Last night I packed the suitcases, and went online to pay for an extra suitcase, ostensibly all clothing and gifts for Raphaela. This morning I woke up at four am to finish packing, shower and then wake up the baby and get her ready for the flight.
When I arrived at the airport with my parents, the British Air staff explained that because of a volcanic eruption in Iceland, the resultant ash had closed down all the airspace that belongs to Britain and the Finish countries; and that in all likelihood, I would not get a flight back to Israel until next week.
Another woman there, an Israeli, asked me to explain the situation, and we ended up adopting her, taking her home when we had all been evicted from the airport, helping her reschedule her flight, and inviting her for Shabbat. We Israelis have to stick together.
I called BA as soon as was possible, they kept me on hold for over an hour and a half, and by the time I got through, the first flight available left Monday night, and arrived in the afternoon on Tuesday, which is Yom HaAtzmaut. I don't know what aggravates me most: having to unpack and repack or missing that most amazing of national holidays in Israel, not to mention the start of BBQ season.
My parents of course are thrilled that they get more time with us, while I have to deal with the aftermath, the effect this will have on appointments and patients I must cancel, and the even more severe effect on my earning potential this month.
Who will pick me up from the airport now, on Yom HaAtzmaut, when the citizens of the entire country (including me) should be feasting and celebrating? I wouldn't ask anyone to miss that because of this Iceland "Act of G-d."
4 comments:
Think of this event positively, not as negatively as you are doing. Maybe this Hashem's way of allowing you to spend more time with your parents allowing them to get to know Raphaella and maybe have a better relationship with you as well as the opportunity to have more sets of hands for another few days. My parents tell me that when my uncle (z"l) got married at 17(my grandparents had to give permission)and moved to CA, they were all disaproving and upset. He died in his early 40s with 2 sons who were grown up b/c he had them fairly early. Had he listened to everyone instead of his own feelings, his kids may have been young when he died and would have missed out on getting to know their father. Perhaps, (not to be morbid) this is the last time you see your parents alive and well and Hashem is giving you this extra time to be with them while they are healthy and vital. There will be plenty of yom ha'atzmauts left and raphaella will better be able to appreciate them and will remember them when she is older. Many bbques will still happen in your lifetime, your parents will not be here forever. If you are concerned with no one picking you up, change your flight to after Yom Ha'atmazut or take a cab. As for $, ask your dad if you can see patients in his office.
it is a good thing your flight was cancelled. wikipedia notes "Volcanic ash damages machinery. The effect on jet aircraft engines is particularly severe as large amounts of air are sucked in during operation, posing a great danger to aircraft flying near ash clouds. Eruptions which are charged with gas start to froth and expand as they reach the surface, causing explosive eruptions sending fine ash up into the atmosphere; if it reaches high altitudes—where aeroplanes cruise—the ash can be dispersed around the globe[17]. Very fine volcanic ash particles (particularly glass-rich if from an eruption under ice) sucked into a jet engine melt at about 1,100 °C, fusing onto the blades and other parts of the turbine (which operates at about 1,400 °C). They can erode and destroy parts, and cause jams in rotating machinery. Ash can also " blind" pilots by sandblasting the windscreen requiring an instrument landing, damage the fuselage, and coat the plane so much as to add significant weight and change balance. Propellor aircraft are also endangered.
The effect on the operation of a jet engine is often to cause it to cut out—failure of all a plane's engines is not uncommon. The standard emergency procedure when jet engines begin to fail had been to increase power, which makes the problem worse. The best procedure is to throttle back the engines, and to lose height so as to drop below the ash cloud as quickly as possible. The inrush of cold, clean air is usually enough to cool, solidify, and shatter the glass, unclogging the engines.
There are many instances of damage to jet aircraft as a result of an ash encounter. After the Galunggung, Indonesia volcanic event in 1982, a British Airways Boeing 747 flew through an ash cloud; all four engines cut out. The plane descended from 36,000 feet (11,000 m) to 12,000 feet (3,700 m), where the engines could be restarted."
I am completely looking at this from an "All things happen for a reason" perspective, although I am not immediately jumping to the conclusion that this has to do with my parents per se. I am more thinking that Raphaela and I could have gotten killed G-d forbid, and someone was watching over us.
It doesn't however negate the fact that there will be serious consequences to my life if I am stuck in the United States for too much longer.
Based on your latest post, it sounds like that Hashem's plan worked. The volcanic ash to happened while you were still in the US rather than during your layover to prevent you from leaving the US; your plane could not take off when you planned to leave. Can you imagine your stress had you been stuck in England having to pay for a hotel room and food and trying to arrange for a new flight all with raphaela in tow? your comment "Raphaela and I could have gotten killed G-d forbid, and someone was watching over us" would have applied had your flight been in mid air when this happenned.
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