Stuck in the System

Back home to half dead plants, myriad loads of laundry, and a lonely dog. I did, however, add an extra kilo of me. (Love that metric system, 1 kilo sounds so much better than 2+ pounds). Off to work it off between chores before it discovers my hip heaven and gets permanently stuck. (Yes, women relate to fat as a living thing with a mind of its own. If you don't believe ask the other female 48-52% of the planet, depending on the age.)

I spent a good part of last night at the Schneller army hospital with Dani, who threw his back out lifting up a not-so-little cousin. The kid can't walk which is why I drove him in, but they actually told him to report back to base this morning after a 3 hour wait to see the army doctor. I can't believe it, he's in agony, I don't know how he even managed to carry his bag on the train. This is the last time we do this, I'll take him privately to a hospital next time. It's one thing to trust his life to the army; I'm not trusting his health, too, to the system. That sounds absurd, I know, but that's how it is. And I'm just one Jewish mama of many. (The word is that the Israeli Merkava 4 tank was designed by aforementioned mommies, the only tank in the world with the engine in front to better protect the soldiers inside. I can think of worse things to be accused of than doing what we can to protect our children. Wish the rest of the 'hood' of the Mid East felt the same.)

During Pesach we took the kids to the sand dunes of Nitzanim, south of Ashdod. It's an absolutely beautiful nature reserve so close to everything yet once you're there it's the middle of nowhere. I love that about this country; so small - too small- but with a smattering of just about everything except for tropical rain forests. And they're over-rated anyhow. Who needs enormous alligators? The Dead Sea and Ramon Crater are unique of their type in the world, not to mention Jerusalem and other man made places. (Including, now that I think about it, the Schneller hospital. Place looks ancient, not even sure it has running water. Just kidding about that, but it is quite decrepit.) So back to Israel, not bad for a country that a jet can cross in 90 seconds. But how brilliant for the Foreign Ministry to advertise us as a spot with great gay bars and beaches.

On the way back from said great beaches- we skipped the gay bars- of the dune hike, we came across the detritus - there is no other word- of the music festival on the beach. 3 days of young people sleeping and eating in the sand. Gross. The clean up crew had their work cut out for them. There needs to be a public campaign about strewing garbage here, it worked for wildflowers years back, no one picks them now. I just don't get it. People whose homes are spotless think nothing of dropping bags wherever they feel like it.

When I think about the 'Ingathering of the Exiles'- as I occasionally do, like every day - I figure that if we combined all the positives attributes of each culture coming back we'd have a pretty damn amazing country.

And Pesach I could eat popcorn and humus. Let's do it. I'll give you one American style littering campaign for the annulment of the Ashkenazi ban on legumes and a Sephardi type Pesach instead. Anyone care to raise me a Russian mathematics level? French pastries? Which reminds me....my Judean gym awaits. Later, y'all.