THE TRANSFORMATION

     It truly began on Wednesday, the week before having been sporadic. But on Wednesday, and growing by leaps and bounds on Thursday, the transformation began. The cars, mainly vans, packed to the gills with people and packages, rolled into the spaces by the garages, and suddenly the quiet and empty streets began to resound with the cheerful and harried sounds of voices, of mothers calling the kids back from the streets, of fathers grunting with the weight of suitcases and calling to the sons to help.
     Soon the cars were empty and they rolled out again. During their absence one noticed people, a single person or two, standing by homes, shading their eyes as they stood waiting, watching - but for what? We too joined that anxious waiting and made several calls over the course of the day and finally, it came, to us and the others. A cavalcade of trucks from the renal place and out came a parade of refrigerators, cribs, carriages and all sorts of equipment necessary for the following week and then the work began in earnest. The little ones played while the adults worked to squoosh all into their fridges, making Solomonic decisions on what had to be frozen or refrigerated and what could wait a day or two. 
     And the cars returned from whence they had gone and out came......more bags from Publix. The shelves were certainly cleared by the looks of things and yet more calls to help and even the little ones pitched in carrying the box of tissues or the package of napkins. And what was even more interesting were the empty spaces filled with crowds of people, standing and waiting and then....along comes a refrigerated large truck and guess what? Here was the food from Brooklyn, ordered and driven down to Florida for the holidays. Even food gets a break!
     Several articles of late have criticized this emigration, this transformation of a neighborhood as something to be regretted. Yes and no. It was nice when families all lived within blocks of each other and could share the holidays. It was nice to be able to walk to Bubby and Zaidy (grandparents), but today is different. Families are scattered, often in different states. Both parents are working and many times more than one job or a job with many responsibilities and one cannot take off to prepare for this demanding holiday.
     What to do? Get together elsewhere and combine many things into one. Observe a holiday and in a meaningful manner. Share it with the family, the building block of Jewish culture and ethos for generations. Over buy, as usual, and laugh about it, and then make the calls to the local source for donations of food to pantries or the needy. And then enjoy the in between days of the holiday with trips to Disney, to Universal. Wave the wand along with Harry Potter and scream along with the Seven Dwarfs. Play miniature golf, go to a movie - do not forget the nosh - go to LEGOLAND and just have a great fun time. Come home exhausted and plan the next day.
     The transformation is amazing to watch as a quiet neighborhood of vacation homes turns into a vital area of kids, of shouts, of laughter and I guess even a few tears. It is Passover in Orlando, an ancient and meaningful holiday with a modern and magical touch. What could be bad about that?
     So enjoy the holiday and a Happy Passover to all.   Chag Sameach to all.
     By the way, I will try to post another piece today, but if not, please use the next two days to review posts you have not yet had the chance to read and I will return on Monday morning.