Deborah Hicks

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@Bunny_ngl My Grandma was named Rosina Queenie. Top notch naming by her parents.

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@____GAZ_____ Grief generally reveals what is already there, it’s rare it creates something entirely new.

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@JChimirie66677 Minor correction: Hatzola Northwest serve the entire community, regardless of religion.

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@revoltinghippie https://t.co/wm0QiSTvL6

[Daniel Sugarman @Daniel_Sugarman]

I grew up in this community and I have a few thoughts I want to share.

A short thread.

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@JaydaBF https://t.co/wm0QiSTvL6

[Daniel Sugarman @Daniel_Sugarman]

I grew up in this community and I have a few thoughts I want to share.

A short thread.

[BBC Newsnight @BBCNewsnight]

“I put him to bed with paracetamol and Nurofen and I went in in the morning and he was dead - it was that quick.”

Author and poet Michael Rosen remembers the sudden death of his late son Eddie to Meningitis C in 1999.

#Newsnight

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@I_TrulyKnow @doctor_oxford No. I had measles when I was 7 yrs old. I was VERY poorly, and 43 years later I still experience adverse effects directly linked to measles. Measles is not harmless. It’s not chickenpox. Problems started when people decided that measles is less harmless than its vaccination.

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"My name's Raymond. I'm 73. I work the parking lot at St. Joseph's Hospital. Minimum wage, orange vest, a whistle I barely use. Most people don't even look at me. I'm just the old man waving cars into spaces.
But I see everything.

Like the black sedan that circled the lot every morning at 6 a.m. for three weeks. Young man driving, grandmother in the passenger seat. Chemotherapy, I figured. He'd drop her at the entrance, then spend 20 minutes hunting for parking, missing her appointments.

One morning, I stopped him. "What time tomorrow?"
"6:15," he said, confused.
"Space A-7 will be empty. I'll save it."
He blinked. "You... you can do that?"
"I can now," I said.

Next morning, I stood in A-7, holding my ground as cars circled angrily. When his sedan pulled up, I moved. He rolled down his window, speechless. "Why?"
"Because she needs you in there with her," I said. "Not out here stressing."
He cried. Right there in the parking lot.

Word spread quietly. A father with a sick baby asked if I could help. A woman visiting her dying husband. I started arriving at 5 a.m., notebook in hand, tracking who needed what. Saved spots became sacred. People stopped honking. They waited. Because they knew someone else was fighting something bigger than traffic.
But here's what changed everything, A businessman in a Mercedes screamed at me one morning. "I'm not sick! I need that spot for a meeting!"

"Then walk," I said calmly. "That space is for someone whose hands are shaking too hard to grip a steering wheel."

He sped off, furious. But a woman behind him got out of her car and hugged me. "My son has leukemia," she sobbed. "Thank you for seeing us."

The hospital tried to stop me. "Liability issues," they said. But then families started writing letters. Dozens. "Raymond made the worst days bearable." "He gave us one less thing to break over."

Last month, they made it official. "Reserved Parking for Families in Crisis." Ten spots, marked with blue signs. And they asked me to manage it.

But the best part? A man I'd helped two years ago, his mother survived, came back. He's a carpenter. Built a small wooden box, mounted it by the reserved spaces. Inside? Prayer cards, tissues, breath mints, and a note,

"Take what you need. You're not alone. -Raymond & Friends"
People leave things now. Granola bars. Phone chargers. Yesterday, someone left a hand-knitted blanket.
I'm 73. I direct traffic in a hospital parking lot. But I've learned this: Healing doesn't just happen in operating rooms. Sometimes it starts in a parking space. When someone says, "I see your crisis. Let me carry this one small piece."

So pay attention. At the grocery checkout, the coffee line, wherever you are. Someone's drowning in the little things while fighting the big ones.

Hold a door. Save a spot. Carry the weight no one else sees.
It's not glamorous. But it's everything."

Let this story reach more hearts....

Credit: Mary Nelson

[Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis @chiefrabbi]

The unconditional recognition of a Palestinian State by the British Government at the forthcoming annual United Nations General Assembly, will prove to be a historic error of foreign policy, which will only impede the cause of peace.

It is a reward for terrorism, while the hostages remain in chains, and has been celebrated by Hamas as “one of the fruits of 7th October.”

The intended recognition is not contingent upon a functioning or democratic Palestinian government, nor even upon the most basic commitment to a peaceful future. It does not require an end to the shameful payment of stipends to the families of terrorists, nor the reform of an education system that teaches children to hate Jews. Astonishingly, it is not even conditional upon the release of the 48 hostages who remain in captivity.

