A Wondering Jew

 I got a late start today (the night's sleep wasn't effective so I allowed it to become the morning's sleep and it was much more on point). Then a walk up top Ben Yehudah to start shopping. There is a strange feeling as I walk. If I walk in NYC, people look. They must be thinking, "hey there's a guy with a little hat on his head." They should be marveling at my smashing good looks and instead I'm sure that they are looking at my kippah.

Here, I fit in. Lots of people have hats on their heads and no one thinks twice about it. So it is nice. Of course, I still worry that people judge me for other reasons -- can they see I'm a tourist from a distance? Is it how I'm dressed or how I look or walk? But at least they take no notice of the kippah. The rest of the paranoia is just who I am. I'm hard wired like that.

Time to eat and shop. There is a play rehearsal this eveing so I have to schedule my eating appropriately. I must eat now, and again later. This is important. There is no sense of THanksgiving here. There are signs about Black Friday sales, and I have heard Americans talk about getting together, but nothing on the streets. No public sensibility of it. That's neat.

I look for hair bands. I sat to collect my thoughts and a woman named Zahava sat down next to me and started asking me, in Hebrew, about how I like my glasses because the is getting glasses. I asked if I could answer in English and she agreed because she moved from San Francisco 32 years ago. She told me a heckuva back story including that she won a million dollars in the lottery but burned the ticket because she only wanted to rely on God but when she moved here and ended homeless she realized her mistake. She receives social security and disability but is still homeless. She also believes that things should not cost money and everything should be free. She said she believs in free love. I steered the conversation back to glasses. Then I got up and walked away. Casual like, but quick.

I looked into the store "Trend." It was a 4 by nothing little store with 9 video cameras watching the store, and the feeds up and public. I sense that this might be unnecessary for a shoplifting concern but they might be trying to protect or document a different fear.

Deep thoughts call for pizza, so I walked down Yaffo to Lika, which is in the spot that Big Apple was in. It loked open but when I walked in, the proprieter told me (in Hebrew...) that he was closed. Ifelt lost. i had my heart set on pizza dagnabit. I wandered back up Yaffo. At that point, I ran into the Zakai family and chatted (mostly with Jakey) about college and how tough it is to get a minyan at Brandeis. He then told me where the other Big Apple Pizza was, so all was bashert from God.

On my way I overheard a woman in an IDF uniform speak a language I coud not recognize. This made me very happy. You want to talk melting pot? New York can't hold a candle to Israel.

At "Pink Lady" I found the headgear Julie wants -- it is called "Imaga" but they didn't have the colors she wants. Progress thy name is Pink Lady.

I found the pizza place  off of Ben Yehudah. I have been to this one before -- it has license plates all over the place. The pizza has a slight bitter flavor but the crust is really buttery and it was just what I needed with or without doctor's orders. Food prices here are all based in whole shekel amounts. No one prices anything as x.95, or even x.50. Smaller coins exist but it is as if they don't matter. I haven't gone through my receipts that closely, but I sense that even after taxes, somehow, all the prices end up even on the shekel level. Weird.

I finished my pizza and was immediately hunfry - a good sign! I found myself wandering down Yaffo wondering if I would end up at the Kotel. I had no specific plan to be there but I felt a pull and went with it. On the way, I passed a restaurant called Thailandi, and it advertised "crrrrazy noodles." I demured, as I prefer my noodles docile and rational.

I chose to go through Mamila mall to see how the other 1% lives. I still craved sweets so I went into the candy shop. I looked at the candy bars I know and love and still found consistent mention of hazelnuts -- if not in the ingredients in the allergen listing. No sweets for me. Insert sad face here.

At the Jaffa Gate, I was enticed into Karkash to see if they have head bands that I want. Of course, the guy said, he just has to send his brother to go buy them. I smelled a scam. He said it would take 10 minutes. I told him I was on a schedule but I would stop by on the way back. He said OK and watched me write the name of his store in my notes to make sure I wasn't lying. Creepy.

Repeating visits, going to the same place on each trip, validates the accuracy of memory. I walked through the square by the Churva synagogue and I feel comfortable.  What I remember holds true and I like that.

