Please Pray for: David Yosef ben Faigeh Perel

It is amazing how we put ourselves at the center of the world, even though we do not always belong there.

When I learned of the terrible accident, all I could think was: I just saw his mother last night at our daughter's Bat Mitzvah celebration. 

My friend, who suffers her own health issues, joined us in our simcha, beautiful and laughing, as always.  That is what I love most about her.  She and I spend most of our time together laughing at life's ironies. 

She makes me laugh.  She tells it like it is, doesn't whitewash the tough stuff, and won't let anyone around her wallow in self pity.  When I feel most down, I call her, and she whips me into shape.  She  is the strongest woman I know.

And now this.

This thing that, three weeks later, is still too horrible for words.

There is nothing to joke about, nothing to laugh about.

We could laugh at ourselves. 

This is not about us.

It is about our kids.  It is about her kid, her youngest son.

My friend's youngest 16 year old son is one of those "really good kids,"  the kind of kid who "makes his momma proud."

He is a strong, healthy, capable, independent teenager.  He could do anything he wants.  Yet he chooses to spend his free time saving other people's lives.  He is a volunteer fire-fighter.

At least, he was all these things... until three weeks ago.

Three weeks ago, he was driving in a car with some other fire-fighter volunteers; he was sitting in the passenger seat.  A car pulled out in front of theirs, making a dangerous, and illegal, turn.  The driver of his car, pulled to the side, trying to avoid a collision, but the other car still hit their car, knocking the passenger side into a steel lightpost.  The passenger seat crumpled.  (you can view pictures here.  please note that the accompanying article contains several factual errors)

The only person critically wounded was David.  His friends, all fire fighters, immediately went to work, trying to save his life.

The first miracle God did was to help David survive the night, despite his very serious injuries.

Now we need some more miracles.

David is in a coma.  He is, thank God, breathing on his own.  Nevertheless, the trauma to his brain is very serious.

He will need all of his strength, and all the strength from our prayers, to come out of this.

Please daven for the refuah shlaymah of David Yosef ben Faigeh Perel


(read about David's strength and determination in this article from March, about David's bike ride up the Hermon)



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

Eilat -- Day 1 -- The Underwater Observatory

In theory, we planned to go to Eilat on Sunday morning.

In practice, we arrived in Eilat after 8:00 pm, Sunday night.

We checked into the hotel, and were thrilled to discover that breakfast is served until 11:00! So, Monday morning, we slept in!

The plan was to take it slow and easy the first day.

I figured it would be perfect to visit the Underwater Observatory. In addition to everything else, we could reacquaint ourselves with the magical underwater world, and its various life forms. My friend did not really need the review, but I sure did!

What a great way to start off the trip.

After a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we packed some extra fruits and pastries, and went on our way.

Like Eilat in general, the Underwater Observatory was far more developed than the last time I was there, 24 years ago!

In addition to the underwater observatory, there were numerous, wonderful exhibits above ground, and an expansive play area, with creative sea creatures on which to climb, swing, slide and take your picture!

As soon as you enter the park, you can observe life underwater, without even going below sea level. There is a beautiful Red Sea Reef Aquarium, that is cool and peaceful.

Then there is the dark, and mystical, shark pool. During our visit, in addition to several sleek sharks, and two majestic stingrays, there was a diver in the pool... vacuuming.... underwater debris. It was somewhat surrealistic.

Next, we watched as a slow, but determined sea turtle, struggled to enter the sea turtle pool. As graceful as these enormous, long living turtles are underwater, they are cumbersome on land. As the turtle flopped into the pool, we were amused by its clumsy entrance into the water.

Then we went to the oceanarium, for a show about life under the sea. It was a simulator ride. Despite not having received a clear answer from my doctor, I knew the ride would be fine, and I did not want to miss out. My friend, who is a stickler for rules, was a bit nervous (she would have preferred to sit in the chairs that do not move). But I was determined, and I am not sorry. The movie was a bit corny, but the ride was fun!

Afterwards, we went on a glass bottomed boat ride. We sat at the front of the boat, right next to the guide, so we heard all sorts of extra tidbits, and were able to ask several questions.

From there we went to the underwater museum, which was just magical.

Both my friend and I were starting to get tired.

We went through the special exhibit about the Amazon forest, but then my friend had enough.

I did not want to miss anything! I went, by myself, into the rare fish exhibit. It was so cool! I really wanted to show my friend all the amazing things and, in the end, I did convince her to look at some of the more spectacular exhibits. At the end were the luminescent corals I remembered from my visit, so many years earlier.

The visit was really spectacular!

We left the park, exhausted but exhilarated.

We went back to the hotel, ate a light supper, and relaxed in the Spa, under an outdoor waterfall, surrounded by greenery. We were the only ones there and it felt like we were in our own private little world.

I sat under the hot water, and let it pound out the tension in my back and neck. The contrast, of the cool night air and the hot water pouring down over my head, was peaceful and heavenly.

I could have stayed there forever.



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA

100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall

The chagim (holidays) are coming up!

Day trips, and car rides, can be fun!

Usually, it's the kids who drive their parents crazy during car rides.

Unfortunately for my kids, I'm the one who drives them crazy!!

I love to sing "The bear climbed over the mountain!" My kids, of course, get annoyed before I repeat the song even once! (too bad for them!)

I also sing "100 bottles of beer on the wall." My stick-in-the-mud kids don't like that one either!

But I did find a way to get them into it.

In a stroke of parenting genious (if I do say so myself), I changed the song ever so slightly, to make it more interesting, and also educational.

No subterfuge, just a little creativity (you know, the product of desperation!)

Basically, the song goes like this:

"100 bottles of beer on the wall, a hundred bottles of beer.... if ______ of those bottles just happens to fall, ______ bottles of beer on the wall."

Traditionally, the first blank is a "one" and the second blank is simply n-1. Not very difficult. The song typically has 100 versus, and can fill up at least 10-15 minutes of travel time.

However, you can substitute any number in that first blank space, making the subtraction a bit more complicated, and cutting out any number of verses.

Since the kids never knew how many bottles of beer would fall at any given time, they had to pay attention, and figure out (quickly) how many bottles of beer were left, so that we could continue singing....

When we sing it this way, sometimes they are even willing to sing it twice!

Try it!

(and let me know how it worked for your family!)



Please daven (or send happy, healing thoughts) for RivkA bat Teirtzel.

With love and optimism,
RivkA