I call on our Government to pause and reflect on the calamitous impact of this approach for both Israelis and Palestinians. I urge them to act with the moral courage necessary to bring peace nearer, not to push it further away.

[Board of Deputies of British Jews @BoardofDeputies]

“We are gravely concerned that our governments’ announced intentions to recognise a Palestinian state at the UN this month are seen by Hamas as a reward for its violence and rejectionism towards Israel, and these announcements have therefore lessened rather than maximised pressure for the hostages’ release and for Hamas to disarm.”

Joint statement by:
🇬🇧@BoardofDeputies
🇨🇦@CIJAinfo
🇦🇺@ECAJewry

https://t.co/ommy89Ti7t

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@HenMazzig “Palestinian statehood should actually benefit Palestinians, which is nearly impossible with Hamas in power.” I don’t understand why more people aren’t saying this out loud.

[Am Yisrael Chai 🐙 @AmYisraelChai_X]

Remembering The Heroes of 9/11

TODD: Hello? Operator, listen to me... I can’t speak very loud – this is an emergency. I’m a passenger on a United flight to San Francisco, we have a situation here. Our plane has been hijacked, can you understand me?

LISA: (exhaling a deep breath to herself) I understand… can the hijackers see you talking on the phone?

TODD: No.

LISA: Can you tell me how many hijackers are on the plane?

TODD: There are three that we know of.

LISA: Can you see any weapons? What kind of weapons do they have?

TODD: Yes… they don’t have guns… they have knives; they took over the plane with knives.

LISA: Do you mean, like steak knives?

TODD: No, these are razor knives… like box cutters.

LISA: Can you tell what country these people are from?

TODD: No... I don’t know, they sound like they’re from the Middle East.

LISA: Have they said what they want?

TODD: Someone from the cockpit announced that there was a bomb on board. He said that he was the captain, and to stay in our seats, and stay quiet. He said that they were meeting these hijacker’s demands, and returning to the airport… It was very broken English, and I’m telling you… it sounded fake.

LISA: Ok sir, please give me your name.

TODD: My name is Todd Beamer.

LISA: Ok Todd… my name is Lisa... Do you know your flight number? If you can’t remember, it’s on your ticket.

TODD: It’s United Flight 93.

LISA: Now Todd, can you try to tell me exactly what happened?

TODD: Ok. Two of the hijackers were sitting in first class near the cockpit; a third was sitting near the back of the coach section. The two up front got into the cockpit somehow, and there was shouting. The third hijacker said he had a bomb. It looks like a bomb. He’s got it tied to his waist with a red belt of some kind.

LISA: Is the door to the cockpit open?

TODD: No, the hijackers shut it behind them.

LISA: Has anyone been injured?

TODD: Yes… They… they killed one passenger sitting in first class. There’s been lots of shouting, we don’t know if the pilots are dead or alive. A flight attendant told me that the pilot and copilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded.

LISA: Where is the third hijacker now Todd?

TODD: He’s near the back of the plane. They forced most of the passengers into first class, there are fourteen of us here in the back. Five are flight attendants; he hasn’t noticed that I slipped into this pantry to get the phone. The guy with the bomb ordered us to sit on the floor in the rear of the plane. Oh Jesus… help.

LISA: Todd; are you ok? Tell me what’s happening.

TODD: Hello.. We’re going down… I think we’re going to crash. Wait - wait a minute. No, we’re leveling off… we’re ok. I think we may be turning around… that’s it - we changed directions. Do you hear me… we’re flying east again.

LISA: Ok Todd… what’s going on with the other passengers?

TODD: Everyone is… really scared. A few passengers with cell phones have made calls to relatives; a guy, Jeremy, was talking to his wife just before the hijacking started. She told him hijackers had crashed two planes into the World Trade Center… Lisa is that true?

LISA: Todd… I have to tell you the truth… it’s very bad. The World Trade Center is gone. Both of the towers have been destroyed.

TODD: Oh G-d... help us!

LISA: A third plane was taken over by terrorists. It crashed into the Pentagon in Washington DC. Our country is under attack... And I’m afraid that your plane may be part of their plan.

TODD: Oh dear G-d, dear G-d… Lisa, will you do something for me?

LISA: I’ll try… if I can… Yes.

TODD: I want you to call my wife and my kids for me and tell them what’s happened. Promise me you’ll call.

LISA: I promise - I’ll call.

