Subtlety...Israeli Style

Let's say you have a burning sensation when you pee, or maybe some weird bumps are developing below the belt. You better get to the doctor!  More importantly, get there without anyone knowing what you are going to the doctor for!!   Well, if you are seen following the arrow to Dr. A. Kedem's office, everyone will know your shame.

When I saw this on the wall, just off Kikar Tzion/Richov Ben Yehuda in Jerusalem, I couldn't help but feel bad for the poor souls who needed to use the good doctor.  There's little chance you'd be able to keep your burning secret for very long.

Use a rubber next time, chaverim!!

Sar El at Hatzerim Air Force Base (1996)

Here is the calendar from my Sar El experience in February/March 1996:

I was looking for pictures of my time there, but seem to have misplaced them. I had a good time on the base. I was the only guy out of half a dozen OTZMA participants, so I had an entire barracks all to myself. FINALLY...my own shower! My own bedroom! MY OWN TOILET!! All mine! For some reason, there was NOBODY else in the barrack (a huge building). I assume it was up for a refurb.

We spent our days cleaning guns with an IDF soldier the girls nicknamed "Vegas," because he grew up in Las Vegas...he didn't really like that. Lots of tiyulim (trips) and lectures, too.

The most memorable moment, though, was when we went to visit the Air Force museum and found a mannequin dressed an a soldier hanging from the helicopter skid. We posed, pretending to be hanging from the dude, making all sorts of crazy faces...and then we realized what we were doing: Posing and joking with a representation of Ron Arad, the Air Force hero taken hostage in Lebanon. Pretty fucking stupid, but would you have expected any more from a group of post-collegiate North Americans? No.

Havana Moon in the Valley of Elah

My friend Alon (on the right) is somewhat of a cigar aficionado.  Whenever we get together, we usually celebrate with steak and kabobs on the grill, nargila, and cigars.  I never had a Cuban cigar before my 2005 visit, as they aren't sold here in the USA.  When I lit one up for the first time in Alon's backyard, I then understood why they are so legendary.  Such flavor!  So smooth!

Here is the ring from my very first Cuban:

My wife and I LOVE Alon and Miki's home.  A small house on the moshav with beautiful flowers around the porch and a small yard.  It really is the perfect place to come home to after a long day of work.  Whenever I make a trip to Israel, I always make time for a visit with old friends.