Moments of Wonder
2004 Boaz Rauchwerger
I was six years old that warm summer day in 1952 when I saw it coming down the dirt road in our little farming community in Israel. It stopped close by and our village doctor hollered in Hebrew, "You want a ride?"
"Oh, Yes!" I said excitedly. He motioned for me to open the back door and to get in. Not knowing what to expect, I slid into the vehicle, huddled on the floorboard and held on to the seat.
The car traveled no more than two or three blocks when the doctor arrived at his house and it was time to get out. I was amazed by the experience. Living in that small community since I was born, I had never ridden in a car before.
The doctor was more prosperous than most people in the area. Thus, he had a car. It was a black, four-door sedan. To me, it might as well have been a Rolls Royce. I was used to seeing old tractors in the fields, but this was a REAL car and I got to ride in one for the very first time. What an amazing moment of wonder. It made such an impression on me that I can recall it now, over 50 years later, as if it happened a moment ago.
I can also recall the first time I saw an airplane. It wasn't long after I had my first car ride. I was with my parents in a nearby city when a military convoy came through town. I had heard about airplanes, but had never actually seen one. Although we didn't feel underprivileged, compared to the Western World, we didn't have much in my childhood.
There were no picture books of airplanes. There was no television in Israel in the early 50s and we had no toy airplanes. I thought that, if airplanes go up in the air, they're probably big. The first one I saw in that convoy that day was a fighter. Its wings had been taken off and placed next to it on the truck.
That didn't matter. Here, in front of my eyes, was an airplane - a machine that actually goes up in the air and flies. I can recall the incident as if it was a minute ago. What an amazing moment of wonder.
I can recall the first time I saw a ship. It was early in November in 1956. For five years my parents had been preparing to immigrate to America. That year was our time. My father had traveled six months ahead of the family because visas sometimes came one at a time.
On that November day, it was time for my mother, my brother and me to board a ship in the port city of Haifa. We would cross the Mediterranean Sea to a port in Southern France, travel by train through France to the English Channel and then board another ship to cross the Atlantic.
That ship in Haifa, called The Jerusalem, was incredible to me. It was gigantic and it seemed to stretch for blocks and blocks. It was longer and taller than anything I had ever imagined and overwhelming to think that something so big would actually move in the water and float. I was so amazed by the first ship I ever saw that I still have a post card picture of it, half a century later, with the captain's signature. Seeing a ship for the first time was another moment of wonder.
Another amazing moment occurred in the English Channel in the French seaport of Cherbourgh. The ship in which we would cross the Atlantic was the Queen Elizabeth, the largest ship in the world at that time. Twenty elevators, two swimming pools, so many decks to explore. My amazing world of wonderment was expanding very quickly.
It was about a week later when I saw her for the very first time. I was standing by a large doorway in the side of the Queen Elizabeth when we came into the harbor of New York City. There, in the distance, was the Statue of Liberty. She was the first indication that, in this New World, there were tall structures.
At that time I didn't understand what she stood for or why she was there in the harbor. However, I was sure she had something to do with how special this new country was going to be. As our ship headed toward the dock, the skyscrapers of Manhattan, topped by the Empire State Building, were spectacular. The moments of wonder were coming in fast succession.
The reason that I've shared these "Moments of Wonder" with you is that, as adults, most people seem to lose that childish enthusiasm and amazement of being in the moment.
Do you remember the first time you flew in an airplane, the first time you rode a bike or drove a car, the first time you kissed your sweetheart, the first time you saw your newborn? Those are all moments of wonder that become embedded in our minds and our souls because they make a mark in our eternity.
What about our everyday lives? Moments come and go. However, most people have allowed themselves to become so busy, and so stressed, that they forget to live in the moment.
The next time you see something new or unique, the next time someone tells you "I love you," the next time a small child gives you a warm hug, STOP. That's a moment of wonder that will never come again.
An Affirmation of Being in the Moment
I now realize that being in the moment means an opportunity to create an eternal memory.
Article reproduced with permission from Boaz Rauchwerger. You may reprint any of these articles in any publication or Web site so long as you credit Boaz Rauchwerger as the author and include this Web site address, www.Boazpower.com.