JUST CALL ME SPIKE

Not quite yet, but the day is coming when 'Spike' will be an appropriate nickname for me! I had two teeth yanked yesterday. The first one came right out, but the second one was obviously very much at home where it was and was ready to fight for it's homsteading rights in my mouth. In the end, it was evicted along with all three roots, one of which tried to hide but was finally found and removed. I go back in 10 days to get the stitches taken out of the lower crater. The drive home had it's moments. Only the lower excavation site was sewn up, the upper one was left as is. It, of course started bleeding on the way home. The solution to that was to stuff a KFC napkin in (the chicken tastes a lot better than the napkins) but that was all we had. I spent a fair amount of the time on the road wondering what happens to swallowed blood. I was specifically told not to spit anything out, so obeyed instructions and swallowed. There were a fair number of broken off teeth pieces that went down too. Does that mean my stomach will grow teeth and I'll be able to just bypass all that chewing and let my stomach do the work? If so, why am I getting my teeth done to start with? Must remember to ask the dentist next time I go! On the up side, there's no pain from the site of the Big Dig this morning, just a little swelling in the lower jaw area.
Today is Take Yaacov To Haifa Day, so I'd better get a move on. Got stuff to do at the bank before anything else. At last, things are good enough to be able to reduce the credit limits on the door store account and do a major clean up in my account, as in pay off all the personal credit cards! It would be even better if the government would keep it's word and pay up on the rest of the damages. They'll get around to it one of these days.

WELL DONE

Amazing as it sounds, my baby brother outsmarted me! He went and bought a trailer for him and Vicky and I swear he did it in order to prevent me from becoming a slum lordess as planned. I'm thrilled on one hand, while not exactly ecstatic on the other. I'm thrilled because they are moving out of that crap apartment into a nice clean new place without falling down stairs, and a trick toilet, but I'm also concerned that he won't be bothered too much with the upkeep and it will fall apart around them one day. No, it's not paranoia, I know he did it because he knew I'd haul my crippled butt over there in the Spring and buy an apartment house for him, and he didn't want that; he wanted what he wanted, and that's fine. I'm trusting that Robbie (Vicky's best friend) will keep an eye on the upkeep end of things, and not let it fall apart around them. It really is perfect for them in so many ways, and I'm glad and proud that he got off his butt and did it. He really doesn't like change, and is not the type to go out and create such an upheaval for himself willingly. Well done, Jeffro! I'm going to have Lavana send a couple of plants to them for the new place as soon as I get back from the dentist today. I'm having some teeth pullled and bone replacement in preparation for some fake teeth-posty things that the dentist will do another day. OUCH.
Shmaryah is going to hospital today. He knocked his back out and should have gone yesterday. I was all armed and ready to have it out with him yesterday,but it just wasn't the time, and now he'll be away for a few days. Good thing I have that hospital wired and can get up to date reports on what he's up to there. Last time there were reports of him being seen with *that woman* out and about. There will be none of that this time. If he has to be in hospital, there will be no sneaking out. Just for the fun of it, I might take Lavana up there and bring his car down here so he can't escape in it. Yeah, I like that idea! The extra set of keys is in the store and the car *is* in my name. There's a plan!

THAT'LL TEACH ME

After a somewhat tiring day, I got home early and tried to sort the program access on the new improved(?) computer. It was only this morning that I got it sorted. The guy who 'did' the computer is a whiz with hardware, but I know more about software! I told him that the very first thing we do after connecting to the interweb-(he thought he could do it without installing the dialer)-was to download and configure Thunderbird. Number 2 was to download AVG about which he had heard of, but never used. When we talked about what he was doing to the PC he said he'd install the OS I wanted and an anti virus prog. That elicited a very loud "Oh no, you don't! I'll put AVG in!" His responce was bewilderment. While he was here, I put it in and explained it to him. It was a bit strange explaining my favorite programs to someone who does computers for a living considereing how computer ignorant I was only a few short years ago. Strange, but nice! Firefox obviously has to be my default browser, but I need IE too because banks here only work in IE I took a shot at sorting that last night with absolutely no success. This morning I got it done in just a few seconds.I also need him to figure out how to give me access to the other hard drive. It has a bunch of stuff I really want on it, like my A Team screen saver, which no longer seems to be available on Cannell's site. My beloved firewall is also there. Oh, well, he's sorting a computer for one of our key copying machines so I'll catch him then. At least this computer is legal again! And working at warp speed.
I did get a few things ironed out with Mr. S and now I am more confident about him. The guy in Safed is toast, and I heard it from the person above him on the corporate food chain. Corporate politics is the name of the game. It'll take a month or two to get that sorted, but I'm ok with it now.
The weather people sat it's going to storm this weekend and I'm so looking forward to it. A proper, rain, wing, and thunderstorm. And I'll nice and cozy tucked in at home with the papers, TV and computer! I can't wait.
Next week, Shmaryah has a consult with a surgeon to try and figure out what's growing in his tummy. I still think it's a stolen M&M growing there. Every time he mentions it, I pick up scissors, a rusty exacto knife and a stapler and tell I'm ready to operate! There is no indication that it might malignant. All his blood tests were just fine, but the thing is growing, and starting to hurt. We'll know more on Monday, which, of course is the day I go to get a bunch of teeth yanked. I hope the schedule will allow me to go to the cutter with him. I'll check that later today.
And for my next trick, I will disentangle the laptop wires from the spahetti bowl of the PC cables. No, I do not know why I didn't have what's his name do it when he was connecting the PC-duh.

