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Posts Tagged ‘Bethlehem’

Is Fun Done?

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , , , , , on December 25, 2023| Leave a Comment »

First of all, Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.

It’s rainy and warm here in Nashville and for a change, there will be no doctor from our family on duty in any ER or ICU! Our adult kiddos are traveling within and without the states this year so we’re all alone; we don’t even have grand dog duty. Our neighbors have taken pity on us, so we’ve had cookies and cakes dropped on our doorstep. I guess being Jewish in the South is a novel experience for many, but with Hanukkah behind us and no Chinese restaurant in sight, Bob and I plan to relax and enjoy our rainy day!

Maybe I’ll vacuum? I must confess we managed to buy a cord-free, lightweight Dyson on a cybersale Monday and it has changed my life for the better. It not only picks up everything, it shines a light on the floor or rug and displays what kind of dust and debris it’s catching on its handle! I mean, between the air purifier and the Dyson, what else do we need? I know it’s very trendy, and I hate being on trend, but I’m even dreaming about vacuuming.

What do you do for fun? If you had no cares, and nowhere to go, would you watch a football game? Would you kick your feet up and read a book, or would you strap on your sneakers and run on the treadmill? I’ve had to accommodate my changing body, but I can still mount our free Buy Nothing Facebook elliptical and do some gentle Pilates. An article in the Post caught my eye the other day, the writer posits we Americans no longer know how to have FUN! In other words, “It’s become emphatic, exhausting, scheduled, hyped, forced and performative.”

Consider what we’ve done to fun. Things that were long big fun now overwhelm, exhaust and annoy. The holiday season is an extended exercise in excess and loud, often sleazy sweaters. Instead of this being the most wonderful time of the year, we battle holiday fatigue, relentless beseeching for our money and, if Fox News is to be believed, a war on Christmas that is nearing its third decade.“

https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/of-interest/2023/12/23/fun-is-dead/

And I get it. The stress of the happy season to feel happy can be depressing. Take the movie “It’s a Wonderful Life,” Jimmy Stewart is so depressed (and drunk I might add) he’s ready to jump off a bridge until an angel recounts all the myriad ways he’s made a difference. Bob and I watched my favorite holiday movie “Love Actually” last night and all doesn’t end well in old London town. There is still infidelity and unrequited love via poster boards. And this year, in particular, even Bethlehem has cancelled Christmas because of the war.

A Biblical, age-old war between brothers, the Arabs and the Jews, both born of Abraham. His wife Sarah was too old to conceive and so Ishmael was born via her maidservant, Hagar/who/by/the/way/was/not/Jewish – the first surrogate mother in the Bible. Later, when Abraham was 100, he and Sarah had a son, Isaac. Guess which son inherits the fertile crescent? They are still working this out, because one brother does not want to share, sound familiar? From the Camp David Accords in 1978 to the Oslo Accords in 1993 only one side has refused a two state solution, the Palestinians.

If the Irish and the English worked things out, the Bosnians and the Serbs, and the North and the South for that matter, I’m left wondering why peace is so illusive in the Mideast. Who is benefitting from this war? The leaders of Hamas who sit comfortably in Qatar, reportedly billionaires who live luxuriously while their people suffer. The right-leaning Israeli leaders who have cemented their hold on Netanyahu’s government after October 7 surely. But money, power, oil and water are not the only answers in this multi-generational feud. Plus, why must an American president work out an accord? Where are the leaders in the Arab world, the kings and sheiks who pull the strings?

I didn’t mean to leave you with a sour note this morning. In fact, since I cannot control the Mideast and unless you happen to be a Secretary of State neither can you, it seems imperative that we do what we can to practice compassion – both for ourselves and others – as we head into a new year. May you do what makes you happy today and Merry Cleaning!

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Let the Star Shine

Posted in Books, Journaling, Wedding, Country, tagged , , , on December 21, 2020| Leave a Comment »

This is the dawning of the end of coronavirus! The Moderna vaccine has been approved and is being distributed, plus today the Groom will receive his Pfizer shot in the arm. Nobody deserves it more than our tireless healthcare workers; I’ve loved watching pictures pop up in my social media feed of all the Bride and Groom’s colleagues rolling up their sleeves. Just as the great state of Tennessee has lurched into first place in one “key pandemic metric:”

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Tennessee is first for average daily cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days… Tennessee sits at an average of 129.4. Oklahoma is ranked at a distant second with an average of 98. That national average is 64.8.”

Bob estimates that one out of every 30 people walking around TN is currently contagious with coronavirus! Yikes! After spending 40 weeks in virtual quarantine, we’d all like to get out and about right now, but we need to hold on for a bit longer. I, for one, do not want to be the last person to contract this disease right before it is eradicated.

So I am not heading out to the mall for any last minute shopping. We are not eating on heated and tented restaurant patios, because what’s the point of that? The flow of air would be the same as if we were inside a restaurant. I just may do curbside pick-up of Thai food for Christmas! Our family balletic tradition had to be altered slightly this year; the Nashville Ballet’s Nutcracker was almost as beautiful on TV this past weekend, as it was over the years at the TN Performing Arts Center. Although we couldn’t feel the snow.

But we all can safely witness a spectacular celestial event by just walking outside our doors tonight at sundown and gazing into the southwestern sky. Tonight is the Winter Solstice, marking the longest night of the year – or as I like to call it, the beginning of longer daylight hours! And if the clouds stay away, we should be able to see the “Great Conjunction” of Jupiter and Saturn, coming so close to each other that they resemble one giant Christmas star.

“It’s been nearly 400 years since the planets passed this close to each other in the sky, and nearly 800 years since the alignment of Saturn and Jupiter occurred at night, as it will for 2020, allowing nearly everyone around the world to witness this “great conjunction.”

The closest alignment will appear just a tenth of a degree apart and last for a few days. On the 21st, they will appear so close that a pinkie finger at arm’s length will easily cover both planets in the sky. The planets will be easy to see with the unaided eye by looking toward the southwest just after sunset.”

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/the-great-conjunction-of-jupiter-and-saturn

While some people think this may have been what happened in Bethlehem, when wise men were led to a certain manger, this is not actually Matthew’s Star from that Gospel. Scholars can’t pinpoint the actual birth of Jesus Christ – our late December date may be off by six years! Also astronomical events can happen frequently, so who knows how the stars were aligned in the first century.

Still, tonight’s the night! Two planets will shine as one giant star, and we are turning a corner in this pandemic. We have just one month before a rational, sane man will assume the Office of the Presidency. Things are looking up!

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