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 at bay...) 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... A week before leaving for Israel, I developed a nasty cough, assuming I may be suffering from Spring Allergies... I bought "Over the Counter" cough syrup and special candy and was determined, not to let this silly 'allergy' interfere with my trip to Israel!
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| Amizur years later |
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| 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",XHe said "I felt so helpless and couldn't stop crying... Xlooking at my older cousin, I realized I have never seen a more beautiful soul then his, and shared this encounter with my mother:X"What an amazing and sensitive person Amizur is" XI told herx, To be crying like this for sick and dying bees..." X She nodded her head;"X When I was growing ,most of the people were like Amizur; Sensitive, caring, considered and giving of themselves, especially those who grew up connected to Nature, like Amizur... Things have changed, now it seems like a great shame to show such emotions...""
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| Lea'le at 18 with my mother in Jerusalem |
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| 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 he 'High Rise' condominium... Leal'e belongs to several X cheraty groups and shops weekly, in 'Shuk Hakarmel",the open market in Tel Aviv,where she buys fresh fruits and vegetables... She exercises daily and goes to Lectures,Theaters and the Opera! When ever I come for a visit in Israel Lea'le always insists that I will stay with her for a few days at least, "So I can 'spoil' you. Shiral'e"...
I am always amazed at the constant changes, which are taking place in Israel, since my last visits.. New comers, who came to Israel 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.'Waves' of Jewish refuges, 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, hastily created tents and tin houses were created, which years later, would be replaced, by ugly long gray, cinder blocks buildings, which reminded me, the nine years old "Sabra", of a very long train...
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| 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, replaced by High Rise condominiums, built according to the latest and strictest codes of "going green", built with properly, 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... Several of these neighborhoods, shared a multi-level mall, with a large supermarket, shops, restaurants, specialty shops, beauty parlors, gyms, movie theater and a Bank...
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| "Green" Kfar-Saba | Outside the "Green" Mall |
Inside the "Green" Mall |
Kfar-Saba Hyruka |
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| Rami and Dalia then... |
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| Rami and Dalia now |
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| Henia - then and now | Daniella - then and now | Tsipi- then and now | |||
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| Coco - then and now | Brosh - then and now | Jacob - then and now | |||
The two weeks I stayed in Israel, were way too 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...
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| Peleg and Iris |
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| LAX Air Port |
When it was time to go back home, 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 trip 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 and suspicious looks of my fellow passengers, who were trying 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 exhosted,X 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 my "Allergy" as "A "Walking Pneumonia"... For the following week I was in bed, taking strong Antibiotics, sleeping most of the time and waking up very confused; X"Where am I? in Israel or California? "X
With Love and Light,
Shira
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