Opinion

A few weeks ago, I wrote about my experience during my bike ride when I was unable to continue bike riding due to Achilles tendonitis. One of the remedies is rest. I was upset that I would not be able to bike on Sunday for a few weeks. Right after that happened, for the first time I can recall, three Sundays in a row I went to a bris. I would not have ridden on July 17 because of Shiv’a Asar b’Tamuz, a fast day. I most likely would have wanted to go biking on the other two Sundays if not for the injury. Then I would have been in the position to choose between going to the bris or a ride that I had signed up for. My inability to ride made the choice to go to the bris easy. It is just another example of when something occurs that appears to be upsetting, it ends up being for the best because that is Hashem’s plan. Meanwhile, I bought bike shoes and have slowly started to ride again.

I had planned to write about some of the highlights from the hearings of the January 6 Committee. However, so many things happened this past week that I need to put that column on hold. I am sure that the Trumpians are upset. I guess they will have to find another way to get rid of their aggression.

The Queens Jewish Link has a new feature, “Where’s Warren’s Column?” A couple of months ago under my byline, the paper printed a repeat of Goldy Krantz’s column. This past week the table of contents listed my column on page 46. Instead of my submission, there was a letter to the editor from one of my regular critics. Who knows where my column could end up in a future issue or what will be put in place of it? If anyone has any creative ideas, they should contact the paper.

At the end of the New York Rangers post-game show, the commentators said that they would “See you in September.” Another year not winning the Stanley Cup. It is an understatement to say that the Rangers have had trouble winning the Stanley Cup. They have won one Stanley Cup in President Biden’s lifetime - in 1994. The Rangers had not even made the playoffs for the past few years, which takes talent, since half of the teams make the playoffs. Thus, making the playoffs was an achievement this year. The team beat expectations by coming back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins and then winning game seven on the Carolina Hurricanes’ home ice. Carolina had not lost one game in the playoffs at home. The Rangers won the first two games at home against the reigning two-time Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning. They took a lead in game three, but lost the lead and then the game. Tampa ended up winning four straight, which were all close games. It could have been worse; they could have lost to the New York Islanders or the New Jersey Devils as in the past, when both teams went on to win the Stanley Cup.  

Before I get to portion of the column that I had anticipated I would write, I will digress. On June 26, I went on the Discover Hudson Valley Bike Ride. Originally, there was going to be a 100-, 75-, 55-, 33-, or 15-mile route. The week before, I had ridden 88 miles on various bike paths both ways from Yonkers to Brewster. I figured that the 75-mile route would be the best choice. Unlike the week before, when it was relatively cool, this past Sunday it ended up being in the 90s. In anticipation, the 100-mile route was cancelled, and the start times were moved up. I still decided to go with the 75-mile ride.

Like most people, I have not been able to take a vacation since COVID became known in February 2020. I finally decided to go away the week before Memorial Day. I expected that it would be a quiet week. Originally, I was supposed to fly to one of several places with my daughter Shoshana and stay from Sunday until Friday. However, my plans were changed when due to the weather, Shoshana was unable to get a flight to New York until Monday afternoon. I decided that instead of flying and getting stuck for Shabbos, especially on Memorial Day weekend, it would be better to drive. It ended up being a good decision, since we had perfect weather with low humidity and temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees. In contrast, the places we had contemplated flying to had lousy weather. Many flights also ended up being cancelled.