Back in the States, Part 2: The Street

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The big trip to the States is rounding the corner and coming up on its end.

The excitement of ubiquitous Christmas lights and shopping craziness will soon be behind me until the next time. The second leg of my trip to the States was colored by a handful of interesting experiences.

The Street

The most noteworthy part of our whole adventure in the States was my walk up a street that will forever remain in infamy to me. Some loyal readers may remember that a while ago I talked about an intense moment in my life where I was walking up a street to avoid a fight.

While on the street I was beaten to a pulp, and left with a couple of physical scars and who knows how many emotional scars.

Not too long ago I had mentioned to my fantastic bride-to-be that I had a quasi-bucket list item of one day walking up that street once again. In my heart, I knew I had to do so fearlessly with my head way up high. Devorah contemplated for a moment, and then said she wanted me to go there on this trip and she wanted to do it with me.

And so I returned to the scene of the crime, a mere 26 years later. With zero recollection of the details of the incident, and not a clue how I might react to seeing the spot where such a tragedy had occurred, we took a late-night drive to the middle of nowhere.

And I did it.

What Does It Mean?

How do you feel, walking in a place knowing in your heart that the last time you were there you were physically assaulted? Knowing that your only connection to the spot where you stand is that one intense moment there cataclysmically and permanently changed the entire trajectory of your life?

I’m still collecting my thoughts and feelings. Considering it took me five years to realize the significance of the original event and 26 years to revisit the place, I can only imagine how long it will take me to fully grasp what this moment will mean to me.

Escape Room

We had our second proper date night of the big vacation. This time we checked out an escape room in good ole Staten Island (check out the picture) and we had quite the good time.

Not to brag or anything, but first of all, the room could accommodate up to 11 people, and Devorah and I did it by ourselves. According to the man in charge, we should not have been able to finish it in time with only two people.

But apparently, we’re one super-smart couple. And we came and conquered that room like the champs we truly are.

Saving The States

And while I’m not bragging… please note that the game was a World War III simulation in which the two of us were single-handedly responsible for saving the entire United States of America. So, we didn’t just kick butt in the escape room; we saved the entire country from inevitable violent and grotesque deaths.

You’re welcome.

Seriously, if you find yourself bored in Staten Island (not an unlikely scenario), check out Unreal Escapes. It was quite the fun evening, very reasonably priced, and, of course, who wouldn’t want to get fun pictures of themselves in silly sailor hats?

Christmas in Staten Island

I know I mentioned Christmas lights in my previous post, but I got to see everything at a whole new level that’s worth mentioning.

I’ve often said that Staten Island really only has one thing going for it: Pizza. The absolute best in the States! Sadly the only bad pizza on the Island is the kosher one… so basically I can no longer even benefit from the thing that makes the place great.

But I had forgotten about the magic of overzealous destroyers of everything electric! This area is covered in brightly lit magic. And one house I went to was so over the top, it was truly unforgettable. The house was covered from top to bottom with moving figurines and gorgeous lights. And there was music playing and a snow machine. People were lined up down the street to see every part of the house.

I was feeling the Christmas spirit!

Odds and Ends

Speaking of which, I can’t get these songs out of my head. These ubiquitous catchy melodies are flooding the States right now! I swear I’ll be singing Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer in my sleep tonight.

So, here we are. The trip is coming to a close. I’m about to swing past Belgium for a brief moment, and soon I’ll be back in my good ole routine.

Israel might drive me insane sometimes (all the time), but one thing is abundantly clear to me. I like routine. In fact, I thrive on it. This trip has been hellish on my body. I still loathe just about everything involved in the travel process. I miss my kids a whole lot. And I definitely need to get myself back into my normal, everyday crazy.

Back in the States, Part 2: We Saved the World!