The Five are almost ready to leave on a demonstration the likes of which has never been seen in Israel. We have two very strong social action groups supporting us and providing back up as well as not a little pressure where needed. We are getting new scooters from the Israeli manufacturer Afikim today as it's public relations for that can't be bought or produced in a studio. We can do this because those of us on scooters all bought them from Afikim and intended to go on them in any event. The truck, generator and just about everything else we could dream of are ready to go on Sunday morning. The only small glitch is our web forum, but with a little more cajoling it should be up and running today. It's basically a Hebrew forum, but does have an English option. Only problem is, you need to know Hebrew to get to the English. I hope to have that sorted later tonight.
I kidnapped Golan yesterday and went to get my right leg 'shot' so it will behave on the trip. After the shot we went to have lunch and quite by chance ran into Baruch, who grew up with my late ex husband. We had a lovely, if somewhat damp conversation about him. It's hard for me to explain how wonderful it was to talk about him with someone who not only grew up with up him, but knew us both when we were together, as well as visited us in Maine. Today I have a list of things to do that just seems never ending, so, I'd best get on with it or it really never will end. There are only two more days to get things done in order to leave on Sunday.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Sunday, July 27, 2008
IT TOOK LONG ENOUGH
It only took a month, but tonight it became final. Five on Wheels are leaving a week from tomorrow by wheely and/or scooter for Jerusalem. I haven't posted much here lately for two reasons. One was that my granddaughter was here, the other was all the organizational meetings the Five were holding to get to the point we arrived at tonight. One of the main organizers of the group already demonstrating in Jerusalem came all the way up here to explain things to the guy we needed the final ok from to get the green light to go. Tomorrow I start a new press blitz to announce our impending departure.
Adee and Liat are on their way home now. Strange how things like that work out. I had hoped that we wouldn't leave before they did, and that is exactly what happened! Now I can concentrate on getting The Five on the road. The only issue I can't solve myself is doing the graphics I want for our website and forum, but I'm pretty sure I'll find someone to do it for me tomorrow.
So, now, it's off to bed at 55 minutes past midnight!
Adee and Liat are on their way home now. Strange how things like that work out. I had hoped that we wouldn't leave before they did, and that is exactly what happened! Now I can concentrate on getting The Five on the road. The only issue I can't solve myself is doing the graphics I want for our website and forum, but I'm pretty sure I'll find someone to do it for me tomorrow.
So, now, it's off to bed at 55 minutes past midnight!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I MISSED ANOTHER ONE
It seems there was another earthquake in the area yesterday morning and I slept right through it. I heard about it while having coffee with Itzik and Anita at the coffee shop next to their photo shop which is owned by an old friend who worked at the hotel I used to work at. One of the town's leading businessman was with and he brought it up. After everyone else had made their comment, I looked around and said, "Ok, let's all get hysterical! On the count of three!" Took all the fear that had been building right back down to zero with that.
All the big insurance companies here are pushing 'earthquake catastrophe' insurance. I like one of them which is a bit strange for me as I generally drtest commercials, but this one is ok. It follows the birth, childhood, adolescence and move to Israel of Murphy, disaster by disaster, then, they pitch the insurance. It's actually quite amusing. There's an insurance agent on the other side of Itzik and Anita's shop and people were waiting in line to get in.
After that, I went and got my hair cut. It was really starting to bother me and I had to get it off the nape of my neck and out of my eyes. It's much better now.
The Five had a meeting at Moshe's, and we worked out a few issues. One of the leaders of the Jerusalem demonstrators claims to be having talks with officials. It's possible that he is, but I'm not at all sure about that. I am pretty sure that even if we don't leave for another month, they will still be there, so, planning continues and we came up with a few demands of our own. The major one is that at least two of us be included in the talks. They really won't be able to refuse us if/when we get there. We also came to the conclusion that the very fact of having arrived there will give us a bargaining chip that the local and regional authorities won't be able to ignore, and we'll be able to push through some much needed changes locally. Watch out, Israel. The Five are on the way!
All the big insurance companies here are pushing 'earthquake catastrophe' insurance. I like one of them which is a bit strange for me as I generally drtest commercials, but this one is ok. It follows the birth, childhood, adolescence and move to Israel of Murphy, disaster by disaster, then, they pitch the insurance. It's actually quite amusing. There's an insurance agent on the other side of Itzik and Anita's shop and people were waiting in line to get in.
After that, I went and got my hair cut. It was really starting to bother me and I had to get it off the nape of my neck and out of my eyes. It's much better now.
The Five had a meeting at Moshe's, and we worked out a few issues. One of the leaders of the Jerusalem demonstrators claims to be having talks with officials. It's possible that he is, but I'm not at all sure about that. I am pretty sure that even if we don't leave for another month, they will still be there, so, planning continues and we came up with a few demands of our own. The major one is that at least two of us be included in the talks. They really won't be able to refuse us if/when we get there. We also came to the conclusion that the very fact of having arrived there will give us a bargaining chip that the local and regional authorities won't be able to ignore, and we'll be able to push through some much needed changes locally. Watch out, Israel. The Five are on the way!