ARON CALLED

Pretty much took the day off yesterday and ran errands and such. Filled the jeep with diesel, went grocery shoppping,went to Safad to get phones and sort the phone bills of the various stores, visited the regional distributor of the doors we sell, and got an earful on Shmaryah, parked the jeep, hopped on Harley Too, went to the flower shop, beat the rain home, fiddled with the computer, put the phones together,listened to phone message from Aron, called him back, called cable and told them their phone line is dead, the techie came and fixed the cable line.
Aron says his dad is very ill, but at the moment it doesn't look like cancer. He's in the ICU at whatever hospital he's in with a fever and is very weak. They still aren't sure what it is, but think maybe not cancer. After hearing that, my stomach should have settled down, but it didn't. Something is very wrong with him. There was a show on very late last night about medical expiriments the Israeli Army did on soldiers during the years he was in the army. Woke me right up, it did, but by the time I realized what they were on about, it was too late to record it. I'll send Aron an E mail about it later and have him pass the questions on to Terry as and when. If it turns out to be relevant, there are ways to get a recording of that show. AND the lawyer who is handling things for some of the ex soldiers handled my motorcycle accident back in the day, so that's good! I'd better get that e mail off to him.

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON BAD STUFF

I can't get poor Itz (my ex) out of my head. Every time I think of him, and that's most of the time these days I get a little frisson of fear in the pit of my stomach. That is such a not good feeling. It always means something really bad is going to happen to happen to the person I'm thinking of when that happens.
I wasn't surprised at all when Aron told me the bad news. It was almost as if I was expecting it. I'd been thinking of Itz on and off for a month or so for absolutely no reason at all. He was just there in my head and that is not at all usual. Then, BANG, Aron told me he has cancer of the pancreas. Right now there's not a damn thing I can do about it except worry from this far away.
I'm way too tired right now to make much sense about this and thoughts are just chasing themselves around my head and driving me wild.

CRAP CRAP CRAP AND MORE CRAP

My son called last night with the worst news possible. His 57 year old father has pancreatic cancer and it's about as bad as it can be. Seems his sister, my ex daughter, told him about it and was cold as an ice block about it, as only she can be, so he called me for a more caring reaction. Poor kid, to have to go through this with an ice cube for a sister. At least when I went through it with my mother, who was only 58, my brother was right there with me. We might be divorced, but it was as friendly a divorce as can be even though we did have a grand battle or two or three afterwards. When the dust settled, we were still friends and he did come visit me the day I sprang myself from the hospital after my heart attack.
I thought about it all night long and then it hit me. He never smoked, drank and ate healthy, so what happened? He was a diver in the Israeli Navy and trained in one of the most polluted rivers in the world. A lot of guys from those units ended up with cancer that was linked to diving there. Granted, knowing that was most likely the source won't help much now, but it does at least explain it. I'm very very sad about it because he is the father of my kids and a nice guy, just not the nice guy for me. His present wife is a nurse and a damn good one. She's also a wonderful woman and I like her a lot. This is going to be so hard for her. Worse even that when her first husband was killed in a hunting accident long ago.
The worst part for me is that there's not a damn thing I can do about it except be here to listen to any of them who want to talk.
It might be fuel for my battle at the parking lot today. The new super market in town has gotten the mall management to turn the parking lot into a pay to park lot unless you buy something for 50 shekels or more. What am I going to buy at the bank for 50 shekels? The plan for today is to drive to the bank and test the new arrangement. It's not like there's an abundance of parking in town, so this new thing is very not good. I'm quite looking forward to the brouhaha and am in no mood to be messed with!

