Over the River and Through the Woods, from CA to IN for Christmas

The Swindles head back to the Heartland!

As you read this, I am fluttering frantically around the house, trying to gather together as much of our stuff as I can to cram into our compact sedan. Or maybe I'm dropping off our dog, Jasmine, for a nice, long stay with the family we got her from. Or maybe I'm carefully, even gingerly nestling a reusable shopping bag full of yet-unwrapped Christmas gifts into the trunk, tucked amongst cartons of my protein shakes and Dave's Mountain Dew.

Anyway, it's a safe bet that right now, I'm trying to pull together Dave's and my most crucial belongings for a three-week road trip back to Indiana, where our families live. We're leaving on Thursday afternoon, just as soon as Dave finishes work.

Yes, we're driving. It takes 30 hours to get there from here. We'll arrive sometime on Christmas Eve.

You might well say, “Oh, my Lord! Just fly, you morons! You'd be there in a tenth of the time!”

Well … that may be. But, if you must know, I'm scared of flying, thank you very much! I'm also incapable of fitting three weeks’ worth of fashion, plus gifts, into one checked bag. Also, I hope to bring back a box or two of items that Dave's parents are graciously storing for me.

So basically, we're driving because reasons, OK? Actually, we're driving because my fiancé really, really loves me.

In fact, I have a feeling we're going in the first place because my fiancé really, really loves me.

We really, really love our families, too. But holiday travel can be a bear. And it gets cold back in the Midwest! Somehow, I never noticed that while I was living there, all those years. And in many ways, compared to California, it's a different world.

Yesterday, Dave wrote a morbidly fascinating piece about the contradictory ways Israel and the Hamas war are viewed by the youngest voting demographic, especially. It's not pretty. We're eager to see what the prevailing attitude is in Central Indiana. We may be pleased; we may be dismayed. We'll likely have occasion to be both.

While we're on the road, I'm sure we'll churn up some interesting news ways to look at the conflict and its latest developments. With no one but each other for 30 hours of drive time, we’ve got to have something to dive into! Truthfully, our best conversations and our coolest ideas have come from road-trips. There's something invigorating - freeing, really - about the roar of the engine as it takes us across rivers, through forests, over mountains, and past America's iconic landmarks. When the body feels free, the mind follows.

We're absolutely sick thinking of all the stifled freedom in Israel right now. And, yes, in Gaza, too - we know many people suffering did not freely support the Hamas terrorists, but are feeling the fallout just the same.

Because we come from Christian families, we'll be celebrating Christmas on Monday, and again on New Year's with the other side of the family. So, if we post a little less often for the next few days, know that we're coming back shortly with the regularly-scheduled Zionist activism you're here for. And we're using our time on the road as one big editorial meeting, to brainstorm new, exciting ways to fine-tune our activism in 2024.

We'll keep you posted on our progress! Until then, thank you so much for continuing to read this newsletter. Israel and the Jewish world need all of our voices, and we appreciate you tuning in to ours.