A handful of ...

I was supposed to take a business trip from Tuesday through Sunday. I'd be in a very unfamiliar place for Shabbat, so I had to pack all I'd need to make Shabbat. I took about two hours to get everything together. Then the trip was postponed a day. I was still at home on Wednesday morning and needed to shave. I had not packed my electric shaver in the usual place . (I usually put it in a separate bag of electronics along with my mp3 player and phone charger; why not?) I wound up taking EVERYTHING out of my big suitcase, finally spotting a plastic bag the right size. I put that bag aside and returned everything to my suitcase. (Are you asking yourself why I'm writing this entry in a Jewish blog?)

Then I took a close look at the plastic bag I had set aside. It contained the five candles I'd packed for Friday night and Havdalah. It really DID look a lot like my razor. I unpacked everything again ... and eventually found it.

The Earlier Friday Flight:

We all hate flying on Friday, right? There's always that risk of not making it to our destination before Shabbat. I flew across country last Friday. The plan was to take a 6 a.m. flight from Palm Springs to L.A., and then jet across country to Newark before 4 p.m. That meant a sure thing to get home on time unless I missed my connection in L.A., where there was only forty minutes to spare. I awoke at 2 A.M., checked out of my hotel and drove the 50 miles to Palm Springs. I was disgustingly early, but I felt I had to leave time for losing my way. I checked in, went to the gate and discovered that there was an earlier flight at 5:22 to L.A. THIS was the flight I wanted, there would be an eon of time to get on the same jet back to Newark. I waited anxiously until an agent manned the gate and then asked if I could take the earlier flight.
Now I had already reasoned as follows: Suppose the six o'clock flight is late. Taking the earlier flight means I'll make it home but my suitcase will miss the connection. Would I rather get home for Shabbat even if I miss my luggage? OF COURSE!


The agent said I could take the 5:22. He then spoke into his walkie-talkie, "I want to move one suitcase from the 6 a.m. flight to the 5:22." I was about to protest that I did not deserve this special treatment, but the voice at the other end of the walkie-talkies said "We already moved ALL the luggage to the earlier flight."