With all that's going on in Israel, I couldn't help but think back to 1967. Word had gone out that Israel was looking for volunteers to do farm work because all the people that usually did it had been called back to the army. My boyfriend and I signed up to go. The war broke out and all travel was banned. When it ended they still needed the volunteers. He backed out and I went alone.
I worked on a kibbutz doing everything from picking fruit to working in a kitchen that fed the 800. It was located in a corner between Lebanon and Syria. The war was over, but bad things still happened. An older man from India urged me to be careful when I went about picking fruit in the orchards that were on the edge of the kibbutz and where there was a danger of left over land mines. His words for me were that to die, well we all had to die, but to lose an arm or leg was a real tragedy.
After that I had bad nightmares and I left the kibbutz and ended up at a moshav which was another kind of communal farm. I fed chickens, sorted produce, picked up rocks while worrying about scorpions, worked in the laundry and was handed a power lawn mower and given a huge area to mow.
Looking back, I must have had a guardian angel because I came very close to a lot of really bad things happening like being abducted the night before I was to go home.
I still remember the first night when I was home sleeping in my own bed. I woke up and didn't know where I was and somehow I thought I was in a detention camp and then a light outside the window came into focus and I realized where I was. There aren't words to describe the relief I felt.
My son laughs thinking that after all that, I don't like making left turns.
7 comments:
Good morning -- Oh my gosh, you really did have a guardian angel watching over you -- what a story!! The news from Israel is so incredibly bad -- makes me sick to hear.
I've got a good start on the granny stripe blanket. I'm alternating three rows of black with three rows of various colors. I like doing odd numbers of rows as that makes the tail ends of yarn to be worked in on alternate sides of the blanket instead of all on one side -- works best for me.
I made a cherry/pineapple dump cake for a family dinner last weekend. I'd always used a can of crushed pineapple but recently discovered canned pineapple pie filling and used that instead -- so much better!! My son said it was "crazy good" and my grandson declared it was the "best thing ever." Mama made apricot pineapple preserves that were so good so my next dump cake will be a combination of those two flavors of pie filling.
Enjoy your day and your weekend -- hope you're making good progress with the new book.
Life can give you really amazing experiences. And often our guardian angels probably wish we would just stay home. But someone has to do the good work and sometimes that is us. It is rarely comfortable but generally worthwhile. Cheers to you for your good works. Who knows what lives were touched through your acts of service?
And I totally get you on the left turns. Could it be we learned to drive in Chicago? Once I was told I drove like a cab driver. I think it was a compliment???
Have a wonderful weekend. Our family continues to pray for those in harms way in Israel.
Patty, it makes me sick to hear too.
I've never heard of pineapple pie filling. Sounds interesting. There is nothing more gratifying than having your family enjoy your cooking.
I'm glad you are making your own arrangement of the granny square stripes. I'm sure it will be beautiful.
Sally, you are right. You never know whose life might have been changed by something you did. I had a teacher in fifth grade for a couple of weeks. It was a troubled semester and we had one substitute after another. Most could barely keep any order. But Mr. Wilson was great, at least for me. A mere comment from him caused me to stop biting my nails and he was the first teacher who seemed to think I was smart. It has stayed with me forever.
Drivers in Chicago are more courteous than L.A.. I love left turn arrows.
Hope your weekend is nice. I also pray for all the people in harms way.
I've never seen the pineapple pie filling at the grocery -- I got it through the Walmart website. My son just returned my baking pan with a note from my grandson -- "Grandma, you can fill this pan again anytime you want to."
Patty, how nice that they enjoyed the cake.
Linda O. Johnston, I haven't used them in a story yet. You are right, they are still in my head. Lots of very detailed memories despite how long ago it was.
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