israeli politics

The guy came today to connect the emergency button, and he left us a cardiogram machine that connects to the central clinic as well.  And as he was demonstrating on me how the cardiogram works I detected a slight Russian accent and asked him where in Belarus he is from.  When it turned out he was from the neighborhood of my parents’ home town I asked him how to say panties in Russian.  “Trussiki,” he said, without missing a beat.  A cool guy in an emergency I’d say. 

meanwhile, the rockets were coming at us from Syria.  Sirens, shelters – it’s starting.  Good to know there’s Vlad around.

february 9, 2022 – underwear 2 Read Post »

israeli politics

I hate to interrupt our constant obsession with corona, but there are other issues.  yesterday when I was talking to a Ukrainian friend, I mentioned the possible invasion by Russia.  “Funny you should mention it.  I was just speaking with my family in the Ukraine and they didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked them about the war.  They said it was just the usual saber-rattling.” And here in Israel we’ve been saying that war there is not only inevitable but that it will happen before February 10 when the ice starts to melt so the tanks can get through…

Now we have been doing an unusual amount of war games lately and no one seems to be paying much attention to it.  But Hizballah is a force to be reckoned with, and there is no reason to doubt that Lebanon will be taken over by some pretty nasty and aggressive forces in the near future.  We need to pay attention to that.

 

february 8, 2022 – battles? Read Post »

israeli politics

The country is buzzing with the news of the invasion of privacy by the police and the policy of programs that can invade the thoughts of an individual.   Me, I’m not worried,  There’s nothing there.  

Okay, maybe I lie a little about my weight.  Maybe I exaggerate about how sick I am.  My doctor isn’t impressed at all by my complaints, seems to take all my truth-stretching with a grain of salt, looks at my tests, and sends me on my way with a little twitch in my medication.  No privacy…

What about my political activity?  No one pays attention to them anyway.  So what if I demonstrated or signed a petition – it didn’t DO anything.

That’s why I was so excited when an ex-prisoner told me yesterday about being a ‘cluck,’ a prison whore, and how you can do a little dance in the shower out of range of the cameras.  That’s privacy.

 

 

february 7, 2022 – privacy Read Post »

israeli politics

later today I’m doing a lecture on why I write in Yiddish.  There have been so many mistakes on the way but now I think it’s going to be perfect, and I will now begin to write my next book.  I am overtired of the harvest I myself desired, as Robert Frost wrote.  

Fortunately the lecture is on zoom (link  is a few pages back) because we don’t have any hot water.  I was called out to pinpoint the gas link because I have the sharpest nose, but that was yesterday and nothing has happened.  So, unwashed and unshampooed, I will pretend that I am dignified and forge on.

february 7, 2022 – stand by Read Post »

israeli politics

What do you do when your loved ones are sick?  You run to them and feed them and hug them and comfort them.  But in our times we take another step back and wish them a speedy recovery.  So a few of my kids are sick – again – with covid or covid-results: strep, exhaustion, etc. And we are sitting home twiddling our thumbs.   I keep thinking about the people I would have kissed this week if I dared.  But this week has been the worst for serious cases and deaths since covid began.  

I’d love to write about other things, but nothing else seems to exist.  The price hikes don’t seem to matter much to my budget.  The announcements have come during the week that food prices will not go up but it looks to me that there is an awful lot of tricks being played on the consumer that disguise the real prices.  And the real prices – gasoline, taxes, electricity, etc.  are skyrocketing.  

february 4, 2022 – covid and more covid Read Post »

israeli politics

I keep putting the title ‘hair’ in this entry but obviously, the subject is too trivial to be written about because the word keeps disappearing from my page.  For me, hair hasn’t been significant for years.  Out of laziness, I have been getting my hair cut at the same place for decades.   But lately, I’ve been longing for the old days, when the hairdresser knew what he was doing.  I mean,  I spent years sweeping the floor in my father’s barbershop and I know what artistry is.  I used to drag my daughter to Sassoon in New York and was not disappointed in the legendary Violette in Tel Aviv, even though it meant sitting and waiting for hours with some very important people before the star stylist deigned to make an appearance.  

We shall not discuss my long fall into banality.  But the other day when I read that a well-known professional had closed up his salon on Kikar Medina (which I shun if only because of the parking) and is accepting clients in his garage, I became curious enough to make an appointment.  This is despite the fact that I have been butchered in Kikar Medina as well, even though it is considered to be akin to Rodeo Drive by many.  

The garage, it turns out, is an open-air upscale hair salon, with heated floors, bright but flattering lights, stately order, and a very professional haircutter – Amir Mizrachi.  The place was classy and so is my haircut. 

I’d forgotten what it was like to be in a place where the staff whispers to each other and the concentration is on the client and not the angry squabbles of the employees. 

We didn’t even talk politics. 

february 4, 2022 – Read Post »