Monday, July 14, 2008
MIRACLES DO HAPPEN
Gob smacked doesn't quite cover it. On Saturday I woke up to a dead digibox and no TV. I called the cable company hoping to schedule a techie for the morning, but the gal told me that they are changing software and their computers are down. Right. I decided to call again first thing in the morning. At 0845 there was a horrendous banging on my door, and when I finally lurched over there to open it, a cable techie was standing there! As the computers were down they all went over various and assorted reports and were going around fixing problems that they found on the reports. He came here because the interweb modem was behaving badly, and YES, he had a brand new digibox for me. And I didn't even have to call! You'll have to trust me on this; never ever has a techie in this country arrived to fix anything without a whole 'to do' before hand!
Golan wandered in at some poing and I mentioned that drain to the sink was backed up. He took the whole thing apart, but it was solidly backed up. I called the public housing 'fix it' folks and they said they'd send someone right over. I told her that I have a meeting at 1400, and she replied that they'd be here in plenty of time. Yeah, right. The guy arrived just as I was about to leave. Luckily, he found the problem and fixed it quickly, so I was only 10 minutes late to the meeting. It was a meeting with the people from the organization that wants to sponsor our roll to Jerusalem. After apologising nicely, I asked if they were serious about helping us, or were they just going to waste more time by talking around in circles, and added that if it were the latter, I had better things to do. The head 'plant' (a play on the name of their organization in Hebrew) indicated that they want to move ahead, so I stayed. The two people who were there, but aren't part of our group were more than a little taken aback by my forcefulness, but, it's nothing to do with them as they aren't going with us in any even. A question was asked about other gimps starting with or joining up with us and I said quite simply "We are The Five and even if the whole country joins us, we will still be The Five, and it's not open to discussion!" We managed to set some guidelines for our next meeting which will be at a hotel not far from here, as the 'head plant' seems to have caught on to the fact that we were not comfortable meeting at the home of the couple who very kindly (with only a few ulterior motives) let us meet at their place. It's taking longer than I'd hoped, but, they do seem to be serious about helping us, so, we'll most likely be heading out again on the 28 or so. I had to giggle at the head plant's reactions to some of my more forceful statements, but towards the end of the meeting he was very complimentary about my determination and knowlege of gimp issues.
WATCH OUT. THE FIVE WILL SOON BE ON THE ROAD! And do I ever have some surprise plans for the trip. And I'm not telling anyone before hand. This is going to be so much fun.
It seems the cable guy didn't sort the modem issue. I'll have to get on to them again!
Golan wandered in at some poing and I mentioned that drain to the sink was backed up. He took the whole thing apart, but it was solidly backed up. I called the public housing 'fix it' folks and they said they'd send someone right over. I told her that I have a meeting at 1400, and she replied that they'd be here in plenty of time. Yeah, right. The guy arrived just as I was about to leave. Luckily, he found the problem and fixed it quickly, so I was only 10 minutes late to the meeting. It was a meeting with the people from the organization that wants to sponsor our roll to Jerusalem. After apologising nicely, I asked if they were serious about helping us, or were they just going to waste more time by talking around in circles, and added that if it were the latter, I had better things to do. The head 'plant' (a play on the name of their organization in Hebrew) indicated that they want to move ahead, so I stayed. The two people who were there, but aren't part of our group were more than a little taken aback by my forcefulness, but, it's nothing to do with them as they aren't going with us in any even. A question was asked about other gimps starting with or joining up with us and I said quite simply "We are The Five and even if the whole country joins us, we will still be The Five, and it's not open to discussion!" We managed to set some guidelines for our next meeting which will be at a hotel not far from here, as the 'head plant' seems to have caught on to the fact that we were not comfortable meeting at the home of the couple who very kindly (with only a few ulterior motives) let us meet at their place. It's taking longer than I'd hoped, but, they do seem to be serious about helping us, so, we'll most likely be heading out again on the 28 or so. I had to giggle at the head plant's reactions to some of my more forceful statements, but towards the end of the meeting he was very complimentary about my determination and knowlege of gimp issues.
WATCH OUT. THE FIVE WILL SOON BE ON THE ROAD! And do I ever have some surprise plans for the trip. And I'm not telling anyone before hand. This is going to be so much fun.
It seems the cable guy didn't sort the modem issue. I'll have to get on to them again!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
SOMETIMES IT'S ALMOST TOO MUCH
I guess I really don't understand people at all. At least it feels that way sometimes. This has been one of those crazy weeks when I've been to busy to do almost anything other than work on the project at hand. The demonstration is continuing in Jerusalem, but not getting very far. The other group (the one that has decided that it represents ALL disabled on it's own, has been blocking us at every turn. They can get away with it for now as they are backed by The Histadrut; The Union. Unfortunately for them, it doesn't quite work like that. They have managed to push through legislation that is potentially disastrous for us, but there is still time to defeat it.
