Our “mamad” (a protected room in an apartment constructed with reinforced concrete to withstand anything but a direct impact from a conventional projectile) doubles as a TV room and contains bookshelves and a work niche. On the second shelf above the desk is a small chest reminiscent of a pirate’s treasure chest. It contains most of the coins I had in my pockets while traveling through various countries. Our grandchildren...
THE WINTER OF 1946-47 was long and cold in northern Montana. On Christmas Day my father pulled me on my brand-new sled to a neighbor's house, where we borrowed a load of firewood that we stacked on our back porch. I seem to remember that the thermometer read --55 that day, but childhood memories are notoriously suspect. Nonetheless, it was very cold. Flathead Lake froze so thick people drove across the ice for two months...
"Shebi" Three in the morning It was half-time and she was a cheerleader. All eyes were on her, but especially Those of the team captain. Suddenly she was at the prom Dressed in white like Cinderella When her husband’s voice intruded rudely. “Shebi! Wake up,” he shouted, pulling her up. “It’s another Code Red – run to Yuval’s room!” He was already running to their living room. She yelled to her husband, “Leave the dog! We...
"Yuval" Three in the morning A soft blue light emanated under the blanket. His father stared into the darkness at the tell-tale light And whispered, “Aren’t you asleep yet?” “Wait! I’m fighting the Klaxons,” Yuval whispered back. The twelve-year-old jinxed left and downward Avoiding a thorg and racked up survival points Passing safely through an asteroid belt When the sirens started blaring through the walls And the phone...
Beresheet: a Eulogy(Raanana, April 11, 2019) As it is written,Beresheet bara Elohim et ha'shamayim v'et ha'aretz,In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,And on the sixth day, God made mankind in His image,In His image He created them;Man and Woman He created them.On the seventh day, He rested,As it is written.On the eighth dayMan's progeny made a robot arrowAnd shot it in a wide arcThat flew through the sk...
"The mountains are my friends." (an Iraqi-Kurdish saying) Up until the point of writing this journal, I would have characterized my life as not being particularly interesting, unless you happened to be in the computer programming profession like me. Don’t get me wrong. I have no complaints about my life. It is just that I have had a certain degree of difficulty in persuading other people that what I do is interesting. I w...
Basic Training: 13 June to 7 July 1983 Monday, 13 June 1983 The bus took us from Tel HaShomer Hospital to the induction center. There we received our yellow cards, were photographed (front and profile), had our mouths x-rayed (deep throat), were vaccinated (both arms), issued uniforms, fed, and got dental checkups. We waited around for several hours until we were told to board a bus. Nobody knew where we would be sent. On...
"A Walk in the Desert" (c) Mike Stone October 8, 2014 Tuvi Ornat put the old concert ticket he'd been using as a bookmark between the two pages he had been reading and laid the dog-eared paperback gently on the table beside his chair. He stood up and stretched his arms. "I'm going for a walk," Tuvi called upstairs but there was no response. He scribbled a short note and slid a small corner of it beneath her tea mug on t...
