I finally managed to get up at 6 to have breakfast with Ezi before he goes to the hospital, so although I was not dressed I was one of the first down to the shelter this morning.
I have no shame.
Ir didn’t change the rest of our day but it was a surprise to hear from Lebanon that I’m living in a military area.
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I thought I was calm, practical, and realistic – watching the war on tv all evening and then forgetting it for the night. But then I went crazy over a badly washed shirt and I realized that the death, exile, wounding, on both sides, was too much to even pretend to be blase about.
I know it’s going to be hell, and today with its rockets hitting more and more towns in Israel, and many more in Lebanon, it shook up most of both countries. Ezi even was reminded of our standard war line from his mother’s kindergarten comparison: “it all started when he hit me back.” That line usually makes us less frightened – but not this time. Because we’re just at the beginning.
We’re all really good at it. We’ve been training for years. For me, it started in 1973, but that was child’s play compared to now. And that’s for another time.
Now, most people have a safe room in their home that can be closed off with a metal door and metal window. But lots of old people (like us) live in old buildings, and we have a shelter in the basement. Since most old people no longer use the stairs, and the elevator is dangerous in a time of attack, they are in greater trouble if they rush to the shelter, so they huddle in the staircase. Others, like us, can make it to the shelter but we have to be ready when the sirens go off. That means – 1. be dressed (shower only when it seems safe and shampoo fast) 2. make sure the timing is sufficient ti make it 3.ensure the safety of the shelter. 4. wait for the warning siren.
We are not in the range right now of the bombing, but I’ve got a hunch that they going to arrive pretty soon, and to ease my sense of responsibility for the building, I’ve been nagging Ezi all day about the air vents.
So today, as we went out to close the air vents of the shelter, that turned out to be so complicated that I had to take a quick shower, I started thinking about how we can get our dear old neighbors down in time, I noticed that the stairs need safety stickers to prevent slipping.
I think I will let Ezi rest after our flu shots now, and worry more tomorrow.
For days the commentators have been asking the question, why now? Why did we blow up the pagers at that particular moment? Why did we waste what should have been an opening salvo to an operation that would have wiped out Hizballah? Especially since we’re being blamed for starting a fight with Lebanon for no reason.
Well for the second part of the question, you know the answer. You know there have been enough rockets from the north every day since October 7 to cause a massive evacuation of over 150 000 people. Over half have returned to their homes while under constant fire.
But why now? Because there was a clear and immediate alert of a repeat performance of October 7 on the north. That information was whispered in Israel since the first moment after the pager explosions – that the plan to rape, slaughter, and mutilate the citizens of the north was about to be implemented.
And when you think about it, why not? Many people in the world don’t even believe it happened on Oct 7? Many people don’t believe there are over a starving hundred hostages in Gaza that need to be released. They think we made it up. So why not torture us again? It seems to work…
And when we try to prevent it, we are the agressor.
So why should Nasrallah stop?
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Here’s another aspect of the situation: We’ve been showered with gifts this year for the new year. And every time, we look at the package and wonder if we should open it. Will it explode?
My friends in Sfat are religious, so they sign off reporting on the bombings of their town o Frieday afternoon, but other friends in other places report that the rockets are unceasing, and although they are told to continue with their lives but stay close to a shelter, they are not feeling very safe.
So I turn on CNN – and they spent the whole time talking about the fact that we’re bombing Lebanon. How strange that the reality I live is antithetical to what I see on TV.
it has occurred to me that since Hizballah has so far fired more than 200 rockets at oue northern settlements and we are in turn bombing Beirut,
We are sitting in Manta Ray on the beach, watching the sun set, eating amazing fish, and celebrating every moment we’ve got – knowing there may not be many more evenings like this in this part of the world.
I’m sure I’m not the only one who is thinking at this very moment that the people like me in Beirut are not sitting in restaurants on the beach.
Before the entire world blows up, let’s get this war over with.
anything can happen now. we’re on the brink of total chaos or maybe a little surcease, but I – I just keep smiling. Stiff upper lip and all that. life goes on and all that. It goes on in a strange way – with a sense of fear – for ourselves, for others.
And yet, you continue to buy underwear, to wash your car, maybe to go out for lunch, to make love, to sing, to read, to encourage others to go on living “normal” lives. You go to cafes, plays, movies. Some people feel guiltyour job is to they are living when so many people are dying, when towns are burning, but I really believe that we are doing the right thing.