Block Party!

“Ah, freaking hot!”

The young American man pulled away his latex gloved hand from over the grill. He must have cooked at least a hundred hotdogs. So far he had spent the afternoon carrying tables, taping up signs, trimming and disposing tons of tree branches to make room on the sidewalk, and cooking and serving hotdogs.

But he was loving it

It was a Chanukah block party! And why not help? It was fun. And he loved the community. All those people he had met in the past year would be coming, people that had opened up their hearts, homes, and wallets for him and asked for nothing in return. Hell is they needed a few tree branches cleaned up, it made the young American man feel a little more at home in this far off land.

Rain had almost ruined it all, but they waited and prayed for the clouds to leave. And soon the suns shown through and the sky turned blue.

So many people arrived! It was such a lovely thing. The young American man couldn’t help but smile. Neighbours and friends had all come together to mix and mingle and have a good time on this otherwise quiet street. The young man looked on with a touch of envy. But he knew, one day, his own hometown would be just the same.

And boy did they have it all! Hotdogs and latkes, cotton candy and ice-cream, a moon bounce and a band, he even heard something about a petting zoo!

Parents would pass the young man and say hello howya doing. Kids would run up as he grilled away and pester him about camp and what he would be doing. The young man would just smile and tell them to get excited ‘cuz he was gonna make it the best year yet! Really, he had no idea. Later some of his fellow YG guys came and joined. And of course everybody kept asking: how did you get out of YG today?

Egad!

I walked out is all!

The day waned and the sun set. Many of the young man’s peers and left the street, but the young man stayed as there was inglorious work to do. Tables ‘n’ rubbish were strewn all about. and sticking to the end is what really shows if you’re in it. The young man helped pack everything up and ran quick as he could back to YG. He lit the chanuka candles and plopped down on a chair as sore as could be. But still,

He couldn’t stop smilin’