Strange Daze and Black knights.

 It is Saturday night and I'm ready to catch up so here we go:

Yes, there was maariv. A meager minyan was scraped together and I found this fascinating. usually these flights are over full of the religious sort but I guess that most people were concerned about landing 3 hours before Shabbos so the hardcore fanboys too the ealy AM flight so they could get home and watch other people shop and cook, Those of us with faith stayed in the US a little later and had to pull ourselves up by our relatively less frum bootstraps. Fortunately, it was a valid minyan. This was determined by the presence of two small boys running through and screaming while their father prayed and did nothing to discipline them.

Boarding began on time with an announcement that the elderly, people with disabilities and those with small children should board first. One thing it is important to note is that there are things that people flying to Israel don't care about. Tops on that list are such items as "waiting your turn" or "standing politely on a line waiting your turn." I, being a rule follower, allowed the rule of mass confusion to hold sway and I got on line also. What zone am I in? Your mother. That's what zone I'm in. Now take my boarding pass and move away. In Hebrew, that's like poetry. I figured I would ensure myself some overhead bin space by jumping the gun. I was partly right. The plane was mostly empty but miraculously, people not sitting in my row had already filled the bin dedicated for my seat. So I took someone else's spot. Tough nerts to them, I guess. The plane is a 787-9 Dreamliner and I was in 23H (an aisle seat, so I have freedom of egress and room to stretch one leg, but I get repeatedly smacked by anyone and anything walking by).

The preferred seat section does afford a little more leg room and a bit more reclining and it turned out that the seat next to me was empty so I had a bit more elbow room. Huzzah. There was a dog on board also but if he didn't complain about me, I figured I wouldn't complain about him. In the window seat in my row was the father of a current student. So we had an impromtu parent-teacher conference and I'm writing the whole trip off as a business expense. Winning! We taxied very slowly from the gate and did 30 minutes of extra waiting because there was a traffic jam ahead. Damn turnpike. Random thought? The Lior Suchard video needs to be changed. Maybe seeing once (twice) is amusing, but I have seen it too many times -- I'm starting to understand the Hebrew. Time to shake it up. 8:35 local time, we took off.

A lot of turbulence early on but after a bunch of minutes, that resolved. I put a blanket over my head and dozed. Truth is, maybe it was still turbulent after that, but I didn't notice. Dinner was served at about 10PM local (NJ) times. Rice with peas and carrots in it, plus 3 meatballs. Both parts of that word should be in quotes. Nuff said. I ate the chummus a bialy before I read the piece of paper that said that the bialy was real bread and not mezonos. So, um, oops. I skipped the mousse for fear of nuts. That made me sad. Then, blanket back on my head, extra pillow on my right and between the turbulence, the warm, full belly and the benadryl, I fell asleep. I'm sure I was smacked repeatedly by people passing but God is good and gave us the gift of antihistamines for just such an occasion. 

Fast forward to 4:30 AM (NJ time). Breakfast service. I was awoken by my internal clock which told me that something was happening and I was right. Something was happening. I let them serve me my food and then I got my tallis and tefillin and found a corner to daven in. There were certainly more than 10 men davening, but no one with anyone else so that was that. Maybe I missed the minyan they had anticipated at 3AM but if so, then so did everyone else. Back to the seat for breakfast. The tuna was the consistency of chopped liver, a definite "meh." The omelet was not the worst thing I have eaten. I enjoyed the water and a little bit of fruit and eschewed the bagel (once bitten, twice not). By the time I was cleaned up, brushed teeth etc, there was nary an hour left to the flight! I had watched nothing. I missed my chance for a cuppa but merrily we fly along. Life at 39,000 feet (or 2.2 mililiters) and -56 degrees fabrenginright was pleasant because at 587 mph (or $45 QVC) everything had best be pleasant. I was still tired (Benadryl hangover) but 5-6 hours of sleep is standard for me so I was ready for that feeling.

All that went through my groggy head was this line from the end of The Shawshank Redemption,

 "I find I am so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain"

OK, we're back to reality now.

