meeting the lioness

In well under a decade, the Internet has changed our lives in profound ways that have seismically altered our frames of reference. Everything -- and everyone -- now seems knowable. I still remember my excitement, back in 1997 -- the stone age, barely 8 years ago -- before all the simple messaging systems (before aol's, yahoo's or even ICQ, and long before msn's) were in place, I downloaded an IRC app one evening that eventually worked for me, and I connected with some guy in India. The possibilities enthralled me, and still do. Of course we naturally become blase about technology that once was novel, but there's only so much you can do with a microwave; the possibilities of the Internet, however, are infinite.

And one of those infinite possibilities came to fruition this evening when I finally met Johnny, the Lioness of Lisbon. After work, I drove to her kibbutz (where she's staying this week for the funeral and shiva of her friend), trying to make out my scrawled directions in the dark. Just when I needed a red light so I could stop and check my little piece of paper, I couldn't get one. Israel's highways have become so very hi-tech and complex that I couldn't figure out where my exit was. At high speeds, in the dark, and with my glasses instead of contacts, the signage is almost impossible to make out. Amazingly, I made no wrong turns, yet still had no idea where I was, so turned back. After phoning Johnny and her friend, I discovered I was on the right track in the first place, so did a U-turn and went back. Snaking through many dark roads, eventually I found her. We found a tiny place for a coke and a bottle of water, and sat and talked and let grief find whatever expression it chose.

She has come to us under tragic circumstances, unfortunately, but the qualities of the Lioness are no less evident. Johnny is full of life in the midst of death, and resilient in the face of everything else the cosmos is throwing at her. "No rest for the wicked" is a silly old line we say when davka good people seem to get way more than their share of work to do. But it is interesting how the people with the biggest hearts do often have a lot to deal with. It's all part of who they are and why they're here on earth.

There's no getting around death -- the great leveler is in the cards for all of us -- so it's good when it succeeds in making us all the more aware of life. It is certainly a tough time for the Lioness, but her angels are standing by, all around, to offer comfort.