ROAD WEARY GIMP

In between driving marathons, I somehow managed to arrange for the importer of M&Ms to supply the neighborhood shop I buy my supply from, to bring the larger bags of them, 125 grams as opposed to the small 45 gram bags. When I left town yesterday I was right behind the importer's truck si I knew they had been delivered. I was thrilled and on the way home just home, stopped in to buy the stock for next week. The genius owner didn't have the sense to leave them at the store, he took them to their storage place, and they didn't even have one bag in the store. A phone call later and it's come back in an hour. Ok, I'll go back in hour, unless it starts raining, which it will any minute now. At last, a steady supply of peanut M&Ms. Yes, I do like the small ones, but I am ADDICTED to the peanut ones!!
I have now decided that taking Yaacov to his treatments will only happen on days that are not the day after I was there and walked up 35 stories of stairs!! (you might want a map of Israel for this) On Wendesday we went to Carmiel to get something for Etti and Yaacov, then to Nazareth to visit them, then down to Tel Adashim to buy things for the flower shop, then to Yavniel, and got home at midnight, only to wake up and drive to Nazareth , Haifa, Tel Adashim, Nazareth, and home. Tired doesn't quite cover it. I fell asleep and woke up really late this morning. I got my blood test results and they are fine, then to the flower shop for a while, then headed home by way of my M&M supplier as already related. I'm really looking forward to a nap, but will be going out again to get my stash! I might go fil up the jeep first, then drive it right up to the store. We'll see.

ROLLERCOASTER DAZE

Yesterday was one of those days when all you can do is wonder when the roller coaster will stop and you can get off.
I decided the night before to get the blood tests and EKG done in the morning and fasted as per instuctions. We started with the blood tests and the nurse was one of those from the school of brutality. Bet she got staight As in needle hurting. That's one impressive hematoma on my right arm! Then, we moved right along to EKG which was normal!! Only a bit less than year after my heart attack, a normal EKG!! Cancel the cardiac quack. For dessert I got my anti flu shot.
From there, I went to the flower shop. Shmaryah's car was there, so I got his report from his trip to the doctor. Day before yesterday he was going on about a lumpy thing in his stomach and I made him go to his doctor, which he did in the morning. They think it might be just a fatty growth but want to do tests. The surgeon he also saw wanted to cut it out, but he said no. At that point I asked Lavana for the scissors and threatened to do it myself. My diagnosis is that the lump is one the M&Ms he stole from me and it's growing to punish him. He got sent back to the door store and I waited with Lavana for a shipment of things that were supposed to arrive in the morning. While waiting, I decided to take a swing through the new grocery store that finally opened across the road from us. I was a bit embarrassed by the locals who were oohing and ahhing over the new store. Excuse me, people, but there are bigger more impressive neighborhood markets in just about every other city here, not to mention American. Even Maine. I picked up a few things on my way through and got in line at check out. Just as my turn came, a manager came over and told me to follow him to the main check out so it would go faster. That register was crowded but he told the gal to take me next. She didn't and I decided to find a line again. It was so crowded by then that I couldn't turn around to go back, so, I dropped the stuff I'd wanted on a shelf near the exit and left all pissed off. What is it that people think they know what's best for us crips? I was next where I was and even told him I was just fine, but, no, he knew better, and I ended up leaving after vowing never to return. On the way back to the flower store I spotted the M&Ms importer in the parking lot and yelled at him to stop and intruduced myself as the addict from Kiryat Shmonah and begged him to give my pals at the 24 hour store the "big" bags of M&Ms. He laughed and promised to sort it. I told him that they really have to have them because the new store pissed me off an I won't be going there ever again. I was really pissed off. Yeah, I know he was just trying to be helpful, but guess what the road to hell is paved with? Managers from that chain who tried to help a crip..........
I got back to the store, had a bit of a rage and a little cry. I'd left my lunch there. Remember the fast for the blood test? Right. Lavana went charging over there and had a few words with the idiot manager type who had been trying to helpful. According to her, he was almost as upset as I was and aplogized profusely. When Lavana got back, I went to my favorite sandwich grill place and got a sandwich.
Our shipment finally arrived and we unpacked it only to find a couple of minor mistakes that will be corrected next time the sales guy comes.
My computer (the big one) was taken off to computer ICU by a local computer fixer and he walked by, so we discussed what he'll do to it. It just might be back on Friday, all working with another hard drive and a legal OS. So, I'll just continue using this one.
I think it's Wednesday today and that means we close early and Lavana and I go on a buying trip to look for ideas and stuff to sell.
Oh, oh, Almost forgot! I have a teeny tiny disco ball for THE DISCO. How cool is that?
On the way home I stopped to get M&Ms and had a good laught with the lads about my *attack* on the guy in the parking lot.
When I got home, I found the air conditioner on and I KNOW I turned it off the day before. Orna swears she wasn't even in the house, never mind turned it back on. So, how did it get on? I turned it off and hid the remote. I just hope I'll find the remote next time I want to use it!

