Happy Hanukkah!!

 Happy Hanukkah!

 I haven't had much inspiration lately. Hasn't been a good year for blogging. I feel so paralyzed in time. Keep looking forward to going back to normal and breathe normally. 

The Death of NYC

      I never would have predicted a pandemic would be the catalyst but it has been . It has killed everything that is good about NYC and due to the stellar mayor and governor the city may not be coming back any time soon.

     As soon as the city started to open up again there was rioting and looting cloaked  as peaceful that ruined what was left of a city that was daring to go back to its former glory.

      The trains are empty , the streets are empty. Lots of people are moving away. Its summer but it seems like winter since few of the exciting outdoor venues are open. Zoos and botanical gardens opened 2 weeks ago. No street fairs. Homeless are shooting up and urinating and worse on the streets of the upper west side. The mayor calls these people "fathers" and those who oppose them racist.

      Broadway is closed and if you travel by plane to anywhere I want to go when you come back you hare supposed to quarantine for 2 weeks. 

       Even when things reopen things will be precarious. Crime has gone up and the mayor is more concerned about the safety of his precious slogan he painted on the street than about the safety of the people who fill the streets of the city who unfortunately elected him  . 

      

    

Back To Nature

     One thing that I have missed so much for the past few months is nature. Living in NYC there is not much nature. My single oasis for the past few years has been visiting my local botanical garden. For the past four and a half months the local botanical garden was closed. It was so depressing. I finally was able to visit the botanical gardens a few days ago. It was so good for my soul . When nothing cultural is open in NYC , there really is no reason to stay. 

KINNE TONIGHT - SAY CHEESE

Together or Apart

     Its seems that cultures that are more solitary seem to be doing better at preventing Coronavirus from taking hold in their cities. Is it really better to be solitary or is there something to be fixed in societies that are more social? Is  this happening  so we value societies that aren't as hyper social as our own? There are advantages to both types of people and there is a need for both types in our world. Have folks been ignoring the advantages of the introverted too much lately? Is that what we are supposed to learn?

Solitary Confinement

     I always hate when rabbis try to come up with reasons tragedies occur because it always seems so random to me and yet as I sit alone in my apartment it is making me ponder the purpose of this stay at home during  a pandemic world.
     There is something comforting about slowing down and spending a lot of time at home. It gives time to reflect and do some of the things one can't when one is running and running during one's normal life. Then again, I really miss spending time with people and not having to be 6 feet away from them.
        Having to sit or stand 6 feet away from another human makes one respect their personal space, but in NYC  even during a pandemic its hard to expect .I do think that its a good ideal.
       After all of the lamenting of the modern society and its technology it has turned into a blessing. A person can be alone in one's home during a pandemic and be able to communicate with others in a group as never before. Telephones have been around for ages, but the internet and smartphones gives one the ability to see the person one is chatting with . One can message friends across the world and chat with them real time on whattsapp or online. I remember the days when I wrote letters to friends in Israel on an aerogram and it would take weeks to get to them and weeks to get a response back.
I do not think that we are being punished for our technology because our technology is our lifeline right now. Some are even able to work from home which would never have happened without the internet.
           Maybe this pandemic is trying to teach us that each one of us is important, that its not only the collective that is important. Its important to do one's part and not rely on the group to take care of things. Its giving us time to think about what is important to us in life . Its giving everyone a little time out before we get to be with others. As nice as it is to have time to one's self, the world is about being able to be with others without evil viruses getting in the way. Literally....

And it continues

     According to CNN Harvey Weinstein tested positive to Covid-19 . Quite curious  that someone convicted of sexual harassment tested positive to a disease that people need to be physically apart to prevent them from contracting.
      I think that practising social distancing will help prevent people from getting in a me too situation even more than the possibility of contracting an std would. Of course it is too bad that it would take the possiblity of getting a respiritory virus that would force fair treatment of women instead of sheer human decency.

