A Trip to Israel. X V, OO Done V

Hello everyone,           

    For  the past few mounts, I found myself walking around the house feeling restless... Al (who knows me well...)  said that it may be time, I travel to Israel for a visit with my family and friends, whom I  haven't seen in two years!  When I asked if he wanted to join me, my 'Brave husband' said he didn't want to take a chance of being stuck in another war, like he did once before... (In the Land of Milk and Honey.  

   Whenever I go to Israel, I always bring gifts for most of my extended family, especially for the kids... Since bouth my parents; were the youngest in their family, I am much younger then my cousins... Lea and Rachel, on my mother's side, are 12 and 17 years older then me, their children are closer to my age... This time, instead of bringing the usual gifts of Cosmetics and "Wonder Creams" (to keep my 'older cousins' wrinkles away...) I brought all kinds of Homeopathic Medicines and Remedies for pain reduction, to ease their suffering from 'Age-related' pain and aches.... In addition, I brought toys and candy for their grand kids and grand kids...  A week before leaving for Israel, I developed a nasty cough, assuming I may be suffering from Spring Allergies, like some of my friends... I bought "Over the Counter" cough syrup and special candy; determined, not to let this silly 'Allergy' interfere with my trip in Israel!

Amizur
years later

Young
Amizur

    It was amazing to see my beloved family again! Amizur, my dad's Nephew is my"Big Cousin" (as I used to call him when I was a kid) is older than me me by sixteen years... When Amizur saw me now, after several years since we saw each other, he gave me a big hug! "I am  so glad to see you  Shira'le!, I was afraid I may die before I see you again!"... Amizur, who has a large farm in Benyamina (One of the first agricultural settlements in Israel) is now too old to ran the farm, his son Peleg, who is eighteen years younger then me,took over the running of the farm, while his father, is raising Bees and gives Honey as gifts to the members of our large family, neighbor and friends...Amizur was telling me how the summer before, a disease killed half of his bees..." You can't imagine how painful it  was to see them dying, Shira'le, I felt so helpless and couldn't stop crying... X Looking at my older cousin  I realized that never before, have I seen a more beautiful soul then his and shared this encounter with my mom:"What an amazing and sensitive person Amizur is, to be crying like this for sick, dying bees..." X She nodded her head;"X When I was growing up, most of the people in Israel were like Amizur; Sensitive and caring, consider and giving of themselves, especially those who grew up connected to Nature, like Amizur These days, it seems like a great shame to show such emotions..."

Lea'le at 18
with my mother
in Jerusalem

Lea'le at 80
in Tel Aviv

   Amizur is my oldest cousin on my father's side and "Lea'le" is the oldest daughter of my mother's sister... ('Le' at the end of a ward is an endearment)... She still drives and serves as the 'Treasurer' of her 'High Rise' condominium in Tel Aviv... Leal'e who belongs to several charity groups, shops weekly in  'Shuk Hakarmel", the open market in Tel Aviv where she buys fresh fruits and vegetables... She exercises daily, belongs to a Book Club and goes to Lectures,Theaters and the Opera! When ever I come for a visit in Israel, Lea'le insists I stay with her for At least a few days; "So I can 'spoil you, my little cousin Shirale "...
  

    I am always amazed at the constant changes, which took place in Israel since my last visits.The        new comers', who came to Israel before and after after the second World War, lived in Tents and 'Tin cities"... Later on they moved to Buildings made out of gray cinder blokes, hastily put together, in order  to  accommodate the influx of Jewish refugees from Europe... A few years later, wave after wave of Jews chased out from their homes in the Arab countries, began to arrive from Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Syria and Morocco; Jewish refuges who were forced out of their homes, where they lived for many generations These families needed a place to live in...With the help of Jewish communities around the world, the Israelis created tents and tin houses, which years later,would be replaced by ugly long gray, cinder blocks buildings, which reminded me, when I the nine years old, of a very long train...

Girls near their "home"	Tent  city	Tin houses	Out houses	Wood homes	Cinder blocks neighborhoods

  As time passed by, new kind of building came to replace these ugly Neighborhoods, by High Rise condominiums, built according to the latest and strictest codes of "Going Green", to prevent pollution   and protect the environment... The new condos were surrounded by magnificent gardens, a school in   each neighborhood, Medical clinics, small markets and parks with walking paths, benches and slides swings and activity center for the kids... All within a walking distance from home. Each neighborhood    has a multi-level Mall, with a large supermarket, restaurants, specialty shops, beauty parlors, gyms and    a Movie theaters.

"Green" Kfar-Saba	Outside the "Green" Mall	Inside the "Green" Mall	Kfar-Saba Hyruka

 

Rami and
Dalia then...

Rami and
Dalia now

    All throughout my trip, I suffered from the same annoying cough which began in LA... I was trying some 'Over the Counter' and other remedies, my relatives and friends were giving me, but this kind of "Spring Allergy" seemed to be as bad in Israel as it was in LA... My 'Jet Lag' was getting worse then ever and I found myself sleeping for long hours during the day, which I have never done before...When I finally got better, I decided to move to a hotel, in spite of the protests from my parents, friends and relatives', who demanded I come to stay with them "Rather then waist money on such expensive hotels!" But I wouldn't listen. Beside my family and cousins, I invited several groups of relatives and friends to visit and   spend time with me at the hotel... Some of them I haven't seen for many years: Friends from school  and and the Army and the group, Tsipi and I created two years before I left for the U.S... Now, so many years later, several of the men had 'Various degrees of 'Balding heads' and the women aged... After examining each other, we were having a loud conversation; catching up, reminiscing, giggling, teasing and arguing  just as we used to do in the good 'old days' of our youth...

Henia - then and now		Daniella - then and now		Tsipi- then and now

Coco - then and now		Brosh - then and now		Jacob - then and now

    The two weeks I stayed in Israel were way to short! I was running around, trying not to miss anyone Hugging, kissing, talking, laughing and Coughing...  Tsipi, my closest friend, was angry at me because I wouldn't go to see a doctor... "It may not be just an allergy Shira! At our age, we have to be careful! You should be checked by a doctor!" She said. "Yes!" Daniela agreed, offering the services of her husband "The Doctor"...  I reminded Tsipi that she was always an alarmist, even when we were students in Texas (Huston, Texas) "Don't worry about this cough Tsipi! If I was able to overcome a Brain Tumor, I'll get over a simple Spring Allergy!" I was laughing...

Peleg and Iris

 LAX Air Port

   When it was time to go back to the U.S, my beloved cousin Peleg and his wife Iris, insisted on taking me to the airport, where my flight was due to leave at 1:00 am... During the sixteen-hour flight back I began to feel very ill, wondering if my smart friend Zipi, was right after all and my "Allergy", is something more serious... I was trying to avoid the annoyed looks of my fellow passengers,who tried to be as far away from me, as they could; sending angry and suspicious looks at my direction, every time I had another coughing spell... Needless to explain why I was so tiered, actually  Ex hosted, when the plane finally landed at LAX... The following day, Al who became very concern, when he heard my cough, rushed me to a lung specialist, who diagnosed me as having a "Walking Pneumonia"... For the following week, I was in bed with high fever, taking strong Antibiotics, sleeping all day and waking up very confused: "Where am I? In  California or in Israel?"

 

With Love and Light,
Shira