It’s Cold Out There 

One day it’s 82 degrees and the next it’s 16 degrees. It’s mid-winter, which for many means it’s mid-winter break or mid-winter vacation, a chance to escape the bitter cold in the northeast this week.

On a personal note, I flew into New York this past Sunday evening and, Baruch Hashem, returned back to Boynton Beach (our home away from home) by Tuesday evening.

And if you’re wondering why I’d do something so silly as fly to New York for only two days, you should know I was thinking the same thing as I drove through the ruins of JFK in a friend’s car. And that is: Did we really need to take a break from our break down in Florida by coming back to the Arctic temperatures of New York? I don’t think so.

The fact is that I needed to be in New York for two days on newspaper-related business, but it was the kind of meeting that didn’t actually require my presence as I could have done it on Zoom or some other app.

Two of my sons who are usually in the office, Yochanan and Dovi, were also dealing with the yeshiva break challenges, so if I hadn’t come for those two days, no one would have been there. That’s not the only reason to fly up from Florida for just two days. There were a few other things that required our attention.

On Tuesday, a few hours before we went to JFK for the flight back to Palm Beach, it was 17 degrees in New York. It’s quite a contrast because as soon as you fold up your jacket and place it in your carry-on bag, you’re just two to three hours away from 80-degree temperatures.

But even though it was freezing up in New York, it was important to be home for a few days. It was Rosh Chodesh Shevat, so I had the opportunity to daven at Hachaim Vehashalom Beit Midrash in Cedarhurst at 9 a.m., and was able to look around and get a sense of who had had their yeshiva break and who was planning to head out to wherever they were going.

The haphazard way that our yeshivas have built this idea that you need a summer-like vacation in January has at this point become baked into our system.

Earlier this week, I was studying the airline schedules between New York and Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) and saw that on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, there were 19 flights in one day from JFK to PBI.

So where were all those people going? When flying down to Palm Beach, it’s important to remember that this is the same airport that President Trump uses when he spends his weekends at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach.

But it’s not just Air Force One that can sometimes bring an entire airport to a standstill while the President is either coming or going; it was the same way when Prime Minister Netanyahu met with the President at his Florida home, aka, the “Winter White House.” A friend described to me how he sat on a Jet Blue plane for hours while Palm Beach Airport ground to a halt for Bibi’s plane.

He explained that Netanyahu’s plane, “The Star of David,” was taking off for its return flight to Israel after meeting Trump and his staff—but that wasn’t the end of it. Forty minutes later, they were still stuck on the runway when next came Air Force One, which he could see from a distance taking off for DC with Mr. Trump on board.

As our schools and yeshivas go on hiatus for a week or so, I was perusing the Jet Blue schedule for one New York airport and saw a list of a lot of flights for just one day, which was Monday, January 19. That high volume of traffic might have been related to the MLK holiday, but I think it had more to do with our yeshiva break. Yes, on one day there were 19 flights from JFK to PBI, and that was just one airline.

That’s a lot of Blue Chips if they’re still giving out those bluish-purple potato chips, which I haven’t seen in a few years. Jet Blue has a great deal of their act together except for their rating when it comes to flight delays. It’s understandable that safety and security on flights is primary, but the delays on so many flights are just a bit too unreasonable.

Case in point last Sunday, the day we took a break from our break and headed back to New York for two days. I originally booked an 8:20 p.m. flight from PBI to JFK, but then I was thinking on Saturday night that arriving so late at night this time of year, the temperatures can dip below freezing, which means there’s an increased likelihood of snow if precipitation is in the forecast.

So, late Saturday night, I spoke with a Jet Blue agent in Nairobi, Kenya (I always ask where they’re located), and told her that I was interested in moving my flight back from 8:20 p.m. to 3:42 p.m. There were still a few seats available, so we quickly finished the transaction and we were booked on the afternoon flight instead of the flight that was scheduled to land in New York at about 11 p.m.

As we boarded the 3:42 p.m. flight, the pilot advised us that we had good winds behind the aircraft at 35,000 feet that would allow for us to arrive in New York City in just 1 hour and 58 minutes. So, we got home pretty quickly, but it was only later that night that I noticed that the 8:20 p.m. flight was delayed until 12:37 a.m. and didn’t arrive into JFK until 2:32 a.m. Yes, that would have been rough.

Writing these words on Monday evening, I’m seeing that the weekend weather in South Florida is going to be about 82 degrees with sunny skies. That’s approximately right in the middle of yeshiva week, depending on which yeshiva your children attend. So, where you plan to spend this Shabbos weekend will determine whether you’re wearing a coat or not.

Read more of Larry Gordon’s articles at 5TJT.com. Follow 5 Towns Jewish Times on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for updates and live videos. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome at 5TJT.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.