Florida day 4

September 23

During the night, autumn began in the northern hemisphere of this planet. We began this round-the-world journey on June 19th while it was still officially spring. We were in Australia during winter there and in the USA during summer here. Today marks the beginning of our fourth season on this journey. Thus, in a few days more than three full months we have experienced all four seasons. Quite an accomplishment!

It was a fitful night for me. I couldn't sleep because of the unresolved credit card issue. When I awoke (implying that I had actually slept) I tried other ways to surf the Internet in search of an emergency number for contacting Isracard. I found the emergency number on their English-language website! I called it! A real person answered! After a conversation in Hebrew with the person at the other end I was told my card was still good but that it had been blocked because I had entered the wrong zip code at a gas station in Florida, as I had come to suspect (it was the right zip code, but the wrong country!). After a few minutes of suspense on the line I was told by the person at the other end that the block on my card had been lifted. My card was good again! Through the fog of my bleary sleeplessness a light of joyfulness broke over me. When Barry awoke I asked him if he could verify these tidings for me. Sure enough, Barry saw that my card most certainly was valid again. The contrast between yesterday's despondency and today's elation was impossible to conceal.

Razelle and I set out to find a bank so we could replenish our cash supply. I went into the bank my GPS directed me to because of its nearness to Barry and Brenda's place and because it seemed to be a branch of a large reputable bank. I walked up to a clerk inside the bank and handed my card to him in hopes of withdrawing another wad of dollars from our account in Israel. The clerk told me he couldn't accept my card. What now? Why not? It had no signature on the back. I explained that this was my way of preventing my signature from being stolen, in the event the card might be stolen. We were too far from home to risk such a thing during our round-the-world trip. The clerk had his instructions and he could not circumvent them no matter how logical my explanation might seem to me. However, when I pointedly asked him, he had to admit that, yes, the very same card could be used in the very same bank's ATM outside to withdraw cash without the need of a signature. I turned on the spot and walked out the door and up to the ATM. However, for caution's sake, I used Razelle's card instead to withdraw the cash I had been denied inside. True, the amount I could withdraw out there was limited to half of what I had hoped for, but the ATM didn't look for a signature on the back of the card! So now we had cash again. It felt good. Our trip seemed to be back on track.

Razelle and I returned to Barry and Brenda's place. We placed the dolls in the box and filled it up with a mixture of carefully arranged hard and soft items to be shipped back to Israel. While Razelle did our laundry, Barry helped immensely by professionally sealing up the box with his packing tape, weighing it with his package scale, and preparing and printing the shipping and customs labels with his computer. With about 20 minutes to spare before the post office closed, Barry took me and my package there with the relevant forms. The parcel weighed between 10 and 11 kg. I paid the fee with my credit card, which was accepted without a hitch. The package was mailed successfully. The card's validity was duly confirmed. Life was good.

Shabbat was nigh. Barry grilled salmon for our traditional Friday evening meal. Razelle and Brenda each lit Shabbat candles, and we all sang the blessing over the wine in chorus. It was nice to be with family this special evening of the week. We finished the meal before it was entirely dark outside. Razelle and I walked out to the promenade along the beach ahead of Barry and Brenda. The deep colors of fading twilight and the light tropical breeze pushing salty waves onto a white sandy beach all lent themselves to the sense of tranquility that I felt at the beginning of this Shabbat. Barry and Brenda joined us and they and I walked onto the fishing pier and out over the Atlantic Ocean while Razelle rested under the eaves of a gazebo on the promenade. From the end of the pier we could see soundless lightning flickering in the distance. As we watched, it became apparent that this lightning was approaching us from that distance. The display was electric and exciting, but we felt no sense of urgency as we returned to where Razelle rested. We collected her and headed back to Barry and Brenda's place before the storm became audible. I actually relished the thought of experiencing the warm rain it would bring, but we didn't wait for this. We passed a group of diligent people in identical training uniforms breaking up and leaving the beach after having completed a well-disciplined calisthenics exercise. They reminded me of police recruits, perhaps. The four of us continued up the street to our sanctuary from the elements. It was a very pretty way to begin the Shabbat and a very satisfying way to end a day of accomplishments.