Here is my morning:  – We call the pharmacy to see if it is open today.  It was closed yesterday afternoon when we went to pick up our flu shots and today there was a very long queue to get in.  Since the supermarket isn’t delivering, I thought to use the time to buy vegetables, and made a sizable purchase.  After that I remembered that we needed ice for the vaccines and ran to buy frozen veggies. (The lines were too long and no one was willing to let me by with my peas so I bought some frozen sauce at a take-away shop) By the time I came back Ezi was closer to our turn so I joined him.  But to my chagrin, even though I had the order in my hand, the computer refused to give me the vaccine.  Mohammed was very apologetic about it, but the order just wouldn’t go through.  We have an appointment for the injections themselves on Tuesday so there is time to try to solve the mess, but it was a waste of a morning. 

Not a total waste, because I wanted to see which stores in the strip mall were open and which were closed.  Ezi’s argument was that Arabs were afraid to show up for work against my theory that other workers were on reserve duty were both disproved when the dress shops were also closed.  Ah but at least one of the dress shops is run by Arab women.  How silly, I thought, why shouldn’t everything be open.  Then, as we were driving home, an alarm was sounded.  Like the others, we stopped the car in the middle of the street and ran to lie down against a wall.  I discovered myself doing a duck-and-cover position learned from the cold war.  How strange to find myself in that position 70 years after the grammar school drills. 

The big problem was getting up.

After a visit to the beleaguered grocery store who isn’t getting his deliveries so is guarding over empty shelves, we visited our grieving neighbor whose wife died in the night.  He didn’t even hear the sirens, and probably didn’t care.

Now I call my friend on the northern border – just to crack a few jokes about her old age and Parkinsons and how she’s guarding the border – and then we’ll see what come after lunch…

Oh, yes, my new shoes from Amazon were delivered.  Lovely golden heels.