Thought you would appreciate this experience I had with one of the movers yesterday.
Yesterday our lift came and went. During the six and half hours the five member crew were here, we all became quite friendly. They were originally from Puerto Rico, some not that long off the boat. The crew member that had been with Strand the longest (15 years) told me that he was moving back to Puerto Rico in a month. I wished him the best of luck. He told me that he was not born there but he went to school there and to him it felt like home. He said that he doesn't care if they bomb him there at least he will die in a place where he feels is his home. I told him why I else would I be moving to Israel?
Later, when they were almost ready to leave I wished him good luck in his move again. He said to me,"Do you remember the movie where the man could not leave the airport (The Terminal with Tom Hanks) because his country was at war and they offered him asylum in NY if he would just step out of the airport? They kept asking him why he would want to go back to his country when bombs were flying out of the sky and his country was being destroyed. He told them that that was his home and no matter what, he wanted to go home." The crew member then told me that is how he felt about Puerto Rico. I told him I understood completely.
Who would believe that I could ever have something in common with a 33 year old Puerto Rican man? I hate to say it, but I had more in common with that man at that moment than I do with many of my fellow Jews. We were actually on the same wavelength when it came to what is important. We understood each other.
This encounter made me realize that no matter where you live, it is not home unless you feel it in your soul.
There is no place like home and that is where I am going.
No comments:
Post a Comment