We all need a Chaverim
It has been more 100 days since our world changed. Hersh’s mom had posted that we should all wear the number 100 near our hearts to mark the incomprehensible number of days that have passed. There is nothing humorous about this. And yet the majority of people who posted their pictures with the number on their shirts took selfies, and the number appeared to be 001. I have to believe that, perhaps, if only for a second, Rachel Polin-Goldberg had a slight grin at the well-intentioned folks who were showing her and everyone being held hostage their support.
So a few weeks ago, I shared with all of you about the fender-bender that Husband #1 and I were the recipients of while chatting with our deceased fathers by the Lubavitcher rebbe’s grave. While it was being fixed, we had a rental — a Volvo SVU — now that’s classy. I honestly did not want to return the rental, even though it had taken me over 20 minutes to figure out how to use the touch screen. Why is new technology so complicated?
Husband #1 wanted to listen to AM radio, and we must have pressed every single button and icon that was offered to us. We had driven over two bridges before we realized that newer cars no longer offer AM radio. Why is that ? No clue. It actually might not even be true, but we didn’t find AM, so we will assume it is true.
In any event, we were so proud of ourselves that we remembered to bring our EZPass with us as we were traveling to Islip (which is right near Canada, or it least it took us as long to get there as if we were actually going to Canada) to celebrate DIL #1’s graduation from PA school. (Congratulations to DIL #1 on this incredible milestone. We are so proud of you!) Long story short, we took the EZPass out of the car when we got home because we were returning the rental after the weekend. Good news, folks — there are still cash-only lanes on the Garden State Parkway! Of course, they are only helpful if you have cash — but all was good, and change is still cash.
And since we are talking about cars, Husband #1 and I went to visit my mom. When we got there, Aide #1 was trying to jumpstart his car. There were wires and all sorts of things going on, and he was using a YouTube video that could teach him how to charge the battery. We love Aide #1, and this did not look like it was going to end well, so we called Chaverim of Bergen County.
For those of you who don’t know about Chaverim, they are the best. They will start your car, clean water in your basement, and do many other very important things that you are unable to do by yourself. The first time we used them was many years ago in Baltimore. I had to go “swimming,” and when I got back to the car, it didn’t start. I was with Husband #1, who had been waiting for me in the car. I went back into the “pool” and asked the lady for help and she said to call Chaverim and told me what Chaverim was.
We call, and a very lovely Oreo comes to charge the car. I am standing there, my hair dripping wet because of the aforementioned swimming, and the lovely Oreo says to us, “You know that you are parked right in front of the mikvah.” Yes. I did know that. But, hey, he got the car to start and that is all that mattered. They have also helped me out another time when my car was parked on a patch of ice and I could not get it to move no matter what I tried. So my point is, call Chaverim if you are in a jam. Real mensches.
And that is all I got for this week. Stay safe in the snow and continue to pray for the release of all the hostages, protection for all of our soldiers, and peace for all of Am Yisrael.
Banji Ganchrow of Teaneck just spent a few hours in Monsey and now she is fluent in Yiddish.
comments