* For anyone who doesn't get it, let me know and I'll explain ...
_
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Monday, April 27, 2009
Seeing the Day of Night
Talya, Nissim & I spent our Passover vacation in New York with my parents, siblings & Nonna. We all had a lovely time, and I especially enjoyed seeing Nissim interacting with Nonna, Tova, Eitan and Gramps (who had arrived with Renee from Dallas especially to see him). He was certainly spoiled attention wise for those two and a half weeks!
When we returned to Israel, I saw a totally different side of jetlag - Nissim had no clue his nighttime adventuers were occuring during the late hours of the night. From Tuesday night till Friday night, Nissim spent a few hours every night kicking his legs, making funny noises and generally enjoying what he thought was his daytime hours. While it was very funny at times, it did get tiring. However, after much work, Niss managed to get in 8 straight hours of sleep on Saturday night and is thankfully back on a regular sleeping schedule.
***
May the memories of the 24,293 fallen soldiers & terror victims (since 1948) be forever blessed
***
The Iranian Citrus Fruit Conspiracy
_
When we returned to Israel, I saw a totally different side of jetlag - Nissim had no clue his nighttime adventuers were occuring during the late hours of the night. From Tuesday night till Friday night, Nissim spent a few hours every night kicking his legs, making funny noises and generally enjoying what he thought was his daytime hours. While it was very funny at times, it did get tiring. However, after much work, Niss managed to get in 8 straight hours of sleep on Saturday night and is thankfully back on a regular sleeping schedule.
***
May the memories of the 24,293 fallen soldiers & terror victims (since 1948) be forever blessed
***
The Iranian Citrus Fruit Conspiracy
_
Friday, April 03, 2009
The Week That Was
I spent the past five days (Sunday through Thursday) deep in the Negev Desert with my reserve battalion. The 5 days in the field (yup, that means no showers or clean uniforms) were exhausting, as we spent almost 19+ hours every day awake and drilling during the hot days and chilly nights. However, as usual, there were many laughs and interesting discussions with the 'once a year or maybe more' friends.
A few highlights & thoughts:
* This was the first time since his birth that I spent so much time away from my son. I really missed him (& the wife too obviously!). Quite a testament to the miluimnikim who continually give of their time to serve this country, sacrificing time away from their family.
* On an hour break in the late evening, a few of us lay down on the APC and sang Beatles songs. I kinda liked the sound of She Loves You with a few thick Israeli accents.
* Like in past stints, I found myself talking to a few of the Hesder Golani boys who were heavily involved in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield. Some of the stories I heard just left me as teary eyed as I was when I first read about these boys some 5 years ago in A Pslam in Jenin. This time however, I spent time talking to Moshe, who had Shmuel Weiss z'l and Avihu Yaakov z'l die in his arms. I asked him, "How do you stay sane when you see these men you care about die in your arms?" He just let out an uncomfortable laugh - that was enough of an answer.
* Due to the allegations against our soldiers during the recent operation in Gaza, quite a lot of us had a big discussion and the following questions we asked each other:
1) Would you just kill innocents while trying to kill an armed terrorist (the innocents, in other words, could be avoided easily)? One person said yes as a joke (no better way to piss off the hippies in our unit!) but everyone said no ... That's over 100 of us.
2) The next question was a far far tougher one ... If one of us & our mates were in danger and one of us had to kill an armed terrorist (ie, you don't fire - someone next to you or you are dead) but in the process kill innocents too, would you hesitate? Everyone said they'd take the shots ... No one said no, not lefties, not hippies, no one.
I think this is the main reason why civilians will die in any confrontation (well, that & fear) in populated areas. This past week definitely reinforced my faith in my army after a period were I was shaken and down due to these accusations.
On another note, I wish everyone a Happy & Kosher Passover, a חג שמח וכשר
בשנה הבאה בירושלים ב"ה
_
A few highlights & thoughts:
* This was the first time since his birth that I spent so much time away from my son. I really missed him (& the wife too obviously!). Quite a testament to the miluimnikim who continually give of their time to serve this country, sacrificing time away from their family.
* On an hour break in the late evening, a few of us lay down on the APC and sang Beatles songs. I kinda liked the sound of She Loves You with a few thick Israeli accents.
* Like in past stints, I found myself talking to a few of the Hesder Golani boys who were heavily involved in Jenin during Operation Defensive Shield. Some of the stories I heard just left me as teary eyed as I was when I first read about these boys some 5 years ago in A Pslam in Jenin. This time however, I spent time talking to Moshe, who had Shmuel Weiss z'l and Avihu Yaakov z'l die in his arms. I asked him, "How do you stay sane when you see these men you care about die in your arms?" He just let out an uncomfortable laugh - that was enough of an answer.
* Due to the allegations against our soldiers during the recent operation in Gaza, quite a lot of us had a big discussion and the following questions we asked each other:
1) Would you just kill innocents while trying to kill an armed terrorist (the innocents, in other words, could be avoided easily)? One person said yes as a joke (no better way to piss off the hippies in our unit!) but everyone said no ... That's over 100 of us.
2) The next question was a far far tougher one ... If one of us & our mates were in danger and one of us had to kill an armed terrorist (ie, you don't fire - someone next to you or you are dead) but in the process kill innocents too, would you hesitate? Everyone said they'd take the shots ... No one said no, not lefties, not hippies, no one.
I think this is the main reason why civilians will die in any confrontation (well, that & fear) in populated areas. This past week definitely reinforced my faith in my army after a period were I was shaken and down due to these accusations.
On another note, I wish everyone a Happy & Kosher Passover, a חג שמח וכשר
בשנה הבאה בירושלים ב"ה
_
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