Call the tow truck! We're on Vacation.

Note to self:

In the future, you might not want to kick off

family vacation on the 9th of Av.

It’s not that it’s a fast day. The youngest has a permit now,

there’s plenty of drivers.

It’s just that

bad things happen on that day, or the next…

Temples destroyed, mass expulsions, massacres,

and the car gets stuck in the muck

looking for a campsite

in the Black Hills.

It’s not easy to vacate

the habits of the ac-cult-urated ways.

Two tow trucks manned by three guys well into overtime hours.

Two stops to power-wash the mud

from the wheel wells.

Two days later, we eventually made it

to the Lake.

The rules have changed over the years

Up here where the sun sets after 9 PM

over the western shore on the horizon.

My parents never had to insist,

“Don’t bring the cell phone on the dock.”

“No you can’t bring the tablet on the boat.”

Some parents still don’t.

Had the sailboat out. Wind, water, movement.

Just the two of us, stillness, peace.

Then came the jet skis. A father and his teen daughter

Screaming by, making waves.

Until they stopped…to check out the scene?

the pristine green of the water?

the true blue of the sky?

Or, the latest text message on their smart phone. Oy.

How sad, poor souls, glued to their devices,

Blinded to the beauty around them.

Downwind back to the cottage. Easy sailing even in puffy winds.

Dock the boat, lower the sails…

“Hey, it’s almost 6 o’clock. Don’t you have a call to make.”

It’s not easy to vacate, on the water or on the shore,

the ever-growing reach of the fingertip tech.

Just looking for a place away from it all.

Stuck again!

Hand me my phone, so I can call for rescue.