Day 21 - The War from Hollywood

The trip I was working so hard to arrange for the last 6 months (readers of previous posts will recall it was delayed to the 13^th of August because of Canadian passport issues) has finally happened. We got a call from the travel agent saying that we got through on the waitlist. I had 24 hours to arrange the trip. I got everything arranged and picked up Yarden. Luckily, he had come back from Tel Aviv the day before with his mother because things had quieted down and there was a cease-fire. We got on the plane just after midnight on the 2^nd and arrived here about 22 hours later. We were in the air for so long that felt like we were still moving. I thought that they were having earth-tremors here. They’ve since gone away.

Although everyone was happy that we will be out of harm’s way, I felt very bad about leaving and I can think of a number of reasons why. The first is that I felt like it was my duty to stay, firstly to keep normal life going as much as possible. The north of Israel’s economy has been hit very hard and I didn’t want to hit it any harder. Second, I wanted to encourage others to keep on going by my own actions. Trends develop one person at a time, and I didn’t want to be part of the migration trend, I wanted to be part of the presevering trend. I also felt like I was leaving my fellow Israelis behind in the lurch. Not that I was providing any essential services or anything, just that you don’t leave your people behind when they are in trouble.

Yarden and I had planned this trip for so long and we both had gone to sooooo much trouble to arrange it – he had been really looking forward to it and the war had already scared him a little and put a cramp in his summer - that I didn’t have the heart to deal him such a large disappointment. I must admit, that while I was scared myself a few times being in the north, I tried to think things through calmly – there was little chance of harm – I am glad to have him out of harm’s way.

Then there is this Blog. I started to write it from the perspective of a resident of the north during a war that has so terribly affected the region. Now I will write it as someone who was in this region but is now enjoying himself at Disneyland. It sounds a little absurd to me – hopefully it isn’t and won’t be to the readers. What I will do however is continue to add postings for the next few weeks that we are here, based on what I hear from the friends and family I left behind and what I read in Israeli press, etc.

Bizarre Sensation
It is such a striking change from the sirens in Israel to the tourists at the Hollywood walk of fame, that I feel I have been teleported to another planet. Darth Vader, Charlie Chaplain and Mickey Mouse all wander around posing for autographs with the hoards of ahppy tourists. There is no hint of a war going on here except for the few gigantic American flags hanging at US customs. Yarden said they were a little intimidating.

Another absurd war note: we rested a little in the hotel room after walking around Hollywood and woke up hungry around midnight. We went out into the dark street to get a bite to eat nearby. What had been a nice street during the day was a little menacing at night. Maybe I had seen too many police shows on TV or too many action movies. We had to walk past a couple of empty lots and a small house with a huge chain-link fence around it that simply dwarfed it. There were bars on the windows and a couple of people that were drinking outside on the porch. There was a homeless person sleeping on a bench and a couple of other unsavory-looking types. I actually felt far more afraid right then and there, in Hollywood, USA, than I did for the last three weeks in a war zone! :-)

Perhaps the real irony is the town that has re-created so many wars and conflicts, is now scarier than the wars themselves.

Shalom to everyone back home! Our thoughts and prayers are with you. We pray for a quick end to this with minimum casualties - on both sides.