Tragedy By The Sea

 So yesterday am there was news of a terrible event in Surfside, just north of Miami Beach: part of a condo building had collapsed. At first, there was a report of a single death, but as soon as the news photos appeared, it was clear it would be much, much worse.

D2 called -- on her way over to work her for the day. She was with Jonathan, and their family needed a referral for an immigration lawyer. Why? Turns out one of Jonathan's cousins was missing -- had been in the doomed building -- and his parents needed an emergency visa to get here from Venezuela. I called Paul , remembering he had recently reunited with an old friend from law school, and made the connection. Apparently the gears have started to get these, I'm sure, mortified parents here.

As the day wore on, the news got worse. The number of missing now stands at 159, and hope is fading that there'll be more survivors. The news is, of course, international. Buildings in America don't fall down in the absence of terrorist acts.

We had plans to meet Dr. Barry, Donna, and Josh at D1 and Joey's house -- so they could see the beautiful grandson. Afterwards we planned to visit the Palm. We nixed the Palm -- kind of close to the building collapse, and instead made reservations at a local Italian place, Sottosale.

D1 was running late at a work meeting. Joey poured me a Tito's. Barry and Josh arrived. They had a few, too. I kept drinking -- the dark thoughts of Jonathan's family haunted me. I needed an escape.

We had a delightful time. I could tell Donna was reliving the days of having large, adorable toddler sons. They're still large and adorable, but now 23 and 24. When the Little Man went up for his bath and sleep, we left for the restaurant.

The food was delicious. We so enjoyed each other's company. I had slipped the host my credit card when we arrived -- to pay the check. Young Josh saw this and out maneuvered me. When it was time to leave, the waiter handed me back my credit card -- Josh had commandeered the check to pay -- with his Dad's card! Barry laughed uproariously . It was delightful.

This am I spoke with D2. Like me, Jonathan was at dinner and had a few -- several. He was very emotional because of the thought of this terrible loss. His cousin just graduated from UF. He was staying with other cousins -- around his age. All three young men are missing.

A doctor friend of D1's, Brad Cohen, a beloved ortho surgeon at Mt. Sinai, is also missing.

This am I spoke to Jeff. He knows of several relatives or friends of friends who are also missing. 

Miami is, I have found, the biggest city small town there is. I rarely go beyond 2 degrees of separation with anyone who has been here more than 10 years.

And Surfside, largely Jewish and South American, is a true crossroads. The Herald reported that among the missing were relatives of the leaders of Paraguay and some high level Argentine minister. Just awful.

So my prayers to the Big Man today have been for a true miracle -- the alive recovery of many of the missing. May it come to pass.

But it just shows what I know so well. Life is so fragile. We like to think we have control, but we don't. What is safer than going to sleep in your bed at night, to our psyches? No one could believe ending up under a huge pile of rubble.

I spoke to my friend Rabbi Yossi. He's a Miami Dade Police and Fire Department chaplain. He was at the scene all day. He called on his way home -- I asked him to include Jonathan's cousin in his prayers, too. 

And all we can do is savor each day. Each moment. We never know which moment is our last -- which hug of our loved ones the final one.

Sometimes tragedy strikes even in the most beautiful place -- next to the gorgeous sea.