TODD: Our home number is 201-333-1073... You have the same name as my wife… Lisa... We’ve been married for ten years. She’s pregnant with our third child. Tell her that I love her.. (choking up). I’ll always love her… (Clears throat) We have two boys; David, he’s three, and Andrew, he’s one... Tell them… (choking up), tell them that their daddy loves them and that he is so proud of them. (Clears throat again). Our baby is due January 12th… I saw an ultra sound… it was great… we still don’t know if it’s a girl or a boy… Lisa?

LISA: (barely able to speak) I’ll tell them, I promise Todd.

TODD: I’m going back to the group... if I can get back I will.

LISA: Todd, leave this line open; are you still there?...

LISA: (dials a phone number)... Hello, FBI, my name is Lisa Jefferson, I’m a telephone supervisor for GTE. I need to report a terrorist hijacking of a United Airlines Flight 93… Yes I’ll hold.

GOODWIN: Hello, this is Agent Goodwin, I understand you have a hijacking situation?

LISA: Yes sir, I’ve been talking with a passenger, a Todd Beamer, on Flight 93 who managed to get to an air-phone unnoticed.

GOODWIN: Where did this flight originate, and what was its destination?

LISA: The flight left Newark, New Jersey at 8 a.m. departing for San Francisco. The hijackers took over the plane shortly after takeoff and several minutes later the plane changed course - it’s now flying east.

GOODWIN: Ms. Jefferson… I need to talk to someone aboard that plane. Can you get me thru to the plane’s phone?

LISA: I still have that line open sir, I can patch you through on a conference call, hold a mo…

TODD: Hello Lisa, Lisa are you there?

LISA: Yes, I’m here. Todd, I made a call to the FBI, Agent Goodwin is on the line and will be talking to you as well.

TODD: The others all know that this isn’t a normal hijacking. Jeremy called his wife again, on his cell phone. She told him more about the World Trade Center.

GOODWIN: Hello Todd, this is Agent Goodwin with the FBI. We have been monitoring your flight. Your plane is on a course for Washington, DC. The terrorists crashed two planes into the World Trade Center and one into the Pentagon. Our best guess is that they plan to fly your plane into either the White House or the Capital Building.

TODD: I understand… hold on… I’ll… I’ll be back.

LISA: Mr. Goodwin, how much time do they have before they get to Washington?

GOODWIN: Not long ma’am. They changed course over Cleveland, they’re approaching Pittsburgh now. Washington may be twenty minutes away.

TODD: (breathing a little heavier) The plane seems to be changing directions just a little, it’s getting pretty rough up here. The plane is flying real erratic… we’re not going to make it out of here. Listen to me - I want you to hear this - I have talked with the others and we decided that we won’t be pawns in the hijackers suicidal plot.

LISA: Todd, what are you going to do?

TODD: We’ve hatched a plan. Four of us are going to rush the hijacker who has the bomb. After we take him out, we’ll break into the cockpit. A stewardess is getting some boiling water to throw on the hijackers at the controls. We’ll get them, and we’ll take them out. Lisa, will you do one last thing for me?

LISA: Yes… what is it?

TODD: Would you pray with me?

They pray:

Our father which art in Heaven
Hallowed be thy name,
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses
As we forgive our trespassers,
And lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from evil
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, For ever.
Amen

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He makes me to lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside the still waters
He restores my soul
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.

TODD: (softer) G-d help me. Jesus help me (clears throat and louder),

Are you guys ready?...

Let’s Roll...

[Politics UK @PolitlcsUK]

🚨 NEW: The Lib Dems have launched a “Balance the BBC” petition to address “wall to wall” Reform coverage

[Ed Davey @EdwardJDavey]

Farage has gone to the US to tell them Britain is ”awful” - If you don’t like it over here Nigel maybe don’t catch a return flight?

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@AndrewGraystone Surely by now, we know they in fact do not…?

[Susie Dent @susie_dent]

Word of the day is ‘tamalou’: a French name for an older person who no longer greets their friends with ‘how was your holiday?, but with ‘t’as mal où ?’, ‘where does it hurt?’. There follows an enthusiastic account of aches and pains and doctor’s appointments.

[BrightMind History @Brightmind_ME]

1/11
🚨 @amnesty International presents itself as a neutral humanitarian watchdog. But its record tells another story. From Gaza to Israel to Ukraine, Amnesty’s double standards reveal a pattern of bias that undermines its credibility. 🧵

[Susie Dent @susie_dent]

An ‘ultracrepidarian’ (19th century) is one who loves to give their opinion, at length, on matters they know nothing about.

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@veggie_eric No, it’s been proven to be ‘gamification’ rather than actually pedagogic

[Deborah Hicks @DeborahEHicks]

@mkeBucks11 @StephenKing That was superbly made and stands a rewatch or 3