Blame It ...

 

I was listening the other day, to one of my favorite 'oldies' : "Blame it on the Bossa Nova"  with Eydie Gormet. The very lovely lyrics of the song, put the 'blame'  on  the Bossa Nova dance for  enabling the singer (or some other young girl) the good fortune of  meeting the right one.  " Oh, it all began with just one dance. But soon it ended up a big romance" . 

That brings me to the opposite  topic - blaming for misfortune.

People usually blame age, climate, luck, parents,  school,  for their... misfortune in life.   I also blame my own self,   and quite often.  I ask myself questions like 'how could I do this or that', 'how stupid was I to act in this or that manner'.

I believe direction in life shown to us by an older, more experienced person, can in some way help avoid gross mistakes, and by this, even turn  misfortune into good fortune.  But then, when we are young, or even middle-aged, we think we know better, so we don't listen to advice, and then, it's too late.

I remember telling a young relative before starting his first job, something like : "Hard work won't kill you; people around you might. Beware!" He smiled, thanked me politely, and said he'll remember that.

In another case, I tried to give some slight advice to the daughter of a late cousin of mine. The daughter, sixteen years younger than me, reacted  rudely: 'My mother has no less life experience than you do, so , I have her to learn things from'  (actually, she wasn't on good terms with her mother, so I thought advice coming from a third party might do her some good.). Well,  I thought... 

Moves and Moans

Sometimes , I best remember a performance seen on video or TV screen due to a mere gesture, sound, outfit, opening trick, that is -made to help  emphasizing the special essence of that performance.

Charles Aznavour's performance of his famous song "Hier Encore", will always be remembered by me for the singer's...moans;  yes, moans. 

Aznavour was accompanied by two young, beautiful female singers. Whenever it was the turn of each one of them to sing, he raised his eyes up to the young girl, and...moaned. The moans were to express suffering and pain at his lost youth (the subject of his song).

The entrance to singer Cher's show 'Dove Lamore' (in italian, Where's Love) features a guitarist, and a male dancer. The later performs some electrifying moves and steps. One rarely has the chance to view such a mesmerizing act before the actual show begins ( here, the show of Cher's song, and her lady dancers).

The above are only two examples; there are some more in the mentioned category.

The Minister

One of the ministers in our government is a young (41), handsome person.  He's got 17 (!) siblings and 8(!) kids. He looks well, considering his large family background.

He belongs to the  orthodox religious circles which emphasize studying text (Thorah, talmudic books), over physical and worldly activities. In his case. he has studied beyond religious subjects, and got a profession in accountancy and industrial management.

The state invests a lot in families of this sort - religious with many kids (by way of alowances, benefits, stipends) without getting much if anything in return, in terms of taxes and army service. That causes great and persistent tension between the secular and the orthodox communities, and nothing good is going to come out of it.

The logo "Shivion Banetel" (sharing equally the burden of both security and economy) is constantly on the lips of  the secular people of the israeli society. This will actually determine the future and stability of the country in the years to come. 

Rhyming

Rhyming  adds rhytm, beauty,  solemnity to the text. I like it, and whenever possible, use it. There are rhyming dictionaries available in many languages,  and that helps  give the 'masses'  access to some basic form of rhyming 'poetry.'

Usually, it is the sad, tragic events in life that trigger the need to 'color' the text in rhymes-  at least in my case. I wrote about the loss of my dear ones in rhymed verses.

I composed  the speech for my Mom's funeral (delivered in hebrew to the participants) in three languages: romanian, hebrew, english - and used rhyming. 

Here' are some examples of rhymed little poems ( the english part only;  naturally, the romanian and hebrew parts are more elaborate, as I have a better knowledge  of these languages) :

Siblings

Mina-Ruhale, my elder sis.  I wish I could hug her and kiss.

I've got no photo of her, never had.  In Transnistria she starved to death.

Just try to imagine the tragic event:

A small girl in the concentration camp  

No food, no water, no air,  only disease.  

She closes her eyes, her tiny soul for Heaven leaves.

So, I never felt what's like

To have a sister by my side

Sharing things, dreaming together,

 making plans, helping each other.

Herman  (Hersh) my beloved brother

Tall, handsome, a real charmer

His virtuous playing the violin

Raised pleasure bumps on the skin

His great, catchy sense of humor

Became  a widely persistent rumor.

Suddenly, taken away from me

July 98, in Budapest, Hungary.

Hershole, my older brother

Was a Holocaust child survivor

Should have been given more years

To wipe out suffering and tears.

The Season Connection

In Spring,  Mom got ill and fragile.

It sure looked an ominous sign

In Summer, when all outside was bright

My mother and my brother Hersh, died.

In Autumn, with the sky cloudy and grey

Father David and nephew Shai, passed away

In Winter, in the cold, gloomy weather

We had to part from uncle Chaim forever.

Crocks

It was love at first sight- me and the casual crocs shoes. They immediately caught my eye and conquered my feet: lightweight, comfortable, roomy (my feet are small but wide and the toes need room) easy to slip into and out, holes for ventilation, great variety of colors. Not cheap, as they are made of Crosslite which is an expensive material.

Over the years, I found out , to my surprise, that for me, crocks are not only the best for outdoor light walking , but also the best indoor shoes. It appears that all the various sorts of house shoes are too light and soft, and might cause an elderly person to slip and fall. Crocks, on the other hand, (the first, classic brand) are more solid, without being heavy.

I choose dark colors  (black, blue) for outdoors , vivid colours (such as orange, pink), for indoors. Although they are not considered  very healthy (lack arch support, the plastic structure might cause sweaty feet), everyone I know loves them: kids, teenagers, adults, elderly.

Crocks are versatile and the outdoor shoes come in various sizes and styles   (with or without laces, with or without platforms, sandals and even crocks with...heels) . Something for everyone.

* web picture

It's Crowded Up There

 

We don't have direct Land routes and transport (trains, cars, trucks, motorcycles) - from Israel, Out.

 Maritime transport by ship - through our ports Haifa in the north, Ashdod  in the center,  Eilat in the south - is chiefly for cargo (freight).   Naturally, it's slow and awkward.

So, we are left mainly with Air Transport from our central  Ben Gurion Airport, to go abroad, reach the world.  Lately, I saw a piece of information in the Media that both surprised me and frightened me.

Surprised, because its mere publication might badly affect our tourism; frightened because it says something like: 'it's too crowded up there'.  It is not referring only to the increase in number and size of planes and flights, but also to the fact that Iran (not a friend) is trying to reduce our air space activity.

Iran does so, through Hezbollah ( a terror organization,  located in Lebanon , on our northern border). It is suspected that  Iran provides Hezbollah with all kinds of  air systems capable of creating air chaos for us. Even if there's some exaggeration in this kind of news, still it gives one food to thought.

It's interesting to note that almost every major religion (christian, catholic, jewish etc..) has a travelsafe travel prayer. Most of the prayer texts I've seen on the Web are beautiful and touching! 

I've got one too (in hebrew), and I keep a copy of it in the suitcase, bag, purse.

May God protect us!