ORCHID MURDERING TEADRINKER

My pal down south got an Orchid for New Year, and after profuse thanks, asked how to take care of it. Not knowing myself, I sent her to reasearch the question on the interweb. She reported back that she was supposed to water it once a week and ignore it. On Saturday I got a paniced call from her. She said that the flowers fell off and some leaves too.
TD "I followed the directions and the stuff just fell off while I was looking at it"
PG "YOU MURDERED THE ORCHID"
TD "I did not. It died in front of my eyes"
PG "YOU DID TOO. YOU MURDERED THE ORCHID"
TD "Did not. I followed the directions from the interweb and it died"
PG "DID TOO. You didn't follow the directions at all. They said to water it once a week and ignore it. YOU DIDN'T IGNORE IT. YOU LOOKED AT IT AND THAT'S NOT IGNORING.
On an on we went like that for several minutes. She did murder it, but it might be savable. It hasn't turned brown yet so if she keeps watering it and really does ignore it, it might be ok.

LAWS OF NATURE

I always forget the first law of nature. The one that states that the day after you wash the car it will rain. On Friday I took the Disco for it's long promised wash (I promised to wash it if it passed inspection) and brought it home. Orna was out hanging laundry and did a double or maybe triple take when she saw it, and wasted a few minutes trying to figure out who parked a car just like mine in my space. As I was right there with her and not threatening the life of my parking space thief, she finally figured it out. I stuck my head out several times on Saturday to admire the clean car outside. It really is a magnificent vehicle. I'm just vain enough that keeping it filthy on the outside which tricks people into thinking that I've been off road with it a lot. The only time it's been off road was during the war when Golan and I left the Nusery by the back fields with the ceramic fountain in back, but that doesn't really count. I just haven't had time since learning how to drive it properly on road to go off road. Now that I've learned it, I'm looking for a chance. The plan is to take this coming Friday morning off and going out then. Of course by then it might be dirty enough again. It started raining Saturday and poured off and on all day yesterday. As it was a semi holiday yesterday I decided to run a bunch of errands and spent some time at the flower shop after I finished my stuff. The skies opened at one point and I waited for a break in the downpour. At least I was ready for it with a brand new rain poncho! When I finally headed for home, there was an amazing rainbow right over the whole town. It was a spectacular rainbow and the purple stripe was right on top. I'd no sooner gotten home and into bed than the rain started again with a bit of thunder and lightning. Wasn't I just thrilled? There's nothing I like more than a good storm. Seems there was a bit of flooding in town. Shmaryah called to tell me that the store had flooded again, and Orna reported that our street was a river for half an hour or so. She also begged me not to wash the car again any time soon. It IS a law of nature that if cars or windows are washed; it WILL rain.

