LOSING IT AGAIN

I was just fine yesterday, sore, but fine. I even knew what day it was from the moment I woke up! What happened overnight that caused me to wake up KNOWING it was Sunday? It wasn't at all like the days I wake up and have to use the TV to check the day, or that period of time when every day was Thursday. Not at all like that. I new beyond doubt that it was Sunday. I was on the verge of calling that idiot newspaper for not delivering it today, and thought about calling the Albertos to set a time to meet,(one of them doesn't answer the phone on Saturday), and started a list for the grocery store. Then Golan arrived and said something about Saturday. I just looked at him in utter disbelief, but, checked on the computer when he insisted. You don't suppose that little trip in the sun fried my brain? I got a pretty bad case of the giggles at the thought of going all the way to my grocery store only to find it closed. Ynet, the major electronic newspaper ran another big article about the demonstration in Jerusalem and linked our attempt to join them as well. At least they are getting some coverage now, and it should continue as we plan our next expedition. I'm quite proud of what we managed, even if we were stopped part way there. It was still quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

It's been a wild few days. A group of fellow gimps has been demonstrating in Jerusalem for almost three weeks with absolutely no press coverage. We(Kiryat Shmonah gimps) were contacted by one of the leaders of the protest and were asked to organize a group to 'march' on Jersulem. We were promised the moon and half the sun, but he only delivered on one item, which was the Police escort from a starting point about 10 miles from town because of road works. We were supposed to have been supplied with a vehicle to take our scooters and wheelies to that point. Needless to say, we weren't. So, I got that sorted at the last minute, a friend who is also a gimp organized the press, and after a little press conference, we were on our way.
http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-3560605,00.html
The above link will take you to one of my calmer, more reasonable interviews. Just scroll down until you come to the box with Play in English. I'm pretty sure you don't need Heberw to get my gist.I spent just about all of Wedenseday charging around town getting donations of essential things like water, food, and cash. I even shamed Dem Der into Peg sitting. We met up in town at 0730 to organize ourselves before the trailer got there to take the scooters to the official starting place. There were two scooters, two regular wheelies, and a power chair who came with his van. This is a picture of us having a spontaneous pre demonstration demonstration before a local cop came and made us move.Someone, most likely me, was very lucky to have gone off to pick up our donated breakfast sandwiches when the local cop made us move. It took me a few minutes to find them in our new place and I had no sooner gotten there than I got a call from our trailer guy. We all raced to where he was waiting and Trailer guy and my neighbor Golan got the scooters on the trailer and we were off to meet the press at Sde Eliezer Junction. My across the path neighbor Moshe had a canopy on his scooter which flew off on the way. By the time we got all the wheeled chariots on the road and ready to move out, the the press and our escort cops were there. When we finished the press stuff, one Alberto grabbed the basket on Harley and the other Alberto grabbed the canopy pole on Moshe's scooter, while Hezi drove his 'support' van while in his power chair. We kept getting stopped by the press, and my phone rang non stop. There is absolutely no shade on that road and it was close to 100 degrees under a bright sun in a clear sky. Given my tendency to dehydrate quickly, I held a bottle of water in my left hand, and 'drove' with the other one. Try answering a blue tooth in your ear with a bottle in that hand-the semi paralyzed one at that! It was a good two hours before we got to the next major junction-Mahanaiyim, where a lunch and charge the scooters break had been planned. Let's do the math. 2 hours at 12km/h is, um, er, 24 kilometers, which is about 15 miles. While Moshe and I were off looking for a place to charge up, our escort cops told us we'd have to turn back because our permit had been canceled due to road works ahead. I am sure that was just an excuse. We were stopped by an order from on high. The cops got a tow truck to pick up the scooters. Moshe rode with him, while I went with the Albertos in Hezi's van. On the way back, we were in shock at how far we had gotten. On the way we decided to organize ourselves for another attempt, and do it all ourselves and not rely on any outside help. Now we know what we need. We are going to have our first 'get ready' meeting on Sunday. We will get there one way or another. Updates as and when.

WHY AM I STILL AT HOME?

I really should be in Jerusalem demonstrating by now, but I just can't seem to get it together enough to up and go. Not being able to leave Peg is more than just an excuse. He's old, and deserves better than that from his human. Orna is out for obvious reasons and the other neighbors either can't be trusted, or are scared of him. Dem Der could do it, but he's playing the "I don't feel good card" and that well and truly pisses me off. It's not like Peg requires hours of care. All he needs is fresh water, food, and to be put out on his chain in the morning, while keeping an eye out that no one bothers him. Not exactly hard labor. Oh well, I can just stay here and start sending e mails like I did last time to Jewish organizations that contribute lots of money to Israel in English speaking countries. That worked nicely in 2002 and I still have the addresses on a disk!
What are after this time?
Let's do a little maths and see what we get.
Minimal monthly expenses:
130 average rent in housing authority flats
75 average water
80 property tax
400 electric
150 phone
199 cable
75 cooking gas
300 meds
That's a grand monthly total od 1409 and we haven't even had a bite to eat or left the house. A basic monthy benefit is just under 2000 which leaves us the whopping sum of just under 600 to eat and leave the house. Ok, maybe the cable is not a necessity, but, come on,that's the very minimum basic package. The price of everything is rising by the day, while the benfits have been frozen for the last 10 years. There are many more who receive the basic benefit than who receive the other benefits for the more severly disabled. Personally, I'm ok, or would be if I hadn't let everyone and their uncle steal me blind. But I'm still on the borderline of ok. It's for the ones who have to decided if they want to eat or take their meds that I'm up in arms about.

