Covid-19 and the Miracle on the Last Night of Chanukah in Rimouski

Covid-19 and the Miracle on the Last night of Chanunkah in Rimouski

The oxygen levels were feeling depleted and Ozzie Appleby was frustrated and tired, but he knew he had to finish his route. He had been selected as a Member of Canada's Winter Olympic team as a cross country skier. At twenty one he was in peak condition but Covid-19 had played havoc with his regular training program. He had spent most of his time in isolation and he reported via Zoom to his coaches. He gave them nutritional information, workout schedules, and times and distances. He had been given an electronic device that measured all kinds of different elements that happened in outdoor conditions and how he performed facing those different types of challenges. It was not ideal as the Coaches would have liked to have been there to check out mechanics and find ways to shave seconds off his times, but it just wasn't feasible. The Winter Olympics were still eleven months away, but Ozzie knew time went fast, and he still had competitions coming up in Europe if they weren't canceled because of Covid-19.

Ozzie returned to his cabin, took a shower and looked at the law books on his dining room table. He had a few hours of studying in front of him. His life had become training the body in the morning and the brain in the afternoon. He was in his last year of Law School and he was grateful for online lectures. The fact he was in Rimouski, Quebec, and his Law School was in Toronto, made the distance seem non-existent thanks to online lectures.

Being in a remote location was sometimes lonely but Ozzie had become friends with some of the people from Rimouski and they had been warm and gracious. Covid-19 was a problem everywhere and it had even hit this gorgeous destination. As a result, he spent most of his time by himself.

Ozzie's parents were always checking in on him, and he was constantly texting and talking with his Brother and Sister. It gave him a sense of normalcy. The other thing that gave Ozzie a feeling of comfort was to follow traditions. He was Jewish and he spent two hours every Saturday morning praying, and he kept a vegetarian diet so he didn't have to worry about eating non-kosher food. His Coaches had been on him about needing more protein which meant meat, but Ozzie wouldn't have it. If it wasn't kosher he wasn't going to eat it.

The biggest issue about training alone was the fear that if he was injured or some kind of strange situation happened while he was in the middle of nowhere (he had encountered one bear and a pack of Coyotes, but they didn't seem to notice him) there would be nobody to help. He always carried a flare gun and his phone, but by the time someone could get to his location (explaining where he was exactly would have been another problem) would have resulted in him being an appetizer.

Ozzie made himself a bowl of soup and hit the books. When it got dark where he was living it got pitch black. There were no lights around. His cabin was the only one for miles.

Over the last seven days Ozzie had been lighting his Menorah and he was amazed at how the light of the candles seemed brighter than he could ever remember. Maybe it was the stark setting but the candles gave off a special glow.

After studying Torts, Ozzie put his candles in the Menorah and much to his chagrin there were three empty spots. He had miscalculated the number of candles he had needed. He looked at his watch and it read one thirty. That would give him an hour and a half to find three candles and get back home before darkness descended.

He got dressed, jumped into his trusty Land Rover, and headed to town. He could go to Walmart Rimouski, Maxi, Metro Plus Rimouski, or Super C, one of the stores would have candles. He didn't care about the size of the candles he could make them work in his Menorah. He needed the candles so he could have a proper end to the holiday of Chanukah otherwise known as the Festival of Lights.

Ozzie's closest neighbour was about three miles away. He had a magnificent Christmas tree in front of his home. It looked beautiful and at night Ozzie was sure it would be something to see.