Community Magazine December 2012

The Blessing of Spoiled Milk About a month ago, on a bright Monday morning, I opened the door to my black Honda and was blown away by the unbearable stench that greeted me. I checked the back seat of the car, and lo and behold, I saw that a carton of milk had burst and splattered all over the floor. The spoiled milk had been sitting there for almost three days, and needless to say, the smell was intolerable. Determined to get rid of the odor, I got to work. I vacuumed, sprayed Febreze air freshener, piled on baking soda and even took the car for a shampoo wash that cost me a hundred bucks! But alas, the spoiled smell was worse than ever. Luckily, our family has another vehicle, a van, which we do not use very often. On Sunday afternoon, as Hurricane Sandy was approaching, my wife and I decided to go for a quick drive to Coney Island to watch the rising waves. Usually, I would’ve taken the black Honda, but because of the spoiled milk odor, I took the van instead. After returning from an enjoyable drive, I parked the van near the house. That night, as the hurricane gained momentum, I heard a loud crack, and peered out of my window. To my amazement, I saw that a tree had fallen right on the spot where my van had been parked just hours earlier, before our drive to Coney Island. If not for the spoiled milk smell, we would not have taken the van, and it would have been totaled! Seeing the massive tree fallen in the street gave us the perspective to realize that a little spoiled milk was not so bad after all. -Mike J. When the brand new Infiniti I purchased finally arrived during the last days of October, I couldn’t wait to drive it. So even though I knew that Sandy was about to hit the east coast, I invited a few friends to join me for a ride in my new car, not realizing how imminent the danger was. After driving for about half an hour, the streets started to flood very suddenly and my car was quickly engulfed by the waters. I tried to guide the car onto dry land, stepping on the gas with all my might. But it wouldn’t budge. The situation quickly became dire, as the water was clearly rising higher and higher. We knew that if we opened the doors, the water would rush in and flood the car completely. Our focus quickly turned from trying to protect the new car to saving our lives from the powerful storm surge. Climbing out through the sunroof, we stayed above the waters and once we were out of harm’s way, we waded to safety. My car was completely destroyed, but the experience helped remind us what’s really important – that baruch Hashem, my friends and I are safe! –Joe D. The New Car Experience KISLEV 5773 DECEMBER 2012 43