 I caught mincha at the Kotel which isn't tough when there are rolling minyanim. One started as soon as I got there but it was 20 feet from the wall so I felt distanced from the ultimate connection so afterwards, I went up to the wall and communed. I held on for dear life, never wanting to let go. I felt a surge of sadness and joy. I felt drained and recharged. I couldn't think of ever leaving that spot but I felt energized and ready to go out and connect with the world. I need to wander back but I want to just sit here and feel the place. I really felt it inside me -- a sense of awe and a sense of loss. It was the most real for me that it has ever been and I cherish that feeling. This is why I came.

I didn't put a note in the wall. The wall, even its cracks and crevices, is holy and my thoughts are beneath it. I won't profane the wall with a note. God knows my thoughts and makes sense of my mumbled words. I feel like a failure in the face of grand majesty and I feel incredible joy in that same presence. I wanted to go in to the covered area to the left but it was closed for construction. Welcome back to reality, bucko.

I walked back through the Jewish Quarter. All uphill. Went back to Karkash because I felt guilty about not going. I'm hard wired that way. The guy only vaguely remembered me. I reminded him of what I was looking for and he said, again that his brother could buy some, deep in the shuk, and bring it back. i asked price and he said 150 NIS. This is much more than what I saw in the store, so I countered with 90MIS. He said, how about 100 and I stuck to 90. He accepted the amount and asked again about color. I said "tan or black" and he said he had purple and black. He then said, "ok, black and you want 10" I said "no, I want one". He insisted "you said ten!" And I said, "no, I wanted black or TAN, like light brown." (now I wonder if the price he quoted was for 10 total which would have been a great price if I wanted 10). He realized our communication error and he said he wasn't sending anyone to buy only one. We parted on good terms.

I used the lavatory by the Jaffa gate. You didn't have to know that, but I wouldn't want you hearing about it from anyone else.

On my way back up to Yaffo street, tourists stopped me and asked me to take their picture. They asked in Englihs, without hesitation. How did they know with such confidence, that I was an anglo? Bring on more paranoia.

On the way back, I saw that Lika pizza was open but you know what? You had your chance.

I made it to the top of Yaffo, at King George and went in to Cafe Ne'eman for a cup of decaf. I had to tell the woman that I didn't want milk (frother or otherwise) and had I not said anything she would have assumed that I wanted it! The default on a regular cup of coffee is with milk. I got it and it was delicious.

Then it was time for daddy-daughter bonding time as I walked from store to store with Maddie on a video call, showing her every headband available. I held the camera and she judged and decided  what I would buy for her. I intitially got some stares but the only thing more potent than the "I'm a dumb American tourist" ploy is the "I'm the dumb dad/husband buying something for a woman" bit. At one point, another cistomer actually said "good luck" to me when he smiled. So I bought some stuff and wished Maddie a good day. I figured I had earned some food and I just so happened to be next to Moshiko when I made that decision. Shocking, I know. So I had to eat at Moshiko and it was as delicious and fantastic as I remember it. Eat there. Tell them Dan sent you. It won't mean anything but it is an ego boost for me.

I walked to Gan Sacher as I was told that there was a 5PM pre-rehearsal dance practice and I wanted to see my niece and nephews strut their stuff in preparation for a production of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.  I won't be here for the actual play so I wanted to be a supportive uncle now. I was told that it would be "somewhere" iin Gan Sacher and at "5-ish." Promising.

I chatted on the phone with Talia Ruby as I walked the entire length of the park, not seeing any sign of anyone dancing to Ian Fleming. After an hour's long stroll I headed back to the house and found every one there as the 5PM pre-rehearsal was at 2:30. Ish, indeed. I went back out at 6:45 to watch the more formal rehearsal.

At the park, a kid of 9 or 10 approached me and asked to use my phone. Weird, right? Forget that he couldn't us my American line to make a local call -- it was just weird. Rafi said that this is an actual thing, kids borrowing random strangers' phones to make calls (I guess to get picked up or find out if their parents ever want them to return). The important thing is that the kid asked me in Hebrew!

The "rehearsal" ended up being practice of 2 major dance numbers (using my phone to supply the music...good thing I was there). I had a chance to talk with Nava as Eli and Rafi walked around twirling Kendo sticks. Next all three of them danced to Toot Sweets and I got colder and hungrier. The evening ended with a nice chat with Nomi about colonoscopies and mamograms. We're adults!