The pandemonium in the Negev indicates something about the Bedouin community that seems to me universal – parents have no authority anymore. The iphone tells you what to do. Sheikhs would have fashioned more productive, organized lives for their children.
january 14, 2022 – fathers and sheikhs Read Post »
The neighborhood grocery was back in business today and the customers’ delight was palpable. The father and two sons who run the business seemed desperate and so were we. After all, since our daughter was in isolation with her family – each in separate rooms – and they had run out of the basics, a little trip to the grocery was essential. She lives three doors down and the grocer is one door down, so for us it was a brief jaunt, but with the supermarket on- line having gone a bit daft, it was essential.
How has the supermarket online gone daft you ask? Well last week, while I was in the middle of some zoom and it was essential I not leave the screen, the delivery came 3 hours early. Ezi put everything away and I forgot about it. But the next day I began noticing that some things were missing, and I assumed I’d forgotten to order and couldn’t find a receipt. But as more and more things turned out missing I began querying Ezi and realized that more than a third of my very large order had not been delivered and I had been charged for it. It took me another two days to figure out how to speak to someone, and almost as long to figure out I was right and then to add the items to my next order, which, hopefully, will be next week.
I know I should be grateful that there is such a thing as online grocery shopping, but I’ve been doing it for over a dozen years and very rarely had any trouble at all.
I know also that there are far greater troubles in the world and in the country than my groceries, but … food first.
january 14, 2022 – grocer Read Post »
in our total naivete, it has only now become clear to me that we didn’t tell anyone where to buy the book:
january 14, 2022 – Inheritance: where to buy Read Post »
We could have read or watched the news any day in the past few years and it would never have been different. The problems we have now have been brewing for generations.
Except for the plagues: the bird flu and corona. Those were not expected.
january 13, 2022 – so what else is new? Read Post »
So much going on – Bedouin in the south arguing over land where the JNF is planting trees, Bibi doing all kinds of things suing Olmert for saying he’s crazy in an attempt to distract the public from the other, real trials, terrorist attacks here and there, injurings of Palestinians, and even cases of us killing each other. So much happening, but we, we only ventured out to do some blood tests and then raced home. it’s dangerous out there. i’ll go out again soon to pick up a package and come back home. My only pleasure today has been the look on the nurse’s eye when I responded to her “are you okay?” as she removed the needle with, “don’t ask!”
january 13, 2022 – excitement at home Read Post »
Today was one of the first days I’ve had the time to do basic chores. It was delightful. Even depositing checks in the IAWE’s account that had to be done in the bank itself. I was so delighted I could get that off my list that I was practically dancing. Buying fruits and vegetables in some ridiculously expensive Arab boutique was also fun – I haven’t been able to do that in years. It’s either the local grocery (which will reopen on Friday to the joy of our entire neighborhood) or the supermarket on line (let me complain about that in detail when I can finally get receipts). In any case – I’ll probably come down with omicron – but being able to go into the alternative pharmacy and getting some advice was heavenly.
after that Ezi pulled out some of the dent in my new car some anonymous person gave me when he opened the door of his car too hard. it is in the middle of the driver’s door and I see it every time I use the car – and irritated me no end. Now it’s just a little dent I might be able to ignore.
I was so excited I could do things for myself today – not for friends, not for publicity, not for others.
These simple pleasures – I’ve never thought of them as pleasures before. I even enjoyed overpaying.
january 12, 2022 – basic chores Read Post »
We had lunch on the beach with a friend today and I don’t know who I was more afraid of – the waitress or the friend. Ezi and I are vaccinated, right, and the chances are good that he has antibodies – but this hype on omicron has turned me into a more severe paranoid than ever…
The thing is that it is getting harder to be a guinea pig – it would be so nice if another country had gone through this process first.
january 11, 2022 – 4th vaccine Read Post »
