Jiya Backup

That night we slept over at the home of distant cousins, Shifra and Alfred Appel. By then our luggage had been found and delivered. Shifra was not sure that she wanted us sticking around for long. Patty sensing her reticence, suggested that we her give her the Nina Ricci perfume that had been bestowed upon us by Air France as "first class passengers".  After receiving our token gift, Shifra  mellowed out a bit, but not much. She woke us up at 6:00 am the next morning. The Israeli sun was already creeping through our curtains. "If you're gonna find a kibbutz that will take you girls in, you'd better hit the downtown offices first thing in the morning." she said. The first kibbutznick flatly refused us."There's no way that we can take responsibility for a 14 year old girl." he said tersely. We were sent on our way. We traipsed from one office to the next that morning - all sang the same tune. Finally, I remembered a youth movement from when I...

We'd traveled to Israel via Air France and had been unexpectedly upgraded to first class on the second leg of the journey.  But they'd lost our luggage. Our first morning in Israel was spent wandering around in search of a bathing suit, so that we could hit the beach and not waste one precious moment of our time in the Promised Land. Neither of us had ever worn a two piece before, but that's what we tried on in the crowded hovel of a Tel Aviv shop.  We each squeezed behind the curtain of a tiny make shift dressing room.  My two piece was orange, remarkably the color of an orange.  As I was cupping myself into the top, the shop owner came in to check on how I was doing.  He started feeling me up, inserting one breast at a time into the top and then fastening me from behind.  I tried to shoo him out, but he was taking his good ole time -  He then proceeded to do the same to Patty. We were rattled, things like this did not happen where we came from. We pa...

Yes, we were what you'd call free range kids back in the 60's way before the phrase came into usage. I was 20, my baby sister who wasn't much of a baby anymore was 14.  I had transferred to Boston U. in my Junior year to be near Steve.  It was early summer, when I picked Patty up at Logan Airport. She seemed to waft off the plane. I took her to my apartment in Allston. Later when we were wandering around the neighborhood, an innocent flyer publicizing a trip to Israel caught our eye.  We were two sisters looking for adventure and love. My relationship with Steve was having its ups and downs. We phoned home that evening and proposed the scheme to our parents - For some not to be understood even to this day reason, my frugal father said, "Yes, you two girls can go." The first thing that we did was go to a downtown Boston department store to buy short shorts. We knew that Israelis in no way wore Bermuda shorts. Somehow, we got our shots and they must have expedited m...

     At 24, I was a new bride having married on the rebound.  We'd moved into a shabby apartment, not on the good side of town. Venetian blinds covered the windows. Later I purchased some ready made curtains at Sears and replaced the blinds, but the curtains were too short for the length of the windows and they always looked like a kid in hand-me-downs.     Reading was my main reprieve.  I escaped into novels such as The Eiger Sanction by Trevanian and The Guns of Naverone by Alister MacLean.  Somewhere in those stories, I read about a zen monk who had patiently raked up a huge heap of leaves, it had taken him hours, when an easterly wind sprang up and in an instant scattered the leaves to the four corners of the monastery garden.  It was at that moment, that the monk became enlightened.       This story stayed with me for years. I thought of it in moments of desperation when all my best efforts seemed to come to naught. T...

Incantatory, mythic, psychological -  flying Themes: Wounds inflicted on succeeding generations from the murder of Macon's father's by Whites Pilate carves out independent life style - 3 generations of women under one roof Spoiling Hagar Women who love too much Growing tired of a woman and "tossing her aside like a wad of gum that loses its flavor" Incompatibility of married couple - Ruth and Macon Visitations with the Dead - Pilate with her father and Ruth's trips to her father's graveyard Knowing your people tyrannical father racial retribution striving for independence - gold finding those who you feel comfortable with - akin to- bildungs roman importance of friendship Work of Ethnography - finding roots: unknown Michigan town, Dansville, PA, Shalimar, VA Brueghel Icarus - opening scene introduces panorama of characters and themes: Guitar, Ruth pregnant with Milkshake,  2 sisters - discrimination at the hospital, suicide/flying (means of freedom and escape ...

     A concrete stairwell, somewhat like a bunker is where I met Andy.  He was just finishing up at 420 Evaluations where he worked as a Cannabis doctor from 11am to 7 pm four days a week. He bounded down one flight of the stairwell, reached the landing, while I was climbing up step by step from the street - we met somewhere in the middle. In my arms, I was cradling his beloved dog, Milkshake, who had been "stolen" from him sometime over the weekend.     Andy's stepdad and I had driven from Hollywood to Carpenteria that very day on the 405 to rescue Milkshake. Truth be told, he'd not been stolen.  He'd been picked up by a Carpenteria Compliance Officer who seems to have found Milkshake tied to a lamp post outside of a restaurant. Officer Lopez had gone into the restaurant and found the dog's owner - Andy -and given him his card.  Andy had been out of compliance with town ordinances.      Andy reached out and grabbed Milkshake from m...

He sold the family cow for four magic beans. And his mother said, "Jack, how could you?" But Jack, you've never told us why, And we've been wondering all this time - What were those four magic beans?"

Beyond all blessings, beyonds all songs, beyond all praises, beyond all consolations, is there one thing? could there be one thing more important than anything else? "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" you ask - eternal imponderables, There is an answer not found in words, beyond all blessings, songs, praises, consolations. More beautiful than anything visible, audible, smelled, tasted, waiting to be felt with each breath. Then the heart dances.