’re going to share the news the same way you share a wee dram – gladly and often.
alittlebiteast 