FOREVER ON A GLASS WALL

I guess it's final. I'm a local 'celebrity'! The following picture was painted on a glass wall that surrounds one of our local coffee shops that sits right dab smack in the middle of one of our malls. I am rather well known as the lady biker who had the first motor cycle garage in town!
How cool is that?
Not much of interest has been going on lately, other than being in the midst of looking for parts for a 1969 Cadillac Fleetwood. I think I found a place that has most of them, but won't know until very late tomorrow night.

BELATED UPDATE

I know, I know, I haven't been here for a while, no excuses, just haven't gotten around to it. The local cripple group went on a field trip to certain select sites in the Western Galiliee on Monday, and I got talked into going along as there was a special bus available. The company has a bus with a wheely lift and seats that come out and leave a track that wheelies can be anchored securely to. I actually have a picture of Alberto coming off the bus!

The couple looking on with great interest are my across the path neighbors, the parents of the quads I love to detest.
We started off on our adventure at 0800 sharp, which meant that Moshe (the guy with the cane) and I left in my car for the departure point at 0745, and were in plenty of time to get our stuff organized. Alberto and I were the only Jerusalem demonstration alumni on the trip and we regaled the others with demonstration stories. One of the Polio guys who was with us announced that there might be another demonstration next week over benefits that are not keeping up with the cost of living. There IS a clause in the agreement from our last demonstration that says that our benefits are supposed to be adjusted annually, but, never have been in the 6 years since. In Israel there is no reason to expect that the government will keep any agreement they've signed. Alberto kept getting the 1999 and 2002 demonstrations mixed up, and every time I reminded him that, no, that happened in '99, we were off on more 'were you there when?" He loves telling about how I spearheaded the take over of the Finance Ministry building. I kind of like that story too because not many can say that they took over a government ministry building by threatening to pee on a security guy's shoes if he doesn't let you in to use the loo! I went in but didn't come out, so when the guards went in to make me go out, everyone else went in. Dumb ass guards left the doors unguarded to get me out. Ooops! Then Alberto asked if that was the same demonstration when I smashed my stick down on the arm of the under cover cop who tried to move one of the gals in her wheely out of the way so he could drive off and avoid our road block. Poor guy ran back to his car and sat there until we lifted the road block. Damn right, he was the last one to leave.

Our first stop was Acre, where I spent much time in 1970 on foot. This time my perspective was slightly different, being in a wheely and all. Acre has a scent all it's own and anyone who has spent any time there will know where he is if dropped there suddenly. We ended the Acre part of the trip at the same gift shop where I bought all the little gifts I took to the States in 2006. From there we headed north to kibbutz Cabri, where we had lunch kibbutz style. From there we went to a park that has a legendary arch right on the border with Lebanon. The white ribbon like road in the next picture is the border with Lebanon.

We were that close to Lebanon. If the bus had fallen off the road, we would have been IN Lebanon! The path from the car/bus park was quite steep and even though I had my own wheelie driver, I had to use my right leg as a brake. The views were breathtaking, and it was well worth the trouble to get there.
In the distance there are a few Lebanese villages.

From there, we went to the grottos at Rosh Hanikrah, another tourist site that is right on the border.The grottoes themselves are not wheely accessible, but we saw a nice movie about them. While the men had their evening prayers, the rest of just sat by safety rail and looked at the ocean. When they had finished their prayers, we left for home and had a cigarette break half way there. I got in just as the news was starting, and fell asleep pretty much when it was over.
The next morning I awoke to incredible pain in my right thigh. Gee, I wonder why? But, there was no choice other than to go to the clinic to get a prescription for my potassium pills and to get my meds for the month. From there I went to the mall with the grocery store that always has my precut bagged salad greens(this time they had to get 2 bags from the storage fridge because they hadn't taken them out yet. Go explain to a confused veg department worker that while he thinks nothing of cutting up stuff himself, it's a challenge for some of us to even get the cut up stuff out of the bag!) and corned beef at the deli, and from there home to rest. And rest I did, until I was woken up be a nasty cramp in my left leg that absolutely refused to let up long enough for me to release it to reach for the salt and potassium pills. I finally managed that and popped two of the pills and licked a bunch of salt and drank a bunch of water, then, laid back down. My right thigh is still super sore and my abs are making themselves known, but not loudly. Staying upright in a wheely on a bus makes those abs work damn hard and I'm fortunate that they are still in pretty good shape. I can do sit ups with next to no effort just about endlessly.
All in all, it was a great trip. And I'm not at all bothered by the sore muscles. The sore will go away soon enough.