on creeps and bad apples

 

It’s a rainy morning here in lalaland , just like I was asked to bring some water with me, so requested granted.

I was planning on bringing a snow machine for this aim. It is a genius idea. A machine that produces snow, so you buy this machine, use it, make snow everywhere, and when spring comes, the snow melts and you have water. There is no flaw in this plan.

 

I was on my way to a potentially funny show at bet Zvi , and picked up a hitch hiker at the Geha intersection. Some 65-70 year old harmless person. Asks me a lift for 2 lights, get in and asks where I was headed, I answer, what is bet zvi, I answer, are the shows any good, I answer, then he says, ”you are a nice person, can I have your phone number?”- (he was in the car for less than 80 seconds. I know I am nice, but give me a creeping break)

Am I a creepoMagnet?

I told him this conversation was weird for me and dropped the weirdo at the next light (which was just where he said he wanted to go), and he looked puzzled and exclaimed  why him asking me about my place of business would trouble me so, I didn’t bother to correct him on his question.

So I drove onward and no songs by Radiohead were played that evening and made it to bet Ziv on time to find parking real close by.  Parking there on a show night is usually harder. I go in, it is very empty but actors are coming in and out. Amit arrives soon after and we asks for our ticket- and the 3 very busy ticket  mistresses asks why we didn’t get the message about the show being canceled. Neither of us were in charge  of the ticket purchase so no message to us, and none to the ticket purchaser. They offered a show replacement, we chose to pass and they went back to playing card games on their computers .

Amit and I walked to a pub to meet with some friends as a substitute to the show. I ask Amit  how long is the walk, he says 10 minutes, I give him the parking eye and he says maybe 12. Amit is the kind of person who would park somewhere real far away and walk to a place instead of looking around for a place, he enjoys it, so I know, that he can park 30 minutes away easy, but it is a short walk- probably 9 minutes and make it to a nice street, a new one for me- I have been in the busy Bialik street(next street over) but this one was hidden- a midrachov (no cars allowed) and no stores, with a nice pub.

Some more fiends arrive and friends theirs which I never met- they get beers, and I get shake. There is a shwarma place nearby and I contemplate eating their or in the pub- good shawarma is something I did not find in 44122 area code. They order fries with cheese.

In the states when you order this dish- you get thin or thick fries covered with yellow looking syntactic liquid oozing type of cheese- and lots of it. This type of dish is not frequent in Israel. Fries yes, with not with cheese. and here, they placed thick layer of goat cheese, not Haloumy, though seems close in texture, a bit salty and delicious (and I think somewhat healthier….hoping).

So the conversation went on to random irrelevant things for another hour or 2 and we walked back by a now closed shwarma store L

Yesterday I went with my Mom to “Dialog in the darkness”, which is a museum Experience to make you feel what the blind feel.

This exhibit is in total darkness, they give you a cane. We were 10 in our group- the other eight were strangers who randomly bought tickets to the same exhibit, and a blind or hard to see guide is directing us in the dark, so you soon notice your other senses- hearing becomes the new major one, and the feel of the draft when a door is opened as another one. So you go through rooms and sense and touch various things and try to identify them- I felt trees, benches, trash can, books, some other metal made silver ware, stairs and an antelope head! Strange placing a trophy prize where it can’t be seen. The previous night at bet zvi (zvi=deer) the shows were canceled and rumors say that this theatre is about to close, and now I am touching a deer’s head in the dark, as if the curtains were closed on it… sad , on the theatre and the deer.

1^st room was on the outdoors with sounds of water trickling, frogs and birds, with trees and grass, then to some hut with books, silver ware and other house hold things. Than to the bridge room- to cross the bridge and sit on a boat ,they simulated a speed boat, which was nice. Some more corridors till we hit the market. For this room I entered first, you know it’s a market room by the sound affects and smell, so I felt around, identified a potato, banana, something that may have been a carrot, or the other vegetable that feels like it- the one neither bugs or I will not touch.

After these veggies I touch an apple, it feels like an apple should, I smell it , and smells right, I knock on it- the and the texture is right ( I love apples here- fruit is better here- less growth hormones and more natural fruitiness). So without hesitation, I take a bite, it is a good apple. The rest of the group were surprised and asked several times if I am truly eating the apple- yes, said I, don’t you hear, and make louder apple chewing noise (since they couldn’t see- total darkness). It was only later after the apple was finished when my mom reminded me that people touch everything here, and this unwashed apple was probably touched by more people then I like to know…

Later after eating a very good…..very good shwarma- she says- with the shawarma and the apple- when you  get an upset stomach you can’t say which of these was the reason,  most of a day later- so far so good.

So after the market , the last room was the cafeteria- and yes, still in the dark, you have to pay and get stuff without seeing which is an experience by itself, and sit and speak with the guide about the life of the blind. People asks about buses, brail, dogs- the usual questions. I am thinking of more important questions like  -does a blind man have to poop scoop after the seeing eye dog?

If you go with some random group in a museum- you never even learn their name. but in the dark we bonded- you have to guide others to the doors and you keep bump into another- and in less than an hour, I knew them all by their voices- but in the end when we went to the light, each went on their separate ways (my way was the way to the shwarma… mmmm…shwarma)

 

So again it is a rainy morning on election day- and the trip I was planning for today is likely canceled- the orienteering event scheduled for today is already canceled, my soccer team got it’s ass kicked yesterday, the Lakers are beating my eastern teams- and none of it is good. Hoping but not seeing a good political out come today- so the only civilized thing to do is play civilization…the board game-game on.