August 30, 2015
Haven't been able to sleep tonight - a program about a sergeant wounded in the last war, drove me mad. She is Or Ben Yehuda, the daughter of one of the doctors we consulted with over Ezi's cancer, and she looks exactly like my best friend in high school. Wounded in the war, she pulled herself together, and the program about here chilled me for the night. August 31, 2015 p.s. she looks exactly like one of my best friends in high school and college, Tina Grossman z"l. but none of the friends of my youth (or me) became a war hero. A few minutes after Ezi let me off at Brodetsky mall to go to park, I remembered my physiotherapist said I shouldn't be out alone yet. Never mind. I walked to Beta Cafe and was shown to my table. That's when I realized that the restaurant was even more exhausted than I was. No one helped me sit down, even though I was walking with a crutch. No one offered me a glass of water when i finally figured out how to arrange my leg to allow me to sit down. And when the kids arrived, no one offered them a children's menu with mazes and games. In fact throughout the meal, no one offered us anything except after numerous hand signs and 'excuse me's' Half the food was cold and most of it was late. It was clear that Beta Cafe was suffering from end of summer blues. September 1, 2015 Took a walk around the block for the first time. I seem to be progressing rapidly. it makes me look at all the people walking or standing in line at the train stations or the ports of Europe, on the shores of Cos, on the wire of the Hungarian borders - just a bit differently. I thought if I were a mother with an aching hip i'd probably collapse completely. And here I'm being totally pampered with doctors, physioterapists, a cleaner, a husband who cooks. I've got enough blankets to cover a family in the Budapest train station. What am I doing walking around the block with my little four pronged cane? How do people do anything when so many are lacking so much?
September 2, 2015 Sorry, I know this is the Tel Aviv Diary but I cannot think of anywhere but Damascus, Aleppo, Budapest. No one wants to change the nature of their homeland, but millions of Syrians are simply lost with no alternative. This is the moment when the UN should be involved, encouraging all countries where there is no war to take in - even temporarily - proportionate numbers of refugees. the danger is great but we all have this basic human responsibility. When we were hanging around the hospital, doing tests and xrays, we shared a waiting room with the 'imported' patients, mostly from Arab countries - None of the patients spoke Hebrew or English but the administration was mostly Arab so there was no problem of communication. Most of them ignored me but here and there our eyes met, and perhaps we exchanged a few words. It always strikes me how we all meet at this point, as helpless human beings.
We are getting shot at and bombed from Gaza and are getting used to it.
September 3, 2015
World-wide problem these refugees. Everyone is responsible and everyone will be affected.
Back to me. I heal slowly and strangely. The 20 pounds I gained during the operation disappeared during the nights and no longer disturbs me. Sometimes I have energy and sometimes nothing. Wonderful friends visit for short periods of time and exhaust me. Today We went to the Diaspora Museum to buy toys for the kids for the holidays. Their stuff is retro and I love it - hebrew games usually, but sometimes the usual museum fare. I still love it.I cant figure out the museum though - the whole concept of diaspora is in flux.