people always seem to get sick on fridays – when there are only skeleton crews in the hospital, very few pharmacies open in distant places, and no doctors available.  But we were in the heart of Tel Aviv when our travelling kids realized they needed something against air sickness and tonight are flying out.  And it was simple – the pharmacy a few blocks away was open and empty.  And I was in and out in seconds.  “Take a double dose,” said the pharmacist. “They’re not only going away, they’ll have to come home…. and sometimes it’s much harder to go home.”  

I’ve never seen her before, and I will probably never see her again, but that quick night visit was so intimate, it really struck me.  This is a girl from a village, I could hear by her accent, and she was talking about something she knows well – going home.  And she knew I understood.