7/1/2021

My Dear Friend & POTUS, JRB,

            I am holding you & the people of Surfside in the Light. Miami Beach Mayor, Dan Gelber, says the folks in FL are experiencing a “blanket of grief.” The local rabbis are “hold(ing) the space” to “affirm what the families are feeling” including anger & sadness. Some don’t know if they should be mourning or hoping. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that the Jewish people who may have perished in the rubble won’t be buried within a day of their passing & their whole bodies may not be interred robbing their loved ones of the customary burial rituals bring solace.

            As you greet folks there, I’m sure you will be mindful of the trauma they are experiencing. As you well know, this kind of thing makes your brain go haywire, so folks might act strangely. It’ll be a good time to evoke our new mantra, “less is more.”

            You may meet Israeli military from Unit 9900 who have modeled the building & interviewed family members so they have an idea where to look for people. They are experts at searching the rubble of collapsed buildings & also visualize what will happen when they drop a bomb to avoid killing civilians – a deeply troubling occupation to say the least.

            My mom just called. We reminisced about our 10th floor beachside apartment where we lived in 1966 in Puerto Rico. It’s still standing & I hope it’s concrete is stable.

I’m sure that the materials engineers at places like UC Davis are busy theorizing about what might have caused the failures in Surfside. As I contemplate moving into a multi-story building, I find my faith in engineers wavering. I’ll just have to sit with that for a while.

            BYBS,