Your responses and suggestions below. Because forewarned is forearmed…

Last Week’s Poll

Last week, in preparation for the upcoming bein hazmanim, we asked all you bochurim who’ve emerged from the “freezer” or are already in the middle of the parshah how you prepare for the least expected disaster. We presented a few possible scenarios to warn you in advance and help ensure you don’t get caught off guard (hiccups and approaching shkiah were some of them). Readers will surely appreciate your responses and suggestions below. Because forewarned is forearmed…

I was once on a date and scratched a car as I was pulling into a parking spot. It was no big deal, but I felt bad, so I left a note. Turns out that the owner of the car disagreed with my position that “it was no big deal.” I was already on the date when a voice started calling over the loudspeakers demanding that the owner of a vehicle with a certain license plate number report to his vehicle immediately. Yup, it was my license plate number. The owner of the scratched car had called the cops and they were all over this. Utterly humiliating. A total date disaster.

For the hiccups guy, here’s what you should do: Take a glass of water, sit in a very relaxed position, and take slow sips. I learned this in a science class years ago and it’s worked every time.

Don’t ask me how, but I once got my jacket button caught in the car door, and could literally not get it out. I had to decide: leave the jacket there, that is, if I could somehow even wiggle out of it, or keep trying to free myself. I surveyed the situation and chose the second option, but the impact of the counterforce sent me sprawling. This was definitely a hot-button issue for my date…

The worst experience is seeing the girl you said no to not long before (who was certain she was going to marry you) sitting with your good friend in the same lounge as you walk in. A close second is when you drive into the parking lot and see the car belonging to the guy next door. Awkward. Livable, but awkward.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 904)