Needs Numbing

I’ve been spending a lot of time at the dermatologist’s office, getting narrow UVB light treatments for a harmless but annoying skin condition. On my way to the photo treatment room, I pass by all the examining rooms, and can’t help but notice that each room has little multi-colored flags outside the doors that can be flipped to indicate which doctor’s patient is in which room, and that the bottom rung of each display is the sign “needs numbing”.

With the breaking news headlines coming fast and scary on the newest case of Ebola, video from the latest beheading at the hands of ISIS and the quickening pace of global warming, maybe we all could use a little anesthesia. As a friend noted on Facebook that while she was watching the news at the gym she saw the following reports: “Ebola, Civil War era voting restrictions, and threats to women's reproductive rights. Total horror show.”

Another alternative is to spend some time with people who really know how to have a good time, and put aside all the worries of the world. At a recent combined Sukkah party at Valley Beth Shalom for Jewish teens and adults with special needs from the USY Hevra group and JFS/Chaverim, there were no worry lines to be seen. The teens and young adults with special needs and the typical teen volunteers there to help out dug into the tasty snack foods, took part in a drum circle and enjoyed playing with a parachute and bubbles. There was laughter, smiles and hugs. The only sad part was at the end, hearing the flute playing, “Shalom Chaverim –Goodbye My Friends