FAMILY

Families are the oddest things. At least relations are, not only relationships, though they are odd too. Turns out that Etti and Yaacov are actually family. Really and truly. By marriage, through my daughter, you know, the one who refuses to talk to or even about me! Yesterday I left at noon to go see Etti and Yaacov. The plan was to take them out to lunch then visit their son's business because there was no way I was going going to climb their stairs again so soon. I picked them up and as Nazareth Elite doesn't really have any place nice to eat (Nazaerth now has a KFC which isn't kosher) we went down to Afula and had lunch at the same place Golan and I ate after the missile fell back during the war. We had a very nice meal, then went to the nursery where Dotan and his wife were waiting for us. We sat around and chatted. Yaacov even helped a few customers with advice and whatnot. My daughter came up and Dotan's wife asked about her husband. We quickly got to the fact that her father is related to my daughter's husband's father! If I got it right they are either brothers or first cousins. So, we ARE related after all. How cool is that? I've always said that they are the closest thing I have to family here, and now it turns out that they really are, and the fun part is that it's through my snob of a daughter who will be embarrassed by the relationship. She's really turned into into the most insufferable snob imaginable. The first thing I did when I got home was to send an e mail to my son. He will be thrilled by the news because there's not a conceited bone in his body and he adores them. He, in turn, will inform his sister, who in turn, will stick her nose in the air and make a nasty comment. Me, I'm just as thrilled as can be about it. I pretty much danced in my seat all the way home to my beloved Don McClean driving disk!! I HAVE FAMILY HERE and they are some of my favorite people here. It also means that they will argue less when I try to help them because it's easier to accept help from family than friends! If you ever doubted that G-d works in the strangest ways, here's the proof.
Back during the war, when Golan and I were at the Nursery, I ordered what we Israelis call ' house shoes, or,'slippers'-ceramic things to hang on the wall outside my front door to put plants in and they were waiting for me yesterday. I almost burst with joy when she sold them to me at the 'family discount'. I'll get Golan to put them up and bring plants for them from my own flower/plant shop. This is so cool. Lavana and I are going to visit her sister in law and then go to the Nursery next Wednesday afternoon because we need some things they sell for our shop and both places are in the same general area. She's almost as excited about this as I am, and is trying to figure out how we might be related too. She'll probably find it too, even if she has to go back to Adam and Eve!!

GETTING A GRIP

It seems like I just might be starting to get a grip on this whole Yaacov thing. The interweb has been a big help and I'm putting myself through Med School every minute I get free. There's lots of information about it out there. Even though it's not good and I don't have access to all the reports from his tests, I do know enough to understand how bad it really is. This is one nasty cancer. The radiation cand chemo can help for a while, but, like life itself, the end is known. All any of us can do is make it easier for him and the family. That is my new mission. I'll be leaving town at 1300 or so to take Etti and Yaacov out for a light meal, and to grab a taxi driver from the taxi stand right under their house and make a deal with him to take Yaacov to his radiation treatments. Dotan simply can not leave work to do it every day and I can't take that much driving. I'll do any trips to Haifa until Yaron gets here. Then, he, Dotan, and I will sit down and get it all organized.
I'm very sad about the whole thing but at least there is something I do to help.
Last night Shmaryah and Lavana had his sister and some friends over for a BBQ in their Sukka- the booth that is traditional on this holiday. It was very nice except the Shmaryah was insulted that I couldn't eat the traditional delicacy they all go wild over-lamb testicals. Pardon me, but YUCK. And it's supposed to be THE THING. Yes, he is going to pay for it today with many comments to effect that it was all quite yummy except for his 'balls' And it was, just that was not.
Ok, time to get dressed, and to the store early so I can get a parking place before our lot fills up!

NOT GOOD NEWS

Contrary to the evidence of previous posts, I really don't like to post about bad things here, but, this really sucks. I went to visit Etti and Yaacov yesterday and it was not good. He has a very virulent form of brain tumor, and is still in shell shock from the news. It's so bad that their son is flying in from The States at the end of the month. Etti is very busy trying to keep the seriousness of it hidden from Yaacov that I suspect that she really doesn't quite get it herself. I was alone with him for a few minutes, and even though he didn't say much, he knows, and is playing along with her to make her feel better. He starts radiation treatments on Sunday and from what I've read, they can help for a while, but not long. This so sucks.
I was super stupid yesterday and only ate about 6 M&Ms all day(not really my idea of a balanced diet,contrary to documented evidence) so, of course, felt crap all day today. I scarpered home early and picked up a good meal on thae way, ate it and took a nap that I woke up from at 2330. I've also not been drinking enough, so am pouring the water in at an alarming rate. You'd think I'd learned my lesson on the trip, but I guess I'm just a slow learner. I just drank a half liter of water and am feeling better all ready! It's a good thing that we are in the middle of a holiday here and half the country is closed and we can get away with closing early. I'm off to Nazareth Elite again on Thursday. I'm having a hard time figuring out why in 1990 it took exactly 45 minutes to get there from here (I know this because I drove that route every day that year) and now it takes over an hour even though they've widened the road and raised the speed limit and I have a better car? It's just not making any sense to me.
Other than that, and not knowing where my camera is, I'm ok, just worried sick about Yaacov and Etti. I'm off to grab another bottle of water and back to bed. If Fingers hadn't sent a note, it might have been another year before I got around to posting here. Time just gets away from me and there's not enough to start with. We really need more hours in a day!

