well, not everywhere.  We started off the day realizing on the way to the hospital that I forgotten to put the proper papers together for the skin examination I was supposed to do at the hospital.  Both of us were angry at my failures , but the receptionist was used to people like me, and even though my memory continued to fail me throughout the examination and everything went smoothly.

What didn’t go so smoothly was the  drive to the museum right after.  We kept finding ourselves on blocked roads, and I kept thinking – how great it will be to come to this city in a year’s time when the repairs are done, and even though the heat may still be unbearable it will be amazing, with everything accessible and easy to enjoy.

Once we got to the museum, we could begin to forget the morning and the tests.  It is not that the exhibits were so familiar  and well-known.  It was the fact of the exclusion Israeli artists have been experiencing that gave the opportunity to provide a safe space for local artists to blossom.  The imagination and invention of the curators provided us with a novel experience, and allowed us to skip the museum shop which always provides me with a consolation when the art is not as exciting as promised.  

We didn’t visit the ground zero exhibit – which is probably the most important one because it shows the art that was saved from the Nazis.  But we’d seen it twice, and we’ll see it again.

And I was very anxious to get to the library to get a library card.  I don’t know why I’ve waited so long, but I’m so connected to the university I only recently began to understand how wonderful the local library system is.  “How do I get a card?” I asked at information.  “You haven’t come around for a long time, have you?” he said.  “Well actually I had a show here 2 years ago…”  But that’s not what he meant.  EVERYONE knows the library.  It seems like the most popular site for young people in the city.  And when he pointed me to the desk one flight up, I saw how crowded it was.  Why didn’t I notice that the entrance was so full of people on the stairs I could barely get by?  Why didn’t I see that the cafeteria was full of people?  I just couldn’t digest the idea of excitement at a library.

Our final stop was with grandchildren, which topped our day.  

I will not leave the air conditioning tomorrow.