WINTER HO HUMS

If we are not going to have a proper winter with lots of rain and thunderstorms, maybe the weather would be kind enough to warm up to the point where it's at least as warm inside as it is outside? There is something just not right about coming inside from a nice semi warm, wintery sunny day to a meat locker kind of cold.No, no, no, I am not complaining about the weather, just mentioning it is all. I can stand it here for a few more minutes, then I'll change back into my nighty and robe with a sweater over the whole shebang.
Golan and I have a new project. There is a thing called a Kollel in Hebrew behind our houses. A kollel is a combination synagogue, study house where a group of Ultra orthodox men pray and study all day and usually get an allowance to support their families while they contribute to the community through prayer. One of the problems with this kollel is that it is run and used by the local criminal element. The building and land are owned by The Union. One fine day a group of these self proclaimed religious men showed up and started to renovate the building. The Union went to court to try to get them out, but as these men of The Word are anything but, they threatened The Union until it backed off and gave them the place by default. Since then, they have totally rebuilt the building, taken over a public bomb shelter, added bathrooms and a kitchen, fenced off the compound, and included privately owned land inside the fence. There is a stream just behind this area that they used as a rubbish tip, on the grounds that here has been so little rain that it doesn't matter if they turn it into a garbage dump. We have been wondering lately why the neighborhood smells so bad lately and naively thought it was just another sewer back up. But, no. It's a pipe that is dumping raw sewerage straight into the stream. Just a few meters downstream from the pipe is a lovely area near a foot bridge over the steam where people like to sit on hot summer evenings and let their children wade in the stream. That won't be happening next summer if that stinking mess doesn't get cleaned up PDQ.
Golan and I are on a crusade to stop the kollel from doing any more damage to the area. The bomb shelter they took over is now used as a sales office for illegal substances. Just what we need in this neighborhood. No one in a position to wants to take these thugs on. The head of the kollel has an inside track with the cops and informs on his competition so the cops leave him alone. Elected officials are scared of him for various reasons, among them the fact that he knows where a lot of skeletons are buried. Today was the last straw as far as I'm concerned. I took pictures of the freely flowing sewerage and called my favorite reporter for a nation E newspaper. He said he'd look into it. I'll call my other favorite reporter later to check up on it. If he didn't get anywhere, I have a nice long list of other favored reporters who just love stuff like this.
This is where it comes out.

Would you want to wade in this water, never mind let your kids?

I decided not to focus on objects that were being swept downstream by the current. I'm sure you can imagine that for yourselves. That water used to be clear. In fact, our local drinking water comes from the same stream, luckily very far upstream from here.
I think it's time to go change into something warmer and go on a search for my 'ear'. I had my blue tooth ear piece on when I got dressed but it disappeared during that process and didn't show up after a cursory search. I will find it now because it couldn't have just gotten up and walked away.Could it?