There is a group of 'do-gooders' that says they want to help us get our caravan back on the road. So far they have only hindered us, but after the fuss I made at the last meeting, it looks like they might just come through. We have another meeting with them tomorrow and I intend to tell them to either put up or shut up. What they seem not to understand is that if they provide us with the truck and generator that we really do need, all the rest will fall into place. We do not need to have service stations arranged ahead of time because I already have promises for 4 pairs of batteries that can be charged while we are moving and switched when one pair runs out. That will save many long hours of time that we would otherwise have to spend waiting for our own batteries to charge. It really is that simple. Another simple thing is that YES, Israelis can be counted on to help us as we go. On our previous attemp, we were greated at the service area from which we were eventually turned back, by a donation of mineral water, chocolate milk drink, and fruit, as well as the coffee shop where several of us had coffee telling us that the bill was settled and wishing us good luck. I have no doubt at all the support will grow the further we go.
During the last meeting we were subjected to a very condecending speech about the media. Yeah, right. I'd like to see their so called expert do in a week what I did in one day. We had cameras from every TV news station, 3 radio interviews along the way, and one after we got back and interviews and photos from the major newspapers. I rather doubt we need their expert. The largest electronic newspaper in the country has adopted a picture of us as their default 'gimp' picture! So much for their expert. We are a group of 5 adults who know exactly what we are doing and how we want to do it. We do not need an organization of arrogant know it alls talking down to us, and trying to tell us that what we accomplished on our first attempt was a failure. It was not a failure, it was a resounding success even, or possibly, because, we got turned back so soon after we started. All we need to finish are a truck with a rear door lift and a generator or someone to provide them.
We'll know by this time tomorrow if we can go.
The other issue is that my daughter in law brought her mother and sister along for my first meeting with the baby, which was not really fair. I haven't seen her since then, but they are in great demand, and I strongly suspect that my son's sister will be there today with her 3, so, I'm staying safely inside to avoid any unpleasantness.
On the upside, Dem Der has definitly lost his mind. He actually said some nice things about my writing ability, and the fact that I post so much typing with only one hand. What he doesn't know yet, is that his foot had better get well PDQ as he's on for dog sitting when/if we go wheeling to Jerusalem again. Lucky for him that I have my sources in his building and KNOW for a fact that he hasn't been out for over 2 weeks.
There is a group of 'do-gooders' that says they want to help us get our caravan back on the road. So far they have only hindered us, but after the fuss I made at the last meeting, it looks like they might just come through. We have another meeting with them tomorrow and I intend to tell them to either put up or shut up. What they seem not to understand is that if they provide us with the truck and generator that we really do need, all the rest will fall into place. We do not need to have service stations arranged ahead of time because I already have promises for 4 pairs of batteries that can be charged while we are moving and switched when one pair runs out. That will save many long hours of time that we would otherwise have to spend waiting for our own batteries to charge. It really is that simple. Another simple thing is that YES, Israelis can be counted on to help us as we go. On our previous attemp, we were greated at the service area from which we were eventually turned back, by a donation of mineral water, chocolate milk drink, and fruit, as well as the coffee shop where several of us had coffee telling us that the bill was settled and wishing us good luck. I have no doubt at all the support will grow the further we go.
During the last meeting we were subjected to a very condecending speech about the media. Yeah, right. I'd like to see their so called expert do in a week what I did in one day. We had cameras from every TV news station, 3 radio interviews along the way, and one after we got back and interviews and photos from the major newspapers. I rather doubt we need their expert. The largest electronic newspaper in the country has adopted a picture of us as their default 'gimp' picture! So much for their expert. We are a group of 5 adults who know exactly what we are doing and how we want to do it. We do not need an organization of arrogant know it alls talking down to us, and trying to tell us that what we accomplished on our first attempt was a failure. It was not a failure, it was a resounding success even, or possibly, because, we got turned back so soon after we started. All we need to finish are a truck with a rear door lift and a generator or someone to provide them.
We'll know by this time tomorrow if we can go.
The other issue is that my daughter in law brought her mother and sister along for my first meeting with the baby, which was not really fair. I haven't seen her since then, but they are in great demand, and I strongly suspect that my son's sister will be there today with her 3, so, I'm staying safely inside to avoid any unpleasantness.
On the upside, Dem Der has definitly lost his mind. He actually said some nice things about my writing ability, and the fact that I post so much typing with only one hand. What he doesn't know yet, is that his foot had better get well PDQ as he's on for dog sitting when/if we go wheeling to Jerusalem again. Lucky for him that I have my sources in his building and KNOW for a fact that he hasn't been out for over 2 weeks.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
AT LONG LAST
What a great day! Ifinally met my little Adee Polly today, and she sure does know her own mind. She had no interest at all in me, but she loved my mobile phones.She didn't want me to hold her, but we did manage to get both of us in one picture! In the one on the right she's looking at all the pictures of her on my cupboard doors. She did seem to be a little more interested in New Harley Too when we walking back to the other grandparent's house, but we didn't get a picture of that.I just hope that sometime before they leave she'll let me give her a proper cuddle.She has that look in her eyes, and will only do what she wants to do.
So much has been happening this week that it will take ages to post it all here. I'll do it when things settle down. I really do need some rest now.
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