Control

     I am feeling like though I do not have a lot of control over what is happening lately that I want to try and find something that I can control . I am really glad that its raining outside today because I had planned to stay in my apartment today except for putting out the garbage and getting my mail. I am grateful for my family and my family of friends who are helping me survive this plague.
      When I broke my shoulder 3 years ago my head went mush and I didn't even have the peace of mind to watch tv . As stressed out I am about the coronavirus I am able to watch tv and read which helps a lot. My arm is healed  and I have been crocheting.  I also have cleaned up my apartment a little bit. I am that bored,
      I am also limiting my news consumption. Its not wise to put one's head in the sand but watching and reading the news 24/7 is not necessary to keep updated. I am trying but not sure how successfully to be okay with the  uncertainty. As much as there is a outline for what may happen with this pandemic , we won't know the future until it happens. With G-d's help things will go better than anticipated. Until then we need to keep on truckin'
   

   

The Tower of Babel

      I keep wondering why there is a plague now that requires us to physically stay away from each other to get rid of it. It keeps making me think of the Tower of Babel. There has been so much fighting between all of us in the world that there has to be something so rip people apart and somehow reset. My question of course is do you  think we , humanity are up for the challenge? I really hope so because the stakes are just too high
       

Personal Space

     One of the things I dislike about living in religious Jewish  Brooklyn is the blatant disregard for personal space. It always bothers me how no matter how much I try to  not walk into someone someone always walks into me. For people who claim to be shomer negiah its a little odd.
       During this plague of coronovirus it seems the chassidic and yeshivish have seemed to be the last to adhere to the concept of social distancing which makes sense. The most physically pushy people just can't seem to tamp things down.
        It does suprise me how little regard for personal space people have here.When I broke my shoulder people would just run right into me even when I was wearing a sling . I find the lack of regard for personal space so unrefined and actually so un-Jewish. I am not against physical contact with others , but being bumped into constantly by strangers is unwanted physical contact.
       If the result of the current plague would be that people could get a little closer to my normal state of social distancing physically  it will have all been worth it.
   

Temporarily Closed World

   I do admit I was freaking out about this plague , but now I am beginning to calm down a bit. Its nice to be at home and watch television. I have been catching up on all of the tv shows that I have been meaning to watch  which is a good thing. I am missing being at work just for the human contact. I was at work this week and will be going to work once a week for awhile as they can't afford anything else. I work in the medical field so they are open. Blah. After much freaking out I have decided to risk going to work as I do not want to lose my job.
    The last time I was on house arrest was when I broke my shoulder three years ago. At least this time I am not in physical pain and I am able to enjoy watching television and reading and crocheting. All of the important things in life.
      I am going to miss going to the botanical gardens as they are closed for a little bit but I went the past two Sundays which I am so happy about. I saw the magnolia blossoms and cherry blossoms which are so good for the soul. Hopefully they will reopen soon.

magnolia blossoms

cherry blossoms

Corono Crazy

     As I am writing there is a health crisis in the United States and around the world. After my initial panic I have calmed down. Most people who contract this virus have a very mild case of it and recover. Its really bad if the elderly contract it or if someone with a compromised immune system contracts it. Oh and there isn't a cure or much treatment for it yet. The panic over the epidemic has made panic buy toilet paper to the point no toilet paper could be found. I luckily bought toilet paper last week when I saw a you tube video of two women fighting over toilet paper in a grocery store in Australia. Crazy I know.
     I went to work all week last week . I rode the subway with about half the people who are usually on the subway . It was surreal, but good because for those who had to take public transportation there were less people breathing the air.
      The scariest part of the pandemic is the lack of information that is out there. I think that it is important to be okay with the not knowing no matter how gnawing. Eventually it will be solved, but hopefully sooner than later. 

Exclusive: Rep. Ayanna Pressley Reveals Beautiful Bald Head and Talks Al...

   On Thursday Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley decided to reveal that she has alopecia and then reveals her bald head for all to see. While I think that it was very brave of her to share this I find how she presented it quite curious. She feels that its dishonest not to reveal her bald head since she has been using her ethnically black hair styles to make her more help forge a bond with voters. Hmmm. So now she wants to reveal her bald head because after all bald is beautiful. Hmmm. Well isn't she kind of ignoring the elephant in the room? Instead of being a public service announcement for alopecia she has announced she has alopecia because she feels dishonest. Her hair is really a wig and to her that makes her less relateable to other blacks as a congresswoman. Wow. She really is putting her head in the sand.
   Alopecia is stress related and it is more rare to get alopecia totalis as Pressley has. It seems being a congresswoman is really getting to her and her body can' t seem to hide it so she got alopecia.
I feel bad for her but she is clueless. Alopecia is there to tell her to slow down. . A lot of women are going through this these days. Why not advocate slowing down  and listening to the signs one's body is giving them?  While its good not to beat ones self up over things like this its also not really  a bald is beautiful moment. Is Pressley really that unevolved ?
   As an alopecia sufferer I think that Pressley's reveal is a ploy at self promotion when it really could have been a wonderful way to raise awareness of the way alopecia affect a person's life. She just made it a political fashion statement. Good grief.  I'm unimpressed and I have alopecia .areatta.