New Year 2020... On the Road on New Year's Eve. Winter Weather hiding from the Mid Atlantic & the South

#happynewyear2020 checking in from my #NY #Monsey #vacation with some of my kids. Headed down South to the land of the Pines today back to #NC & wondering when the South sees #winter #weather pic.twitter.com/7jbBPcjq3z

— BobbiStorm (@BobbiStorm) December 31, 2019

On the road this past week mostly in Monsey and Crown Heights, NY but while I was hoping to see a few flakes of snow at least it seems snow took a holiday too! Of course there is snow up in Northern Maine and places out West that have been on friendly basis with Old Man Winter or is it Young Man Winter in late December? Either way it was cold, wintry looking with sheets of gray rain looking almost like a tropical system that found its way up North. It was beautiful though to watch deer wander across the yard as fox ran fast and hawks circled high up in the sky. I hung out with my daughters, my son who was in town from Seattle and my grandson Shmuel Ber who goes to a Pre-School in Monsey. 

We were out Saturday night in my son-in-law's family restaurant getting snacks, laughing and enjoying life when a series of police cars, ambulances and fire trucks raced past on the main street. As it was Chanukah I felt sad thinking someone's menorah probably started a fire. Then there were more police cars and a variety of vehicles with siren's blaring and then everyone's cell phones began beeping as Whatsapp Groups relayed the message of the stabbing at a nearby house of people celebrating Chanukah. Everyone knows someone in my world. My daughter-in-law's brother is a doctor at the hospital where people were brought in to the ER. A son-in-law's brother was on the emergency call for something called "Hatzoloch" or however it's written in English (it's a local emergency call service for medical or emergencies) and so news filtered in faster than available from regular news outlets. Very sad that a home next to a Synagogue where everyone was celebrating Chanukah was targeted by a man with a large machete looking to kill Jews on the festival night of Chanukah when people gather on a Saturday night to join together in happiness. I say that also as his diaries and online information has made it very apparent they were only being targeted because they were Jews gathered together. 

Hate is a problem that exists everywhere though of late it's been very bad in the NY/NJ area and ironically friends of mine were worried that I was going to NY because there have been daily incidents in New York City and in the Crown Heights and I told friends... "Don't worry I'll be upstate in Monsey" where it seemed safer. Understand in Brooklyn Jewish people walking down the street are being punched in the face, hit over the head with chairs and recently 3 women were attacked simply walking on the street in what is typical chassidic dress. What does that mean? They weren't wearing jeans and a hoodie as much as longer than normal skirts, long sleeves, tights and either a wig, a scarf or a hat while holding the hand of some little boy wearing a yarmullka and often in Monsey wearing side curls a custom of Chassidic Jews. One assailant recently attacked two women, she was arrested and immediately let out of jail without bail even and the next assault on the next woman was much worse than the first two. This has to stop. 

Yes muggings are everywhere but these are not "muggings" they are one or two kids or even a woman approaching Jewish people hurling insults, chairs and punches while making fun of them being Jewish. That's not simply "hate" it's hate and antisemitism. 

I woke up the following morning to the news that there had a been a shooting in a Church in Texas which was very sad to think someone would come in to pretend to pray and then pull out his gun and begin shooting. I said to my husband "maybe they do have too many guns in Texas" and he replied yes but two of the people in the Church had guns and took out the shooter. Oh, okay yeah there is that. And apparently the Church had appointed people with guns on in case something like this happened and that my friends is sad and though necessary it seems it should not have to be normal.

So while weather takes a holiday from my part of the world I just want to say... yes despite the specter of a violent attack hovering over us (as the crow flies I was very close to the stabbing) I did have a good time in Monsey which is a beautiful place to live if you are orthodox Jewish or not Jewish. And the weather was wonderfully wintry and beautiful. I had my birthday party, I made a trip to Queens to the Ohel of the Lubavitcher Rebbe and went out to eat with friends in Crown Heights. My grandson is cute... easy to say that but this one is especially cute, happy and laughs. He loves fire trucks, emergency vehicle toys and police cars. I asked him what police man do... he told me "they give tickets" so obviously he seems to know the drill.

I really hope and pray in 2020 we can have a world where people are not afraid to go to Church or a Jewish family gathering to celebrate a holiday and we can all live in peace. But the truth is there are many on the Internet not talking weather or sports and there are underground groups that fire up people who have an ax or machete to grind and weaponize them into a lone wolf attackers making it hard to track back where this is all coming from... because aside from the ridiculous hate and arguing over politics .... this is not normal and should not be normal and I pray and hope that normal in 2020 is that we come to live and let live and appreciate our differences rather than attacking each other politically or otherwise and really let love and peace rain down and then please Dear God... MAKE IT SNOW!

Going back to the land of the pines... North Carolina.

Besos BobbiStorm

Happy 2020!!

Ps...forgive me for not proofing.. I'm technically on vacation!

Stay safe and have fun!