Crappy weather, good television and PTSD and the like...
I keep trying to remind myself that rain is a blessing in Israel. We never have enough of it, which I suppose is normal since we're, oh, about 70% desert.
But I've never liked rain, and I don't like it when I get soaking wet walking home. Even if I took the bus, I'd get wet, so I figured I might as well get the exercise.
One thing I'll say about it, though... when it's raining, I don't feel even a little bit guilty about not running errands. I'm fine walking in, changing into my pajamas, and staying in until it's time to go to work the next day.
And tonight's been awesome, 'cause my rockin' sister sent me seasons three, four and five of The West Wing.
I'd never seen the show they aired before airing the season premier. It's the show's response to September 11th. It had nothing to do with the story line. It was a show about why terrorism exists, and why Islamic fundamentalists hate America.
There's one bit of dialog that my mom had told me about, and I hadn't remembered until I saw this episode. There were a bunch of high school kids visiting the White House when a security lock-down takes place. The kids start discussing terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, etc.
A girl asks Sam "What do you call a society that has to just live every day with the idea that the pizza place you're eating in could just blow up without any warning? "Israel," Sam answers.
Thank G-d, and the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet and everyone else involved, that there haven't been so many suicide bombings lately. One in Eilat a couple of weeks ago was the first one in months.
But that doesn't stop us from feeling them anyway.
Whenever there's a loud noise, from construction or whatever, we stop what we're doing for a moment to get a handle on what happened.
Whenever we hear more than one ambulance siren, we stop to listen for more.
Whenever we're sitting in a cafe, consciously or subconsciously we watch the door to see who's coming.
That applies to people who've been around terrorist attacks and those who, blessedly, haven't been anywhere near them.
People have PTSD symptoms from events they never even experienced.
No matter how "quiet" things seem around here, we're always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The other day, security forces caught a would-be suicide bomber who apparently was going to try to make his way into Tel Aviv. This was only different from the tens of attempts that happen regularly because the guy was on our side of the fence. Our army and special forces catch wannabe terrorists all the time on their side of the fence.
So thank G-d we're not complacent.
I just hope the world doesn't get too complacent about Iran... because if it does, the other shoe that will drop around here will have a nuclear warhead attached to it.
But I've never liked rain, and I don't like it when I get soaking wet walking home. Even if I took the bus, I'd get wet, so I figured I might as well get the exercise.
One thing I'll say about it, though... when it's raining, I don't feel even a little bit guilty about not running errands. I'm fine walking in, changing into my pajamas, and staying in until it's time to go to work the next day.
And tonight's been awesome, 'cause my rockin' sister sent me seasons three, four and five of The West Wing.
I'd never seen the show they aired before airing the season premier. It's the show's response to September 11th. It had nothing to do with the story line. It was a show about why terrorism exists, and why Islamic fundamentalists hate America.
There's one bit of dialog that my mom had told me about, and I hadn't remembered until I saw this episode. There were a bunch of high school kids visiting the White House when a security lock-down takes place. The kids start discussing terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism, etc.
A girl asks Sam "What do you call a society that has to just live every day with the idea that the pizza place you're eating in could just blow up without any warning? "Israel," Sam answers.
Thank G-d, and the IDF, Mossad, Shin Bet and everyone else involved, that there haven't been so many suicide bombings lately. One in Eilat a couple of weeks ago was the first one in months.
But that doesn't stop us from feeling them anyway.
Whenever there's a loud noise, from construction or whatever, we stop what we're doing for a moment to get a handle on what happened.
Whenever we hear more than one ambulance siren, we stop to listen for more.
Whenever we're sitting in a cafe, consciously or subconsciously we watch the door to see who's coming.
That applies to people who've been around terrorist attacks and those who, blessedly, haven't been anywhere near them.
People have PTSD symptoms from events they never even experienced.
No matter how "quiet" things seem around here, we're always waiting for the other shoe to drop.
The other day, security forces caught a would-be suicide bomber who apparently was going to try to make his way into Tel Aviv. This was only different from the tens of attempts that happen regularly because the guy was on our side of the fence. Our army and special forces catch wannabe terrorists all the time on their side of the fence.
So thank G-d we're not complacent.
I just hope the world doesn't get too complacent about Iran... because if it does, the other shoe that will drop around here will have a nuclear warhead attached to it.
posted by M at 21:28
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