Wheezing through the Winter
Hey, I’m happy to be back filling in here on Israelity!
For my first post, I want the world to know about what’s REALLY affecting us these days here in Israel, or at least those of us in Jerusalem: flu and pneumonia!
Almost everyone I know either currently has pneumonia, was thought in the past month to possibly have it, or has been stricken with a severe flu. A friend told me that her doctor told her that he’s lived in Israel for 39 years, and this winter has brought more feverish, coughing, miserable people through his door than ever before. I’m sure there are people reading this thinking that, obviously, this is divine punishment for . . . something . . . but personally, I think that one person got a bad flu, and since Israelis go around kissing each other on both cheeks, it just spread.
No, that’s not true. It could also be because, last fall when people were getting flu shots, a few elderly people died just after getting their shots, and the media reported that there might be something wrong with the vaccine. So many people opted not to get the shot. (There turned out to be no connection whatsoever.)
But that doesn’t explain why I, who never gets the shot and does, in fact, get the flu every year, and usually I just live with it and get better, suddenly this year was stricken with it so badly that I ended up being sent by my doctor to a walk-in clinic to be treated for dehydration. I’ve been coughing for three weeks. I’m sitting in a cafe right now writing this, and two other people, also, are coughing and coughing and coughing.
Anyone ever read Stephen King’s The Stand? I’m just sayin’.
Plenty of grounds for Mommy fly-bys
“A Mother in Israel” observes:
Here are some “truths” known to all Israelis about children.
* They need to nap between two and four in the afternoon.
* Even if they don’t nap, they must never go to friends’ homes during that time.
* They need to be in a “misgeret” [framework/program] from the age of two, unless they are particularly advanced in which case they can be ready up to half a year earlier. A commonly heard statement: “He’s twenty months old and is getting bored at home; it’s time for him to be in a misgeret.”
* Toilet training begins for all children at age two, weather-permitting (never in the winter, so it’s okay to advance or delay it accordingly).
* All babies must eat soup (recipe below) as one of their earliest solids, and this soup will remain a staple of their diet for the next year or longer.
* Bamba** is the first finger food and an essential component of a toddler’s diet.
Longing
If you could have one wish, what would it be?
As part of a street art project, students at the Bezalel Academy of Art took photos of people holding cards that express their deepest desires, and left postcards with the images in cafes around Tel Aviv. Lisa translates some of the photos here.
And here are a few others:
“to be a pilot”
“to continue being happy”
“love”
“not to be alone”
“to be an actor”
But is it a legal parking spot?
Idan took this photo recently on Tel Aviv’s Dizengoff Street:
The text inside the “parking spot” says “reserved for drunk driver.”
Spin
Rafi G on Olmert’s visit to Washington DC:
PM Olmert has a great imagination. Either that or he thinks the general populace is stupid and he can “spin” them with flashy, bombastic statements and ignore reality.
I just recieved a press release from the White House Press Secretary regarding the joint statement to the press made by President Bush and PM Olmert. In it Olmert praises Bush by saying, “we are very much impressed and encouraged by the stability which the great operation of America in Iraq brought to the Middle East”.
I am not sure what stability he is referring to. Lebanon is collapsing, there has been a war/conflict between Lebanon and Israel, the PA is in tatters, Iraq is seeing tens of deaths a day from suicide bombs (aside from military related), Iran is on the brink of nuclear capabilities and has been threatening the US and Israel.
So I wish he would explain how the stability is manifested.
Another example is his war-mongering. Right before he left for his trip to the US, PM Olmert announced a “warning” to Iran in which he pretty much threatened Iran that Israel would “make Iran pay dearly if it continues the nuclear program” and “Iran must start to fear”, and other similar statements.
I am not sure who he thinks he is kidding. Our army is reeling with resignations and investigations. Just last night Peres admitted to the press that Israel lost all its deterrence capabilities in the last war. We are supposedly preparing for the next war, yet the army is purging itself of all the current leadership and it will take time to train new leaders and prepare for future conflicts.
Is Ehud Olmert really in a position to threaten people? Does he think that Iran, Hezbollah and the PA do not read about the chaos happening within the Israeli army?
Or does he just think that if he makes a bombastic statement, his own people will be satisfied and think he is on top of things.
PM Olmert, the master of political spin.
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