WHATEVER ELSE YOU DO, DO NOT LIE TO ME

Yeah, yeah, I know. It's not always comfortable to tell the truth, and sometimes telling a lie seems to be easier. However, if I find out, things will get decidedly uncomfortable. Not to mention unbearably strained.
Who lied to me and got caught? Mr. S. That's who! I'm not going into the whole thing here except to say that things are getting decidely interesting and his wife and I will know the whole story next week. I didn't buy his business with my eyes closed. I knew there was some hinky stuff hiding out there, but the last few weeks have been almost too much. Now that I've caught him and know pretty much what's going on, it won't take the PI we hired long to get to bottom of it and supply hard proof. Then, watch out. I've sunk pretty much every penny of my inheritance into that business, and I did it for two major reasons. One, to give me something to do, and two, to guarantee my brother and his kid's futures because the business is solid. It's Mr. S. and his sidekick who are the trouble. She's trying to do things that just don't jibe with my way of doing things and she has to go. I trusted him until I found some very odd charges to the business credit card and he lied about them. Bad idea. My legs don't work so good, but my brain, in spite of the stroke damage is just fine. There's also the thing that my coming into his business was almost a direct order from above. There's a reason it happened the way it did and it had nothing to do with anything in this world. Mystical folderol? Maybe, but I don't think so. Some things happen because they are supposed to and no power in this world can stop them from happening. I thought it all out again on Yom Kippur, and realized that in spite of the fact that I could have just taken the rest of my inheritance and traveled and just enjoyed it, buying that business was I had to do, so I did it and now, I have to stop the evil influence on him. He seems to fighting it to some extent, but isn't quite ready to put a complete stop to it. Ok. If he can't, I can and will. I'm not afraid on anyone on this earth. No matter what or who he's mixed up with, it can and will be settled by the end of next week, and I'll have fun doing it. I'll post the whole story, gory details and all when it's over. For now, it's enough that I know there are no bugs on any of my phones, or in the house, or car. The computer is clean too, now and no one involved has enough English to understand this, but if by some miracle, they do, they have been warned that it's almost over and it's their turn to watch out..

,YOM KIPPUR

Why is it that we change our clocks just before Yom Kippur? We went back an hour to standard time last night and I just finished changing my watch, phones, the computer and the clock next to my bed. According to the radio the rest of the world won't change for another month. Not that it bothers me in the least to be out of step with everyone else; it rather suits me. It's the crazy reason. The Ultra Orthodox think it makes the fast shorter, but it doesn't. So, of course, because they think so, it is so. Ah, well, so be it. It doesn't matter to me at all, as long as my clocks, watches, phones, etc. show the correct time.

I always get nostalgic over the Holidays. They bring back memories from my ever so long ago childhood when we all went to Portland for services. The arguments I had with Dad about driving there instead of staying overnight with The Grandparents. I usually lost, but there were a few years when I went to stay with them and met up with Mom, Dad and Jeff at Beth El. Of course I was right back then, but, so what? I loved the feeling of Autumn in the air and how cool the weather was when all us kids went to hang out around outside and visit the other kids from Shaarei Zedek across the street where my grandparents went.
Yom Kippur was the best because at noon or so, the women and kids would all go to the Branz's house and wait for the fast to be over. Us older kids would drive the adults wild by doing sit ups and going out for long walks to show that fasting didn't slow us down at all. Much head shaking and tongue clicking among the adults didn't stop us from racing up and down the stairs. Yeah, ok, so we were always first in line for food when the fast ended, but it was great fun, if not exactly in the spirit of the day. I'm so thankful for the great memories from those days.
In Israel the non religious among us have their own traditional ways for getting through the day. Kids go out on their bikes and race along on the empty roads and the older crowd sits around watching videos and DVDs.
Other than taking my morning meds, I fast and read and think and talk to my parents. It's a very quiet day up here because the kids in town aren't really into the whole bike thing. There's a lot more respect for the religious from the kids here than in the rest of country, but this isn't the time to get into all that. Zom Kal and Gmar Hatimah Tovah.