I can’t decide whether to start this post by suggesting you read The Hero’s Journey- The 56th Year or by starting with I am the oldest Wilner man in my branch of the tree.
Can’t decide whether to instill some humor by suggesting you read He’s The King Of Flatulence before I lead into a conversation a terrorist attack upon Jews in Boulder, Colorado today that follows the murder of two Jews at the Capital Jewish Museum or the fire bombing of a Jewish governor in Pennsylvania.
Could tell you I have Metallica’s Hero Of The Day playing again and can hear James singing:
Mama, they try and break me
Mama, they try and break me
Mama, they try and break me
Mama, they try, mama, they try
Mama, they try and break me (Mama, they try and break me)
Mama, they try and break me (Mama, they try and break me)
Mama, they try and break me (Mama, they try and break me)
Mama, they try, mama, they try
I threw five 45 pound plates on each side of the dip machine and did three sets. That followed three sets of 205 on the bench press and old man grunts knowing I could go heavier.
Could get pretty close to weights I used to throw around in my late twenties & early thirties and part of my cheered because I danced my way through the flames to a place I have been trying to get to back to.
I am not there yet, but I can see the shore and know if I stay disciplined I can get there.
But none of that impacts the weight I feel knowing there is a concerted effort to delegitimize Israel & to break the will of the Jewish people.
We can’t break and we won’t because there are is no option but to stand and push back as a family millions strong.
They Have Been Radicalized
My kids ask me what I think and I tell them “they have been radicalized” and talk about the importance of educating ourselves so we can argue both sides.
I explain people are saying antisemitism is bad and then adding a ‘but’ to the end of the sentence. I remind them that is like apologizing to someone for hurting them and then saying “but you deserved to be hurt.”
“It is a non apology and I won’t accept it. I won’t tolerate people trying to justify or explain why murder or trying to murder others is ok.”
I tell them it’s no different to me than people who say people aren’t aware of institutionalized racism but add some racist comment at the end that demonstrates they really don’t understand what they’re talking about.
So I hit the gym hard not just because of the health kick I am on with this hero’s journey but 2,505 days ago I promised my father one last time I would watch over the the family. I can’t do it if I am not healthy in body, mind and soul.
Can’t do it if I can’t stand on the line reminding people there are consequences for those who come looking for us. They may not come in the form of pagers, Apaches or other steel objects but through laws, education and or bloody knuckles.
Can’t do it if I can’t stand shoulder to shoulder in person or online with other members of the mishpacha taking turns to lean on each other.
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Al Capone isn’t who most people look for as a role model but this quote resonates with me. I believe kindness and compassion are underrated and needed now more than ever.
They can go a long way but they have to be supported by hard men and women who are willing to put a boot in the ass of those who mistake a kind word with weakness.
Those people need to be concerned about the consequences for bad behavior. It won’t deter everyone but we don’t ever expect all to be deterred.
Strength is required here and it is going to be needed for an extended period of time.
Part of what I love about the gym is the battle you wage isn’t against anyone else but you. The battle to push yourself to new limits is as much mental as it is physical.
That mental strength is probably more important than physical because this time of life is as much about weathering the storm that is building on a mental and emotional level as it is physical.
I am no seer or oracle but I expect those who hate us to see this as a time to come at us harder and harder.
We dare not break, we cannot and we will not.
We can draw upon the strength of our ancestors and upon each other. There is no choice, אין ברירה
Or if the Hebrew doesn’t move you perhaps you’ll appreciate Dame Judy Dench quoting Tennyson’s Ulysses.
“We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.”
The Hero’s Journey didn’t start this year nor did it start last August or with this post either. It is a feeling that had been sitting in the back of my head upon the shelf I placed it upon.
One I tried to ignore even though it refused to sit in silence.
It is a funny thing being the oldest in my line when I still feel pretty damn young but when I look back upon life I can see a ton of accomplishments and experiences.
So I can put on Cat Steven’s Father & Son and remember a time in 2015 when I felt like I was in the middle of a category 5 storm and asked my father for his thoughts.
I thought it was going to be one of those times where your parent looks at you and says ‘I told you so’ but I was wrong because it didn’t happen.
He smiled at me and said he was confident I’d figure it out.
Dad was right, I did and this time will be the same. We’ll figure it out and we’ll come out the other side because we don’t break.
Past posts found here.
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