Israellycool

Archive for the ‘My Charmed Life’ Category

1. Flying for over 20 hours is never easy.
2. Watching the film The Bucket List is not a good move for someone going to visit their terminally ill father.
3. Singapore Airlines usually rocks; especially so when half the plane is empty, you get the entire front bulkhead row to yourself, and one of the stewardesses takes a liking to you and goes out of her way to make sure everything is to your liking.
4. Sometimes when you imagine the guards at the Singapore Airlines counter are speaking Hebrew, they really are speaking Hebrew (I guess other airlines are employing Israelis because of their security know-how?)
5. Sometimes when you start speaking to one of the store owners in Zurich airport and you tell her you are from Israel, she will then proceed to explain how her good friend is Israeli and then point to her diamond earrings and explain how she bought them from Jews in one of the Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.
6. Sometimes when you are on a fully booked flight from Singapore to Perth, and you imagine the people sitting right next to you are speaking Hebrew (including a woman with a really ocka Australian accent), they really are speaking Hebrew.
7. When you just start speaking in Hebrew to aforementioned people sitting next to you, the look on their faces is priceless.
8. Sometimes when you are sitting next to an Israeli who has been living in Broome for a good number of years, she will know a very good friend of yours.

I’m heading back to Australia today to spend time with my dad.

So you could say posting will be limited the next day or so, bar the sporadic post from one of my guest contributors.

We almost lost my father last night, and to be completely honest, we don’t know how much time he has left. So please intensify your prayers for him (David ben Friedl).

I would also like to take the opportunity to thanks all of you who have already prayed for my father, as well as those who have sent letters of support. We really appreciate it.

My father is back in hospital and could really do with your continued prayers.

His name is David ben Friedl.

Last November, I asked that you keep my father - who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer - in your prayers. I received an overwhelming response, which is something for which I am extremely grateful.

Since then, he has been fighting hard, and is thankfully still with us. However, in the last few weeks, he has been suffering from a number of ailments, including breathing difficulties. As I write this post, he is back in hospital.

I won’t lie and say this isn’t a difficult time for me (although obviously not nearly as difficult as it is for my father). It is hard enough having your father fighting such a vicious enemy. It is harder when you are on the other side of the world while he fights.

I guess I am telling you all this because I feel I want to. And also because if you would be able to intensify your prayers for him, that certainly wouldn’t hurt (His Hebrew name is David ben Friedl).

G-d bless you all.

I’m finally back in Israel after my 5-hour-flight to Singapore, 3-hour layover, 13-hour-flight to Frankfurt, 10-hour layover, and 4-hour-flight to Israel. At least physically speaking. My brain should be here any day now.

As usual, my flights provided me with a blogworthy anecdote, which I think aptly demonstrates why people refer to native Israelis as sabras.

When I was able to check-in at the El-Al counter in Frankfurt, I was subjected to the usual tough questions by an equally tough Israeli security man. You know the drill. Where do you live in Israel? Did you pack everything yourself? Have all your belongings been with you the whole time? Did anyone give you anything to take with you? Do you have any weapons? After answering the questions, I went to the counter to check-in. After checking in, the woman at the counter asked me “Are you hungry?” (“heck, yeah”), and proceeded to give me a sufgniya (jelly donut eaten on Chanukah)!

That’s Israeli for you. Being tough, and doing what is needed to safeguard the security of its citizens, yet being thoughtful and sweet where possible.

I’m heading back to Israel today, via a number of different countries I won’t identify due to the global fatwa on my head. I might be able to do some airport blogging, but chances are I will be as brain-dead as I was in Hong Kong on my way here.

In the meantime, given that it seems you actually didn’t know you wanted to, I will remind you to please help out if you can.

Peace Grove, East Perth

Close-Up of Peace Grove Plaque

Notice the graffiti on the plaque, which seems to say, amongst other (illegible) things, “JEBS.”

Which I assume is how morons write “JEWS.”

Longtime readers of this blog will know I am not one to reveal too much about my personal life on here. The focus of this blog is Israel and the Middle East, and I like to keep things informative and entertaining. At least that’s my goal; whether or not I succeed in this is something I’ll leave for you to decide.

With this post, I’m going to break with Israellycool tradition and get a bit personal.

Right now, I am experiencing some personal pain, with my beloved father recently being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. That is the reason I came out here to Australia; I want to spend some quality time with him. While this is a particularly aggressive type of cancer, my father is fighting it in the only way he knows how - with a positive outlook and in a dignified manner. He truly is an inspiration.

I wasn’t going to mention any of this on the blog, but I figure that having more people praying for my dad certainly won’t hurt.

If you are accustomed to praying to G-d, I ask that you please include my father in your prayers. His Hebrew name is Dahvid Ben Friedel.

I’m in Hong Kong airport at the moment, having just completed the 10+ hour flight to here from Israel. The flight was surprisingly good, due in no small part to the fact I had my own screen and console for selecting movies, television shows and games. The sad thing is, I probably would have given it all a miss had I had internet access on the plane!  

But not to fear. Here I am with free WiFi. Add the fact I’m here for the next 8 or so hours, and I could theoretically blog up a storm. Problem is, my brain stopped functioning about 3 hours ago. Which means you might not get much more than a bad Separated at Birth out of me. If that.

Later today, I’m heading off to Australia for a 3-week visit. While I am going to be preoccupied with other matters, I do not discount the possibility of some blogging (and possibly even some podcasting) while I am away.

In the meantime, you always have Elder (and possibly Brian of London) to fill the void.

Weighing in at 4.17kg. I breed them big, I tell ya.

No podcast of the birth this year since it occurred on a Jewish festival day, which is kind of like Shabbos. And you should all know there are some things I don’t do on such days.