A guy who finished davening walked around asking visibly less affiliated Jews if they wanted to put them on. He didn't ask me. I'm ok with that.

I'm 53 years old and I don't understand "duty free". Once I get on an airplane do I suddenly decide that I want to spend $295 on a watch, or buy 15 different types of perfume? Or maybe I want to buy a bottle of vodka for no less money than it would cost in any corner liquor store when I land? Am I sitting at 39 thousand feet realizing, "wow, I could really go for some face revitalizing serum? I hope there is a catalogue from which I can order it and use it tomorrow."

Deplaned relatively quickly and scooted into the terminal. On the way to somewhere I saw the biometric machines. There are no signs telling anyone "you have to stop here first no matter who you are" but I gave in to peer pressure and stopped there and had the machine give me a piece of blue paper. Note to self in the future -- do this. You need that blue paper.

I made it through passport control and various other obstacles and got my luggage (not quite the last, but late in the game). The airport was not really that busy so Jeff and I walked past the not-real cab drivers who wander through the arrival area whispering "ride? ride?". I can't call them gypsy cabs because I don't know where they are from. We were the only people in line so we got a real cab quickly and gave the gentleman the address. He made a little small talk (I only know short Hebrew words) but he negotiated the various traffic jams expertly (Israelis also don't hold from "lanes" when driving) and our ride was from 1:56 do about 2:50.He was expert in invasive driving. Not bad!

Arrival at 18 Harav Reines in Netanya. Pay the man, I do and then into the world's smallest elevator. Jeff and I went separately and my bag complained that I was squishing him. I should have put the elevator in the bag.

We played "meet the family" and I introduced myself to baby Tzofia. She cried, so I know she understood who I am.

I got a tour of the apratment, checked my email via wifi, and got ready for Shabbos. I slept in Josie's room and am appreciative of her largesse in giving it up.

I went to bed at around 11PM af ater a rollicking meal at which we watched a substantial amount of lightning far away -- the sky kept lighting up, but there was no sound. Weird. I had a clock in the room and a shabbos lamp. I fell asleep with the lamp still open which made the next part all the more confusing.

I woke up and I heard cars and voices. OK, that happens. I wake often and life goes on. I looked at the clock, nothing there. I wasn't exactly sure where I was but recalled that it was dark. Too dark. I founbd my watch and tried to see the time. I couldn't because, you know, dark. So I made my way back downstairs, only almost falling once. I fell because it was also dark in the hallway. Now I knew something was wrong.

Into the living/dining room. Still dark and all the appliances, usually so forthcoming with the time, were dark as well. I figured that I had somehow triggered a fuse and broken Israel. So I laid myself down on the couch and looked outside. The sky still flashed and it was still dark outside. Eventually, my eyes adjusted enough for me to guess that it was 5AM Israel time.

At 5:30 I heard baby Choo-Chi (yes, that's what they call her) crying. Then, she stopped. A little while later, her father trudged downstairs to make her a bottle of something. We exchanged 5:45 AM pleasantries (with such witticisms as "what time is it" and "the power's out.") He went back up and I stayed on the couch, watching the darkness and an occasionaly UFO (struth).

I couldn't fall asleep but then at 6:30 went back upstairs. Then the rain came. That helped me sleep until 9:30 ish when I went back downstairs. I was pouring and the thunder and lightning continued (throughout the day - no walks were taken). The powere had come back on and we discussed the halachic implications of the outage (which, it seemed, was specific to this apartment and not a neighborhood problem).

Lunch was et, toys were thrown, stories interrupted and multiple naps taken. All by me. Shabbos ended at 5:40-something and many people went many ways.

I have made some tentative plans for my week -- tomorrow, I will try to find somewhere to drink coffee and grade papers. Then dinner with Josie. Tuesday is dinner with Andi, then she will escort me part of the way back to Jerusalem where I will stay with Nomi and David.

At least that's the plan. Stay tuned.