These mountain roads used to be a type of mikveh. I’d approach with all that was behind me. Preparing for what was to come. I’d take a deep breathe and down I’d go. Swaying a little to the left, a little to the right. Then up I’d climb, towards the clouds and the sky. I’d take a deep breathe and down once more. Beauty surrounding me, nature beside me. Up I’d come and repeat over and again. Each summit a release as if a prayer was said. But now, I go up and down and see signs for hate, flags of the past and signs that advertise for “men’s toys.” How far we have fallen as a society? These toys bring forth the life force from all creatures – but the creature in mind is that of your brothers and sisters. How have we fallen to such an ideology that some are less than others? That we need to rise up when we lose and shake a nation to its core? My mikveh is gone and swallowed up in this dark place. Where can I find peace? What hope do we have to survive?