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.