Yesterday evening my friend and I sat together outside, at a proper distance, and decided to get the third vaccine. I spent the evening figuring out how and where to make the appointment for a serology test and then an appointment for a vaccine – and so did she. Then today she called back to say that she had visited her dentist and he called to inform her he was in isolation. She is waiting for the results of her corona test and will let me know. For the second time in the past 17 months, I felt the danger. It’s probably fine, but — rats!

I’m so happy we can get the third vaccine if all is well.

As for my other friends who refuse the vaccine altogether, and are very upset that there is so much pressure on them, I would like to remind them that no one asked them about diphtheria, smallpox, tetanus, polio, and tuberculosis…

Starting Sunday, all vaccinated people over 60 are being encouraged to go to get their booster shots. You realize what this means: The senior citizens of Israel are the front line of the universal fight against Corona. We’re the canaries in the coal mine. Why is the world watching the Olympics? We’re the ones the world should be training their eyes on. Me and my old buddies… Watch this page to see if I croak.

I made an appointment for a third vaccine on Tuesday. But first I plan to do a serology test on Sunday to see if I need it. Serology tests cost money – about $60. Vaccines are free. This means that the economic division created and/or intensified by Corona will now reach into the area of health.

Some of my friends have granddaughters who are going into the army this week, and they are worried that they will not be able to share anything with them in the future. I had to comfort them – that their jobs were just beginning. There is lousy food in the army. And such small portions! So they will not only have to send care packages every week, but they will also be going to the base on Saturdays with lunch. We always called that the Shnitzel patrol.

And on the weekend that they come home, they bring back all their laundry and it has to be done before they go back to the base. Ironed.

Whatever the fierce appearance of the Israeli army – it is based on parents who cook and clean and iron, parents who make sure there are warm socks and good hiking boots, parents who listen to the complaints about the mean commander.

I know I always promise to write about Tel Aviv, and I turned CNN just to escape for a bit, but the hearing over January 6, 2021 overwhelmed me. The clear evidence that pointed to the involvement of the former president but was ignored until so many months later – recalls for me so many things that we ignore because they are too horrible to believe.